Robert E. Wronski Jr.'s Blog, page 22

Werewolf of London

Every Thursday I will be posting a chronology of excerpts from the Horror Crossover Encyclopedia regarding a different horror film or television series.  Today is the Werewolf of London.




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ANNO DRACULA (SERIES BY KIM NEWMAN)Release Date: 1992 - 2013 (so far) [Setting is 1888 -1991 (so far)]Series: Anno DraculaHorror 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.
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WEREWOLF OF LONDON (FILM)Release Date: 1935 (Contemporary Setting)Series: Werewolf of LondonThe Story: A famed wealthy botanist, Wilfred Glendon, is attacked by a werewolf after which he finds he has himself been transformed into a werewolf as well.
Notes: This film has several later crossovers which you will find if you continue reading. This film has been “non-cross” referenced in such films as She-Wolf of London, The Howling, and The Cabin in the Woods.

RETURN OF THE WOLF MAN (NOVEL BY JEFF ROVIN)Release Date: 1998 (Contemporary Setting)Series: Wolf Man (Universal)Horror Crosses: Frankenstein (Universal); Dracula (Universal); White Zombie; The Deadly Mantis; The Monolith Monsters; Werewolf of London; Creature from the Black Lagoon; Man Made Monster; The Mad Monster; Night Key; Invisible Man (Universal); Mummy (Universal)Non-Horror Crosses: Abbott and CostelloThe Story: Caroline Cooke inherits a castle in LaMirada, Florida. The town ends up soon being threatened by a monster as Larry Talbot has returned, after having been frozen in suspended animation for 50 years.Notes: This novel brings together pretty much all of Universal Horror into the Horror Universe, and is a sequel to Abbott and Costello meet Frankenstein. Both Talbot and the Frankenstein monster had been in suspended animation in LaMirada for the past 50 years, negating the possibility of any Talbot or Monster appearances being related to the Universal characters during that time frame.

THE DEVIL’S BROOD (NOVEL BY DAVID JACOBS)Release Date: 2000 (Contemporary Setting)Horror Crosses: Werewolf of London; Frankenstein (Universal); Dracula (Universal); Wolf Man (Universal); Invisible Man (Universal); Black CatNon-Horror Crosses: Fantastic FourThe Story: All the monsters rise...Notes: Sequel to Jeff Rovin’s Return of the Wolf Man. Note that Latveria is mentioned, the nation ruled by Doctor Doom, foe of the Fantastic Four. We can assume that a version of the Fantastic Four must exist in the Horror Universe, though they likely operated only for a brief period in the early 1960s.
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THE DEVIL’S NIGHT (NOVEL BY DAVID JACOBS)Release Date: 2001 (Contemporary setting)Horror Crosses: Werewolf of London; Dracula (Universal); Frankenstein (Universal)The Story: Direct continuation of events from Jacobs’ Devil’s Brood. Notes: Less crossovers. This is the final in the “official” Universal series.

SCARY MONSTERS MAGAZINE # 53 “THE CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON VS. THE WOLF MAN” (DENNIS DRUKTENIS PUBLISHING)Release Date: January 2005 (Contemporary Setting)Series: Creature from the Black Lagoon; the Wolf Man (Universal)Horror Crosses: Werewolf of LondonThe Story: Larry Talbot continues to search for a cure. After failing to find any ancestors of Wilfred Glendon, he heads to the amazon and encounters the Gill-Man.Notes: The Gill-Man of this story may be the original Creature from the Black Lagoon, or another of the species. This Larry Talbot is the original Wolf Man, not one of his sons, since this occurs after Return of the Wolf Man. Wilfred Glendon was the Werewolf of London.
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MONSTER HUNTER NEMESIS (NOVEL BY LARRY CORREIA)Release Date: July 1, 2014 (Contemporary Setting)Series: Monster Hunter InternationalHorror Crosses: Lovecraft’s Cthulhu Mythos; Werewolf of LondonThe Story: Agent Franks is a Frankenstein-like monster who works for the government, and in this instance, is dealing with a cult trying to raise an Old One.Notes: There are several Lovecraftian references. Additionally, there is poison that can disable werewolves. It is a rare plant that only blooms in difficult to reach mountains under a full moon. This would be the Mariphasa plant from the Werewolf of London.
For more crossovers, check out the list of subjects in the right hand side of this page. And you can purchase the Horror Crossover Encyclopedia at Amazon in print and Kindle editions.

The Black Cat

Every Thursday I will post excerpts from the Horror Crossover Encyclopedia regarding a specific film or television series.  For more crossover goodness (horror or otherwise), check out the sidebar on the right hand side of this blog for more blog post subjects as well as where to buy the Horror Crossover Encyclopedia.

ANNO DRACULA (SERIES BY KIM NEWMAN)Release Date: 1992 - 2013 (so far) [Setting is 1888 -1991 (so far)]Series: Anno DraculaHorror 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.
THE GAME OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN (BOARD GAME)Release Date: 2004Series: League of Extraordinary GentlemenHorror Crosses: Every Horror Cross from League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, plus Sweeney Todd; the Black Cat; Lovecraft’s Cthulhu Mythos; Frankenstein (novel); Carmilla; The Legend of Sleepy Hollow; The Island of Doctor MoreauNon-Horror Crosses: See NotesThe Story: This game is an extension of the story from the graphic novel.Notes: First, let me mention this is the first board game to be brought into the Horror Universe as a legit crossover. This game is meant as an expansion of the world created by the graphic novel. Thus it includes everything from the book, plus the crosses above. See Jess Nevins’ annotations for more on the non-horror crosses which are just too numerous to list here.
A BOOK OF WIZARDS “SORCERER CONJURER WIZARD WITCH” (SHORT STORY BY KIM NEWMAN)Release Date: April 2008 (Setting is 1933)Series: Diogenes ClubHorror Crosses: Lovecraft’s Cthulhu Mythos; Dracula (novel); Carnacki Ghost Finder; Chandu the Magician; The Magician; Rosemary’s Baby; A Visit to Anselm Oakes; The Black Cat; Casting the Runes; The Picture of Dorian Gray; Varney the Vampyre; Pandora and the Flying Dutchman; The Department of Queer Complaints; Green Tea; Carmilla; The Vampyre; Dr. Silence; The Dream Detective; The Secrets of Dr. Taverner; Some Ghost StoriesNon-Horror Crosses: Sherlock Holmes; Fu Manchu; Fantomas; Arsene Lupin; Kim Newman’s works; Decline and Fall/Return of the Native; Dr. Nikola; Doctor Who; The Man Who Would Be King; Blandings Castle Saga; Henry Merrivale; Bulldog Drummond; The Green Archer; The Saint; Sexton Blake; Jeeves and Wooster; Hercule Poirot; Rebecca; Lord Peter Wimsey; Philo Vance; Miss Marple; The Hands of Mr. Ottermole; The Drones Club; The Duc de Richelieu; Harry DicksonThe Story: Charles Beauregard of the Diogenes Club becomes involved in a wizard war.Notes: All the crosses above have characters or things that either appear or are referenced in this story. As usual, Kim Newman packs another story chock full of crossover goodness. By now, I don’t think I need to explain Lovecraft’s Cthulhu Mythos or Dracula. Carnacki is the famed Ghost Finder. Chandu is the main character of a 1930s radio series and two film serials. Both the films and the radio series are considered different perspectives of the same series, so the Chandu of this tale is the character from both radio and film. The Magician is a 1908 novel by W. Somerset Maugham. It is a story loosely based on true life occultist Aleister Crowley. Rosemary’s Baby is a classic movie about a woman impregnated by the devil. A Visit to Anselm Oakes is another story featuring a character based on Crowley, this time written by Christopher Isherwood. The Black Cat is another classic horror film. Casting the Runes is a collection of ghost stories by Montague Rhodes James. The Picture of Dorian Gray is the classic tale of the man who was immortal, while his picture aged. Varney the Vampire aka the Feast of Blood is one of the earliest vampire tales. Pandora and the Flying Dutchman is a tale of of woman named Pandora (who isn’t the one with the box), who becomes involved in events involving the legendary ghost. The Department of Queer Complaints from Carter Dickson is a secret group that solves cases that are unusual and unexplained. Green Tea is a story by J. Sheridan le Fanu, the author of Carmilla. And speaking of which, Carmilla is of course one of the first vampire books to have survived to today. The Vampyre is the book which features Lord Ruthven, who not only likely wrote the Ruthvenian (the vampire bible) but may also have been Angelus aka Angel (real name Liam) from Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel. Dr. Silence is Algernon Blackwood’s occult detective. The Dream Detective is Sax Rohmer’s occult detective Morris Klaw. The Secrets of Dr. Taverner are the adventures of “the occult Sherlock Holmes”. And I wasn’t being funny with Some Ghost Stories. This is a reference to a collection of stories from Alfred McLelland Burrage. As for the non-horror crosses, there’s no way I’m going into all of those as well. Suffice to say, all of those series, like the horror crosses, are in the Horror Universe.
THE BLACK CAT (FILM)Release Date: 1934 (Contemporary Setting)Series: The Black CatThe Story: A lovely young couple find themselves victims to a mad scientist who worships Satan.
Notes: This film is very, very, very loosely based on Edgar Allan Poe’s story of the same name. Since they are different enough, it’s okay that both are brought in. Poe’s version is in via League of Extraordinary Gentlemen while Rovin’s Return of the Wolf Man brings the film in. In further entries, I don’t make a distinction between the film and story when listing them as crosses. This film has been “non-cross” referenced in such films and shows as Young Frankenstein, the Fallen Vampire, and Masters of Horror. It is also spoofed in the Rocky Horror Picture Show and Scary Movie 2.
THE DEVIL’S BROOD (NOVEL BY DAVID JACOBS)Release Date: 2000 (Contemporary Setting)Horror Crosses: Werewolf of London; Frankenstein (Universal); Dracula (Universal); Wolf Man (Universal); Invisible Man (Universal); Black CatNon-Horror Crosses: Fantastic FourThe Story: All the monsters rise...Notes: Sequel to Jeff Rovin’s Return of the Wolf Man. Note that Latveria is mentioned, the nation ruled by Doctor Doom, foe of the Fantastic Four. We can assume that a version of the Fantastic Four must exist in the Horror Universe, though they likely operated only for a brief period in the early 1960s.

