 The episode features references to witchcraft and occultism . The nurse from the episode , Rebecca Waite , was named after a friend of the writers called Rebecca White , with a slight change as a real nurse also called White existed in Chicago . Viewers ended up finding Waite 's name as an unintended reference to Rebecca Nurse , an innocent woman prosecuted during the Salem witch trials , and the Rider @-@ Waite tarot deck , the most popular tarot deck utilized in the world . The episode itself references Gerald Gardner , a wiccan known for publishing several books on witchcraft and founder of the Gardnerian Tradition . While the Mayhew sisters tried to depict occultism without offending anybody , not connecting Franklin and Waite to any known cult , many Wiccans sent angry letters and e @-@ mails to Fox regarding the portrayal of their beliefs . 
