| Aunt Clara | |
 | |
| First Appearance: | The Witches Are Out |
| Last Appearance: | Samantha's Secret Saucer |
| Portrayer: | Marion Lorne |
| Episode Count: | 28 |
| Species: | Witch |
| Gender: | Female |
| Occupation: | • Doorknob Collector • Member of the witches committee that tested Tabitha's powers |
| Significant Other(s): | Ocky (boyfriend) Hedley Partridge (boyfriend)[1] Kenzu Mishimoto (boyfriend)[2] |
| Family: | Samantha Stephens (niece) Darrin Stephens (nephew-in-law) Tabitha Stephens (great-niece) Adam Stephens (great-nephew) |
| Relatives: | Maurice (unknown relation) Endora (unknown relation) Bertha (unknown relation) Hagatha (unknown relation) Enchantra (unknown relation) Grimalda (unknown relation) |
Aunt Clara is Samantha's favorite aunt. She also has the distinction of being one of the few of Samantha's relatives that Darrin likes. Because of old age, her powers do not work the way they used to, and as a result, she is constantly causing problems when she uses them. After each blunder, she would forget the spell and Samantha and Darrin would have to work long and hard at getting the problem resolved so that no one - especially their neighbor, Gladys Kravitz - discovered that magic was at work. Aunt Clara's favorite way of visiting was coming down the chimney. She also had an unusual hobby of collecting doorknobs.
Trivia
Family Tree Issue
Although Aunt Clara was Samantha's favorite aunt, we never find out exactly how the two are related. Most likely she is related to Endora since in Allergic to Macedonian Dodo Birds, Dr. Bombay states that only a relative could acquire Endora's powers, but no exact relation (sisters or cousins) is revealed. Similarly, it also is not known how Aunt Hagatha and Aunt Enchantra are related to Samantha or Endora, although some fans insist that they were Endora's sisters as the three prosecuted Clara in The Trial and Error of Aunt Clara. In Endora Moves In for a Spell, Endora says she was an only child until Arthur was born, which would imply Clara is not her sister, since she is older than Endora. Maurice's siblings are never mentioned leaving a possiblity Clara and other aunts of Samantha could be his siblings. There is also however a possiblity that the "Aunt" or "Cousin" title could be used in relation of a family friend, such as Cousin Edgar, who is an elf.
Clara and Esmeralda
When Marion Lorne passed away before the fifth season, the producers felt that her character could not be replaced by another actress, which had been done before in the cases of Gladys Kravitz, Louise Tate, and Frank Stephens. Instead, in season six, they created the character Esmeralda, played by Alice Ghostley, who could also be a befuddled witch with wobbly magic whose spells often went astray, although unlike Clara, not because of aging. Coincidentally, Lorne and Ghostley played alongside each other in the 1967 film The Graduate as partygoers.