Eleven Minutes Past Midnight on the Coldest Night in November: Gotham City in the TVCU

Part two of A Sense of Place, a four part series on fictional locations.
 Thanks to Robert E. Wronski Jr. and Ted Gregory, without whomthis article would be much less complete.  As Dennis O’Neil whispers, “Gotham City is Manhattan below Fourteenth Street at eleven minutes past midnight on the coldest night in November.” There’s no escaping the art deco gone wrong, nor the encroaching shadows and stumble-down sidewalks that all funnel toward crime. It’s a rotting city, and always has been. But there are heroes there, if you choose to look.  Take note: this is not a Batman blog. I will only be charting crossovers where Gotham City itself is the crossover. Gotham’s most famous citizens are a sideshow affair today.  December, 1940~“The Coming of Mr. Scarlet” in Wow Comics #1; story by Ed Herron and Jack Kirby
      Mr. Scarlet, pre-war mystery man, operates in Gotham City.  This Fawcett comic was the first named appearance of Gotham City in any comic, and appeared scant weeks before Batman #4 (the first appearance of the city in DC Comics) hit the stands.  September 1999~“No Place Like Home,” episode of Sabrina the Teenage Witch  After a rouge spell transforms them into penguins, Hilda asks Zelda if she’d like to “wreak havoc on Gotham city.”  August 2010~Psych: A Fatal Frame of Mind, by William Rabkin    
 While racing the Illuminati to find Excalibur, “psychic” detective Shawn Spencer and Burton “hairy jujube” Guster meet the apparent grandson of Flaxman Low. Shawn also has no idea who Lamont Cranston is. When captured by the Illuminati, Shawn searches for anything that could serve as a disguise. During the search, this conversation ensues.
"Criminals are a superstitious and cowardly lot, so my disguise must be able to strike terror into their hearts." Shawn said.
"What?" Gus said.
"Look around, Do you see anything that looks like a giant bat costume?" 
If Gus had been able to find a giant bat, he would have hit Shawn over the head with it. "That's not helping."
"Ask the citizens of Gotham City, I think you'll find they disagree." (233)
Given the crossovers with Flaxman Low and The Shadow, it seems rational to take this to mean Gotham City is a very real place.
2014~Kamen Rider Gaim
Zawame, a secret science city founded and run by the Yggdrasill Corporation, is modeled after Gotham City. It is here that Kamen Rider Gaim stands against the extra-dimensional Inves, and a feudal-like society.      
This is the same map of Gotham City that was developed for the Cataclysm crossover event. Considering how easily Gotham City was sealed off from the rest of the United States, it would seem that the Yggdrasill Corporation specifically prepared their science city for this eventuality. (And they would be proven wise, since that very thing happened.)
This brings in most, but not all, incarnations of Kamen Rider. To explain: Kamen Rider is much like a Japanese Doctor Who. There was a popular initial series which, in the end, was cancelled due to declining ratings. A few years later there was a desperate attempt to revive the franchise with a TV movie: a more somber take, with a fascinating version of the character, but tone-deaf execution killed the series until, years later, it was revived again with modern production values and a strong sense of continuity. Cling tight to the Doctor Who comparisons. It will ease you into this world.
“Classic Kamen Rider” took place, largely, in self-contained universes. Modern Kamen Rider, particularly since Kamen Rider W, has sought to build a cohesive Kamen Rider universe. All of the classic series Riders are brought in—in mildly modified forms—in a form much like the Justice Society of America. They are the elder statesmen of the masked hero culture, and travel the world to take on threats beyond the abilities of the younger Riders.
It’s essential to note that Kamen Riders are considered a pervasive urban myth. The series goes to great length to ensure the Riders are never particularly prevalent. Largely, they’re the domain of conspiracy theorist message boards. Occasionally a Rider will become known in his or her own city or school—W and Fourze in particular—but the wider world remains ignorant. Fourze, the series, dedicates a subplot to establishing why the police are never made aware of the monster attacks.   
If the Kamen Rider are not the premiere defenders of Japan, they are certainly the most numerous.
POTENTIAL FUTURES
c. 2020~“If Wishes Were Horses,” episode of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Buck Bokkai plays two seasons of Planetary Baseball for the Gotham City Bats.
2031~The Black Arrow: A Tale of the Resistance, by Vin Suprynowicz
   
The Black Arrow fights against the Ashcroft-Poindexter police state. The Arrow makes his home in Gotham City. There is no word on what has become of the city’s more famous vigilante.

Chandu the Magician

Every Thursday I will be posting excerpts from the Horror Crossover Encyclopedia relating to one particular horror series from television or film.


