Information AboutInnsmouth |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT INNSMOUTH | |
| cthulhu mythos locations | |
| fictional towns and cities in massachusetts | |
|
Lovecraft called Innsmouth "a considerably twisted version of Newburyport, Mass. "Lovecraft, ''Selected Letters V'', p. 86. HISTORY Innsmouth is a coastal village located in Essex County , Massachusetts , between Newburyport and Arkham . Founded in 1643 , Innsmouth was once a great trading center and Major Seaport . The War Of 1812 brought an end to the town's prosperity when many of its sailors turned to Privateering and were subsequently killed in raids against the British fleet. As a result, sea trade fell off considerably and most of the town's income came primarily from mills built along the Manuxet River . The town also relied on dwindling revenues from Captain Obed Marsh's increasingly profitless ventures in the Indies . THE PLAGUE In 1840 , Obed Marsh started a cult in Innsmouth known as the ''Esoteric Order of Dagon'', basing it on a religion practiced by certain Polynesia n islanders he had met during his travels. Shortly thereafter, the town's fishing industry experienced a great upsurge. Records indicate that in 1846 a mysterious plague struck the town, causing mass depopulation. In reality the deaths were caused by the Deep Ones themselves following the cessation of sacrifical rites in exchange for gold and fish in accordance with their compact with Obed Marsh's after he and his followers were arrested. The cult activity subsequently resumed and the interbreeding policy greatly increased, resulting in numerous deformities. Consequently, Innsmouth was shunned for many years, until 1927 when it came under investigation by Federal authorities for alleged Bootlegging . ESOTERIC ORDER OF DAGON The Esoteric Order of Dagon was the primary religion in Innsmouth after Captain Obed Marsh returned from the South Seas with the dark religion circa 1838 . It quickly took root due to its promises of expensive gold artifacts and fish, which were desired by the primarily-fishing town. The central beings worshipped by the Order were the Deep Ones, Father Dagon, Mother Hydra , and, to a lesser extent, Cthulhu . The Deep Ones were seen largely as intermediaries between the various gods, rather than as gods themselves. Even so, the cultists sacrificed various locals to the Deep Ones at specific times in exchange for a limitless supply of gold and fish. The Esoteric Order of Dagon (which masqueraded as the local Masonic movement) had three oaths which members had to take. The first was an oath of secrecy, the second, an oath of loyalty, and the third, an oath to marry a Deep One and bear or sire its child. The Esoteric Order of Dagon was seemingly destroyed when one of Obed Marsh's ''lost descendants'' sent the U.S. Treasury Department to seize the town. As a result, the town was more or less destroyed, and the Order was thought disbanded. Other appearances
MANUXET RIVER The Manuxet River is a fictional river that runs through Massachusetts and empties into the sea at the town of Innsmouth. Although there is a Manuxet River in Worcester, Massachusetts , Will Murray believes that Lovecraft based his fictional Manuxet on the Merrimack River and probably invented the name from root words of the Algonquin language. To support his claim, Murray gives two reasons. First, even though Newburyport was the inspiration for Innsmouth, it is clearly a separate location since Lovecraft himself placed the real-life Newburyport to the north of Innsmouth in "The Shadow Over Innsmouth". Based on his research, Murray thinks that Lovecraft may actually have based Innsmouth on Gloucester, Massachusetts , which is located on Cape Ann on the coast. Secondly, Lovecraft is known to have come up with the name for his fictional Miskatonic River by combining Algonquin root wordsLovecraft, ''Selected Letters III'', p. 432.. Murray believes that Lovecraft used a similar method to come up with ''Manuxet''. In Algonquin, ''man'' means "island" and ''uxet'' translates to "at the large part of the river"; thus, when combined ''Manuxet'' means "Island at the large part of the river". Murray contends that this meaning is well suited to Innsmouth's placement at the mouth of the Manuxet. And Cape Ann itself (the alleged site of Innsmouth) is connected to the mainland by only a thin strip of land and might be thought of as an island.Murray, "Roots of the Manuxet", ''Crypt of Cthulhu #75'', p. 34. REFERENCES
:—"Innsmouth", pp. 149–50. Ibid.
Notes |
|
|