Talamasca

The Talamasca, sometimes known as the Order of the Talamasca, is a fictional secret society featured in Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles and Lives of the Mayfair Witches supernatural horror novel series.[1]

It is described as a secret society set up to research, watch over and keep track of the paranormal, in particular, witches, spirits, werewolves and vampires.[2][3][4] Rice describes them as "psychic detectives". Many vampiric characters from Rice's novels once belonged to the Talamasca before accepting the "dark gift". Jesse Reeves, David Talbot and Merrick Mayfair are the best known of Rice's Talamasca characters.[5]

The Talamasca represents one strand of Rice's theme of anthropology in her work which she repeatedly returns to. There are a number of anthropologists in, or connected with the Talamasca. The Talamasca can itself be seen as a kind of parallel to physical anthropology, looking for artifiacts of another world. This is especially clear in the Talamasca's secret search for the Taltos.[6] The Talamasca provides a solid foundation for Rice's work. With a history going back centuries it is like a backbone going through Rice's work which makes it coherent within itself.[7]

History in Rice's works

Introduced in The Queen of the Damned (1988),[8] the Talamasca is said to have formed in 758 by Teskhamen, Heskreth and Gremt, and though it operates in offices worldwide, the organization's central files are held in London.[2][9]

In the novel Prince Lestat it is revealed to the vampire Pandora and Arjun that the founder of the Talamasca is the spirit Pandora encountered upon the death of Cassiodorus.[10] The leader at that time is David Talbot, who spearheaded its growth at the end of the twentieth century.[2] Earlier in the Vampire Chronicles, the society was sent to New Orleans to uncover the truth behind the story told in Interview with the Vampire (1976).[2]

Potential TV series

In April 2023, it was reported that AMC was developing a third Immortal Universe television series focused on the Talamasca.[11][12] John Lee Hancock is attached to the project as showrunner and writer.[11][12]

References
  1. Loudermilk, Suzanne (September 29, 1994). "Anne Rice stumbles a bit with 'Taltos' - Baltimore Sun". Archived from the original on June 20, 2021. Retrieved February 19, 2022.
  2. Melton, J. Gordon (September 1, 2010). The Vampire Book: The Encyclopedia of the Undead. Visible Ink Press. pp. 190, 687–688. ISBN 978-1-57859-350-7. Archived from the original on October 19, 2023. Retrieved February 22, 2022.
  3. Canfield, David; EDT, 2018 at 11:00 AM (May 14, 2018). "Anne Rice's 'Vampire Chronicles' to get a complete 'Alphabettery' guide". Archived from the original on February 19, 2022. Retrieved February 19, 2022.
  4. "Queen of the Damned: The Vampire Classic That Almost Was". February 17, 2022. Archived from the original on February 18, 2022. Retrieved February 19, 2022.
  5. Jacobs, Matthew (October 26, 2021). "An Oral History of Queen of the Damned". Archived from the original on November 2, 2021. Retrieved February 19, 2022.
  6. Frank A. Salamove, "The anthropological vision of Anne Rice, pp. 49–50 in, Gary Hoppenstand, Ray Broadus (eds), The Gothic World of Anne Rice, Popular Press, 1996 ISBN 087972708X.
  7. Linda Badley, Writing Horror and the Body: The Fiction of Stephen King, Clive Barker, and Anne Rice, p. 127, Greenwood Publishing Group, 1996 ISBN 0313297169.
  8. Badley, Linda (1996). Writing Horror and the Body: The Fiction of Stephen King, Clive Barker, and Anne Rice. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 127. ISBN 978-0-313-29716-8. Archived from the original on January 17, 2023. Retrieved February 22, 2022.
  9. Becket; Rice, Anne (October 23, 2018). Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles An Alphabettery. Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group. pp. 124–30. ISBN 978-0-525-43473-3. Archived from the original on October 19, 2023. Retrieved February 22, 2022.
  10. "Anne Rice Reveals Why She Brought The Vampire Lestat To The Realms Of Atlantis". November 25, 2016. Archived from the original on February 19, 2022. Retrieved February 19, 2022.
  11. White, Peter (April 19, 2023). "Anne Rice Spinoff Series about the Talamasca in the Works at AMC from John Lee Hancock". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved October 19, 2023.
  12. Otterson, Joe (April 19, 2023). "AMC to Develop Talamasca Series Set in Anne Rice Universe". Variety. Retrieved October 19, 2023.
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