An Improbable Truth: The Paranormal Adventures of Sherlock
Holmes is a new anthology edited by A.C. Thompson
arriving October 27th. Within its pages, 14 authors share their supernatural
stories featuring Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson. What collection of mythical
mysteries would be complete without a vampire story? I took it upon myself to
ensure that the bloodsuckers would be represented.
In my short story, A
Voice in the Blood, I set Holmes and Watson headlong into the case of a
mysterious murder, missing memories, and mesmerized manipulations. As this
anthology is about the paranormal, the killer is actually a vampire and not an
elaborate ruse. (No Scooby-gang unmaskings here!) Here’s just a small taste.
The woman bared her teeth and licked her lips as she
crouched preparing to leap our way. Two men emerged from around a corner
running towards her. One stabbed the woman from behind through her chest with a
piece of kindling, while the other wielded a blade, slashing orange in the
light of the new bonfires. The woman’s head fell from her body which collapsed
lifeless to the ground.
It was only when the men spoke that I realized who had saved us. “Lestrade,” said Sherlock, “take this creature to the bonfire. I shall see to the victim.”
An Improbable Truth
is full of stories of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson encountering supernatural
events and creatures. Even still it might shock some readers to see Holmes (and
Lestrade!) felling a vampire. I contend that Sherlock is no fool and his mind
is open to all possibilities as well as being versed in folklore. Granted, he
would attempt at first to find any logical, scientific reason for an encounter,
but as the irrefutable evidence piles up, even he would agree to accept the
improbable truth.
I have a particular fondness for Victorian gaslight
mysteries whether they feature Sherlock Holmes, Dracula, Jack the Ripper, and
beyond. Sadly, the only canon tale by Arthur Conan Doyle in which Holmes and
Watson take a case to investigate a vampire is The Adventure of the Sussex Vampire. This was a stirring case,
however the vampiric attacks have a mundane and rational explanation rather
than a supernatural one.
Other Holmes adventures referenced characters who were
vampiric in nature but not supernatural bloodsuckers, such as The Adventure of the Illustrious Client
and The Adventure of the Three Gables.
Those tales have been collected in VAMPIRE STORIES by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle,
along with stories Doyle wrote which do not feature the famous detective. While
it may be a stretch to connect all of the stories in that anthology to
vampires, the stories are intriguing and one can see the influence of the many
different types of vampires in the tales. The real jewel of the anthology,
however, is the bibliography that catalogs the vast number of pastiches that
bring Holmes, Watson, and even Mycroft face-to-face with supernatural vampire
fiends, including Dracula himself.
Quite possibly the greatest of all Victorian vampire mashups
is the epic alternate historical novel Anno Dracula by Kim Newman.
This tale set during the Ripper murders of 1888 has Queen Victoria married to
Count Dracula and London plunged into darkness. While Sherlock is sequestered
away, Mycroft and fellows of his Diogenes Club attempt to solve the Whitechapel
murders, along with other luminaries such as Dr. Jekyll. I dare say that if
anyone wants to cash in on the steampunk craze and make up for the cinematic
failure of The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, then Hollywood should crack
open a copy of Anno Dracula and start
filming!
Another classic of the genre is Sherlock Vs.
Dracula by Loren D. Estleman.
This is the template of most tales featuring the two most famous characters of
Victorian literature. It plays out essentially as a retelling of Bram Stoker’s DRACULA with Sherlock investigating the
mysterious schooner Demeter running aground, and following the case to its
inevitable conclusion.
The inimitable Fred Saberhagen gave us two collaborations
between Dracula and Holmes, but in these, Dracula helps with the cases Holmes
in investigating.
The Holmes-Dracula File is a
pastiche that dares to shed light on the mysterious Giant Rat of Sumatra,
mentioned in Doyle’s The Adventure of the
Sussex Vampire. When a plot is discovered by Holmes to unleash a plague of
rats at Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee, he seeks help from someone also known
for their plagues — and ability to control rats — Count Dracula.
Seance for a Vampire by Fred
Saberhagen is possibly the most original crossover. It deals with Holmes being
asked to expose a fraudulent séance, only to discover that the dead person
being contacted is now actually a vampire. Holmes and Watson once again turn to
Dracula for help.
I’ll wrap up by discussing two of my favorite comic book
crossovers of Sherlock and Dracula. Victorian Undead II by Ian
Edginton follows a similar trope as Sherlock Vs.
Dracula but brings its own twists and turns, plus the
artwork is full of ghastly gaslight goodness.
In Scarlet in Gaslight by Martin Powell & Seppo
Makinen, Professor Moriarty brings Dracula to London in order
to finally defeat his foe Sherlock Holmes. Moriarty gets more than he bargained
for, however. Eventually Van Helsing intervenes and helps Sherlock bring an end
to both villains.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Dan
Shaurette is a goth-geek and fan of vampires ever since seeing Bela Lugosi’s
“Dracula” as a young child. He is the author of the novella, LILITH'S LOVE, and
editor of the vampire anthology, FRESH BLOOD. Former host and producer of the
Out of the Coffin podcast, he now writes and produces a serialized audio penny
dreadful for the HorrorAddicts.net podcast, entitled BLACK JACK, which centers
around Jack the Ripper.
SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Shaurette.Dan
Twitter: https://twitter.com/DanS42
Blog(s): http://www.DanShaurette.com
Tumblr:
YouTube/Instagram/other: https://horroraddicts.wordpress.com/
EXCERPT From “A Voice in the Blood” by Dan Shaurette
Billy laughed the peculiar cackle of a lunatic. “I’m not the
one who needs protection, but you’re too late. She already belongs to him.”
Chills ran down my spine. “Who do you mean? Is this her?” I
showed Barker a photograph of Mary and me from our wedding day.
“Poor, sweet lass. I dinna get her name, but yeah, that
looks like her. Your wife, is she?”
“Yes. Her name is Mary Watson. Where is she?” I demanded,
grabbing the man by the collar. Sherlock and Lestrade both lay calming hands on
my shoulder and I backed off.
He looked around nervously as if someone else was watching
or listening. “I’ll not speak his name or whereabouts aloud, but give me a pen
and paper, I will write down what I can.”
Lestrade fetched a fountain pen and a piece of paper from a
nearby desk and presented it to Barker. Billy wrote in earnest at first, then
he stopped and started to sob. His hands trembled as he mumbled something
whispered to himself.
Before anyone could stop him, he slashed at his own throat
with the nib of the pen. Blood gushed from his carotid artery and sprayed all
over himself, his paper, and me as I was the closest to him.
The small room was thrown into utter chaos. Gregson ran out
of the room to get help. Barker slumped over as he lost consciousness. I
applied pressure to the wound on his neck. It would do no good, however, as
within moments he was dead.
The note Barker had written was now smeared with blood and
ink. Holmes ignored the gory scene and took the note to a window to catch
better light so he could examine it. Before I could chastise him for his lack
of decorum, Holmes declared, “The only words I can discern presently are
‘Master’, ‘Porlock’, and ‘Restiturm’.”
BUY LINKS:
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