Eli Podgram

His Excellency, Eli Podgram, Lord of the Valley of Tzgarno, known to many as The Specialist, was a Romanian philanthropist, who, after briefly being turned into a vampire, made it his life's mission to eliminate what he termed the Twilight World, the sinister world of the paranormal and the occult. He worked toward this goal with Hugo, his hulking French servant, and Mara, a young Romanian woman he'd taken under his care and developed a telepathic connection with.
== Biography ==
=== Early Life ===
Podgram's paternal grandfather was a Count of Rumanian Transylvania.Castledoom - Errol Lecale - New English Library - Published 1974 - Page 15 - Retrieved 2 June 2022
==Physical Appearance==
Podgram was a small man, spare of build.Blood of My Blood - Errol Lecale - New English Library - Published 1975 - Page 16 - Retrieved 21 May 2021
== Personality ==
While a youth Podgram mocked superstitious beliefs. This changed after his having been turned into a vampire, at which point his crusade against the Twilight World became his obsession. He no longer saw use for his aristocratic titles.
==Weapons and Abilities==
===Inherent Abilities===
*Pain resistance: Through sheer willpower, Podgram was able control and turn off pain, having done so for a broken leg, a gunshot wound, and poison.Zombie - Errol Lecale - New English Library - Published April 1975 - Page 19 - Retrieved 17 May 2021 (PROSE: Zombie) 
**However, he was unable to use it against a toothache, which Podgram theorised was the fault of the tooth's proximity to his brain. (PROSE: Zombie) 
===Magical Abilities=== 
*Seventh Great Injunction: An incantation to ward off the evils of the Twilight World.Zombie - Errol Lecale - New English Library - Published April 1975 - Page 100 - Retrieved 19 May 2021 (PROSE: Zombie)
**It was entirely ineffective against deities like Baron Samedi,Zombie - Errol Lecale - New English Library - Published April 1975 - Page 101 - Retrieved 19 May 2021 whom even the Brethren of the High Places could not hope to defeat. (PROSE: Zombie)
*Astral Projection: Podgram was capable of astral projection, and used pentacles to protect himself from entities of the astral plane that might attack him there and keep them from manifesting in the real world to attack his body. The surface on which the pentacles were made needed to be absolutely clean; one speck of dirt would be enough for an entity to pierce its protection.Zombie - Errol Lecale - New English Library - Published April 1975 - Page 68 - Retrieved 17 May 2021 He could only remain on the plane for a limited time.Zombie - Errol Lecale - New English Library - Published April 1975 - Page 81 - Retrieved 19 May 2021 (PROSE: Zombie)
* Telepathy: Podgram was capable of reading minds and communing telepathically from several rooms away with Mara. (PROSE: Zombie, Blood of My Blood) 
**Simultaneously, Podgram was capable of closing his mind to intrusion, including by Mara.Blood of My Blood - Errol Lecale - New English Library - Published 1975 - Page 59 - Retrieved 21 May 2021 (PROSE: Blood of My Blood)
===Assets===
* Crayon: A writing implement of his own devising, whose colour faded upon exposure to light, allowing Podgram to create invisible protective pentacles that would not draw attention.Zombie - Errol Lecale - New English Library - Published April 1975 - Page 69 - Retrieved 17 May 2021 (PROSE: Zombie)
*Esoteric equipment: Podgram kept a doctor's valise filled with amulets, relics, herbs, and powders useful in his war with the Twilight World. (PROSE: Zombie)
*Spiritual knowledge: Podgram, while in the astral plane, knew how to guide the dead in the direction of the afterlife to prevent them from becoming Earthbound.Zombie - Errol Lecale - New English Library - Published April 1975 - Page 79 - Retrieved 19 May 2021 (PROSE: Zombie)
*Wealth: Podgram's father had been a wealthy Transylvanian count, and his mother a wealthy member of an old Boston family. Podgram inherited their wealth, as well as Romanian estates, American land, townhouses in Vienna and Paris, and vast business holdings. Podgram also owned an estate in the Blue Mountains of Jamaica, where his own Coffea was grown.Blood of My Blood - Errol Lecale - New English Library - Published 1975 - Page 92 - Retrieved 21 May 2021 Podgram took no interest in his own riches, using them only to fight the occult.Zombie - Errol Lecale - New English Library - Published April 1975 - Page 20 - Retrieved 17 May 2021 (PROSE: Zombie)
==Notes==
*Podgram was created by Scottish author Errol Lecale.Errol Lecale - Fantastic Fiction - Retrieved 17 May 2021Written in Blood: A Cultural History of the British Vampire - Paul Adams - The History Press - Published 1 July 2014 - Retrieved 18 May 2021
*Author Paul Adams compared Podgram to Dennis Wheatley's character the Duke de Richleau.
==Appearances ==
* Tigerman of Terrahpur (first appearance)
* Castledoom
*Severed Hand
*The Death Box
*Zombie
*Blood of My Blood (final appearance)
==See also ==
*John Silence
*Thomas Carnacki 
==References==
Category:Humans
Category:Heroes
Category:Literary characters
Category:Errol Lecale characters
Category:American characters
Category:Romanian characters
Category:University of Oxford alumni
Category:Former vampires
Category:Vampire hunters
Category:Paranormal investigators