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[[quoteright:350:[[VideoGame/SherlockHolmesTheAwakened https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/sherlock_holmes_vs_cthulhu.jpg]]]]

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[[quoteright:350:[[VideoGame/SherlockHolmesTheAwakened https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/sherlock_holmes_vs_cthulhu.jpg]]]] png]]]]
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* An odd example happens in a Literature/TimeWarpTrio book, "Summer Reading Is Killing Me!". When a summer reading list is inserted into the magic Book, the titular trio are sent into a weird amalgamation of many different public domain stories, with villains such as the Headless Horseman, Long John Silver, and Dracula hunting down protagonists like Pippi Longstocking, Peter Pan, and all of the Little Women.
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* ''Series/{{Dickensian}}'' is a mashup comedy drama featuring Creator/CharlesDickens characters before their original novels begin.
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** The first half of ''Anime/LupinIIIPart6'' specifically focuses around Lupin being chased around by Franchise/SherlockHolmes (or possibly his descendant.)
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* There was an entire anthology dedicated to welding the public domain canons of ''Literature/SherlockHolmes'' to the Franchise/CthulhuMythos, titled ''Shadows Over Baker Street''. It featured such works as Creator/NeilGaiman's ''Literature/AStudyInEmerald''.

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* There was is an entire anthology dedicated to welding the public domain canons of ''Literature/SherlockHolmes'' to the Franchise/CthulhuMythos, titled ''Shadows Over Baker Street''. It featured such works as Creator/NeilGaiman's ''Literature/AStudyInEmerald''.

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* The ''Series/{{Kaitou Sentai Lupinranger|VSKeisatsuSentaiPatranger}}'' are a ''Franchise/SuperSentai'' team who take on the legacy of Literature/ArseneLupin, reassembling a set of dangerous treasures that Lupin himself once collected.

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* The ''Series/{{Kaitou Sentai Lupinranger|VSKeisatsuSentaiPatranger}}'' are a ''Series/KaitouSentaiLupinrangerVSKeisatsuSentaiPatranger'' features two rival ''Franchise/SuperSentai'' team who take on the legacy of Literature/ArseneLupin, reassembling teams fighting MonstersOfTheWeek and each other to acquire a set of dangerous treasures that Literature/ArseneLupin once collected. One team takes on the legacy of Lupin himself once collected.as a group of [[PhantomThief Phantom Thieves]], while the other team is a police squad out to catch the criminals.


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* Among the many guest-star heroes that appear in ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheBraveAndTheBold'', Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson team with Batman on one case.
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* There was an entire anthology dedicated to welding the public domain canons of ''Literature/SherlockHolmes'' to the Franchise/CthulhuMythos, titled ''Shadows Over Baker Street''. It featured such works as [[Creator/NeilGaiman Neil Gaiman's]] ''Literature/AStudyInEmerald''.

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* There was an entire anthology dedicated to welding the public domain canons of ''Literature/SherlockHolmes'' to the Franchise/CthulhuMythos, titled ''Shadows Over Baker Street''. It featured such works as [[Creator/NeilGaiman Neil Gaiman's]] Creator/NeilGaiman's ''Literature/AStudyInEmerald''.

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* ''VideoGame/SherlockHolmesTheAwakened'' is a point and click adventure game developed by Frogwares which features Holmes and Watson investigating a mystery involving the Cthulhu Mythos. It was originally released in 2006, with an Updated Re-release arriving in 2008.

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* Frogwares' Sherlock Holmes Games:
**
''VideoGame/SherlockHolmesTheAwakened'' is a point and click adventure game developed by Frogwares which features Holmes and Watson investigating a mystery involving the Cthulhu Mythos. It was originally released in 2006, with an Updated Re-release arriving in 2008.2008.
** ''VideoGame/SherlockHolmesVersusArseneLupin'' has Holmes facing the GentlemanThief, Arsene Lupin in a cat-and-mouse game throughout London.
* ''VisualNovel/ShikkokuNoSharnoth'' features a lot of fictional characters from the Victorian Era and made references from Creator/HPLovecraft's works including [[Literature/TheDreamQuestOfUnknownKadath Kadath]].
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Supertrope to PublicDomainCharacter. Contrast and compare with CanonWelding, SharedUniverse, PseudocanonicalFic, and IntercontinuityCrossover.

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Supertrope Related to PublicDomainCharacter. Contrast and compare with CanonWelding, SharedUniverse, PseudocanonicalFic, and IntercontinuityCrossover.

