The Witching Hour

The Witching Hour is set in New Orleans before hurricane Katrina destroyed a large part of the city, yet the television adaptation, The Mayfair Witches, is set after Katrina. How does the devastation of Katrina add another layer of hauntology, or hauntedness, to the setting of Rice’s work? What does this say about the enduring nature of houses in New Orleans?

After The Witching Hour was published, the television show Buffy the Vampire Slayer became a huge hit. How are the watchers in Buffy similar to and different from the members of the Talamasca? How else does Rice influence the trope of people who study the paranormal?

Rice repeatedly describes female characters like Rowan and Mary Beth as masculine because of their high libidos. How was her portrayal of female sexuality innovative in the 1990s? How has it held up over the years?