Horror "nerd" question

[uberreiniger]

Dracula and the Great Old Ones are rare examples of literary characters who are still having new stories written about them 70 or more years after their creators' deaths. Also, they belong to an exclusive fraternity of fictional characters who are so pervasive in popular culture that even if you've never read a book or seen a movie with them in it, you still have a pretty good idea who they are and what they do.

My question is, has there ever been a story where Dracula and the Great Old Ones encounter one another? No, I don't intend to write one. I'm just genuinely curious. I mean, it seems so obvious but I've never heard of it being done.

Comments

[mad30.livejournal.com]

Seems like it would had to have been done at some point, but can't recall anything specifically. And I say this as a guy who just finished watching every Hammer Horror Dracula film ever made, and finishing up the 4th and final volume of Marvel Comic's 'Essential Tomb of Dracula' collection.

Dracula in the realms of the Cthulhu mythos is a match made in hell, and a story that needs to be told. A lot that could be done with such a tale...

I've got a cool idea of using Dracula as a central villain in uniting the Marvel and DC comic's universes into a single entity, a 3rd ongoing company, but yeah... I'm not holding my breath on that ever happening.

[mad30.livejournal.com]

I find this type of discussion fascinating, and often wonder how Michael Myers, Freddy Krueger, Jason Voorhees, Leatherface and Pinhead will fare in say, 25 years...? Dracula and others had the luxury of being classic literature for decades before they really seeped into the mainstream psyche.

[mad30.livejournal.com]

=really seeped into the mainstream psyche=

Or perhaps they were actually being released from the mainstream psyche...

[kakita-shisumo.livejournal.com]

I haven't ever heard of such a thing, though I admit it would be possible. I don't think it would be a terribly good idea, honestly. Dracula and the Old Ones carry with them very different ideas of what horror is, and very different thematic consequences. Dracula is a human-level evil - powerful, but ultimately overcome-able (all you need is a Texan with a Bowie knife, after all). The Old Ones... aren't. There wouldn't really be any space for Dracula to exist in a story like that unless he were an anti-hero, actually trying to oppose the Great Awakening (or whatever). As a villain, he's so ludicrously overshadowed by the chthonic horrors that he might as well not be there.

[mad30.livejournal.com]

Vlad Tepes as the anti-hero, or perhaps he's the only one with the indomitable will to actually summon these creatures forth and, attempt to, use them to his advantage for world domination. He is the Prince of Vampires afterall... Dracula also stems from the Constellation of DRACO, which ties in nicely with the Lovecraft theme of Elder Gods.

I'd rather see a classic version of Dracula, hellbent on world conquest and occurring in modern times, than some "lost tale" from the past where it doesn't really affect the overall mythos. Dracula being an anti-hero is the epitome and essence of Vlad Tepes as a historical figure, but I'd like Dracula to put his plans of conquering the world into action, instead of serving as a hero in fighting off the Great Old Ones.

Maybe it could be both. Cthulhu gets out of control in the end, and Dracula has no choice but to confront the elders because they have been using him all along, pretending to be in his service for their own benefit...

If nothing else, Dracula deserves a Lovecraftian makeover, complete with interdimensional and interplanetary occult consequences.

Good idea uberreiniger, and if it's already been done, it needs to be updated. But it would have to be a very "meaty" story, full of nasty implications for humanity at large.

Sorry, I can't help but to envision this in some type of comic book format, with a wider universe of characters involved in the outcome...

[uberreiniger.livejournal.com]

It certainly is an idea rich with potential for visual interpretation. The problem with the Great Old Ones is not giving the reader a chance to get used to or comfortable with them. Lovecraft knew what he was doing featuring them predominantly in short works, giving the reader just a tantalizing glimpse into the unknowable. So the visual approach might keep the sense of suspense that is imperilled by weighty prose. And vampire fiction by its very nature does lend itself to weighty prose.

Nice to meet you btw.

[mad30.livejournal.com]

Nice to meet you too...

Normally I would agree about vampire fiction and weighty prose, however while it's by no means Shakespear, look at all the dozens and dozens of Vampire books like the 'Twilight' series and 'True Blood' or the Christine Feehan books. They are bestsellers and basically never end. The DRACULA graphic novels I just finished were in 4 volumes and consisted of 2000 pages. So while vampire fiction is possibly better the shorter it is, there is still a lot of room to work with. As for the Lovecraft angle, the Great Old Ones have been "parodied" time and time again, perhaps most recently in the ARMY OF DARKNESS comic books where the character of ASH actually goes up against Cthulhu and Herbert West, the Reanimator. If Dracula were to be the anti-hero for such a tale, it would probably be because he saw competition, not because he had any desire to defend humanity from these ancient forces.

[uberreiniger.livejournal.com]

Oh yes, for the story to even work it would have to be with Dracula as the protagonist or at the very least not attempting to put him on any kind of threat level equivalent to the Old Ones.

And in case it's even a question - which I really don't think it is but you never know - White Wolf's making Dracula a Tzimsce do not in any way shape or form count since Wyrm entities really only have delusions of Old One-hood at best.

[nightshade-7976.livejournal.com]

The Old Ones?

[uberreiniger.livejournal.com]

H.P. Lovecraft's pantheon of monster gods who've gone on to serve as the antagonists or basis for the antagonists in countless works of horror and fantasy fiction ever since.

[nightshade-7976.livejournal.com]

Ahhh...Nope...Don't know. Not that big a fan of Lovecraft (I know, shocking, right?)...

[shadowfell.livejournal.com]

Because that would be AWESOME. :D

I could get my husband to write it. It sounds like something he'd come up with anyway.

[flame-song.livejournal.com]

I've never heard of one before...but it would be a funny scenario. Wouldn't bet on poor Drake, though...

[uberreiniger.livejournal.com]

Yes but the look on his face would be priceless!