Small screen witches casting a spell on you this TV season

Trend watchers in the horror/supernatural genre are busily on the alert for what mythological creature will hit big in the mass market arena next; or in other words "When is the vampire thing over with?"

Well,first off,vampires are far from over but secondly,if I had to lay my bets on what will be in fright night fashion this season,witches are definitely on the rise. Particularly on TV these days,we're getting a lot of ladies trying their hand at magic making,mostly as secondary characters but some are taking the lead here.

Vampires and witches have locked horns on shows such as True Blood and The Vampire Diaries(plus TVD's spin-off The Originals) but some have been allies for the good guys and not just adversaries. The new series Sleepy Hollow,for example, has Ichabod Crane's wife Katrina (Katia Winter) as a secret witch who set the spell in motion that brought her husband into the 21st century.

She also sends him warnings of approaching danger in his dreams as she is trapped in a limbo realm and it's not quite certain if she's alive or dead. I suspect that once Ichabod finds a way to release her from the mystical prison she's in,Katrina might be able to reunite with her man in the here and now. Since the show has already been approved for a second season(it'll be a limited run,much like Under The Dome was), Katrina may get a real chance to strut her witchy stuff:

Debuting this past weekend on Lifetime, Witches of East End stars Julia Ormond as Joanna Beauchamp,the matriarch of a magic practicing family.

She is determined to guide her daughters Ingrid and Freya( Rachel Boston and Jenna Dewen-Tatum)towards their path of mystical destiny but there are some supernatural speed bumps along the way,one of which is her sister Wendy(Madchen Amick). The show seems a bit soap opera glossy but the casting choices are pretty good,plus having been based on a series of novels by Melissa de la Cruz should give WOEE a strong story spine to hold the subplots together with:

The big game changer of the bunch,however,will most likely be the new season of American Horror Story,called "Coven". AHS regulars Jessica Lange and Sarah Poulson return as a mother-daughter act who run a boarding school for witches in modern day New Orleans,with new students (Emma Roberts,Gabourey Sidibe) of varying levels of power.

Flashbacks to the past will showcase a battle between Salem witches,headed up by Kathy Bates as Delphine LaLaurie,who used her spells to torment slaves,and vodun practitioners lead by legendary New Orleans voodoo queen Marie Laveau(Angela Bassett).

Given the drawing power of this series and the amazing cast assembled here,AHS:C appears to have all the ingredients for a powerfully potent brew of TV magic:

Big screen witches may come along again(in hopeful better depictions than Oz the Great and Powerful) but for now, their TV sisters will be able to fill those pointy shoes nicely. With Halloween only a few weeks away,witch watching feels very much in style but we should not restrict such viewings to autumn alone. The right set of spell casting gals can be enchanting at any time: