NPR’s Book of the Day: “Interview with the Vampire” Author Anne Rice Takes NPR on a Tour of Her Haunted Home

Episode Overview

In this Halloween-themed episode, NPR revisits a 2003 interview with legendary author Anne Rice, celebrated for her gothic novels centered on vampires and the supernatural. Host Leanne Hanson visits Rice’s historic New Orleans mansion to discuss her then-latest book, Blood Canticle, muse on loss and belief, and dive into stories of haunted mirrors, tragic histories, and the real-life inspirations behind her famous characters. The result is an intimate, atmospheric portrait of Anne Rice as both creator and inhabitant of a world that blurs the line between fiction and reality.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Anne Rice’s Supernatural New Orleans Home

• [03:48] Anne Rice’s residence is a sprawling, stately Greek Revival mansion, richly decorated and suffused with New Orleans history—and, she says, ghosts.
  • Rice describes the beauty and challenge of the house:
    “I find this house beautiful, and I find it challenging. And I fell in love with it and took on the challenge. It’s huge. It’s old... It has legends. It has ghosts.” (Anne Rice, [04:08])
• The home’s mirrors date back to the 1860s, rumored to be a wedding present for Pamela Starr Clapp, whose specter is said to roam the house.
  • “They say there’s a ghost of Pamela Starr Clapp... People have claimed to see Pamela here. Yeah, I haven’t seen her. Maybe she’s happy with what we’ve done.” (Anne Rice, [04:30])
• A past owner is said to have committed suicide on the stairs, linking the home to stories of misfortune.
  • “This house has been associated with misfortune.” (Anne Rice, [05:14])

2. Life, Loss, and the Presence of Loved Ones

• Much of the interview centers on Rice’s personal losses, especially that of her husband, artist Stan Rice, who died less than a year before the interview.
  • Rice poignantly recounts Stan’s final days still making art:
    “He painted until he couldn’t lift his head anymore... He painted three paintings after the diagnosis. He died in less than four months from finding out that he had the tumor.” (Anne Rice, [07:03])
• Discussing whether Stan’s presence lingers, Rice reflects on the absorbing nature of the home and her attempt to share it with the public:
  • “There’s something overwhelming about this house itself. It can absorb anything. It can absorb any tragedy that happens and go on being itself...” (Anne Rice, [08:17])
  • Rice hosted free tours before being stopped by city officials:
    “I felt it was an obligation to show people this house.” (Anne Rice, [08:55])

3. Intimate Details: Cats, Art, and Work

• Rice’s living room is filled with Stan’s paintings—she describes their mysterious meanings and emotional resonance.
  • “Stan never told you really what a painting meant or what it was... It’s some sort of community of wonderfully diverse people.” (Anne Rice, [05:55])
• Cats—specifically, seven well-behaved Siberians—are present and noted for their intelligence and quietness.
  • “Yeah, they’re all Siberian cats. And they’re wonderful cats.” (Anne Rice, [06:30])
• Rice’s working habits are candidly revealed: writing barefoot in her flannel nightgown, her office merging directly with her bedroom for comfort and creativity.
  • “I do a lot of writing in a flannel nicu. Barefoot. I carpeted everything so I could go barefoot.” (Anne Rice, [09:49])

4. Origins of Lestat and Intersections of Life & Fiction

• Rice acknowledges her husband, Stan, as the inspiration for the alluring, amoral vampire Lestat.

  • “Lestat was the epitome of my husband, the atheist, the rational one... I got from him that spirit that infused the character of Lestat.” (Anne Rice, [11:10])
  • Even Lestat’s physical traits match Stan’s:
    “Stan was at that time six feet tall with long blonde hair... feline movements, all of that was Stan.” (Anne Rice, [11:39])

• The creation of Interview with the Vampire was marked by the mourning of her daughter’s death, and deep spiritual questioning.

  • “When I wrote that book that there was no God. What about now?”
    —“I believe there is a God. I believe that he will and can intervene at times, but that most of the time he does not...” (Anne Rice, [12:12])

5. Spirituality, Doubt, and Reconciling the Afterlife

• Rice’s spiritual journey is candid and unresolved—she returned to Catholicism after thirty years, seeking meaning and ritual, even as doubts persist.
  • “There is in me a terrible fear that life is meaningless. And that’s what Stan believed...” (Anne Rice, [12:52])
• Rice shares a moving story of a reading with psychic John Edward, feeling she had “proof of the hereafter,” but admits her rational mind persists in doubting:
  • “I wonder why my heart doesn’t totally embrace it and say, he’s there, he’s happy, he’s talked to me... It’s hard to believe in the miracle you witnessed...” (Anne Rice, [13:46])
  • She references a Biblical parable to illustrate her doubts:
    “If they don’t believe Moses and the prophets, they wouldn’t believe if a man rose from the dead. And they didn’t, and they don’t.” (Anne Rice, [14:56])

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Lestat’s charisma:
  “I’m the vampire Lestat, the most potent and lovable vampire ever created... 200 years old but fixed forever in the form of a 20 year old male with features and figure you’d die for and just might.” (Anne Rice as Lestat, [02:10])

• On the haunted home:
  “People have claimed to see Pamela [Clapp] here. Yeah, I haven’t seen her. Maybe she’s happy with what we’ve done.” (Anne Rice, [04:30])

• On the ambiguity of loss and faith:
  “There’s probably no hereafter. There’s probably nothing. Do you know what I mean? … It’s hard to believe in the miracle you witnessed...” (Anne Rice, [13:46])

• On home and tragedy:
  “There’s something overwhelming about this house itself. It can absorb anything. It can absorb any tragedy that happens and go on being itself...” (Anne Rice, [08:17])

Timestamps for Key Segments

• [02:10] Anne Rice reads as Lestat from her new novel, Blood Canticle
• [03:48] Description of Rice’s house and its haunted legacy
• [04:30] Rice recounts stories of ghosts and legends tied to her home
• [05:45] Discussion of Stan Rice’s paintings and the emotional resonance in his art
• [06:30] On her seven Siberian cats
• [07:03] Anne discusses Stan Rice’s illness and final months
• [08:17] Reflections on grief, memory, and the persistence of place
• [09:49] Rice describes her writing habits and the blending of work and domestic life
• [11:10] Lestat’s character as built from Stan Rice’s persona
• [12:12] Rice’s journey with grief, faith and meaning, including her return to the church
• [13:14] Discussion of psychic reading and persistent existential doubt

Episode Tone & Experience

The episode is atmospheric, gently humorous, and deeply moving—combining Rice’s gothic imagination with intimate reflections on grief and belief. There’s a sense of grandeur and melancholy that suffuses both the setting and the conversation, making it a memorable listen for fans of her writing and those fascinated by the blending of the real and supernatural.

End of Summary