Seance for a Vampire

1994 novel written by Fred Saberhagen

0812533488 (first edition)

Seance for a Vampire is a 1994 horror mystery pastiche novel written by Fred Saberhagen, featuring Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John Watson, alongside a re-imagined version of Count Dracula, here a heroic protagonist. The book is alternately narrated by Watson and Dracula himself, presented here as noble and witty.

Titan Books reprinted the book in 2010, as part of its Further Adventures series, which collects a number of noted Holmesian pastiches.^[1]

Plot

What begins as Sherlock Holmes attempting to debunk two psychics goes awry when young Louisa Altamont appears to her grieving parents as a vampire. The resulting madness leaves one of the mystics dead, Holmes missing and Dr. Watson confounded. As time runs out, Watson has no choice but to call on Holmes' vampiric cousin, the Prince Dracula, for assistance.

Reception

Dread Central gave it three out of five stars but cautioned the book really requires a reader to have read The Holmes-Dracula File first to understand many references.^[1] Publishers Weekly found the two narrators, Dracula and Dr. Watson, to be too indistinguishable and found the plot "a rather drab story."^[2]

References

^ ^a ^b "Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes – Seance for a Vampire, The (Book)". Dread Central. June 16, 2010. Retrieved December 20, 2019.
^ "Seance for a Vampire". Publishers Weekly. May 30, 1994. Retrieved December 20, 2019.

External links

Seance for a Vampire Archived 2015-12-30 at the Wayback Machine at Titan Books

Literary pastiches of Sherlock Holmes

The Exploits of Sherlock Holmes
by Adrian Conan Doyle
and John Dickson Carr

"The Adventure of the Seven Clocks" (1952)
"The Adventure of the Gold Hunter" (1953)
"The Adventure of the Wax Gamblers" (1953)
"The Adventure of the Highgate Miracle" (1953)
"The Adventure of the Black Baronet" (1953)
"The Adventure of the Sealed Room" (1953)
"The Adventure of Foulkes Rath" (1953)
"The Adventure of the Abbas Ruby" (1953)
"The Adventure of the Dark Angels" (1953)
"The Adventure of the Two Women" (1953)
"The Adventure of the Deptford Horror" (1953)
"The Adventure of the Red Widow" (1953)

by Nicholas Meyer

The Seven-Per-Cent Solution (1974)
The West End Horror (1976)
The Canary Trainer (1993)
The Adventure of the Peculiar Protocols (2019)
The Return of the Pharaoh (2021)

by Loren D. Estleman

Sherlock Holmes vs. Dracula (1978)
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Holmes (1979)
The Perils of Sherlock Holmes (2012)

by Michael Hardwick

The Prisoner of the Devil (1979)
The Revenge of the Hound (1987)

by David Stuart Davies

Sherlock Holmes and the Hentzau Affair (1991)
The Tangled Skein (1995)
The Scroll of the Dead (1998)
Shadow of the Rat (1999)
The Veiled Detective (2004)
The Devil's Promise (2014)
The Ripper Legacy (2016)

by Barrie Roberts

Sherlock Holmes and the Railway Maniac (1994)
Sherlock Holmes and the Man from Hell (1997)

Mary Russell series
by Laurie R. King

The Beekeeper's Apprentice (1994)
A Monstrous Regiment of Women (1995)
A Letter of Mary (1997)
The Moor (1998)
O Jerusalem (1999)
Justice Hall (2002)
The Game (2004)
Locked Rooms (2005)
The Language of Bees (2009)
The God of the Hive (2010)
Pirate King (2011)
Garment of Shadows (2012)
Dreaming Spies (2015)
The Murder of Mary Russell (2016)
Island of the Mad (2018)

by Donald Serrell Thomas

The Secret Cases of Sherlock Holmes (1997)
Sherlock Holmes and the Running Noose (2001)
The Execution of Sherlock Holmes (2007)
Sherlock Holmes and the King's Evil (2009)
Sherlock Holmes and the Ghosts of Bly (2010)
The Lost Casebooks of Sherlock Holmes (2012)
Death on a Pale Horse: Sherlock Holmes on Her Majesty's Secret Service (2013)

by Lyndsay Faye

Dust and Shadow: An Account of the Ripper Killings by Dr. John H. Watson (2009)
The Whole Art of Detection: Lost Mysteries of Sherlock Holmes (2017)

