The Talamasca, sometimes known as the Order of the Talamasca, is a fictional

secret society A secret society is an organization about which the activities, events, inner functioning, or membership are concealed. The society may or may not attempt to conceal its existence. The term usually excludes covert groups, such as intelligence ag ...

featured in

Anne Rice Anne Rice (born Howard Allen Frances O'Brien; October 4, 1941 – December 11, 2021) was an American author of Gothic fiction, erotic literature, and Bible fiction. She is best known for writing ''The Vampire Chronicles''. She later adapted t ...

's '' Vampire Chronicles'' and '' Lives of the Mayfair Witches''

supernatural Supernatural phenomena or entities are those beyond the Scientific law, laws of nature. The term is derived from Medieval Latin , from Latin 'above, beyond, outside of' + 'nature'. Although the corollary term "nature" has had multiple meanin ...

horror novel series. It is described as a secret society set up to research, investigate, observe and monitor the paranormal, in particular,

vampire A vampire is a mythical creature that subsists by feeding on the Vitalism, vital essence (generally in the form of blood) of the living. In European folklore, vampires are undead, undead humanoid creatures that often visited loved ones and c ...

witch Witchcraft is the use of magic by a person called a witch. Traditionally, "witchcraft" means the use of magic to inflict supernatural harm or misfortune on others, and this remains the most common and widespread meaning. According to ''Enc ...

es, spirits and

werewolves In folklore, a werewolf (), or occasionally lycanthrope (from Ancient Greek ), is an individual who can shapeshift into a wolf, or especially in modern film, a therianthropic hybrid wolf–humanlike creature, either purposely or after bei ...

. Rice describes them as "

psychic detective A psychic detective is a person who purports to investigate crimes using paranormal psychic abilities. Claimed techniques and abilities have included postcognition (paranormal perception of the past), psychometry (information psychically gain ...

s". Many vampiric characters from Rice's novels once belonged to the Talamasca before accepting the "dark gift". Jesse Reeves,

David Talbot David Talbot (born September 22, 1951) is an American journalist, author, editor, activist and independent historian. Talbot is known for his books about the "hidden history" of U.S. power and the liberal movements to change America, as well a ...

and Merrick Mayfair are the best known of Rice's Talamasca characters. 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 artifacts of another world. This is especially clear in the Talamasca's secret search for the Taltos. 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.

History in Rice's works

Introduced in ''

The Queen of the Damned ''The Queen of the Damned'' (1988) is a vampire novel by American writer Anne Rice, the third in her ''The Vampire Chronicles'' series. It follows ''Interview with the Vampire'' and ''The Vampire Lestat''. This novel is a continuation of th ...

'' (1988), 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. In the novel ''

Prince Lestat ''Prince Lestat'' is a novel by American writer Anne Rice, the eleventh in ''The Vampire Chronicles'' series, published on October 28, 2014. Rice had originally stated the novel '' Blood Canticle'' was meant to conclude the series, but in March ...

'' it is revealed to the vampire

Pandora In Greek mythology, Pandora was the first human woman created by Hephaestus on the instructions of Zeus. As Hesiod related it, each god cooperated by giving her unique gifts. Her other name—inscribed against her figure on a white-ground '' ky ...

and Arjun that the founder of the Talamasca is the spirit Pandora encountered upon the death of

Cassiodorus Magnus Aurelius Cassiodorus Senator (c. 485 – c. 585), commonly known as Cassiodorus (), was a Christian Roman statesman, a renowned scholar and writer who served in the administration of Theodoric the Great, king of the Ostrogoths. ''Senato ...

. The leader at that time is David Talbot, who spearheaded its growth at the end of the twentieth century. 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 ''Interview with the Vampire'' is a gothic horror and vampire novel by American author Anne Rice, published in 1976. It was her debut novel. Based on a short story Rice wrote around 1968, the novel centers on vampire Louis de Pointe du Lac ...

'' (1976).

Television series

In April 2023, it was reported that

AMC AMC may refer to: Film and television * AMC Theatres, an American movie theater chain * AMC Networks, an American entertainment company ** AMC (TV channel) ** AMC+, streaming service ** AMC Networks International, an entertainment company *** ...

was developing a third

Immortal Universe ''Anne Rice's Immortal Universe'' is an American media franchise and shared universe centered on the 2020s AMC television series adaptations of Anne Rice's '' Vampire Chronicles'' and '' Lives of the Mayfair Witches'' supernatural horror novel ...

television series focused on the Talamasca.

John Lee Hancock John Lee Hancock Jr. (born December 15, 1956) is an American filmmaker. He is best known for directing the films '' The Rookie'' (2002), '' The Alamo'' (2004), '' The Blind Side'' (2009), '' Saving Mr. Banks'' (2013), '' The Founder'' (2016), '' ...

is attached to the project as showrunner and writer. '' The Talamasca'' had begun production by October 2024 and is set to premiere in 2025.

References

External links

* * {{Anne Rice The Vampire Chronicles Fictional elements introduced in the 1980s Fictional organizations Fictional secret societies