Cat People

Every Thursday I am posting excerpts from the Horror Crossover Encyclopedia focusing on a television or film series.  Today we are covering Cat People.

ANNO DRACULA (SERIES BY KIM NEWMAN)

Release Date: 1992 - 2013 (so far) [Setting is 1888 -1991 (so far)]

Series: Anno Dracula

Horror Crosses: Dracula (novel); Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde; Invisible Man (novel); The Island of Doctor Moreau; The Vampyre; Varney the Vampire; The Soft Whisper of the Dead; They Thirst; Hotel Transylvania; The Black Castle; The Vampire Tapestry; Stephen King Universe; Carmilla; Good Lady Ducayne; The Tomb of Sarah; Ken’s Mystery; The Mysterious Stranger (story); The True Story of a Vampire; Carnacki Ghost Finder; Black Sabbath; The Picture of Dorian Gray; Interview with a Vampire (Anne Rice Vampire Lestat series); The Werewolves of London (Brian Stableford); Count Yorga; The Fearless Vampire Killers; Brides of Dracula; Vampire Circus; Dracula (Universal); Dark Shadows; El Vampiro; Black Sunday; Martin (George A. Romero film); Kolchak the Night Stalker; Blacula; Nosferatu; Kiss of the Vampire; Mr. Vampire; Blood of the Vampire; Daughters of Darkness; Dracula (Hammer); Lovecraft’s Cthulhu Mythos; Averoigne; Grave of the Vampire/Seed of Terror; Hellraiser; Alraune; The Black Cat (film); Lemora: A Child’s Tale of the Supernatural; The Vampire Thrills; Faustine; Near Dark; Forever Knight; Fright Night; The House of Dracula (novel by R. Chetwynd-Hayes); Anak Pontianak; Necroscope; Revelations in Black; The Dragon Waiting; The Bloody Pit of Horror/The Crimson Executioner; The Playgirls and the Vampire; The Niece of the Vampire/Fangs of the Vampire; The Phantom of the Opera; Incense for the Damned/Bloodsuckers; Addams Family (television); Frankenstein (Universal); The Monkey’s Paw; Three Mothers trilogy; Toby Dammit; The Exorcist; Cave of the Living Dead; The Golem (1920 film); The Old Dark House; Cat People; Black Magic (film); Spirits of the Dead; Les Vampires; The Awful Doctor Orloff; A Bucket of Blood; Those Who Hunt By Night/Immortal Blood/Traveling with the Dead; The Hunger; Fevre Dream; Empire of Fear; Dr. Blood’s Coffin; The Vampire’s Ghost; The Horrible Sexy Vampire; Mark of the Vampire; Vampire (1979); Vampyr - Der Traum des Allan Gray; El Hombre Lobo; Curse of the Undead; Circus of Horrors; The Horror Chamber of Dr. Faustus; Twice Bitten/Vampire Hookers; The Lost Boys; Deathmaster; Velvet Vampire; I, Vampire; Nancy Baker’s Vampire Stories; Sunglasses After Dark; Vamps (Vertigo Comics); Blade; Scooby-Doo; Hellboy; Nocturna; Rosemary’s Baby; American Psycho; Lost Souls; Elvira; Rosemary’s Baby; The Films of Tarantino and Rodriguez; Light at the End; Andy Warhol’s Dracula/Blood for Dracula; Geek Maggot Bingo; Daughter of Darkness; Nightmare in Blood; Madhouse; Vampire Junction/Vanitas; Buffy the Vampire Slayer; Shadowman; Werewolf of London; Little Shop of Horrors; Texas Chainsaw Massacre; The Howling; Gremlins; Suckers: Bleeding London Dry; Desire the Vampire/I Desire; The Creature Commandos; The Vampire (1957); The Vampire (Sydney Horler)

Non-Horror Crosses: Too numerous to list.

The Story: In 1888, during the events of Bram Stoker’s novel, events diverge and Dracula marries Queen Victoria, causing a major alteration in the socio-political world for the next 125 years and beyond.

