Just in time for Halloween, Hollywood has fallen under the spell of witches: Last week's premiere of "Charmed" was the WB's most successful series debut ever, beating out the first episodes of its powerhouse programs "Dawson's Creek" and "Felicity." Not to be outdone, Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman are love-bound and spellbound in this Friday's "Practical Magic." Add that to "Sabrina, The Teenage Witch" -- the ABC "TGIF" primetime linchpin that's a consistent Top 30 performer and a #1 show among the coveted teen audience -- and you've got some bona-fide itchings for witching.

Of course, the fact that you very seldom see ugly witches anymore doesn't hurt. Long gone are the days of Margaret Hamilton's cackling, emerald-faced hag in "Wizard of Oz." In her place? A virtual who's who of easier-on-the-eyes starlets: Alyssa Milano and Shannon Doherty ("Charmed"), Bullock, Kidman, Melissa Joan Hart ("Sabrina"), and if you want to go back a little further, Michelle Pfeiffer, Susan Sarandon, and Cher (1987's "Witches of Eastwick") plus Neve Campbell in 1996's "The Craft." "This new crop of witches offers something for everyone," observes EW TV critic Bruce Fretts. "They're powerful young women, which attracts females, and hot babes, which attracts guys."