Crossover Cover: The House in the Witch Dreams

 

In this story by Charles R. Rutledge, occult expert Professor Carter Decamp helps college student Nancy Upton discover the source of dreams she’s been having about a witch and a house she senses is her own, though she’s never been in it before. Decamp shows Nancy a painting of a ghoul done by a rather infamous artist named Pickman in the 1920s and says the ghouls’ last recorded uprising was in that decade and was put down by a man named Kharrn. Decamp has a walking stick that conceals a blade. Carter Decamp is a recurring character in Rutledge’s fiction, including the Griffin and Price series, coauthored with James A. Moore. The immortal barbarian Kharrn is another of Rutledge’s recurring heroes. Pickman is from H. P. Lovecraft’s “Pickman’s Model.” The painter’s full name is Richard Upton Pickman, so he and Nancy Upton may be related. As established in Moore and Rutledge’s Blind Shadows, Decamp’s sword-cane is the same one that once belonged to Manly Wade Wellman’s occult detective Judge Pursuivant. Nancy says February 15 was last Sunday, suggesting the year is 2015.

This crossover is one of over a thousand covered in my book Crossovers Expanded: A Secret Chronology of the World Volume 3, coming this summer from Meteor House! All three volumes are AUTHORIZED companions to Win Scott Eckert's Crossovers: A Secret Chronology of the World Volumes 1 and 2!

Crossover Cover: Dracula's Ghost

 

Detective Jennifer Grail and occult investigator Carter Decamp once again do battle with Dracula. Jen borrows Kharrn’s sword from Decamp. Mircalla Karnstein, aka Carla Lim and Carmilla, seeks to resurrect Dracula. Decamp consults the Ruthvenian, and plans to check Pursuivant’s Vampiricon. Decamp arranges for Jen to meet with a contact of Wade Griffin, who is in a relationship with Decamp’s apprentice Charon. Decamp reminds Jen of what Victor told them about Dracula’s first resurrection. Jennifer Grail, Carter Decamp, and Kharrn are recurring characters in Rutledge’s work. Dracula should need no explanation. Mircalla “Carmilla” Karnstein is from J. Sheridan Le Fanu’s “Carmilla.” The Ruthvenian is a tome of vampire lore from the connected works of Donald F. Glut. Judge Pursuivant is one of Manly Wade Wellman’s occult detectives. The Vampiricon is mentioned in the Pursuivant stories. Wade Griffin and Charon are from James A. Moore and Rutledge’s Griffin and Price series, in which Decamp is a supporting character. Dracula’s Revenge had Jen and Decamp fighting Dracula alongside the Frankenstein Monster, who had adopted his creator’s first name, Victor.

This crossover is one of over a thousand covered in my book Crossovers Expanded: A Secret Chronology of the World Volume 3, coming this summer from Meteor House! All three volumes are AUTHORIZED companions to Win Scott Eckert's Crossovers: A Secret Chronology of the World Volumes 1 and 2!

Crossover of the Week

Summer 1967

YORKSHIRE STONES AND AMERICAN BARONS 

A Colonel and Sergeant summon Johnny Rich and May. The Colonel says the third Baron Tennington is in danger, but Johnny corrects him, saying that he has been dead for centuries, that one of his ancestors was familiar with the 11th Baron in 1795, and that the Colonel is talking about Stephen Tennington, the third Baron Darrowby. Johnny’s father mentored him in occult matters. May, who is of Manchu and English descent and has a contentious relationship with her grandfather and mother, dons a shooter’s vest with over a dozen small pockets, a smaller version of one worn by one of Johnny’s relatives, an adventurer of some note in the past. Their enemy, Jill Pole, is a Pict who worships the Moon-Woman. Johnny carries a sword cane whose silver blade, supposedly one of several forged by St. Dunstan, bears the inscription, “Sic pereant omnes inimici tui,” or “Thus perish all your enemies.” Johnny and May encounter another of the Moon-Woman's subjects, Thun Bronze Spear, son of Ka-Nu, son of Ka-Nu, who mentions King Bran and Gonar the Ancient. Johnny knows a French Japanese criminal who frequently uses grappling hooks in his thefts. 