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->''"I won the 2004 Hugo Award for Best short story for an H.P.Lovecraft /Arthur Conan Doyle [[Literature/AStudyinEmerald mashup fiction]], so fanfiction had better be legitimate, because I'm not giving the Hugo back. Or the 2005 Locus Award for Best Nouvellete. I'm not giving that one back either. "''
-->-- ''Creator/NeilGaiman''


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->''"I won the 2004 Hugo Award for Best short story for an H.P.Lovecraft /Arthur Conan Doyle [[Literature/AStudyinEmerald mashup fiction]], so fanfiction had better be legitimate, because I'm not giving the Hugo back. Or the 2005 Locus Award for Best Nouvellete. I'm not giving that one back either. "''
-->-- ''Creator/NeilGaiman''
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Contrast and compare with CanonWelding, SharedUniverse, PseudocanonicalFic, and IntercontinuityCrossover.

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Supertrope to PublicDomainCharacter. Contrast and compare with CanonWelding, SharedUniverse, PseudocanonicalFic, and IntercontinuityCrossover.
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[[caption-width-right:350:{{Sherlock Scan}}ning this one is [[GoMadFromTheRevelation probably a bad idea]].]]

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[[caption-width-right:350:{{Sherlock Scan}}ning [[caption-width-right:350: Attempting the SherlockScan on [[Franchise/CthulhuMythos this one one]] is [[GoMadFromTheRevelation probably a bad idea]].]]
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->''"I won the 2004 Hugo Award for Best short story for an H.P.Lovecraft /Arthur Conan Doyle mashup fiction, so fanfiction had better be legitimate, because I'm not giving the Hugo back. Or the 2005 Locus Award for Best Nouvellete. I'm not giving that one back either. "''

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->''"I won the 2004 Hugo Award for Best short story for an H.P.Lovecraft /Arthur Conan Doyle [[Literature/AStudyinEmerald mashup fiction, fiction]], so fanfiction had better be legitimate, because I'm not giving the Hugo back. Or the 2005 Locus Award for Best Nouvellete. I'm not giving that one back either. "''
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* Creator/PhilipJoseFarmer developed what is commonly called the Wold-Newton Family, a group of public domain characters such as Sherlock Holmes, Tarzan, Arsene Lupin and others, who are either descended from or influenced by people who came in contact with [[MetaOrigin the radiation of]] [[GreenRocks a meteorite]] that struck near the titular town in England in the late 1700s.

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->''"I won the 2004 Hugo Award for Best short story for an H.P.Lovecraft /Arthur Conan Doyle mashup fiction, so fanfiction had better be legitimate, because I'm not giving the Hugo back.
Or the 2005 Locus Award for Best Nouvellete. I'm not giving that one back either. "''

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->''"I won the 2004 Hugo Award for Best short story for an H.P.Lovecraft /Arthur Conan Doyle mashup fiction, so fanfiction had better be legitimate, because I'm not giving the Hugo back.
back. Or the 2005 Locus Award for Best Nouvellete. I'm not giving that one back either. "''
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->''"I won the 2004 Hugo Award for Best short story for an H.P.Lovecraft /Arthur Conan Doyle mashup fiction, so fanfiction had better be legitimate, because I'm not giving the Hugo back.
Or the 2005 Locus Award for Best Nouvellete. I'm not giving that one back either. "''
-->-- ''Creator/NeilGaiman''
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* ''VisualNovel/TheGreatAceAttorney'' has Sherlock Holmes as a character and retains the notion that his adventures are written about by his assistant (although in this continuity it is by the daughter of John Watson, Iris). However in the western translation, due to issues over certain elements of the Holmes canon falling under the protection of the Doyle estate (even though Holmes as a character exists in the public domain), Holmes is renamed "Herlock Sholmes" and the Watsons become the "Wilsons".

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* The original ''Literature/ArseneLupin'' stories are an odd example, since they featured ties to ''Literature/SherlockHolmes'' -- except Holmes wasn't in public domain ''at the time'', so the main characters were renamed "Herlock Sholmes" and "Wilson" to dodge copyright. It's become a straight example since both have fallen into the public domain, and works welding themselves to Lupin have the opportunity to use Holmes/"Sholmes" as well.



* The ''Series/{{Kaitou Sentai Lupinranger|VSKeisatsuSentaiPatranger}}'' are a ''Franchise/SuperSentai'' team who take on the legacy of Literature/ArseneLupin, reassembling a set of dangerous treasures that Lupin himself once collected.



* ''VideoGame/CodeNameSteam'' features many literary characters such as Henry Fleming and Tom Sawyer who team up with Abraham Lincoln to fight aliens.

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* ''VideoGame/CodeNameSteam'' features many literary characters such as Henry Fleming from ''Literature/TheRedBadgeOfCourage'', John Henry, Tiger Lily from ''Literature/PeterPan'', and [[Literature/TheAdventuresOfTomSawyer Tom Sawyer Sawyer]]; who team up with Abraham Lincoln UsefulNotes/AbrahamLincoln to fight aliens.aliens (implied to be from the Franchise/CthulhuMythos, especially since Randolph Carter is among the protagonists). The characters and setting of ''Literature/TheWonderfulWizardOfOz'', in particular, plays a surprisingly large role in the plot.
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*** ''Imperishable Night'' is effectively a sequel to ''Literature/TaleOfTheBambooCutter''; the TrueFinalBoss of the main story is Princess Kaguya, as instead of returning to the Moon as in the original story, Eirin killed the other lunar emissaries tasked with taking her back, and they've been hiding within Eientei for centuries. Fujiwara no Mokou, her rival and the game's BonusBoss, is based on the fifth daughter of Fujiwara no Fuhito, the man who Kuramochi no Miko, one of Kaguya's suitors from the original ''Tale of the Bamboo Cutter'', is presumed to based on.

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*** ''Imperishable Night'' is effectively a sequel to ''Literature/TaleOfTheBambooCutter''; ''Literature/TheTaleOfTheBambooCutter''; the TrueFinalBoss of the main story is Princess Kaguya, as instead of returning to the Moon as in the original story, Eirin killed the other lunar emissaries tasked with taking her back, and they've been hiding within Eientei for centuries. Fujiwara no Mokou, her rival and the game's BonusBoss, is based on the fifth daughter of Fujiwara no Fuhito, the man who Kuramochi no Miko, one of Kaguya's suitors from the original ''Tale of the Bamboo Cutter'', is presumed to based on.
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* ''[[Literature/VampireHunterD Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust]]'' has the BigBad revealed to be ''Literature/{{Carmilla}}'', who attacks Meir Link and then drains and kills his LoveInterest, Charolette, to revive herself.

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* ''[[Literature/VampireHunterD Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust]]'' has the BigBad revealed to be ''Literature/{{Carmilla}}'', Literature/{{Carmilla}}, who attacks Meir Link and then drains and kills his LoveInterest, Charolette, to revive herself.



* ''VideoGame/SherlockHolmesTheAwakened'': Sherlock Holmes: The Awakened is a point and click adventure game developed by Frogwares which features Holmes and Watson investigating a mystery involving the Cthulhu Mythos. It was originally released in 2006, with an Updated Re-release arriving in 2008.

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* ''VideoGame/SherlockHolmesTheAwakened'': Sherlock Holmes: The Awakened ''VideoGame/SherlockHolmesTheAwakened'' is a point and click adventure game developed by Frogwares which features Holmes and Watson investigating a mystery involving the Cthulhu Mythos. It was originally released in 2006, with an Updated Re-release arriving in 2008.
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* The eponymous character of the ''Anime/LupinIII'' franchise is explicitly a decedent of ''Literature/ArseneLupin'', who's continuing his legacy as a GentlemanThief.

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* The eponymous character of the ''Anime/LupinIII'' franchise is explicitly a decedent descendant of ''Literature/ArseneLupin'', ''Literature/ArseneLupin'' who's continuing his legacy as a GentlemanThief.



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* There was an entire anthology dedicated to welding the public domain canons of ''Literature/SherlockHolmes'' to The Cthulhu Mythos, titled ''Shadows Over Baker Street''. It featured such works as [[Creator/NeilGaiman Neil Gaiman's]] ''Literature/AStudyInEmerald''.

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* There was an entire anthology dedicated to welding the public domain canons of ''Literature/SherlockHolmes'' to The Cthulhu Mythos, the Franchise/CthulhuMythos, titled ''Shadows Over Baker Street''. It featured such works as [[Creator/NeilGaiman Neil Gaiman's]] ''Literature/AStudyInEmerald''.



* ''Series/TheLibrarians'' has a the concept of canon welding as its whole second season. Prospero, of Creator/WilliamShakespeare 's The Tempest has come to life, and uses his knowledge of magic to summon [[Literature/SherlockHolmes Professor Moriarty]] to aid him. Flynn and Baird are able to stop him by using a time machine stored in the Library (which also housed other time machines, including the one by Creator/HGWells and (while not public domain) we get a hint of a [[Series/DoctorWho blue police box.]]

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* ''Series/TheLibrarians'' has a the concept of canon welding as its whole second season. Prospero, of Creator/WilliamShakespeare 's The Tempest Creator/WilliamShakespeare's ''The Tempest'' has come to life, and uses his knowledge of magic to summon [[Literature/SherlockHolmes Professor Moriarty]] to aid him. Flynn and Baird are able to stop him by using a time machine stored in the Library (which also housed other time machines, including the one by Creator/HGWells and (while not public domain) we get a hint of a [[Series/DoctorWho blue police box.]]



** [[spoiler:The mere existence of the Foreigner Class. Foreigners are people who became heroic spirits by making deals or being somehow connected to the entities from the Franchise/CthulhuMythos]]. Interestingly, the characters InUniverse thought that this was a fictional story and not true events, and the discovery takes them by surprise. In addition, [[spoiler:Lovecraft wrote about them the way he understood them, since as a regular human being, [[YouCannotGraspTheTrueForm could not grasp their true nature]].]]
** Many of the summonable servants originate from works of fiction; for example, you meet [[Literature/{{Frankenstein}} Frankenstein's monster]], Literature/SherlockHolmes, [[Literature/TheStrangeCaseOfDrJekyllAndMrHyde Dr. Jekyll]], [[Literature/TwentyThousandLeaguesUnderTheSea Captain Nemo]], and more. It's acknowledged InUniverse that they're featured in books, and the explanation is that they're based on their actual lives - and don't differ too much from reality - [[AmbiguousSituation in some cases]].
* The UpdatedRerelease of ''VideoGame/Persona2 Eternal Punishment'' reveals that it's not just Creator/HPLovecraft's {{Eldritch Abomination}}s are in fact real (which they are, considering [[spoiler:the BigBad for this game and the previous ones is none other than Nyarlathotep]], but Franchise/CthulhuMythos happened. The extra scenario features mentions to the Dreamlands, a cameo from Randolph Carter (a recurring protagonist in Lovecraft's work), an opportunity to [[DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu to actually punch Cthulhu]], and more. However, later games in the series do not use these elements at all, except for a rare ShoutOut.

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** [[spoiler:The mere very existence of the Foreigner Class. Foreigners are people who became heroic spirits by making deals or being somehow connected to the entities from the Franchise/CthulhuMythos]]. Interestingly, the characters InUniverse thought that this was a fictional story and not true events, and the discovery takes them by surprise. In addition, [[spoiler:Lovecraft wrote about them the way he understood them, since as a regular human being, [[YouCannotGraspTheTrueForm he could not grasp their true nature]].]]
** Many of the summonable servants Servants originate from works of fiction; for example, you meet [[Literature/{{Frankenstein}} Frankenstein's monster]], Monster]], Literature/SherlockHolmes, [[Literature/TheStrangeCaseOfDrJekyllAndMrHyde Dr. Jekyll]], [[Literature/TwentyThousandLeaguesUnderTheSea Captain Nemo]], and more. It's acknowledged InUniverse that they're featured in books, and the explanation is that they're based on their actual lives - lives, and don't differ too much from reality - -- [[AmbiguousSituation in some cases]].
* The UpdatedRerelease of ''VideoGame/Persona2 Eternal Punishment'' reveals that it's not just Creator/HPLovecraft's {{Eldritch Abomination}}s that are in fact real (which they are, considering [[spoiler:the BigBad for this game and the previous ones is none other than Nyarlathotep]], but the Franchise/CthulhuMythos happened. The extra scenario features mentions to of the Dreamlands, a cameo from Randolph Carter (a recurring protagonist in Lovecraft's work), an opportunity to [[DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu to actually punch Cthulhu]], and more. However, later games in the series do not use these elements at all, except for a rare ShoutOut.



* ''VideoGame/{{Smite}}'' primarily features various mythological figures, but Cthulhu of the public domain ''Franchise/CthulhuMythos'' is also playable.

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* ''VideoGame/{{Smite}}'' primarily features various mythological figures, but Cthulhu of the public domain ''Franchise/CthulhuMythos'' Franchise/CthulhuMythos is also playable.



*** ''Imperishable Night'' is effectively a sequel to ''Literature/TaleOfTheBambooCutter'' as the TrueFinalBoss of the main story is Princess Kaguya, as instead of returning to the Moon as in the original story, Eirin killed the other lunar emissaries tasked with taking her back, and they've been hiding within Eientei for centuries. Fujiwara no Mokou, her rival and the game's BonusBoss, is based on the fifth daughter of Fujiwara no Fuhito, the man who Kuramochi no Miko, one of Kaguya's suitors from the original ''Tale of the Bamboo Cutter'', is presumed to based on.