Notes: This is a divergent timeline, but not a parallel universe. In my theory, a parallel universe is created at the dawn of time at the same time as the main universe and other parallel universes. They may evolve similarly, but they are separate. Meanwhile, each universe has a main timeline, and at each moment, there are an infinite number of divergent timelines created off of the main timeline. When thinking of divergent timelines, try picturing a fork in the road. Both paths lead in different directions, but they both start at the same point, and once were the same road. The Anno Dracula timeline has shown to be an alternate timeline of the main Horror Universe in several other entries in this reference guide. Because it’s a divergent timeline, the above horror crosses, though depicted in an alternate manner, should still count for inclusions in the Horror Universe. Some of the above crossed series are already in, and the others are brought in via this crossover series despite being an alternate timeline series. For the record, the complete Anno Dracula series (thus far) consists of Anno Dracula, the Bloody Red Baron: Anno Dracula 1918, Judgement of Tears: Anno Dracula 1959 (aka Dracula Cha Cha Cha), Coppola’s Dracula (from the Mammoth Book of Dracula), Castle in the Desert: Anno Dracula 1977, Andy Warhol’s Dracula: Anno Dracula 1978 - 1979 (from the Mammoth Book of Vampires), Who Dares Wins: Anno Dracula 1980, The Other Side of Midnight (from Vampire Sextette), You are the Wind Beneath My Wings: Anno Dracula 1984) and Johnny Alucard.

TALES OF THE SHADOWMEN VOLUME 1: THE MODERN BABYLON and VOLUME 2: GENTLEMEN OF THE NIGHT “THE WEREWOLF OF RUTHERFORD GRANGE” (SHORT STORY BY G.L. GICK)

Release Date: 2005 (Setting is 1911)

Series: Tales of the Shadowmen

Horror Crosses: Lovecraft’s Cthulhu Mythos; Dracula (novel); Shadowmancer; Cat People; Horror Express; Werewolf of Paris; The Catman of Paris; Phantom of the Opera (novel); The Wolf in the Garden; Nanny and the Professor; Carnacki Ghost Finder; Sar Dubnotal

Non-Horror Crosses: See Notes

The Story: Famed detective Harry Dickson shares a story of one of his earliest cases when he was still an assistant to Sexton Blake and Sherlock Holmes. In this tale, Dickson finds himself being assigned to a security detail for a conference, but gets himself involved in dealing with a supernatural menace, something he strongly disbelieves even as he is experiencing it. And even then, things are never quite what they seem.

Notes: This is an excellent tale full of crossovers, and with so many surprises and twists to keep the reader captivated.

THE SEVENTH VICTIM (FILM)

Release Date: 1943 (Contemporary Setting)

Series: Cat People

The Story: Psychiatrist Louis Judd rescues a woman from a Satanic cult.

Notes: No Cat People appear in this film, but the above mentioned psychiatrist appears next in Cat People. Thus I’ve lumped this film into the Cat People series, even though this comes first, because Cat People has so many other crossovers.

CAT PEOPLE (FILM)

Release Date: 1942 (Contemporary Setting, but takes place after the Seventh Victim)

Series: Cat People

The Story: A woman thinks that she is a Werecat.

Notes: The psychiatrist in this film is Dr. Louis Judd. He dies in this film. The Seventh Victim released in 1943 also features Dr. Judd, so even though it is made and released after Cat People, it must have taken place chronologically before this film. Cat People has a 1944 sequel called The Curse of the Cat People, and is referenced in several future stories that provide crossover goodness. The film was remade in 1982. The film has had several “non-cross” references in such films as Final Destination.

CURSE OF THE CAT PEOPLE (FILM)

Release Date: 1944 (Contemporary Setting)

Series: Cat People

The Story: In this sequel to Cat People, the ghost of Irena appears, or is it really her still alive, or is she just an illusion of a mentally ill child?

Notes: Honestly, I don’t know the answer. This film is a sequel to 1942’s Cat People.