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Castle of Horror (2016)

by Barbara Hambly
(#2 in Bride of the Rat-God (Short Story))

It is April of 1924. Colossus Films (of the novel Bride of the Rat-God) is shooting in Reno, because their male star, Tor Westlake, is getting his fifth divorce in order to marry Chrysanda (Christine) Flamande, the studio’s #1 starlet. They are filming at the supposedly-haunted castle on the outskirts of town, built by a Gold Rush millionaire, and sharing the sets with a black film company from Chicago, whose female star is also getting a divorce from her abusive husband. Tor wants to hold a séance in the haunted castle, but Norah – Christine’s sister-in-law and dog-minder – is uneasy. Christine’s dogs are conscious of supernatural activity, and there’s something about their reactions to the castle that doesn’t seem right to her.