Short story by Frank Schildiner in Johnny Rich, Pro Se Productions, 2018. The Colonel and Sergeant are Colonel Ross and Harry Palmer from Len Deighton’s spy novels. George Edward Rutherford, the 11th Baron Tennington, is from Philip José Farmer’s Tarzan Alive. The 11th Baron, who was present at the Wold Newton meteor strike in 1795, has several famous descendants, including Lord Greystoke and Professor Challenger. Darrowby, Yorkshire is from James Herriot’s It Shouldn’t Happen to a Vet. Johnny Rich’s father is Dennis Wheatley’s occult adventurer the Duke de Richleau. May’s grandfather is Fu Manchu, and her mother is the Devil Doctor’s daughter Fah Lo Suee. Johnny’s relative is a certain golden-eyed pulp superman. The Moon-Woman is from Robert E. Howard’s Bran Mak Morn story “Worms of the Earth.” Ka-Nu is from Howard’s Kull stories. Gonar is from the Bran Mak Morn stories. Two of St. Dunstan’s other silver blades are carried by Manly Wade Wellman’s occult detectives Judge Pursuivant and John Thunstone. The French Japanese criminal is Monkey Punch’s manga character Lupin III, the grandson of Maurice Leblanc’s gentleman thief Arsène Lupin. 

This crossover writeup is one of hundreds included in my book Crossovers Expanded: A Secret Chronology of the World Volume 3, which will be published by Meteor House! All three volumes are AUTHORIZED companions to Win Scott Eckert's Crossovers: A Secret Chronology of the World Volumes 1 and 2!

Crossover Cover: Willow He Walk

 

Are you a Manly Wade Wellman fan?

Then you'll love his story in this program, "Willow He Walk," featuring his character Lee Cobbett, which has references to two of his other occult investigators, Judge Pursuivant and Silver John!

For more information, be sure to pick up a copy of my book Crossovers Expanded: A Secret Chronology of the World Volume 3 when Meteor House publishes it! All three volumes are AUTHORIZED companions to Win Scott Eckert's Crossovers: A Secret Chronology of the World Volumes 1 and 2! Incidentally, Win also masterfully completed the unfinished fourth novel in Philip Jose Farmer's Secrets of the Nine saga, The Monster on Hold, an excerpt from which also appeared in this program!

Crossover of the Week

September-October 2012

A HELL WITHIN 

Sheriff Carl Price and mercenary turned private eye Wade Griffin combat a series of killings committed by a demon summoned by a madman. Griffin asks their ally, occult expert Carter Decamp, if Kharrn’s weapons can stop a demon, and if this has anything to do with the Moon-Eyes or the Old Ones. Carl and Griffin are aided by psychometrist Cindy Kane, whose father is also a medium. Decamp gives Griffin a demon-detecting compass once belonging to Thomas Carnacki. Decamp and his apprentice Charon, Griffin’s girlfriend, have brunch at a waffle house recommended to Decamp by an associate, Deacon Chalk. Browsing Decamp’s library, Cindy recognizes a lot of volumes that her father and Decamp’s mutual friend Adam has in his own collection, including Kirowan’s Myths of the Little People. Decamp possesses a silver-edged sword that once belonged to another occult investigator. Carl is attacked by Hellhounds, which are described as “the Black Dogs, Old Shuck, and the great beasts of the Baskervilles.” 

Novel by James A. Moore and Charles R. Rutledge, 2018. Kharrn is an immortal barbarian featured in several of Rutledge’s works. The Great Old Ones are from the Cthulhu Mythos of H. P. Lovecraft. Carl and Griffin encountered one of the Great Old Ones, Shub-Niggurath, in their first appearance, Blind Shadows. Cindy Kane’s father is Elliot Kane, a medium and friend of Dr. Adam Spektor in Donald F. Glut’s comic book The Occult Files of Dr. Spektor. Thomas Carnacki is from William Hope Hodgson’s Carnacki, the Ghost-Finder. “Occult bounty hunter” Deacon Chalk is the protagonist of a series of novels by James R. Tuck. Kirowan is Robert E. Howard’s occult detective John Kirowan, who encountered the Little People in “The Children of the Night.” Blind Shadows implied Decamp’s sword was the same one once wielded by Manly Wade Wellman’s character Judge Keith Hilary Pursuivant. The great beasts of the Baskervilles are a reference to Doyle and Watson’s Sherlock Holmes novel The Hound of the Baskervilles. 

This crossover writeup is one of hundreds included in my book Crossovers Expanded: A Secret Chronology of the World Volume 3, to be published by Meteor House! As with the first two, this volume is an official and AUTHORIZED companion to Win Scott Eckert's Crossovers: A Secret Chronology of the World Volumes 1 and 2!

Crossover Cover: Chastel

Are you a fan of Manly Wade Wellman's Judge Pursuivant?

Then you'll love the crossover in this anthology where he works with another of Wellman's occult detectives, Lee Cobbett!

