[WB] Miskatonic County - Lovecraftian Horror Setting

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Welcome to Miskatonic County​
"The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown" ~H. P. Lovecraft​

Prologue​

Hello, you fine folks! So, as a big fan of lovecraftian Horror (well, Horror in general, really), who lately has pondered a lot of lovecraft-inspired stuff, I decided to put together a little thread to collect my thoughts, ideas and concepts for a (slightly modernized and adapted) lovecraftian setting, fittingly located in the fictional Miskatonic County, which conveniently houses all those fictional New England towns Lovecraft came up with. (The name is, sadly, not my invention and has been used by Lovecraft-commentators and scholars for...a while). As a general guideline, I try to aim for a bit of a retro setting, so the baseline for this version of Miskatonic County is set somewhere during the 80s, though I mid add some historical notes or maybe some additional informations for the modern day at some point. I'll also not go into too much detail in regards to the eldritch horrors, as to not spoil the mystery. Staying true to Lovecrafts attitude of "Vibe over Facts", I won't give any fixed distances, population numbers or maps (although I used this one, based on one scribbled by Lovecraft for inspiration) and instead keep things a bit more vague. I will also probably draw some inspiration from other horror writers as I progress, so this will be more of a free interpretation (to prevent any angry "Um, akchually!"s) Also it should be noted, that I'm not from the US, and while pop culture and personal interest have taught me quite a bit, there probably will be things that stay a bit fuzzy. If you happen to be from the US (or just be better informed than me) and find something truly outrageously wrong, feel free to drop me a message! With that out of the way, here we go! Enjoy the ride and please don't pet the Shoggoths.​

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Table of Contents​
I. Introduction ~ Miskatonic County II. Arkham ~ Scholars and Sinners III. Dunwich ~ The Bottom of the Valley IV. Innsmouth ~ The Call of the Sea V. Kingsport ~ The Old Port VI. Other Places ~ Strange Shores​

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I. Introduction ~ Miskatonic County​

Located halfway between Salem and Boston in the north-west of Massachussetts and often overlooked by outsiders (something it's inhabitants are often quite happy about) lies Miskatonic County. A (mostly) quiet and (with the exception of the bustling city of Arkham) rural coastal area with a rich history, beautiful New England landscapes and charming inhabitants. At least that's what the good people of Miskatonic County like to claim. In fact, not every part of the county is as quiet and quaint as it is often portrayed. Aside from the usual unpleasantries like crime, corruption, poverty and the mundane human drama, there are, just underneath the surface, deeper and more terrifying secrets hidden along the banks of the Miskatonic River. Rumours about ancient horrors, strange creatures, insane scholars and other legends, both urban and rural are plentiful here. But who could believe them? For most people lucky enough to be of sound mind, Miskatonic county is just part of the Commonwealth of Massachussetts. From the sleepy, old and charming town of Kingsport, to the much less charming and much more industrial port of Innsmouth, to the city of Arkham with it's famous university, to the remote countryside of the Miskatonic Valley with the poverty-stricken rural hamlet of Dunwich... Welcome to Miskatonic County. Enjoy your stay....​

 

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II. Arkham​

Founded in 1629 by puritan settlers, Arkham was for most of it's history a sleepy little college-town. Only after World War II, it experienced a bit of a renaissance and quickly grew to a population almost rivaling Boston. The picture of Akrham in the year of Grace 1985 is a diverse one. From the modern high-rise office and apartment buildings north of the river, to the Gilded-Age-townhoses along the River Street to it's south. From the run-down apartment buildings, seedy bars and dodgy nigthclubs in the French Hill-neighbourhood to the last few remnants of colonial architecture around the old graveyard, Arkham truly has something to offer for everyone!

Miskatonic University​

Founded in 1655, the Miskatonic University offers it's students a wide array of degrees in Medicine, Law, Science, Education, Humanities and Divinity. While not quite an Ivy League school, donations from the old elites of Arkham and it's more successful alumni allowed the university a quite generous budgeting, including an exceedingly well-equipped library. Especially the humanities, Archeology and Middle Eastern Studies in particular have a stellar reputation, but in the United States and abroad. In fact, the Armitage Professorship for Arabic Literature is the oldest such chair in New England. Despite it's origins as a mainly puritan centre of learning, the modern Miskatonic has a rather liberal and progressive bent, both in regards to staff and students, although (naturally) the fraternities, mostly located south of the campus between College and Pickman Street regularly cause some controversy. While the college football team, the Arkham Pilgrims, are nothing to write home about, the Miskatonic's women's lacrosse team is quite good and often the bigger source of pride (Go Ravens!) Rowdy fratboys aside, the most regular source of annoyance on campus are the large number of crows on the premises. One reason for that is most likely the widespread superstition, that feeding the crows brings luck. Despite regular complaints from the groundskeepers, the university has given up on dealing with the crows. Freshman are usually warned about the sometimes quite insistent birds. The name of it's student-newspaper, the Arkham Inquirer, is a light jab at the town's newspaper "Arkham Observer", it's first editorial explaining the name with "the firm intent to ask questions, investigate and get to the bottom of the issues before us, instead of just standing there, wide-eyed and in confusion, like an uninvolved Observer[sic!]".

Neighbourhoods​

French Hill​
Lower/Working Class | Red Light District

Federal Street​
Upper Class | Business

Riverside​
Old Money | Small Exclusive Businesses/Residential Area

West Hill​
Lower-Middle Class | Residential/Small Businesses

Miskatonic Avenue​
Upper-Middle Class | Residential Area

Other Locations​
Highstreet Apartment Buildings Federal Tower Independence Square Mall Arkham Sanatorium St. Mary's Hospital Saltonstall Highschool

Secrets and Rumours​
TBA

 

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III. Dunwich​
TBA

 

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IV. