"I could look for the name 'Zuul' in the usual literature"
"Spates Catalog"
"Tobin's Spirit Guide"
- Egon Spengler and Ray Stantz; Ghostbusters
Spate's Catalog[1] was one of the reference materials used by the Ghostbusters.
History[]
Primary Canon History[]
Just after the founding of the Ghostbusters, the team received a visit from Dana Barrett and heard her story. Ray Stantz mentioned Spates Catalog when suggesting literature from which to research the name Zuul.
Secondary Canon History[]
T. Watson Spates published an annual periodical, starting in early 1901. It was billed as a compendium of nameless horrors and sensationalized the occult. Spates often chose the most fantastic lore he could find. It found popularity with both students of the occult and those who simply loved reading fiction. It was said to be a favorite of Harry Houdini and H.P. Lovecraft. The periodicals were collected into a compilation titled "Spates Catalog". Spates ended the periodical in 1935 and retired a wealthy man.[2][3]
When Egon Spengler consulted Spates Catalog to cross-reference the readings he took off of Jim Silver, a page suddenly appeared and the text began to fill itself in. It became a complete entry on Idulnas, the entity that was possessing Jim. However, the entry also depicted the deaths of the Ghostbusters. Several weeks later, the Ghostbusters took their copy with them on a flight to Schenectady in order to try and identity the problem at hand. A year and a half later, Ray Stantz and Kylie Griffin used the latest version of Spates Catalog for their research on instances of recurrent child hauntings and supernatural abductions in the last 50 years. Kylie Griffin presented a few selections from Ray's Occult Books to Abby Yates. The Spates Catalog was among them. Abby asked if there was anything on Ley Lines. The books went flying when pressure from a build up of P.K.E. was violently released.
Trivia[]
- In the West End Ghostbusters Role-Playing Game, the book is alternatively titled "Spates Catalog of Nameless Horrors" on the Equipment Cards and "Spates Catalogue of Nameless Horrors And What To Do About Them" in the Training Manual.[4]
- In the Tor Books Ghostbusters Novelization, on page 36, Spates Catalog is one of the books read by Erin Gilbert and Abby Yates during high school.[5]
- On page 6 of Ghostbusters 101 #4, in panel 5, the tentacle sticking out of Spate's Catalog is a reference to the book's design in West Ends' Ghostbusters Ghostbusters International role playing game.
- In Ghostbusters: The Official Cookbook, on page 102, Ray cites a Spates Catalog entry about a manifestation of Ek Chuah or one of his followers on October 20, 1949 in a Pennsylvania chocolate factory. It included a minute of solid spectral screaming every night at 1 am for 20 days straight.[6]
Appearances[]
Primary Canon[]
- Ghostbusters
- Chapter 09: The 1st Customer
- Mentioned by Ray Stantz
- Chapter 09: The 1st Customer
Secondary Canon[]
- IDW Comics
- Ongoing Series
- Ghostbusters 101
- Ghostbusters 101 #4
- Ghostbusters 101 #5
- Section about it on page 24
- 35th Anniversary: Ghostbusters
- Mentioned by Egon Spengler on page 3.[8]
References[]
- ↑ Screengrab of scene mentioning Spates with Subtitles
- ↑ 101 Class Notes (2017). IDW Comics- "Ghostbusters 101 #5" (2017) (Comic p.24). 101 Class Notes reads: "A more sensationalized reference than its contemporary -- Tobin's - the Spates Catalog is a compilation of an annual periodical published by T. Watson Spates from early 1901 to 1935."
- ↑ 101 Class Notes (2017). IDW Comics- "Ghostbusters 101 #5" (2017) (Comic p.24). 101 Class Notes reads: "It was billed as a "compendium of nameless horrors" (a slight misnomer since, in fact, it gave names to most of the horrors of which it spoke) and was a favorite of both Harry Houdini and H.P. Lovecraft."
- ↑ Peterson, Sandy, Willis, Lynn & Stafford, Greg (1986). Ghostbusters: A Frightfully Cheerful Roleplaying Game Training Manual, p. 18. West End Games, New York NY USA, ISBN 0874310431.
- ↑ Narrator (2016). Tor Books- "Ghostbusters Novelization (Holder)" (2016) (Book p.36). Line reads: "First they read the standard "ghost hunter" works: Spates Catalog, Tobin's Spirit Guide, and The Roylance Guide."
- ↑ Fukikawa, Jenn, & Burnham, Erik (2022). Ghostbusters: The Official Cookbook, p. 102. Insight Editions, San Rafael, CA USA, ISBN 9781647227401. Ray Stantz says: "In more modern times, there was an occurrence in a Pennsylvanian chocolate factory in 1949. The manifestation first happened on October 20, which Spates' Catalog argues as the Gregorian calendar's equivalent to the start of the Mayan month of Muwan, when Ek Chuah is honored. Whether or not the math works out, what's true is that for twenty days, at approximately 1 a.m. each day, a solid minute of screams were heard emanating from the factory, culminating in several Maya glyphs being found smeared on the factory floor in melted chocolate. From November 9, 1949, until today, nothing similar has occurred. Was this a manifestation of one of Ek Chuah's followers, or the Maya deity himself?"
- ↑ Kylie Griffin (2016). IDW Comics- "Ghostbusters International #1" (2016) (Comic p.17). Kylie Griffin says: "Wait -- you needed the expanded Spates Catalog, three volumes of Kemp's Paranormal Encyclopedia, and six months of city wide PKE scan logs just to occupy your mind?"
- ↑ Egon Spengler (2019). IDW Comics- "Ghostbusters 35th Anniversary: Ghostbusters" (2019) (Comic p.3). Egon Spengler says: "Or Spates."
Gallery[]
Overall[]
Primary Canon[]
Secondary Canon[]