Young Sherlock Holmes
by Andy Lane

Death Cloud (2010)
Red Leech (2010)
Black Ice (2011)
Fire Storm (2011)
Snake Bite (2012)
Knife Edge (2013)
Stone Cold (2014)
Night Break (2015)

by Guy Adams

The Breath of God (2011)
The Army of Dr. Moreau (2012)

by Anthony Horowitz

The House of Silk (2011)
Moriarty (2014)

by Kim Newman

Moriarty: The Hound of the D'Urbervilles (2011)
The Man From The Diogenes Club (2017)

by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
and Anna Waterhouse

Mycroft Holmes (2015)
Mycroft and Sherlock (2018)
Mycroft and Sherlock: The Empty Birdcage (2019)

by James Lovegrove

The Stuff of Nightmares (2013)
Gods of War (2014)
The Thinking Engine (2015)
The Labyrinth of Death (2017)
The Devil's Dust (2018)
Sherlock Holmes and the Shadwell Shadows (2016)
Sherlock Holmes and the Miskatonic Monstrosities (2017)
Sherlock Holmes and the Sussex Sea-Devils (2018)
Sherlock Holmes and the Christmas Demon (2019)
Sherlock Holmes and the Beast of the Stapletons (2020)
Sherlock Holmes & The Three Winter Terrors (2021)
Sherlock Holmes & The Highgate Horrors (2023)

by Cavan Scott

Sherlock Holmes: The Patchwork Devil (2016)
Sherlock Holmes: Cry of the Innocents (2017)

The Lady Sherlock Series
by Sherry Thomas

A Study in Scarlet Women (2016)
A Conspiracy in Belgravia (2017)
The Hollow of Fear (2018)

Sherlock Holmes in Minnesota
by Larry Millett

Sherlock Holmes and the Red Demon (1996)
Sherlock Holmes and the Ice Palace Murders (1998)
Sherlock Holmes and the Rune Stone Mystery (1999)
Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Alliance (2001)
The Disappearance of Sherlock Holmes (2012)
Sherlock Holmes and the Eisendorf Enigma (2017)

Other works

Novels	The Pursuit of the House-Boat (1897) A Double Barrelled Detective Story (1902) Arsène Lupin versus Herlock Sholmes (1908) Sherlock Holmes of Baker Street (1962) The Ultimate Crime (1976) The Last Sherlock Holmes Story (1978) The Whitechapel Horrors (1992) All-Consuming Fire (1994) The Strange Case of Mrs. Hudson's Cat (1997) The Mandala of Sherlock Holmes (1999) Shadows Over Baker Street (2003) The Final Solution (2004) A Slight Trick of the Mind (2005) The Italian Secretary (2005) Erasing Sherlock (2006) Sherlock Holmes: The Unauthorized Biography (2006) Sherlock Holmes Was Wrong (2007) The Shadow of Reichenbach Falls (2008) Dead Man's Land (2013) The Albino's Treasure (2015) Sherlock Holmes and the Servants of Hell (2016) The Counterfeit Detective (2017)
Short stories	"The Doctor's Case" (1987) "A Study in Emerald" (2003)
Novel series	The Enola Holmes Mysteries (2006–10) The Boy Sherlock Holmes (2007–12) Gaslight series (2008–18)

Parody

The Misadventures of Sherlock Holmes (1944)
The Fossil Island (1951)
The Adventure of the Peerless Peer (1974)
Everybody's Favorite Duck (1988)
Lizzie Newton: Victorian Mysteries (2011–2013)
Sherlock Bones (2011–2012)
Solar Pons
Stoker and Holmes (2013–2017)