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*** ''Imperishable Night'' is effectively a sequel to ''Literature/TaleOfTheBambooCutter'' as ''Literature/TaleOfTheBambooCutter''; the TrueFinalBoss of the main story is Princess Kaguya, as instead of returning to the Moon as in the original story, Eirin killed the other lunar emissaries tasked with taking her back, and they've been hiding within Eientei for centuries. Fujiwara no Mokou, her rival and the game's BonusBoss, is based on the fifth daughter of Fujiwara no Fuhito, the man who Kuramochi no Miko, one of Kaguya's suitors from the original ''Tale of the Bamboo Cutter'', is presumed to based on.



* Cthulhu of the ''Franchise/CthulhuMythos'' appears as a minor antagonist in ''WesternAnimation/TheGrimAdventuresOfBillyAndMandy''. While still a world-ending threat, he?s much less intimidating than in his source material.

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* Cthulhu of the ''Franchise/CthulhuMythos'' Franchise/CthulhuMythos appears as a minor antagonist in ''WesternAnimation/TheGrimAdventuresOfBillyAndMandy''. While still a world-ending threat, he?s he's much less intimidating than in his source material.



** "The Collect Call of Cathulhu" has our heroes investigate the theft of the Necronomicon from the New York Public Library, and then learn that it was stolen by Shoggoth serving a cult of "Cathulhu" to summon the big guy himself. The 'Busters have to go head to head with the EldritchAbomination. [[DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu They manage to defeat him using '''SCIENCE'''.]]

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** "The Collect Call of Cathulhu" has our heroes investigate the theft of the Necronomicon from the New York Public Library, and then learn that it was stolen by Shoggoth serving a cult of "Cathulhu" to summon the big guy himself. The 'Busters have to go head to head with the EldritchAbomination. [[DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu They manage to defeat him using '''SCIENCE'''.]]using]] '''[[DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu SCIENCE]]'''.
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* ''WesternAnimation/TheScoobyDooShow'': In the episode "[[Recap/TheScoobyDooShowS1E5TheHeadlessHorsemanOfHalloween The Headless Horseman of Halloween]]," the gang meets descendants of [[Literature/TheLegendOfSleepyHollow Ichabod Crane]].
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* Creator/FredSaberhagen has a series about what Dracula was doing after he [[Literature/TheDraculaTape faked his death]] in the original novel and a series about untold adventures of Sherlock Holmes. They're set in the same universe and crossed over in two novels.
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* The ''Literature/DoctorWhoNewAdventures'' novels ''[[Recap/DoctorWhoNewAdventuresAllConsumingFire All-Consuming-Fire'' has the Doctor team up with Literature/SherlockHolmes. It also retcons many of the Ancient Evils of Franchise/TheWhoniverse into the beings of the Cthulhu Mythos (Fenric is Hastur, the Great Intelligence is Yog-Sothoth, the Nestene Consciousness is the offspring of Shub-Niggurath, and so on).

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* The ''Literature/DoctorWhoNewAdventures'' novels ''[[Recap/DoctorWhoNewAdventuresAllConsumingFire All-Consuming-Fire'' All-Consuming-Fire]]'' has the Doctor team up with Literature/SherlockHolmes. It also retcons many of the Ancient Evils of Franchise/TheWhoniverse the Franchise/{{Whoniverse}} into the beings of the Cthulhu Mythos (Fenric is Hastur, the Great Intelligence is Yog-Sothoth, the Nestene Consciousness is the offspring of Shub-Niggurath, and so on).
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* The ''Literature/DoctorWhoNewAdventures'' novels ''[[Recap/DoctorWhoNewAdventuresAllConsumingFire All-Consuming-Fire'' has the Doctor team up with Literature/SherlockHolmes. It also retcons many of the Ancient Evils of Franchise/TheWhoniverse into the beings of the Cthulhu Mythos (Fenric is Hastur, the Great Intelligence is Yog-Sothoth, the Nestene Consciousness is the offspring of Shub-Niggurath, and so on).
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[[folder:Film - Live-Action]]
* Hinted at in ''Film/StarTrekVITheUndiscoveredCountry'', when Spock states that, "An ancestor of mine maintained that when you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth." This is, of course, a Literature/SherlockHolmes quote. Since Holmes is established as fictional in other ''Franchise/StarTrek'' media, fans usually interpret this as Spock declaring himself to be a descendant of Creator/ArthurConanDoyle.
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!!Indexes:CanonUniverse, {{Crossover}}, PublicDomainArtifact

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!!Indexes:CanonUniverse, {{Crossover}}, PublicDomainArtifact
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[[quoteright:350:[[VideoGame/SherlockHolmesTheAwakened https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/sherlock_holmes_vs_cthulhu.jpg]]]]
[[caption-width-right:350:{{Sherlock Scan}}ning this one is [[GoMadFromTheRevelation probably a bad idea]].]]

Public Domain Canon Welding is when a creator combines their original work with a PublicDomain property, or combine two or more Public Domain works to create a new work.

It is similar to regular CanonWelding in that the creator takes two or more unrelated works and combines them, but at least one of them is in fact Public Domain. In other words, the new work can serve as a sequel, a sidestory, a prequel, or interquel to the original work. It is easy to draw parallels to {{Fanfic}}tion, except that the new work is an officially published property. The only reason the creator can do this is because nobody owns the rights to the work they're using as a basis.

The advantage of this is that as a creator, you get a pre-established setting for your new work, saving you from having to make a certain amount of world-building, and you don't need to worry about things such as copyright, as nobody owns them. In addition, the fact that as Public Domain property, everybody is likely to recognise them, you don't have to fill your work with {{Exposition}}, as everyone is already familiar with them. Thus, you can get to moving along the plot or action faster.

However, this familiarity is also the greatest downside, as the audience also knows how the base story is supposed to go. You may be essentially writing fanfiction, but what you're writing MUST be canon compliant, or else your audience ''will'' notice, and they ''WILL'' complain about you taking too many liberties.

Contrast and compare with CanonWelding, SharedUniverse, PseudocanonicalFic, and IntercontinuityCrossover.

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!!Examples

[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder:Anime and Manga]]
* The eponymous character of the ''Anime/LupinIII'' franchise is explicitly a decedent of ''Literature/ArseneLupin'', who's continuing his legacy as a GentlemanThief.
* ''Anime/PrincessPrincipal'' is heavily implied to take place in the same setting as Creator/HGWells' ''Literature/TheFirstMenInTheMoon'' due to the fact that the {{Steampunk}} technology in the anime is powered by [[AppliedPhlebotinum cavorite]], a mineral found on the Moon that was discovered by the book's two protagonists: Cavor and Bedford.
* ''[[Literature/VampireHunterD Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust]]'' has the BigBad revealed to be ''Literature/{{Carmilla}}'', who attacks Meir Link and then drains and kills his LoveInterest, Charolette, to revive herself.
* The protagonist of ''Manga/RonKamonohashiDerangedDetective'' is a descendant of both Sherlock Holmes and James Moriarty. The "M" side of his family are set up to be antagonists.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Comic Books]]
* ''ComicBook/KillShakespeare'' treats every character and story written by Creator/WilliamShakespeare as existing in the same universe.
* ''ComicBook/TheLeagueOfExtraordinaryGentlemen'' does this with characters from classic literature, film, theatre, television and even comics ranging from the Victorian period all the way to the 20th century and beyond. And this is not counting specific {{Lawyer Friendly Cameo}}s from characters not yet in the public domain but are recognizable nonetheless.
* One ''ComicBook/WarlordOfMars'' miniseries welds the continuity of ''Literature/JohnCarterOfMars'' to ''Literature/GullivarOfMars'', an earlier, more obscure science-fiction novel that may have inspired Creator/EdgarRiceBurroughs' novels.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Film - Animated]]
* ''WesternAnimation/TheCareBearsAdventureInWonderland'' reveals that one of the Care Bears Cousins, Swift Heart Rabbit, is the niece of the White Rabbit from ''Literature/AlicesAdventuresInWonderland''.
* ''WesternAnimation/TomAndJerryMeetSherlockHolmes'' has Franchise/TomAndJerry interacting with and solving a crime with Literature/SherlockHolmes and Moriarty.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Literature]]
* There was an entire anthology dedicated to welding the public domain canons of ''Literature/SherlockHolmes'' to The Cthulhu Mythos, titled ''Shadows Over Baker Street''. It featured such works as [[Creator/NeilGaiman Neil Gaiman's]] ''Literature/AStudyInEmerald''.
* ''Literature/ErastFandorin'' got welded to both the ''Literature/SherlockHolmes'' and the ''[[spoiler:Literature/ArseneLupin]]'' PD canons via the "The Prisoner of the Tower" short story in the ''Jade Rosary Beads'' collection.
* ''Literature/JohannesCabal'': In [[Literature/JohannesCabalAndTheFearInstitute the third book]], the title character travels to the Franchise/CthulhuMythos setting of the Dreamlands and encounters several Mythos entities, including [[EldritchAbomination the Outer God Nyarlathotep]] itself. Elements from the Mythos crop up again later in the series to a lesser extent.