TALES OF THE SHADOWMEN VOLUME 4: LORDS OF TERROR “FOOL ME ONCE...” (SHORT STORY BY BILL CUNNINGHAM)Release Date: 2008 (Setting is 1928)Series: Tales of the ShadowmenHorror Crosses: Fascinax; Invisible Man (novel); Phantom of the Louvre; Dracula (novel); Chandu the MagicianNon-Horror Crosses: Sherlock Holmes; Harry Dickson; James Bond; John Carter; Sexton Blake; Fantomas; Doc Ardan; Fu Manchu; Dr. Mabuse; Callan; Nyctalope; Nine Unknown; ShadowThe Story: Harry Dickson is asked by M of Her Majesty’s Secret Service to take the case involving three murders and is soon assisted by Fascinax.
Notes: Fascinax is a French occult investigator. There is mention of Griffin’s bandages and glasses from the Invisible Man. Belphegor is mentioned, from the Phantom of the Louvre. Seward’s Sanitarium is mentioned from Bram Stoker’s Dracula. Roxor is mentioned, who is an enemy of Chandu the Magician. Dickson operates from Baker Street, residence of Sherlock Holmes. Professor Flax is also mentioned, a former foe of Dickson and Holmes. M here is probably the one after Mycroft Holmes, brother of Sherlock, and the one before Sir Miles Messervy from James Bond’s era. There is a mention of a U.S. Cavalry sword, likely (considering the context, the author, and the anthology) that of John Carter of Mars. Sexton Blake’s enemy M. Zenith is mentioned, as if Fantomas. Dr. Natas is also mentioned. Dr. Natas is from Doc Ardan: City of Gold and Lepers, and in the English translation was identified as Fu Manchu. Dr. Mabuse is also mentioned. He is the star of several silent films. Also mentioned are Callan (from the British television series) and the Leonid Zattan, enemy of the Nyctalope. The Nine Unknown are also mentioned. Though an immortal group secretly running the world, they are not so supernatural or horrific to be considered of the horror genre. Finally, Benedict Stark is mentioned, enemy of the Shadow, a hero of pulp and radio, who seems supernatural but in fact isn’t.
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CHANDU THE MAGICIAN (FILM)Release Date: 1932 (Contemporary Setting)Series: Chandu the MagicianThe Story: Frank Chandler learns how to use supernatural abilities in India, and goes forth to fight evil, particularly in this case the Egyptian villain Roxor.
Notes: This is the film based on the radio series. The radio series ran from 1931 to 1950, with the initial storyline being almost exactly the same of this film, except for changes due to medium format. Note how close in time the stories were told. Later Chandu stories really don’t make it clear if they are referring to the film or radio versions, and since both are so similar, I don’t consider them separate series. And like with King Kong, we can take the initial radio storyline and the first film and assume they are the same exact events, simply told from different perspectives. This film’s sequel is the 1934 Return of Chandu. It has been “non-cross” referenced in Masters of Magic (2008) and Grave Danger (2009). It has also been spoofed in two 1932 shorts: The Crystal Gazebo and Sham Poo, the Magician.
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A BOOK OF WIZARDS “SORCERER CONJURER WIZARD WITCH” (SHORT STORY BY KIM NEWMAN)Release Date: April 2008 (Setting is 1933)Series: Diogenes ClubHorror Crosses: Lovecraft’s Cthulhu Mythos; Dracula (novel); Carnacki Ghost Finder; Chandu the Magician; The Magician; Rosemary’s Baby; A Visit to Anselm Oakes; The Black Cat; Casting the Runes; The Picture of Dorian Gray; Varney the Vampyre; Pandora and the Flying Dutchman; The Department of Queer Complaints; Green Tea; Carmilla; The Vampyre; Dr. Silence; The Dream Detective; The Secrets of Dr. Taverner; Some Ghost StoriesNon-Horror Crosses: Sherlock Holmes; Fu Manchu; Fantomas; Arsene Lupin; Kim Newman’s works; Decline and Fall/Return of the Native; Dr. Nikola; Doctor Who; The Man Who Would Be King; Blandings Castle Saga; Henry Merrivale; Bulldog Drummond; The Green Archer; The Saint; Sexton Blake; Jeeves and Wooster; Hercule Poirot; Rebecca; Lord Peter Wimsey; Philo Vance; Miss Marple; The Hands of Mr. Ottermole; The Drones Club; The Duc de Richelieu; Harry DicksonThe Story: Charles Beauregard of the Diogenes Club becomes involved in a wizard war.Notes: All the crosses above have characters or things that either appear or are referenced in this story. As usual, Kim Newman packs another story chock full of crossover goodness. By now, I don’t think I need to explain Lovecraft’s Cthulhu Mythos or Dracula. Carnacki is the famed Ghost Finder. Chandu is the main character of a 1930s radio series and two film serials. Both the films and the radio series are considered different perspectives of the same series, so the Chandu of this tale is the character from both radio and film. The Magician is a 1908 novel by W. Somerset Maugham. It is a story loosely based on true life occultist Aleister Crowley. Rosemary’s Baby is a classic movie about a woman impregnated by the devil. A Visit to Anselm Oakes is another story featuring a character based on Crowley, this time written by Christopher Isherwood. The Black Cat is another classic horror film. Casting the Runes is a collection of ghost stories by Montague Rhodes James. The Picture of Dorian Gray is the classic tale of the man who was immortal, while his picture aged. Varney the Vampire aka the Feast of Blood is one of the earliest vampire tales. Pandora and the Flying Dutchman is a tale of of woman named Pandora (who isn’t the one with the box), who becomes involved in events involving the legendary ghost. The Department of Queer Complaints from Carter Dickson is a secret group that solves cases that are unusual and unexplained. Green Tea is a story by J. Sheridan le Fanu, the author of Carmilla. And speaking of which, Carmilla is of course one of the first vampire books to have survived to today. The Vampyre is the book which features Lord Ruthven, who not only likely wrote the Ruthvenian (the vampire bible) but may also have been Angelus aka Angel (real name Liam) from Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel. Dr. Silence is Algernon Blackwood’s occult detective. The Dream Detective is Sax Rohmer’s occult detective Morris Klaw. The Secrets of Dr. Taverner are the adventures of “the occult Sherlock Holmes”. And I wasn’t being funny with Some Ghost Stories. This is a reference to a collection of stories from Alfred McLelland Burrage. As for the non-horror crosses, there’s no way I’m going into all of those as well. Suffice to say, all of those series, like the horror crosses, are in the Horror Universe.
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THE RETURN OF CHANDU (FILM)Release Date: October 1, 1934 (Contemporary setting)Series: Chandu the MagicianThe Story: Chandu’s girlfriend is kidnapped by an Egyptian cult.Notes: This is a 12 part serial based on the radio show that was airing at the same time. This is a sequel to 1932’s Chandu the Magician. Though Bela Lugosi played Chandu’s foe Roxor in the first film, in this one Lugosi has taken over the role of Chandu. This serial was later repackaged as two films, The Return of Chandu and Chandu on the Magic Island. This film is later “non-cross” referenced in 1994’s Ed Wood.

REVENGE OF THE PROWLER # 3 “THE TRAIL OF CARMINE BONOXIDE/WHITE ZOMBIE” (ECLIPSE COMICS)Release Date: 1988 (Setting is 1941)Series: The ProwlerHorror Crosses: White Zombie; Chandu the Magician; Dracula (novel -- sort of)The Story: The Prowler is on a case that takes him to Haiti.Notes: The Prowler is a modern day creation set in the pulp era. In this tale, he once again faces his recurring foe, Murder Legendre, who is originally from the film White Zombie. This story also creates the revelation that Murder Legendre and Chandu the Magician are brothers. Chandu was the main character of a radio show and two film serials. In the second of the films, Chandu was played by Bela Lugosi, who also played Murder Legendre in White Zombie. A Reverend Van Helsing also appears, who must be related to the other Van Helsings who fight vampires, monsters, and other evils.
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THE HOUNDS OF HELL “LADY ARCANE: THE MISTRESS OF MAGIC” (SHORT STORY BY RON FORTIER)Release Date: 2005 (Setting is 1941)Series: Lady ArcaneHorror Crosses: Chandu the MagicianNon-Horror Crosses: Doc Savage; Femme NoirThe Story: An adventure of “Lady Arcane”, the beautiful stage magician heroine.Notes: Lady Arcane is an adventuress created by Ron Fortier. She is said to have been trained by Chandu the Magician, the hero of the classic radio series and film serials. Arcane’s father is an archaeologist whom during this story is said to be in Hidalgo with Doc Savage. Much of this story occurs in Port Nocturne, the locale of the webcomic Femme Noir, and the cast of that series appear. Though I don’t always like to include web material, for fear of having to try to pull in every fan fiction crossover out there, I don’t mind if the work has made its way from the web to the mainstream.

REVENGE OF THE PROWLER (ECLIPSE COMICS)Release Date: December 1988 (Contemporary Setting)Series: The ProwlerHorror Crosses: Chandu the MagicianNon-Horror Crosses: The Fighting Devil Dogs; The Rack Man; Sgt. Strike; Iron Ace; The RattlerThe Story: The Prowler and his apprentice must rescue the granddaughter of one of the Prowler’s friends. Notes: The Prowler is an 80s comic character whose adventures were mostly set in the golden age. The Prowler’s friend was one of the Fighting Devil Dogs from the film serial of the same name. In conversation, the Rack Man, Sgt. Strike, Iron Ace, the Rattler, and Chandu are mentioned. Hillman Comics published the adventures of Rack Man, Sgt. Strike and Iron Ace. The Rattler appeared in All-Thrill Comics. Chandu was the star of two film serials based on a radio series.
And in case you missed them, last week I posted regarding WHITE ZOMBIE and the previous week's subject was NOSFERATU.

And you can purchase the Horror Crossover Encyclopedia on Amazon.

WHITE ZOMBIE

Every Thursday I will be posting a chronology of excerpts from the Horror Crossover Encyclopedia that relates to television or film.

PROWLER # 2 - 4 “PROWLER: THE OFFICIAL ACCOUNT” (ECLIPSE COMICS)Release Date: 1987 (Setting is 1930)Series: ProwlerHorror Crosses: White ZombieThe Story: The Prowler takes on the villainous Murder Legendre.
Notes: Murder Legendre is the starring villain of the 1932 Universal horror film White Zombie. Murder Legendre was brought in via Jeff Rovin’s novel Return of the Wolf Man, and so now the Prowler is brought in. The Prowler is a retro 1930s vigilante, and Murder Legendre will be a featured recurring foe of the hero within his series.
WHITE ZOMBIE (FILM)Release Date; July 28, 1932 (Contemporary Setting)Series: White ZombieThe Story: In Haiti, a plantation owner wants another man’s fiance to marry him, and so enlists the assistance of voodoo master Murder Legendre, who turns the girl into a zombie.
Notes: Many writers seem to love using Murder Legendre as the villain in their stories. I wonder what kind of mother names her child “Murder”, though. Note that the zombies in this story are the traditional voodoo type zombies. These are people placed into a drug induced trance who appear to have died and been resurrected to become obedient slaves. This shouldn’t be confused with the type of zombie made famous by George Romero in fiction in which a deceased person is resurrected by some means (comet, radiation, gas, etc.) to become a flesh or brain eating monster. This film is followed by the 1936 sequel Revolt of the Zombies. This film was remade in 2009. The film is referenced in non-crossover ways in films such as Bride of the Monster, Vampire Hunter D, and Ed Wood.
REVENGE OF THE PROWLER # 1 “VAMPIRE MEAT” (ECLIPSE COMICS)Release Date: 1988 (Setting is 1933)Series: The ProwlerHorror Crosses: White Zombie; The Vampire BatThe Story: A vampire bat attack brings the Prowler to investigate a case that involves both Dr. Otto von Niemann and Murder Legendre.Notes: The Prowler is a vigilante hero created in the 1980s, but whose adventures take place in the 1930s. Murder Legendre is a recurring foe of his, but he is a villain who first appeared in the film White Zombie. Otto von Neimann was responsible for another similar scheme as the one in this tale in the film The Vampire Bat.
REVENGE OF THE PROWLER # 3 “THE TRAIL OF CARMINE BONOXIDE/WHITE ZOMBIE” (ECLIPSE COMICS)Release Date: 1988 (Setting is 1941)Series: The ProwlerHorror Crosses: White Zombie; Chandu the Magician; Dracula (novel -- sort of)The Story: The Prowler is on a case that takes him to Haiti.Notes: The Prowler is a modern day creation set in the pulp era. In this tale, he once again faces his recurring foe, Murder Legendre, who is originally from the film White Zombie. This story also creates the revelation that Murder Legendre and Chandu the Magician are brothers. Chandu was the main character of a radio show and two film serials. In the second of the films, Chandu was played by Bela Lugosi, who also played Murder Legendre in White Zombie. A Reverend Van Helsing also appears, who must be related to the other Van Helsings who fight vampires, monsters, and other evils.
PROWLER (ECLIPSE COMICS)Release Date: 1987 (Contemporary Setting)Series: ProwlerHorror Crosses: White Zombie; Dracula (novel)The Story: The Prowler comes out of retirement to once again face his enemy, Murder Legendre. Notes: The Prowler is a 1980s comic about a pulp era vigilante. Murder Legendre first appeared in the film White Zombie, but is also a recurring foe of the Prowler. One of the Prowler’s friends is Reverend Van Helsing. By now it’s well established I hope that any and all with that last name is of the same family.
RETURN OF THE WOLF MAN (NOVEL BY JEFF ROVIN)Release Date: 1998 (Contemporary Setting)Series: Wolf Man (Universal)Horror Crosses: Frankenstein (Universal); Dracula (Universal); White Zombie; The Deadly Mantis; The Monolith Monsters; Werewolf of London; Creature from the Black Lagoon; Man Made Monster; The Mad Monster; Night Key; Invisible Man (Universal); Mummy (Universal)Non-Horror Crosses: Abbott and CostelloThe Story: Caroline Cooke inherits a castle in LaMirada, Florida. The town ends up soon being threatened by a monster as Larry Talbot has returned, after having been frozen in suspended animation for 50 years.Notes: This novel brings together pretty much all of Universal Horror into the Horror Universe, and is a sequel to Abbott and Costello meet Frankenstein. Both Talbot and the Frankenstein monster had been in suspended animation in LaMirada for the past 50 years, negating the possibility of any Talbot or Monster appearances being related to the Universal characters during that time frame.
DARKEST HEART (NOVEL BY NANCY A. COLLINS)Release Date: September 16, 2002 (Contemporary Setting)Series: Sonja Blue (Sunglasses After Dark)Horror Crosses: White ZombieThe Story: In New Orleans, Sonja is dealing with split personality issues as her demonic side keeps taking control as a separate personality.Notes: A voodoo priestess’ library contains a copy of “Legendre’s Le Livre d’Absinthe”. This seems to be a reference to Murder Legendre from White Zombie.
THE KATRINA PROTOCOL (NOVEL BY JEAN-MARC AND RANDY LOFFICIER)Release Date: 2007 (Setting is August 2005)Series: Club Van HelsingHorror Crosses: Dracula (Bram Stoker); White Zombie; Brother Voodoo; Child’s Play; Tales of the Zombie; Revolt of the Zombies; Lovecraft’s Cthulhu Mythos; I Walked with a Zombie; Zombies on Broadway; Kolchak the Night Stalker; Buffy the Vampire Slayer; The Works of Stephen King; Charmed; The Legend of Sleepy Hollow; The Lives of the Mayfair Witches; The Body Snatchers (novel); Carnacki Ghost Finder; The Exorcist (novel); the ThingNon-Horror Crosses: Too Numerous to List. The Story: During Hurricane Katrina, Hugo Van Helsing must fight zombies raised by a voodoo priest.Notes: Hugo Van Helsing comes from the famous vampire hunting family, and his ancestors have met many famous figures of fiction, accounting for the large number of crossovers.
See also other blog posts regarding classic horror from the "golden age" of film:
Nosferatu
Dracula
Frankenstein
The Mummy
King Kong
And for even more horror crossovers, you can purchase the Horror Crossover Encyclopedia at Amazon in both paperback and Kindle editions!

Nosferatu

Every Thursday, I will be posting excerpts from the Horror Crossover Encyclopedia, relating to television or film.  Today, I've chosen the first film to show up in the book, Nosferatu.

Previously, I covered the Universal Dracula, one soul clone of Dracula-Prime.  This is about a different soul clone, and a different offshoot of vampire evolution that came from him.

TALES OF THE SHADOWMEN VOLUME 3: DANSE MACABRE “THE HEART OF THE MOON” (SHORT STORY BY MATTHEW BAUGH)Release Date: 2007 (Setting is 1790)Series: Tales of the ShadowmenHorror Crosses: Captain Kronos, Vampire Hunter (film); Vampire City (Paul Feval); Lovecraft’s Cthulhu Mythos; Nosferatu; The VampyreNon-Horror Crosses: Doctor Omega; Telzey Amberdon, Solomon Kane, Maciste (Silent Film Series); Maciste (Revival Sword and Sandal Film Series); Baron Munchhausen; Shadow Warriors; Doctor Who; Northwest Smth; Star or Psi Cassiopeia; The Black StoneThe Story: Doctor Omega and his companion Telzey Amberdon team up with Captain Kronos, Doctor Grost, Solomon Kane, and Maciste against an army of vampires in Selene, the infamous Vampire City.
Notes: Another great horror crossover tale from Black Coat’s Tales of the Shadowmen and author Matthew Baugh. Captain Kronos is from the cult classic 70s film. Vampire City is from author Paul Feval, a French novel reprinted and translated to English by Black Coat Press. Of course, the Lovecraft Mythos are the glue that binds the Horror Universe. Nosferatu is a classic film that was a very loose adaptation of Dracula (loose enough to be considered a separate story.) The Vampyre is one of the earliest vampire works in literature. Doctor Omega is a French novel that has been conflated in recent times in literature with the Doctor from Doctor Who. Since it’s been published, I consider the theory to be canon. Telzey Amberdon is from her own sci-fi series but here she is the Doctor’s companion. Solomon Kane is an immortal hero of literature, while Maciste is an immortal sword and sorcery hero from films. Originally he was featured in silent films, then decades later was revived in several Italian sword and sorcery films. Though separate series, the two versions are conflated here, so I consider both the same character. Shadow Warriors is a Japanese television series. All the horror crosses here are considered fully part of the Horror Universe, with all of their works as canon. As for the non-horror crosses, we can consider that their appearances listed in this book are canon, and perhaps their original appearances by their original authors or production companies, but that’s it. Non-horror crosses do not count as crossover connectors to expand the Horror Universe.
ANNO DRACULA (SERIES BY KIM NEWMAN)Release Date: 1992 - 2013 (so far) [Setting is 1888 -1991 (so far)]Series: Anno DraculaHorror 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 4: LORDS OF TERROR “NIGHT’S CHILDREN” (SHORT STORY BY STEVEN A. ROMAN)Release Date: 2008 (Setting is 1915)Series: Tales of the ShadowmenHorror Crosses: The Vampires; NosferatuThe Story: Irma Vep runs afoul of Count Orlock while trying to steal a painting in Paris for her master, the Great Vampire.Notes: Irma Vep is from the Vampires gang, from the serial Les Vampires. Count Orlock is the featured vampire of Nosferatu.
THE BLACK FOREST (IMAGE COMICS)Release Date: March 2004 (Setting is World War I)Series: The Black ForestHorror Crosses: Frankenstein (Novel); Frankenstein (Universal); Nosferatu; Dracula (Hammer)The Story: A german sub crew discovers the original Frankenstein creature in the Arctic, and employs its own mad scientist to duplicate the process to create an army for them to conquer the world (of course.) However, Dr. Dye (really, that’s his name) needs the original notebooks from Frankenstein’s castle. Meanwhile, an American (of course) pilot and a british occultist (of course) race to the castle to destroy the notes before Dye can get his hands on them.Notes: One could look at this book as extremely problematic or extremely fun. This book places the novels, the Universal films, the Hammer films, and the rip-off Nosferatu all in the same canon, despite them being very different versions of the same characters. But as you’ve seen if you’ve read these in order, I was up to the challenge. Of course, they include the novels via the original version of Frankenstein. But then they go and throw in an appearance of Visaria, the location of many of the Universal films. Meanwhile, British Intelligence is using the Chateau Meinster as their headquarters, which is from the Hammer film Brides of Dracula. And then Nosferatu is thrown in for good measure with a quick appearance. This graphic novel had a sequel, titled The Black Forest 2: Castle of Shadows, which seems to be crossover free, involving an army of apes this time around. Damn dirty apes.
NOSFERATU (FILM)Release Date: June 3, 1929 (Contemporary Setting)Series: NosferatuThe Story: The vampire Graf Orlok buys land in a small German village and begins to feed on his new neighbors until slain by his realtor’s wife.
Notes: This story is based on Dracula, but has enough changes to be a distinctly separate, and certainly later crossovers show Orlok is indeed a unique character. Whether Orlock is an original member of the Dracula cult or a soul clone is unknown for sure, but similarity of the events to the original novel makes me believe he may be a soul clone, which is why he carries out such a similar plan to Dracula’s. This film was remade in 1979 as Nosferatu the Vampyre. The film has been referenced many times in non-crossover ways in such films as the Fearless Vampire Killers, Cannibal Holocaust, and an American Werewolf in London. It has also been spoofed in many films such as the Rocky Horror Picture Show, Gremlins, and Vampire’s Kiss.
THE MAMMOTH BOOK OF VAMPIRES “DER UNTERGANG DES ABENDLANDES MENSCHEN” (SHORT STORY BY HOWARD WALDROP)Series: Broncho Billy; William S. HartHorror Crosses: Phantom of the Opera (film); the Cabinet of Dr. Caligari; NosferatuNon-Horror Crosses: Sherlock Holmes; Dr. Mabuse; What Price Glory?The Story: Silent film stars Broncho Billy and William S. Hart (aka Sherlock Holmes) arrive for adventure in Germany.Notes: This story is meant to invoke a silent film work, literally, with descriptions of flickering black and white landscape and periods of silence during action. However, we could easily ignore this as we do when we watch the silent films themselves that have made their way into the Horror Universe. Or perhaps Broncho Billy had gone quite mad during his years making silent films and believed himself to actually exist in one.
TALES OF THE SHADOWMEN VOLUME 6: GRAND GUIGNOL “J.C. IN ALPHAVILLE” (STORY BY JEAN-MARC LOFFICIER)Release Date: 2010 (Setting is 1944-1964)Series: Tales of the ShadowmenHorror Crosses: Nosferatu; Stephen King Universe (works of Stephen King)Non-Horror Crosses: Metropolis; Dr. Mabuse; Crisis on Infinite Earths; Alphaville; Gravity’s Rainbow; Mullartown; Last Year in Marienbad; La Invencion de Morel; The Castle; Michael Moorcock’s Multiverse; Chronicles of Amber; Wampus; Bunker Palace Hotel; Brazil; King Ubu; Bloom CountyThe Story: Four great super-villains who had worked to support Hitler see that the Third Reich is soon to fall and go off for ten years under new identities. Rotwang takes up the identity of Dominus Blicero in California. Leonard Orlok becomes Leonard Von Braun in France. M becomes Morel in Argentina. And Ohisver Muller goes to Turkey but keeps his own name. In 1954, they gather again with a plan to create four pocket realities of which to rule their own ways. Rotwang creates his Metropolis. M creates Marienbad. Muller created Mullartown. And Von Braun creates Alphaville.Notes: Ready? Orlock is stated to have had a vampire ancestor, referring to Nosferatu. When the mad scientists discuss the multiverse, there is mention of the reality of Stephen King’s Dark Tower series. Rotwang’s Metropolis dimension is from the silent film Metropolis. Thus, as far as the Horror Universe is concerned, that film takes place between 1954 - 1964 in an artificial pocket dimension. Dr. Mabuse is from a series of silent films. The Crisis on Infinite Earths was a 1985 - 1986 mini-series by DC Comics. In it, all of the infinite alternate realities were threatened. Every major DC Comics character appeared. In the end, the multiverse was destroyed and replaced with a single DC Universe. However, shortly after, it was shown that other realities did still exist, and actually only a finite number of realities (the DC ones) were mushed together, and even then, shadows of those previous versions still existed in Hypertime. But non-DC owned realities still had inter-company crossovers showing that the DCU was not alone. And some of those other realities had even shown that they were somehow affected. Companies like Marvel Comics would display that the Crisis did reach all the way to them, but had little effect. Thus, we can assume based on this story, since these scientists in 1954 were aware of the Crisis (which affected time as well as space), then the Horror Universe must have been one of those realities that was not destroyed but still felt the effects, at least briefly. So, having said all that, we should note that the external time/space anomalies may have reached the Horror Universe, but the DC characters in that series were all from their DC Comics realities, and not the Horror Universe, even if the Horror Universe does have some counterparts to DC Comics characters. Alphaville is a 1965 French black and white film about an alternate reality that combines film noir with science fiction. Rotwang’s alter ego as Blicero was the main foe of the novel Gravity’s Rainbow. Though published in 1973, it is set during that 1944 - 1954 period. Mullartown (aka the House of a Thousand Floors) is a 1929 novel by Jan Weiss about a man who wakes with amnesia in a place that isn’t quite right. Last Year at Marienbad is a 1961 French film that is also very bizarre, about a man who seems trapped in a dream-like reality. In The Invention of Morel, a fugitive in Polynesia finds his reality coming apart and doesn’t know if it’s food sickness or something else. The Castle is the setting of said castle in the novel of the same name and also the location where the agent who comes to stop the villains meets his contacts. Michael Moorcock has several comics.that occur in separate but interconnected realities. His multiverse is also mentioned, which implies that the Horror Universe is part of the same Omniverse as Moorcock’s multiverse and the DC Multiverse. The Chronicles of Amber is a series of fantasy novels, which are mentioned by the scientists as existing as an alternate reality in this multiverse. Wampus is a French comic book character, later brought into modern literature by Jean-Marc Lofficier. He also seems to exist in one of the alternate realities connected to the Horror Multiverse. Within the story, it’s shown that the Bunker Palace Hotel, from the 1989 French film of the same name, exists within the pocket dimension of Alphaville. The 1985 film Brazil is also shown to take place in the Alphaville pocket dimension. Meanwhile, King Ubu (Ubu Roi) is from a French improv play that originated in the 1890s. In this story, we find that he exists in the Outlands. This may be a reference to the short lived spin-off of the comic strip Bloom County. Oh, and yes, I just did a Crisis crossover!!!
BLOODSTONE (MARVEL COMICS)Release Date: 2001 - 2002 (Contemporary Setting)Series: BloodstoneHorror Crosses: The Frankenstein Monster (Marvel); the Living Mummy (Marvel); Tomb of Dracula; Nosferatu; Lovecraft’s Cthulhu MythosThe Story: Elsa Bloodstone is following in her father Ulysses’ footsteps. Aided by Adam (the Frankenstein Monster) and N’Kantu the Living Mummy, she first battles Dracula, then works with him against a greater threat presented by an army of Nosferatu type vampires. Notes: Ulysses Bloodstone was a monster hunter who first appeared in Strange Tales # 73 (February 1960). Elsa debuts with this mini-series. Though Marvel operates in “comic book time”, clearly the Bloodstone series characters aged in real time. The Frankenstein Monster here is Marvel’s version, who is likely not the original. N’Kantu is from another Marvel Monster series, the Living Mummy, and this cross finally brings in that series. The Dracula here then is naturally Marvel’s version as well, from Tomb of Dracula. Apparently Orlock is not the only one of his type of vampire, which bears out with further evidence of Orlock types in Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel. Elsa has inherited some items from her father, including a set of Neolithic scrying stones from the Leng Plateau and a Micronesian votive idol possibly of Dagon. Both the Leng Plateau and Dagon come from Lovecraft.
CRIMINAL MACABRE: TWO RED EYES # 1 - 4 (DARK HORSE COMICS)Release Date: December 20, 2006 - March 21, 2007 (Contemporary Setting)Series: Criminal Macabre/Cal McDonaldHorror Crosses: NosferatuThe Story: A menacing vampire comes to L.A. to be menacing, of course.Notes: Though not named, the vampire is clearly depicted to be Graf Orlock from the film Nosferatu.
THE DARKNESS VS. EVA, DAUGHTER OF DRACULA # 1 - 4 (TOP COW COMICS AND DYNAMITE ENTERTAINMENT)Release Date: March 1 - June 1, 2008 (Contemporary Setting)Series: The Darkness; Eva, Daughter of DraculaHorror Crosses: NosferatuThe Story: Eva is doing her slaying thing when she encounters the Darkness, who is having problems controlling his powers.Notes: The Darkness is already in due to crosses with Aliens, Predators, and Vampirella. Eva is one of many daughters of Dracula, but she is a vampire who kills vampires, and doesn’t even have the courtesy to pay royalties to Angel and Blade for stealing their act. Or at the very least, Vampirella. In this series, Eva seems to slay Orlok, or rather Graf von Orlock from Nosferatu, but don’t you believe he’s dead for good. This cross with Nosferatu brings in Eva to the Horror Universe.