Bram Stoker's Dracula

Universe

Characters

Publications

Dracula (1897)
Powers of Darkness (1899)
- Icelandic
- Swedish
"Dracula's Guest" (1914)
Dracula's Guest and Other Weird Stories (1914)

Dacre Stoker	Dracula the Un-dead (2009) Dracul (2018)

Possible inspirations

Castles

Films

Universal series	Dracula (1931 English-language) Dracula (1931 Spanish-language) Dracula's Daughter (1936) Son of Dracula (1943) House of Frankenstein (1944) House of Dracula (1945) Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948)
Hammer Horror	Dracula (1958) The Brides of Dracula (1960) Dracula: Prince of Darkness (1966) Dracula Has Risen from the Grave (1968) Taste the Blood of Dracula (1970) Scars of Dracula (1970) Dracula A.D. 1972 (1972) The Satanic Rites of Dracula (1973) The Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires (1974)
Dracula 2000	Dracula 2000 (2000) Dracula II: Ascension (2003) Dracula III: Legacy (2005)
Nosferatu films	Nosferatu (1922) Nosferatu the Vampyre (1979) Nosferatu in Venice (1988) Shadow of the Vampire (2000) Nosferatu (2024)
Hotel Transylvania	Hotel Transylvania (2012) Hotel Transylvania 2 (2015) Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation (2018) Hotel Transylvania: Transformania (2022)
Parodies	Transylvania 6-5000 (1963) Mad Monster Party? (1967) Batman Fights Dracula (1967) Mad Mad Mad Monsters (1972) Blood for Dracula (1974) Vampira (1974) Son of Dracula (1974) Dracula in the Provinces (1975) Dracula and Son (1976) Dracula Sucks (1979) Love at First Bite (1979) The Halloween That Almost Wasn't (1979) Fracchia contro Dracula (1985) Transylvania 6-5000 (1985) The Monster Squad (1987) Scooby-Doo! and the Reluctant Werewolf (1988) Dracula: Dead and Loving It (1995) Monster Mash (1995) Monster Mash (2000) Zora the Vampire (2000) Monster Family (2017)
Other	Drakula halála (1923) The Return of the Vampire (1943) Drakula İstanbul'da (1953) Blood of Dracula (1957) The Return of Dracula (1958) Batman Dracula (1964) Billy the Kid Versus Dracula (1966) Blood of Dracula's Castle (1969) Santo en el tesoro de Drácula (1969) Count Dracula (1970) Los Monstruos del Terror (1970) Cuadecuc, vampir (1971) Vampyros Lesbos (1971) Hrabe Drakula (1971) Dracula vs. Frankenstein (1971) Blacula (1972) Scream Blacula Scream (1973) Bram Stoker's Dracula (1974) Count Dracula's Great Love (1974) Deafula (1975) Dracula's Dog (1977) Count Dracula (1977) Doctor Dracula (1978) Dracula (1979) Nocturna: Granddaughter of Dracula (1979) Dracula: Sovereign of the Damned (1980) Dracula's Widow (1988) To Die For (1989) Sundown: The Vampire in Retreat (1989) Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992) Nadja (1994) Dark Prince: The True Story of Dracula (2000) Bara no Konrei ~Mayonaka ni Kawashita Yakusoku~ (2001) Dracula: Pages from a Virgin's Diary (2002) Dracula (2002) Van Helsing (2004) Van Helsing: The London Assignment (2004) The Vulture's Eye (2004) Dracula 3000 (2004) Blade: Trinity (2004) The Batman vs. Dracula (2005) Bram Stoker's Dracula's Curse (2006) Dracula (2006) Bram Stoker's Dracula's Guest (2008) The Librarian: Curse of the Judas Chalice (2008) House of the Wolf Man (2009) Young Dracula (2011) Dracula Reborn (2012) Dracula 3D (2012) Saint Dracula 3D (2012) Dracula 2012 (2013) Dracula: The Dark Prince (2013) Dracula Untold (2014) Renfield (2023) The Last Voyage of the Demeter (2023) Abigail (2024) Dracula: A Love Tale (TBA)