* ''Literature/{{Twig}}'': At the end of the story, the ruler of the Crown States is revealed to be Lord King Adam, who is implied to be the original FrankensteinsMonster, implying that ''Twig'' is a distant AlternateUniverse sequel of the original story.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
* ''Series/TheLibrarians'' has a the concept of canon welding as its whole second season. Prospero, of Creator/WilliamShakespeare 's The Tempest has come to life, and uses his knowledge of magic to summon [[Literature/SherlockHolmes Professor Moriarty]] to aid him. Flynn and Baird are able to stop him by using a time machine stored in the Library (which also housed other time machines, including the one by Creator/HGWells and (while not public domain) we get a hint of a [[Series/DoctorWho blue police box.]]
* ''Series/OnceUponATime'' combines this with FairyTaleFreeForAll. Most of the characters originate from fairy tales. Characters from other public domain works such as ''Literature/TheWizardOfOz'', ''Literature/PeterPan'', and ''Literature/{{Frankenstein}}'' also make appearances.
* ''Series/PennyDreadful'' weaves together iconic characters and plots from ''Literature/{{Dracula}}'', ''Literature/{{Frankenstein}}'', ''Literature/ParadiseLost'', ''Literature/ThePictureOfDorianGray'', ''Literature/TheStrangeCaseOfDrJekyllAndMrHyde'', and ''Film/TheWolfMan1941'' (to name just the most prominent ones) into a standalone story centered on an original character, the spirit medium Vanessa Ives.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
* ''TabletopGame/{{Pathfinder}}'' has incorporated features of the Franchise/CthulhuMythos into its game line, including game stats for various Mythos entities and an adventure path where ''Pathfinder''[='=]s Golarion setting is infiltrated by the Mythos realm of Carcosa.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Video Games]]
* ''VideoGame/AmericanMcGeesAlice'' is a DarkerAndEdgier follow-up to ''Literature/AlicesAdventuresInWonderland'', showing Alice's psyche as she grows up [[spoiler:after losing her family in a house fire, which rendered her catatonic]].
* ''Franchise/{{Castlevania}}'': The original continuity of games happens in the same world as ''Literature/{{Dracula}}'', with its events treated as canon. The book itself receives two sequels within the series: ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaBloodlines'', starring Quincey Morris's son John, and ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaPortraitOfRuin'', starring John's son Jonathan. The games also go out of their way to explain that the Dracula seen in the series is not UsefulNotes/VladTheImpaler, but [[spoiler:a Crusader and Alchemist named Mathias Cronqvist]] using the name due to his reputation. This was in order to cover any {{Plot Hole}}s created by the prequel game ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaLamentOfInnocence''.
* ''VideoGame/CodeNameSteam'' features many literary characters such as Henry Fleming and Tom Sawyer who team up with Abraham Lincoln to fight aliens.
* ''VideoGame/FateGrandOrder'':
** [[spoiler:The mere existence of the Foreigner Class. Foreigners are people who became heroic spirits by making deals or being somehow connected to the entities from the Franchise/CthulhuMythos]]. Interestingly, the characters InUniverse thought that this was a fictional story and not true events, and the discovery takes them by surprise. In addition, [[spoiler:Lovecraft wrote about them the way he understood them, since as a regular human being, [[YouCannotGraspTheTrueForm could not grasp their true nature]].]]
** Many of the summonable servants originate from works of fiction; for example, you meet [[Literature/{{Frankenstein}} Frankenstein's monster]], Literature/SherlockHolmes, [[Literature/TheStrangeCaseOfDrJekyllAndMrHyde Dr. Jekyll]], [[Literature/TwentyThousandLeaguesUnderTheSea Captain Nemo]], and more. It's acknowledged InUniverse that they're featured in books, and the explanation is that they're based on their actual lives - and don't differ too much from reality - [[AmbiguousSituation in some cases]].
* The UpdatedRerelease of ''VideoGame/Persona2 Eternal Punishment'' reveals that it's not just Creator/HPLovecraft's {{Eldritch Abomination}}s are in fact real (which they are, considering [[spoiler:the BigBad for this game and the previous ones is none other than Nyarlathotep]], but Franchise/CthulhuMythos happened. The extra scenario features mentions to the Dreamlands, a cameo from Randolph Carter (a recurring protagonist in Lovecraft's work), an opportunity to [[DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu to actually punch Cthulhu]], and more. However, later games in the series do not use these elements at all, except for a rare ShoutOut.
