Comparing ‘The Witching Hour’ by Anne Rice to ‘The Mayfair Witches’
About the Author
Anne Rice has been writing since the mid-70s and has always combined supernatural elements, horror and seduction in most of her works. Some may find her work too dark, others might love the imagery she incorporates to make everything sound desirable. Either way, Anne Rice is an expert in her field, but many filmmakers have had trouble adapting her works.
Why is Anne Rice so well-known?
Her most famous adaptation is Interview with the Vampire from 1994. Rice is credited as the screenwriter on the film and maybe that’s why it worked so well. There are major stars in this film as well; Tom Cruise, Brad Pitt, Antonio Banderas and little Kristen Dunst. This was her most memorable supernatural novel that stood the test of time and was even remade into a television series in 2022. It’s safe to say that Anne Rice knows how to explore vampires and witches quite well. And base a lot of their decisions on morally ambiguous situations that keep these characters grounded.
What is The Witching Hour About?
In The Witching Hour, Rice takes on a grand legacy of witches that are tormented through centuries by a demon named Lasher. The Mayfair witches have been around since the 16th century and each witch has been seduced by Lasher to make him even more powerful. The sole reason Lasher preyed upon these women is so he could get the chance to walk the earth himself in human form. The 13th witch in the lineage could take down the veil and cross both sides for Lasher.
Who is in The Mayfair Witches?
Alexandra Daddario as Rowan Fielding
Tongayi Chirisa as Ciprien Grieve
Jack Huston as Lasher
Harry Hamlin as Cortland Mayfair
Hannah Alline as Suzanne
Beth Grant as Carlotta Mayfair
Annabeth Gish as Deirdre Mayfair
Is the series better than the book?
There are many book adaptations out there that haven’t done the book justice and that’s because there is so much detail in the novel that the screen adaptation just doesn’t have. The Witching Hour is over 1,000 pages long and it had been condensed into eight episodes for the AMC Plus series.
The reason why The Witching Hour is miles better than The Mayfair Witches on AMC Plus is that the novel does take its time in building the legacy of the Mayfair witches. The eight episodes seem very rushed and barely scratch the service of what the novel did. There are whole sections that explore each witch in the legacy who came before Rowan Mayfair. Rice took the time to show how dark and twisted the Mayfair bloodline was with Lasher being involved. He was this looming presence on the women of the family. Sadly, two uncles, Cortland and Julien would keep the bloodline clean by impregnating their own daughters and coaxing them to tie their spirits to Lasher.
It was a difficult series to sit through because there was so much that they missed. The showrunners could have gone so much deeper with the flashbacks and created Lasher as this horrible spirit haunting these women. The one important piece that sets The Witching Hour above The Mayfair Witches is the fact that these women fought against Lasher all they could. These women were battling one particular demon and tried to hold onto their autonomy the best they could. In a way, even though Rice seduces her readers through horrific and graphic imagery, it’s a feminist piece that focuses on one woman to break the generational cycle of torment. The Mayfair Witches focused on witchcraft instead of the more human aspects that countered the supernatural.
Unfortunately, we have seen many versions of vampires, werewolves, and witches but all of those authors were inspired by Anne Rice. So adapting her novels now after the supernatural wave has passed is almost doing a disservice to her work. It’s almost as if they had the bones of the actual story from The Witching Hour but focused on the wrong aspects in order for audiences to understand the bare minimum. Even though the book is rather dense, Rice’s words and structure of the novel completely transport you to the world the characters are in. The series does not do the book justice and would have benefitted from splitting this first novel into two seasons to get the full scope of the legacy.
Will There Be a Season 2 of The Mayfair Witches on AMC Plus
It has been confirmed that The Mayfair Witches has been renewed for a second season. After the success of Interview with the Vampire, AMC Plus has developed its own Immortal Universe and has purchased the rights to use Rice’s novels. There are 18 novels that they can use to build their universe on the streaming service and even have them connected to each other. Let’s just say it’s about time Anne Rice gets her due in having her amazing novels adapted so a new audience can appreciate her work.