CABIN IN THE WOODS (FILM)Release Date: April 13, 2012 (Contemporary Setting)Series: Cabin in the WoodsHorror Crosses: Alien; Half-Life; Evil Dead; Poltergeist; Frankenstein (Universal); Child’s Play; Creature from the Black Lagoon; Corpse Bride; Killer Klowns from Outer Space; Stephen King Universe; Killjoy; Devil’s Rejects; Clownhouse; Drive Thru; Funhouse; Amusement; Circus of Fear; Clown Camp; Demonic Toys; Demons; Night of the Demons; Supernatural; Charmed; Gremlins; Ghoulies; Creeps; Troll; Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde; Frankenstein (novel); Dr. Giggles; The Human Centipede; House on Haunted Hill; The Dead Pit; Buffy the Vampire Slayer; The Strangers; Underworld; Attack of the 50 Foot Woman; Troll Hunter; Anaconda; Python; Mega Snake; Snakes on a Plane; Resident Evil; Hellraiser; Cannibal Holocaust; Creepshow; Legend of Sleepy Hollow; Attack of the Jack-O-Lanterns; Pumpkinhead; Frankenfish; The Mummy! Or a Tale of the Twenty-Second Century; The Mummy (Universal); The Hills Have Eyes; Wrong Turn; Chernobyl Diaries; 28 Days Later; Signal; the Works of Quentin Tarantino; Left 4 Dead; Lovecraft’s Cthulhu Mythos; Re-Animator (film); Siren; The Exorcist; The Exorcism of Emily Rose; Reptillicus; Jurassic Park; Abomidible Bigfoot; The Legend of Boggy Creek; Ape Canyon; Curse of Bigfoot; Night of the Bloody Apes; Wendigo; Night Beasts; Night of the Scarecrow; Scarecrows; Husk; Scarecrow Gone Wild; The Scarecrows Walk at Midnight; The Town that Dreaded Sundown; The Craft; Witches of Eastwick; Hocus Pocus; Jack Frost; Hellboy (film); Rumplestilskin; Lephrechaun; Hansel and Gretel Witch Hunters; Gingerbread Man; The Vampyre; Dracula (novel); Nosferatu; The Wolf Man; An American Werewolf in London; The Howling; Wolf; Texas Chainsaw Massacre; Friday the 13th; Night of the Living Dead; Return of the Living Dead; F.E.A.R.; The Blob; Feast; Horrors of the Wendigo; Frostbiter; Ghost; Bram Stoker’s Dracula (film); The Cyclops; Cyclops Giant; Nightbreed; Leeches!; Attack of the Giant Leeches; Rows of Teeth; The Birds; Killing Birds; Birdemic: Shock and Terror; Silent Hill; Attack of the Killer Lane Gnomes; Alligator; Lake Placid; Them!; Legion of Fire: Killer Ants!; Ants; Empire of the Ants; King Kong; Centipede Horror; The Giant Claw; The Ring; Attack of the Giant Gila Monster; The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms; Tarantula; Eight Legged Freaks; Jaws; Frogs; Lord of Darkness; House of the Dead; The Grudge; Chopping Mall; BlinkyTM; The Kraken; Kraken: Tentacles of the Deep; Octopus; The Beast; Deep Rising; It Came From Beneath the Sea; Tentacles; Eye of the Beast; Mega Shark; Giant Octopus; Castle Freak; Tokyo Gore Police; Septic; Mutants; Ogre; Blood Pool; Legend of the Ogre; Killing Floor; Little Shop of Horrors; The Breed; Hatchet; Phantasm; See No Evil; Thinner; Monster House; Attila; Dead Snow; Frankenstein’s Army; Manhunt; The Monster in the Closet; Killer Eyes; Demomata; CSP-682; Parasite Eve 2; Dead Space; Night of the Lepus; Creature from the Haunted Sea; Tremors; Hostel; The Collection; The Butcher; Dead Rising; My Bloody Valentine; The Exterminator; Willard; War of the Worlds; Signs; Lollipop Chainsaw; Ghost Ship; Curse of the Pirates; Jolly Roger; Lead Soldiers; Vampire Vikings; The Witch; Blair Witch Project; The Village; The Thing; Vampire Breath; Goosebumps; Angel; King CobraNon-Horror Crosses: Harry Potter; Wizard of Oz; Great Expectations; Batman; Labyrinth; Land of the Giants; The Wrath of Paul Bunyan; Dreamscape; Last of the Mohicans; Blood Meridian; Scalps; Savage Sam; Sin City; Kevin Spencer; We Need to Talk About Kevin; Jacob’s Ladder; Doctor Who; Black Swan; Pan’s Labyrinth; Nutcracker; Blade Hunter; The Chronicles of Narnia; Time Bandits; The Princess and the Frog; Pirates of the Caribbean; Futurama; The Incredible Shrinking Man; Pee-Wee’s Playhouse; Red Planet; Terminator; Zathura; Hardware; Robot Wars; Bacterial Contamination; Firefly; Clash of the Titans; Team Fortress; Man from Planet X; Starship Troopers; Silence of the Lambs/Hannibal; Twisted MetalThe Story: A group of teens head out for a weekend in a cabin in the woods, not knowing that they have been chosen as sacrifices to an ancient deity in order to save the world from his wrath.Notes: This film exposes the secret truth behind modern horror. Behind it all is a secret organization, chosen to sacrifice youth to ancient gods. All of the above named crossovers have been linked in this film, and revealed to be part of this secret conspiracy. Most of the crossovers above come from the monsters and artifacts contained in the facility. While some of the monsters and artifacts are clearly from certain films above, many are based on certain types of horror films, in which case I included the more well-known of these film types. I recommend the well-researched Cabin in the Woods Wiki for a more detailed listing of the monsters and their inspirations. Note that I included in the above crossovers some monsters that only appeared in the official novelization and the official Universal Theme Park attraction tie-in. With this film, I break one of my major rules of crossover connecting. Though some of the crosses are direct crosses, like Evil Dead and Left 4 Dead, most of them are only connected because the films represent the more well-known films of the trope from which a certain monster comes. Normally, I would not count something that is “like something from”, but there is dialogue within the film that makes me break my rule. In one scene, referring to the monsters, security officer Daniel Truman says “They’re like something from a nightmare.” Lin, a head scientist, responds, “No, they’re something nightmares are from.” She goes on to explain that these monsters are the creations of the Ancient Ones, having been around since the beginning, and different cultures have told stories that interpret them in different ways. Thus, in the instance of this film, “like” is enough because of the author’s intent. And thus my love/hate relationship with Joss Whedon, for expanding the Horror Universe dramatically but making me do a lot of work to write this entry. Note that this film ends with the start of an apocalypse, so the end must veer into a divergent timeline. We must presume in the main Horror Universe, the virgin shot the fool. And if you haven’t seen the movie, that last sentence probably seems very bizarre. This film has been referenced as fictional in South Park, The Cinema Snob, Scary Movie 5, and Doc of the Dead. It is also paid homage to in Red Dawn when Chris Hemsworth and his friends once more wind up in a cabin in the woods. The film has also been spoofed in Robot Chicken and Scary Movie 5.
For more vampires, see the Buffy/Angel timeline.
And you can purchase the Horror Crossover Encyclopedia for all sorts of great horror crossover goodness here.

The Right Side of the Page

We interrupt your scrolling to point out a very important but often overlooked feature of this website.  I'm speaking of all that stuff on the right hand side?

So what's over there?


First there's a link to the page for the Horror Crossover Encyclopedia on Goodreads.  That page is where you can post a review, rate the book, find a link to where you can purchase the book, and click on the author pages to read more from the three guys who put together the book.Next is a little button so you can Google Plus "like" this page.After that is the total views the website has had.  Might not be important to you, but it feeds my ego.Next is a list of the contributors, aka the "TVCU Crew".  If you click on the names, you can see little bios of each of us.Search this blog.  Put in anything there, and if we wrote about it, a list of posts about it will appear.  You say you want to read about X-Men, we'll give you a list of posts that had X-Men crossovers.  Hannah Montana?  Sure, why not?  Pink pussycats from Mars?  Well, good luck with that...Then you can subscribe to this blog!Under that is the list of our all-time most popular posts, based on views.  Under that is the archives.  There you will find a list of every post ever, in reverse chronological order, with the newest first.Under that is a very large list of topics.  If you were depressed that you couldn't find pink pussycats from Mars, take a look at the list of the topics.  The list includes series, characters, genres, themes, and other stuff.  The list is ordered so the most recurring subjects come first.  Click on a topic and a page will open with every post that has featured that topic.Way down under that list is a list of other websites that you may like if you like the TVCU.  This includes links to TVCU inspired books, other crossover websites, discussion groups, and sites frequently used for research.The Followers, or the expanded TVCU Crew!Donate!  If you feel generous.  We don't get paid to write this blog.  Merchandising!!  Don't you want a TVCU coffee mug?

The Faking of "THAT'S OUR RALPH!"

In case you haven't figured it out, THAT'S OUR RALPH! is a completely made up TV series.  It was an April Fool's Day prank.  It was a lot of fun trying to create a fake TVCU blog that seemed real, and I thought I'd share the process.


