TYGER, T Y G E R ( the starts threw down their spears )

talamasca
"We watch and we are always here."
The Talamasca Caste (or the Talamasca Order) is a secret society of "paranormal detectives" that monitor paranormal activities including, but not limited to: spirits, witches, vampires, and werewolves. The organization is said to have existed since the 1st Century (The Witching Hour claims that it was officially formed in the 11th Century, but existed prior to that).

The word Talamasca comes from Latin and means "animal mask". It's also an old term used to describe a witch or shaman.

The Talamasca has headquarters known as "motherhouses" set up in many major cities such as London, New Orleans, Rome, Amsterdam, and many others. The Talamasca itself was described as having influence in the suppression of paranormal information, namely the existence of vampires-- as the case with Lestat, collecting and hoarding his diaries and other discarded items that may have exposed the existence and nature of vampires in its vaults below the London motherhouse. Beneath the main building, there are museums and underground vaults in which are stored a sizable amount of artifacts of supernatural connection. These vaults are sealed and are only accessible by the member's high-ranking elders. The Talamasca has also collected several of Marius's paintings, including "The Temptation of Amadeo", and other personal artifacts once belonging to vampires such as Pandora, Armand, Louis de Pointe du Lac, Lestat de Lioncourt, and Claudia.

As Superior General of the Talamasca, David Talbot is given the task of tracking down a number of Marius's paintings done throughout history, and he [David] devoted much of his mortal life to following Marius's experiments with different mediums and styles. It was David who first noticed the reoccurring figure (who never seemed to age) that was present in all of the painter's works.

The Talamasca is also responsible for the cover-up regarding the Mayfair family's fiasco concerning the Taltos birth anomaly. It may also have been responsible for covering the burning of the "Theater of the Vampires".

A number of characters from the Vampire Chronicles besides David once belonged to the Talamasca before accepting the Dark Gift-- Jesse and Merrick being the most note-worthy. The Talamascan Order also appears in Anne Rice's The Witching Hour, a story about the Mayfair Witches.