For all the details, check out Crossovers Expanded Vols. 1 and 2, my AUTHORIZED companions to Crossovers: A Secret Chronology of the World Vols. 1 and 2 by Win Scott Eckert!

Crossover Cover: Hoofs

In this story by Manly Wade Wellman, John Thunstone tells Countess Monteseco he has to catch a plane to investigate a case with Judge Pursuivant.

Crossover Cover: Casting the Stone

In John Pocsik's contribution to this 1964 Arkham House anthology, an occultist’s library includes The Book of Eibon, Cultes des Goules, Judge Pursuivant’s Vampiricon, and John Thunstone’s Myth Patterns of the Shonokins. The Book of Eibon and Cultes des Goules are tomes associated with the Cthulhu Mythos, and were created by Clark Ashton Smith and Robert Bloch respectively. Judge Keith Hilary Pursuivant is the protagonist of a series of stories by Manly Wade Wellman; The Vampiricon is mentioned in the Pursuivant stories. John Thunstone is another Wellman hero, who sometimes battled the man-like creatures known as the Shonokins; however, the book Myth Patterns of the Shonokins is Pocsik’s invention.

Crossover of the Week

October 31, 1921

THE GOTTERDAMMERUNG GAVOTTE

Charles St. Cyprian and Ebe Gallowglass team up with a group of occult detectives to prevent the Great Old Ones from being unleashed upon the world. Appearing or mentioned are: Semi Dual; No. 472 Cheyne Walk; Harley Warren; John Silence; Ravenwood; Sar Dubnotal; de Grandin; Thunstone; Pursuivant; Ms. Crerar; Kirowan; Zarnak; Thomas Carnacki; the Nameless One; a Tibetan lama with an unhealthy fascination for the color green; the Third Ritual of Hloh; Tserpchikopf; the Great Detective; the Hog; the Shambler; the Walker; the Lurker; the Yimghaz Sign; fire vampires; the dust of Ibn Gazi; Naacal; Thorne; openers and closers; the Drones Club; and Captain Drummond.

Story by Josh Reynolds in The Lovecraft eZine #18, Mike Davis, ed., October 2012. Semi Dual is an occult detective created for the pulps by J. U. Giesy. Thomas Carnacki is from William Hope Hodgson’s collection Carnacki the Ghost-Finder. Carnacki lives at No. 472 Cheyne Walk. The Hog is from the Carnacki story of the same name. Harley Warren appears in H. P. Lovecraft’s “The Statement of Randolph Carter,” and is mentioned in “The Silver Key” and “Through the Gates of the Silver Key.” The Naacal language is also from “Through the Gates of the Silver Key.” John Silence is from Algernon Blackwood’s collection of the same name. Ravenwood was the hero of a series of stories by Frederick C. Davis in the pulp magazine Secret Agent X; the Nameless One is Ravenwood’s Tibetan mystic mentor. The Sar Dubnotal was the subject of a French pulp series by an anonymous author who may have been Norbert Sevestre. Tserpchikopf is one of the mystic’s foes. Jules de Grandin is an occult detective created by Seabury Quinn. John Thunstone is the hero of a series of stories by Manly Wade Wellman, as is Judge Keith Hilary Pursuivant. Rowley Thorne is Thunstone’s archenemy. Ms. Crerar is Sheila Crerar, an occult detective appearing in stories by Ella Scrymsour. John Kirowan is a recurring character in the works of Robert E. Howard. Anton Zarnak is an occult investigator created by Lin Carter; his adventures have been continued by a number of other authors. The Tibetan lama is Kendell Crossen’s pulp hero the Green Lama. The Ritual of Hloh and the Yimghaz Sign are from “The Case of the Bronze Door,” one of Margery Lawrence’s stories about psychic detective Miles Pennoyer. The Great Detective is Sherlock Holmes, of course. The Shambler is a reference to Robert Bloch’s “The Shambler from the Stars.” The Walker is Ithaqua (aka the Wind-Walker), from August Derleth’s story of the same name. The Lurker is Lovecraft’s Nyarlathotep; the Lurker appellation is an allusion to Derleth’s The Lurker at the Threshold. Fire vampires are from Donald Wandrei’s story “The Fire Vampires.” The Dust of Ibn Gazi is from Lovecraft’s “The Dunwich Horror.” The openers and closers are from Roger Zelazny’s A Night in the Lonesome October; although the events of that novel have been placed in an alternate universe, there is nothing to prevent the Crossover Universe from having openers and closers of its own. The Drones Club is a recurring London gentlemen’s club in the interconnected works of P. G. Wodehouse. Captain Drummond is H. C. McNeile’s hero Hugh “Bulldog” Drummond.