The title--I was really trying to capture the essence of the early 1980s, and the numerous really bad failed sitcoms that I remember.  Thus I came up with this generic, cheesy title that just seemed perfect for the type of show I was trying to represent.  The premise--Using that logic, I created a show that was the typical sitcom trope of that era, which had come before and still exists, but really seemed to populate the 1980s.  A man who is kind of the dumb, scheming family man, with the smart nagging wife, and cute, generic kids.  
The picture used for the show's star is a generic picture I found in a Google images search.  I have no idea who this guy is.  But he's absolutely not Billy Stiper.In fact, Billy Stiper is completely fictitious.  There was no such comedian.  But this was an era when many stand-ups were getting really bad, generic sitcoms that didn't last more than half a season, so it seemed to make sense.Jill Larson--This is a real actress.  For the actress playing the mom, I looked up actresses who would have been 35 years old in 1982, and then looked for an actress who could look like a generic TV wife/mom.  I also wanted someone not as famous, perhaps someone whose career was kind of fizzled at the time.  Jill Larson was doing a lot of one time appearances on numerous TV shows around this time.
The kids.  I did a search of actors who would have been 12 and 8 in 1982, who may have had acting careers at that time or shortly after.  Ethan Hawke was 12 and Alyson Hannigan was 8 in 1982.  Both had not started acting yet (according to IMDB) but had their first acting credits shortly after.  Also, it helped that I found pictures of both that were from when they were that age.  It's pretty common for big name stars to have early credits on failed sitcoms, especially as child stars, so it seemed logical to find two bigger names for the kids.
The plotlines and story titles--Again, went for some very generic tropes.Crossovers--I tried to find a wide range of plausible crossovers that would span the genres of the TVCU.  Also, I really wanted this to be a lame show, but written by someone in Hollywood who loved Easter egg type crossovers that he could sneak in.  Additionally, I wanted this to be one of those shows where the writers would have had a fondness for the show enough that even though it was bad, it would still be remembered enough in Hollywood to get homages later on.All in the Family/Gloria Crossover--This was around the time of the Gloria spin-off, and I was looking for a real classic sitcom to cross over with.Greatest American Hero Crossover--I really wanted to make an A-Team cross, but I set this show a year to early for that, so I compromised by this and the Mr. T crosses.  I just had to make a Superman connection, and I tried to do so in a general way.  It also made this feel more authentic as a TVCU post by throwing in some reference to one of my TVCU generational heroes theories. Mr. T was appearing as a boxer and wrestler, playing himself or a similar character in numerous roles prior to the A-Team.  The picture I used in the blog was from Rocky III.
Another attempt to make this a typical TVCU post was to make a link to the Looniverse/Cartoon Universe, by making the Acme connection.I used a generic modern Henry Winkler picture for Senator Fonzerelli.  I just really liked the idea of showing what became of a Happy Days character in the future, while Happy Days was still on the air, (set 20 years in the past).  The two parter.  To demonstrate how networks operate typically, I left the series with an unresolved cliffhanger.  I used a real issue of Action Comics, which does not have any appearance of Ralph Wiggum of course.I also used a real episode of the A-Team, but the crossover reference is completely made up.Harold Ramis never made any such claims in the commentary for Vacation.  For all of these crossovers, I tried to make claims that seemed plausible and were not likely to be fact checked.Ethan Hawke was not in Last Action Hero.The picture I used for Last Action Hero isn't even from that film.  Nor is it Ethan Hawke in the picture.  It came from a generic search of police station scenes.  
How I Met Your Mother is one of my favorite shows, one I just finished rewatching from start to finish, and I'm currently working on an expanded update of that post.  I had already decided to cast Hannigan as the daughter, so why not make the Lily doppelganger whose real name was never revealed as Lucy Wiggum?  Of course, that would mean the accent is fake.Ralph Wiggum.  I chose the name Ralph because it just seemed perfect for the title character, and was an homage to Ralph Cramden.  As I was coming up with this, I was going to use a generic last name, but I kept thinking of Ralph Wiggum from the Simpsons, so I just went with it.  Saying Groening used the name as an homage seemed plausible.  Also, having at least one thing in the AU section made it seem like a more realistic TVCU post.The flaws:  Normally, a TVCU post would have some reference to Toobworld or Poobala, and some quotes from TVCU Crew members like Matt Hickman.  But since they weren't in on the joke, I didn't want them to see themselves referenced and immediately identify this as a fake blog post.  I also didn't include my usual cut and pastes from IMDB or Wikipedia references that often appear in different fonts.  I could have made some fake ones, but I didn't think they would really add value.  I hope you enjoyed my little joke.  I had a lot of fun making it.

That's Our Ralph!

A little known series from the 1980s, That's Our Ralph! aired on NBC in 1982 for just six episodes as a mid-season replacement.  It didn't do well enough to be picked up for a second season, and the show has been mostly forgotten.  And yet, as far as crossovers go, it has made a huge impact on the TVCU and pop culture in general.


The series was set in an unnamed suburb, featuring wacky dad Ralph Wiggum, his wife Nancy, and children Scotty and Lucy.  Ralph was played by stand-up comedian Billy Stiper, a graduate of Second City.  Nancy was played by Jill Larson, better known for her soap work. The kids were little known at the time but have become big names since.  Scotty was played by Ethan Hawke in his first role.  Lucy was played by the adorable little Alyson Hannigan.

The basic premise was that Ralph would typically screw up in some way, in the classic tropes, like forgetting an anniversary or lying so he can go bowling.  It was a really bad show.  But here's the chronology.c. January 7, 1982--THAT'S OUR RALPH!--"Pilot"--Ralph forgets his wedding anniversary!  In this episode, Ralph mentions his cousin Archie, whose daughter married that Polish liberal and how that marriage ended badly.  This is clearly a reference to ALL IN THE FAMILY, which spun-off another bad show called GLORIA, which would debut later in this year.
c. January 14, 1982--THAT'S OUR RALPH!--"The Great Frame-Up!"--Ralph looks just like a man who is wanted by the FBI!  Robert Culp appears as an unnamed FBI agent.  At one point, he says that nothing surprises him since the "little green men".  This is a reference to his character Bill Maxwell on the Greatest American Hero.  Despite the fact that the aliens who gave Ralph Hinkley his super-suit were not little green men, Bill would often refer to them as such.  The agent played by Culp in this episode also ask Ralph is he's wearing wearing red pajamas, another clear identification as to who the agent is.

c. January 21, 1982-THAT'S OUR RALPH!--"The Big Lie"--Ralph pretends he has to work late in order to go bowling with his friends.  In this series, the setting is never named, nor is Ralph's occupation ever stated, but in this episode, Ralph refers to his boss as Mr. White, adding "Boy, does he hate being called Chief."  He also says he has to work late because he's the only reliable employee, as Clark, Lois and Jimmy are always leaving the office sticking Ralph with all the work.  Clearly, this is a Superman reference, and so the series must take place in Metropolis.  But which Superman and which Metropolis?  For TVCU purposes, this is likely the silver age Superman, Clark Kent who is the Superman from the Adventures of Superman, thus placing this Metropolis as Los Angeles.
c. January 28, 1982--THAT'S OUR RALPH!--"Mr. R"--Ralph takes Scott to a boxing match where Ralph accidentally upsets the champion, played by Mr. T.  Mr. T, as always, seems to portray the same character in everything, but here he even is called Mr. T!
c. March 11, 1982--THAT'S OUR RALPH!--"Pizza Pizza!"--Ralph offers to manage his friend's pizza place while the friend is in the hospital.  In one scene, Nancy scolds Ralph from constantly ordering things from the Acme mail-order catalogue.  
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c. March 25, 1982--THAT'S OUR RALPH!--"Grand Canyon Vacation Part I"--The family takes a trip to the grand canyon and get stranded in the desert.  This story was never concluded.  There's a news report that references Senator Fonzerelli of Wisconsin.  So now we now what became of the Fonz from HAPPY DAYS!
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July 1982--ACTION COMICS # 533--"Trackdown!"--A Daily Planet staff member is drawn to resemble Ralph Wiggum, as a nod to the reference from the show.  

c. January 23, 1983--A-TEAM--"Mexican Slayride"--B.A. yells at Murdock, "I'll take you out like I did that fool Ralph Wiggum!"
1983--NATIONAL LAMPOON'S VACATION--According to the DVD commentary, Harold Ramis states that the skeleton Clark Griswald finds in the desert is Ralph Wiggum.

1993--LAST ACTION HERO--In the police station, Ethan Hawke is seen in the police station, handcuffed.  A cop calls him Wiggum.  
2014--HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER--"Gary Blauman"--In Ted's story to his kids, he reveals that Scooter married Lily's doppelganger, Jasmine.  Jasmine's real name is revealed to be Lucy Wiggum.

ALTERNATE REALITIES:
CARTOON UNIVERSE--According to Matt Groening, Ralph Wiggum on the Simpsons was a nod to this not so classic series.

Happy April Fool's Day!!!

Let’s discuss the book…

For those who have read the Horror Crossover Encyclopedia, what crossover that you previously didn’t know about did you find to be the most interesting?