Information AboutArkham |
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Arkham House , a Publishing Company started by two of Lovecraft's correspondents, August Derleth and Donald Wandrei , takes its name from this city as a tribute.Cf. "About Arkham House" web site. ARKHAM IN LOVECRAFT'S FICTION Arkham is the home of Miskatonic University , which figures prominently in many of Lovecraft's works. The institution finances the expeditions in both '' At The Mountains Of Madness '' ( 1936 ) and "The Shadow out of Time" (1936). Walter Gilman , of "The Dreams in the Witch House" ( 1933 ), attends classes at the university. Other notable institutions in Arkham are the ''Arkham Historical Society'' and the ''Arkham Sanitarium'' (''sic''). Arkham's main Newspaper is the ''Arkham Advertiser'', which has a circulation that reaches as far as Dunwich . In the 1880 s, its newspaper was called the ''Arkham Gazette''. Arkham’s most notable characteristics are its Gambrel roofs and the dark legends surrounding the city for centuries. Occurrences such as the disappearance of children (presumably murdered in ritual sacrifices) at May Eve and other ''bad doings'' are accepted as a part of life for the poorer citizens of the city. Location The precise location of Arkham is unknown, although it is probably near both Innsmouth and Dunwich . However, it may be surmised from Lovecraft's stories that it is some distance to the north of Boston , probably in Essex County, Massachusetts .The actual location of Arkham is a subject of debate. Will Murray places Arkham in central Massachusetts and suggests that it is based on the small village of Oakham. Robert D. Marten refutes this claim and equates Arkham with Salem (as did Lovecraft), and thinks that Arkham is named for Arkwright, Rhode Island (which is now part of Fiskville). Lovecraft himself, in a letter to F. Lee Baldwin dated April 29, 1934, wrote that " mental picture of Arkham is of a town something like Salem in atmosphere [and style of houses, but more hilly... with a college (which Salem [lacks )... I place the town the imaginary Miskatonic [River somewhere north of Salem—perhaps near Manchester." (Joshi & Schultz, pp. 6–7.) The real-life model for Arkham seems to be, in fact, Salem , its reputation for the occult making it appealing to one who dabbles in the weird tale. August Derleth stated in his writings: "Arkham ... was Lovecraft’s own well-known, widely-used place-name for legend-haunted Salem, Massachusetts, in his remarkable fiction". (Cf. "About Arkham House" web site.) Arkham Sanitarium appears in the short story "The Thing on the Doorstep" and may have been inspired by the Danvers State Insane Asylum, aka Danvers State Hospital , located in Danvers, Massachusetts.Joseph Morales notes in his "A Short Tour of Lovecraftian New England" (web site) that Danvers "is mentioned in passing in some of Lovecraft's stories, and might also be the inspiration for HPL's fictional Arkham Sanitarium". ( Danvers State Hospital also appears in Lovecraft's stories "Pickman's Model" and "The Shadow over Innsmouth".) H.P. Lovecraft's Arkham and the Arkham Sanitarium were paid homage in the creation of Arkham Asylum in the Batman Comic Book Series. APPEARANCES Lovecraft's fiction ''Note: dates are the year written.'' Arkham first appeared in Lovecraft's Short Story "The Picture in the House" ( 1920 )—the story is also the first to mention "Miskatonic". It also appears in other stories by Lovecraft, including:
Other authors Arkham also appears in the Cthulhu Mythos tales of other writers since Lovecraft's death. Among them:
ARKHAM IN OTHER FICTION
SEE ALSO
Other fictional settings from the stories of H. P. Lovecraft : REFERENCES Primary sources
Secondary sources Books Web sites Notes |
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