Crossover Cover: The School of Darkness

John Thunstone and a number of allies (including Judge Pursuivant) battle Rowley Thorne at a symposium on American folklore.

Crossover of the Week

1930

FEAR FROM ABOVE

            Military intelligence officer Richard Knight battles vampires led by the Grandmaster, who once survived the fires of Mount Vesuvius, and who calls himself “Sir Fran…” before being shot at by Knight. The vampires kill all those aboard the ship Western Star, including Captain Edward “Evil” Larsen, the son of a sea captain with an explosive temper who traded in the Pacific, and was often accused of piracy in whispers. Knight consults a judge who is an expert on the occult about vampires.

            Short story by Frank Schildiner in The New Adventures of Richard Knight, Tommy Hancock, ed., Pro Se Productions, 2012. Richard Knight appeared in stories by Donald E. Keyhoe in the pulp magazine Flying Aces. The Grandmaster is Sir Francis Varney from James Malcolm Rymer’s Varney the Vampire. Evil Larsen’s father is Wolf Larsen from Jack London’s novel The Sea-Wolf. The Judge is Manly Wade Wellman’s Judge Keith Hilary Pursuivant. All these connections bring Richard Knight into the CU. The Empire State Building is still under construction, placing this story in 1930 or early 1931.

Crossover Cover: The Gryphon King

In this fantasy novel by Tom Deitz, the items donated to the University of Georgia's Rare Book Library by Professor Charles Bowman-Smith include Judge Keith Hilary Pursuivant's Vampyricon and The Unknown That Terrifies. Since Manly Wade Wellman's occult detective Judge Pursuivant is in the CU, the events of this novel must take place there as well. Some of the characters from this book went on to appear in the later volumes of Deitz's David Sullivan series, bringing in those books as well.

Crossover of the Week

I covered James A. Moore and Charles Rutledge's book Blind Shadows in a previous post. Today, I give you my write-up of its sequel.

Late August 2012

CONGREGATIONS OF THE DEAD

            Sheriff Carl Price and Wade Griffin battle the Reverend Lazarus Cotton and his congregation of vampires. Price and Griffin’s ally Andy Hunter refers to an old colleague of his named Crowley. Another ally, Carter Decamp, reminds Griffin that he said that the Great Old Ones only have limited power on Earth because our reality is naturally resistant to supernatural forces. Griffin’s girlfriend Charon recognizes copies of Unspeakable Cults and the Ruthvenian in Decamp’s personal library of occult texts. Decamp says that he only knows of two other surviving copies of the Ruthvenian, a book of lore and spells dealing with vampires, both of which are in the possession of a colleague of his. Charon remarks that she thought the Ruthvenian was a myth like Alhazred’s Necronomicon, but Decamp indicates that the Necronomicon may not be mythical. Charon notes that Pursuivant’s Vampiricon suggests garlic as a means of repelling vampires.

            Novel by James A. Moore and Charles R. Rutledge, Arcane Wisdom Press, 2013. Jonathan Crowley is a recurring character in Moore’s fiction. The Great Old Ones are at the center of H.P. Lovecraft’s Cthulhu Mythos; Price and Griffin battled one of the Old Ones, Shub Niggurath, in their first appearance, Blind Shadows. The Necronomicon, penned by Abdul Alhazred, also plays a prominent role in the Mythos. Friedrich von Juntz’s Unspeakable Cults (or Unaussprechlichen Kulten in the original German) is a Cthulhu Mythos tome created by Robert E. Howard. The Ruthvenian is a recurring book in the interconnected fiction of Donald F. Glut. Decamp’s colleague who owns the other two surviving copies of the book is Dr. Adam Spektor, from Glut’s comic book series The Occult Files of Doctor Spektor. The Vampiricon was authored by Manly Wade Wellman’s occult detective Judge Keith Hilary Pursuivant, and is mentioned in the Pursuivant stories.

