Talamasca: The Secret Order is the latest installment in AMC’s Anne Rice Immortal Universe. The series, which premiered on October 26, is a mix of spy craft and the supernatural. It stars Downton Abbey’s Elizabeth McGovern, Nicholas Denton, and William Fichtner as the mysterious Jasper. But the Talamasca have appeared before, first in Interview with the Vampire, and more prominently, on AMC’s Mayfair Witches. And the Talamasca have a very long history in Anne Rice’s original novels. Although they never received a novel from Rice themselves, the books have a lot to tell us about the organization. So just what is Anne Rice’s Talamasca, join us to dive into the mysterious organization, its purpose, origins, and everything else there is to know about it.
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What Is the Talamasca, and What Is Its Purpose?
“We watch. And we are always here.” This is the motto of the Talamasca, an ancient order that has studied the supernatural in all its forms for over a thousand years in Anne Rice’s universe. That motto is even on their business cards. Their goal, at least on paper, is not to interfere or expose supernatural beings to the world. Instead, their goal is merely to study them and learn as much as they can. However, not everyone in the Talamasca has such noble intentions. And occasionally, supernatural beings like vampires find themselves in control of some of the Talamasca’s branches.
The Talamasca in Anne Rice’s Books
In Anne Rice’s novels, the Talamasca was first introduced in her 1988 book The Queen of the Damned. Their name is a combination of the Latin words for “animal” and “mask,” suggesting the animal masks of ancient shamans. We learn that the organization, which Rice called “psychic detectives,” were the only people in the world who knew the undead in the book Interview with the Vampire were real.
Notable Talamasca Characters From Anne Rice’s Novels
In Queen of the Damned, the Talamasca recruit a young woman named Jesse Reeves into the order. The Talamasca sends her to the New Orleans townhouse where Lestat, Louis, and Claudia once lived, to verify the historical accuracy of Louis’ account. That novel also introduced us to Talamasca Superior General David Talbot, a future companion to Lestat in later novels.
In Anne Rice’s The Witching Hour novel from 1990, another Talamasca character gains prominence, Aaron Lightner. He helps the witch Rowan Mayfair understand her supernatural legacy. In the fourth Vampire Chronicle, The Tale of the Body Thief, we meet Raglan James, a former Talamasca agent with the power to switch bodies with others. This Talamasca agent has made the leap from book to screen; he appears in Interview with the Vampire and is slated to appear in The Talamasca.
The Elders of the Talamasca
Throughout the various vampire and witch novels, we learn about a mysterious group known as “the Elders.” They are the true power behind the Talamasca, unknown to the rank-and-file members. Rice kept the true identity of these Elders a secret for years. Although they tend to only watch, when Lestat brought the witch Merrick Mayfair into the undead world, the order declared war on him. Eventually, they formed a truce.
Anne Rice’s Origin Story for the Talamasca
In 2014’s Prince Lestat, Rice finally revealed the identity of the Elders. The first is the ancient ghost Gremt Stryker Knollys, who manifested a corporeal body for himself in the year 585 AD. He encountered the spirit of a slain vampire named Hesketh, who also became a tangible ghost. Along with Hesketh’s still-living (so to speak) vampire companion Teshkamen, who made the vampire Marius around 2,000 years ago, this trio founded the Talamasca to better understand their own nature. The date of the founding is 758 AD in the novels. In the 21st century, they ceded control of the Talamasca to mortal agents.
The Talamasca in Interview with the Vampire and AMC’s Immortal Universe
In the AMC Anne Rice Immortal Universe, the Talamasca is a group of scholars and spies who operate in the shadows, despite being a huge organization with headquarters all over the globe. They are well funded, with a history dating back to the year 752. Their main purpose is to keep tabs on or “watch” all supernatural activity around the globe. That includes vampires and witches, as we’ve seen in Interview with the Vampire and The Mayfair Witches. But it extends to ghosts, poltergeists, and all manner of preternatural beings. As mentioned, Raglan James, played by James Kirk, appears as a Talamasca agent in contact with interviewer Daniel Molloy (Eric Bogosian) in Interview with the Vampire season one. In Mayfair Witches, the Talamasca agent is Ciprien Grieve, a reimagining of Aaron Lightner from the novels.
We do not yet know if the origin story for the AMC Immortal Universe’s Talamasca is the same as in Anne Rice’s books—but it sure would be fascinating if it were.
The Talamasca in Talmasca: The Secret Order
As we learn in Talamasca: The Secret Order, there is infighting within the organization. Different motherhouses around the world are run by different people, and have disdain for the different branches. This is why London Talamasca motherhouse’s Helen (Elizabeth McGovern) recruits young mind reader, Guy Anatole (Nicholas Denton) in the series, as she sends him after rogue agents of the order. But will they get to Guy first? You’ll have to watch the whole season of Talamasca: The Secret Order on AMC to find out.
Talamasca: The Secret Order drops new episodes every Sunday on AMC and AMC+.