* ''VideoGame/ReturnToMysteriousIsland'' is something of a distant sequel to ''Literature/TheMysteriousIsland'', as it focuses on a new character discovering Captain Nemo's skeleton and long-abandoned ship. [[spoiler:The character, a sailor named Mina, is strongly implied to be descended from him somehow.]]
* In ''VideoGame/{{Scribblenauts}}'', the player can summon multiple beings from the ''Franchise/CthulhuMythos'', including Cthulhu, Shoggoth, and the Shambler.
* ''VideoGame/SherlockHolmesTheAwakened'': Sherlock Holmes: The Awakened is a point and click adventure game developed by Frogwares which features Holmes and Watson investigating a mystery involving the Cthulhu Mythos. It was originally released in 2006, with an Updated Re-release arriving in 2008.
* ''VideoGame/{{Smite}}'' primarily features various mythological figures, but Cthulhu of the public domain ''Franchise/CthulhuMythos'' is also playable.
* In the backstory of ''VideoGame/SoulcaliburVI'', it's revealed that the titular Soul Calibur's name similarity to {{Excalibur}} is not a coincidence: Excalibur ''is'' Soul Calibur, and Myth/KingArthur was one of the earliest wielders of it. He founded the Aval Organization, a major driving force behind the game's events, later in his life.
* ''Franchise/TouhouProject'':
** The vampire Remilia Scarlet claims to be the descendant of Dracula, but everyone knows it's pretty much a lie.
** ''VideoGame/TouhouEiyashouImperishableNight'':
*** ''Imperishable Night'' is effectively a sequel to ''Literature/TaleOfTheBambooCutter'' as the TrueFinalBoss of the main story is Princess Kaguya, as instead of returning to the Moon as in the original story, Eirin killed the other lunar emissaries tasked with taking her back, and they've been hiding within Eientei for centuries. Fujiwara no Mokou, her rival and the game's BonusBoss, is based on the fifth daughter of Fujiwara no Fuhito, the man who Kuramochi no Miko, one of Kaguya's suitors from the original ''Tale of the Bamboo Cutter'', is presumed to based on.
*** Tewi Inaba, Stage 5 miniboss, is heavily implied to be one and the same as the legendary White Hare of Inaba from the Kojiki, and is more or less allowing Kaguya and Eirin to hide at Eientei as she's the true master of its earth rabbits.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Web Original]]
* WebOriginal/JennyEverywhere is a public-domain character who is explicitly allowed to be used in almost any work, as long as she is given proper attribution. Consequently, her appearances have forged connections between webcomics as varied as ''Webcomic/TalesToBehold'', ''Webcomic/TheBarePit'', and ''Webcomic/KazasMateGwenna''.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Western Animation]]
* In the ''WesternAnimation/{{Beetlejuice}}'' cartoon, BJ and Lydia share episodes with characters from the works of Creator/EdgarAllanPoe and Creator/WilliamShakespeare, in ways which imply that those characters are real people. The creators themselves also both appear; Poe is very fond of Lydia and Shakespeare is actually good friends with Beetlejuice.
* Cthulhu of the ''Franchise/CthulhuMythos'' appears as a minor antagonist in ''WesternAnimation/TheGrimAdventuresOfBillyAndMandy''. While still a world-ending threat, he?s much less intimidating than in his source material.
* In one episode of ''WesternAnimation/MightyMax'', Max teams up with Creator/JulesVerne (who spent a long time as a HumanPopsicle) against a descendant of [[Literature/TwentyThousandLeaguesUnderTheSea Captain Nemo]].
* ''WesternAnimation/TheRealGhostbusters'' has a couple of episodes that do this:
** "The Collect Call of Cathulhu" has our heroes investigate the theft of the Necronomicon from the New York Public Library, and then learn that it was stolen by Shoggoth serving a cult of "Cathulhu" to summon the big guy himself. The 'Busters have to go head to head with the EldritchAbomination. [[DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu They manage to defeat him using '''SCIENCE'''.]]
** In another episode, the Ghostbusters meet Sherlock Holmes' ghost. They could have had him be the real Sherlock Holmes using RuleOfCool, but opt instead to keep Holmes a fictional character, saying that he was given life as an egrigore by the force of the belief in him that his fans and readers had.
[[/folder]]

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!!Indexes:CanonUniverse, {{Crossover}}, PublicDomainArtifact

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