Television

Series

Monster Squad (1976)
Draculas ring (1978)
Cliffhangers (1979)
Drak Pack (1980)
Count Duckula (1988–1993)
Dracula: The Series (1990–1991)
Little Dracula (1991–1999)
Monster Force (1994)
Ace Kilroy (2011–2012)
Young Dracula (2006–2014)
- characters
Dracula (2013–2014)
Penny Dreadful (2014–2016)
Decker (2014–2017)
Van Helsing (2016–21)
Hotel Transylvania: The Series (2017–2020)
Castlevania (2017–21)
Dracula (2020)

Episodes

"Dracula" (Mystery and Imagination) (1968)
"Buffy vs. Dracula" (2000)
Young Dracula episodes (2006–2014)
Penny Dreadful episodes (2014–2016)
Hotel Transylvania: The Series episodes (2017–2020)

The Simpsons Treehouse of Horror	"Treehouse of Horror IV" (1993) "Treehouse of Horror XXI" (2010)

Novels
The Dracula Tape and sequels (1975–2002) Anno Dracula series (1992–present) Anno Dracula The Bloody Red Baron Dracula Cha Cha Cha The Revenge of Dracula (1978) Little Dracula (1986) Dracula the Undead (1997) The Historian (2005) The Book of Renfield (2005) Bloodline (2005) Young Dracula and Young Monsters (2006) Fangland (2007) Out of the Dark (2010)

Radio
Dracula (1938)

Plays
Dracula (1924) Dracula (1995) Dracula (1996)

Musicals
Dracula (Czech musical) (1995) Dracula: A Chamber Musical (1997) Dracula, the Musical (2004) Dracula – Entre l'amour et la mort (2006) Dracula – L'amour plus fort que la mort (2011)

Comics
Crossover Dracula (Marvel Comics) The Tomb of Dracula X-Men: Apocalypse vs. Dracula Captain Britain and MI13: Vampire State Mrs. Deadpool and the Howling Commandos Dracula (Dell Comics) Don Dracula Dracula Lives! Hellsing Sword of Dracula Batman & Dracula trilogy Victorian Undead Wolves at the Gate Purgatori Rick and Morty – Let the Rick One In

Video games

The Count (1979)
Dracula (1983)
Ghost Manor (1983)
Castlevania series
- 1986–present
- Dracula
Dracula (1986)
Dracula the Undead (1991)
Drac's Night Out (unreleased)
Dracula Hakushaku (1992)
Bram Stoker's Dracula (1993)
Bram Stoker's Dracula (handheld) (1993)
Dracula Unleashed (1993)
Dracula: Resurrection (2000)
Dracula 2: The Last Sanctuary (2000)
Dracula: Crazy Vampire (2001)
Van Helsing (2004)
Dracula 3: The Path of the Dragon (2008)
Dracula: Origin (2008)
Vampire Season Monster Defense (2012)
Dracula 4: The Shadow of the Dragon (2013)
Dracula 5: The Blood Legacy (2013)
The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing (2013)
Renfield: Bring Your Own Blood (2023)

Pinball
Dracula (1979) Taxi (1988) Bram Stoker's Dracula (1993) Monster Bash (1998)

Tabletop games
The Fury of Dracula

Albums
Dracula Dracula 2000 Iubilaeum Anno Dracula 2001 Perfect Selection: Dracula Battle Transylvania Van Helsing

Songs
"Love Song for a Vampire"

Audio dramas
Son of the Dragon

Original characters

Alternative versions of Dracula	Alucard (Hellsing) Count Alucard Count Orlok Soma Cruz
Relatives of Dracula	Alucard (Castlevania) Vampire Hunter D Eva Janus Dracula Lilith Dracula Shiklah Dracula
Other	Blade Count von Count Simon Belmont

Related
Lugosi v. Universal Pictures Dracula's Guest and Other Weird Stories Count Dracula in popular culture Transylvanian Society of Dracula Dracula Daily Dracula Society Dracula tourism Bibliography of works on Dracula