 

Crossover Covers: Blind Shadows

In this novel by James A. Moore and Charles R. Rutledge, set in Wellman, Georgia, Sheriff Carl Price and his friend, private investigator Wade Griffin, join forces to avenge the death of a mutual friend, and ultimately find that the murder had supernatural connections. Price and Griffin’s ally Carter Decamp owns a silver-edged blade etched with Latin words, which once belonged to an old family friend, a judge from North Carolina. This is a reference to Manly Wade Wellman's occult detective Judge Keith Hilary Pursuivant. The town of Wellman was named after the author, while Carter Decamp's name is a tribute to writers Lin Carter and L. Sprague de Camp. Another comrade of Price and Griffin, Andy Hunter, calls an occult expert named Jonathan Crowley seeking help in identifying the charms on a necklace. Crowley appears in other novels by James A. Moore. Decamp was given a first edition of Malleus Maleficarum as a gift by his friend Adam, who is meant to be Dr. Adam Spektor from Donald F. Glut's comic book The Occult Files of Doctor Spektor. Decamp also owns the bound manuscript for an unpublished book on demons written by a doctor named Trowbridge. This is a reference to Dr. Samuel Trowbridge, the sidekick of Seabury Quinn's occult investigator Dr. Jules de Grandin. It is revealed that the death of Griffin and Price’s friend was orchestrated by the Blackbourne family, who are attempting to bring Shub Niggurath, one of the Great Old Ones of H.P. Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos, into this universe. Price and Griffin returned in Moore and Rutledge's Congregations of the Dead, which I may cover at some point.

Crossover of the Week

October 31, 1911

THE SWINE OF GERASENE

            Sâr Dubnotal and John Silence view a house that is said in Kraighten to be built by the Devil. Silence refers to two other psychic sensitives, a young girl in the Highlands named Crerar and a fellow named Vance in London. Dubnotal says that Count Magnus is no Crowley or Karswell, to be taunted. An Oxford don of Silence’s acquaintance has theorized that Magnus is a 17^th century mystic of ill-repute, while an elderly theatre owner in London claims that Magnus is the same individual who led the Tong of the Black Scorpion to its destruction in Queen Victoria’s day. Magnus’ Brotherhood of Gerasene has abducted Thomas Carnacki, the Ghost-Finder, who rescued a man named Baines from their dark plans. Magnus tells the assembled Brotherhood that they will bring their master, the Hog, over the border on which the house sits. Magnus says that he has made the Black Pilgrimage. A group of swine-things attack Dubnotal and Silence; the latter counters one with the Voorish Sign. Dubnotal possesses a cane that conceals a silver blade, inspired by his meeting with an American named Pursuivant. Dubnotal says that Doctor Omega warned him about Magnus, whom he calls “Greel.” Silence suggests using the the Incantation of Raaaee or the Saaamaaa Ritual against the Hog. Dubnotal takes out a sliver of the gem known as the Blood of Belshazzar, which was retrieved from the fire column of Kor. Dubnotal says that the flames of the Faltine lurk within the sliver.

            Short story by Josh Reynolds in Tales of the Shadowmen Volume 10: Esprit de Corps, Jean-Marc and Randy Lofficier, eds., Black Coat Press, 2013. The Sâr Dubnotal was the title character of a French pulp series by an anonymous author. John Silence is from Algernon Blackwood’s titular collection of stories. The house, Kraighten, and the swine-things are from William Hope Hodgson’s The House on the Borderland. Thomas Carnacki, Baines, the Hog, the Incantation of Raaaee, and the Saaamaa Ritual are from Hodgson’s collection Carnacki the Ghost-Finder. Sheila Crerar appeared in stories by Ella Scrymsour, while Aylmer Vance is an occult detective created by Alice and Claude Askew. Count Magnus is from M.R. James’ short story of the same name, as are the Oxford don (Mr. Wraxall) and the Black Pilgrimage. Reynolds conflates Magnus with Magnus Greel from the Doctor Who episode “The Talons of Weng-Chiang,” which is also the source of the elderly theatre owner (Henry Gordon Jago) and the Tong of the Black Scorpion. Although most of the Doctor’s exploits take place in an alternate reality to the Crossover Universe, Jean-Marc and Randy Lofficier’s translation and adaptation of Arnould Galopin’s Doctor Omega implies that Omega is the Doctor’s CU counterpart. Greel most likely assumed the identity of the real Count Magnus de la Gardie, who may be distantly related to the Delagardie branch of the Wold Newton Family. Karswell is the villain of another M.R. James story, “Casting the Runes.” The Voorish Sign is from Lovecraft’s “The Dunwich Horror.” Judge Keith Hilary Pursuivant is from the works of Manly Wade Wellman. The Blood of Belshazzar is from Robert E. Howard’s Cormac Fitzgeoffrey story of the same name. Kor is the homeland of H. Rider Haggard’s Ayesha, She-Who-Must-Be-Obeyed. The Faltine are from the tales of Marvel Comics’ Sorcerer Supreme, Doctor Strange.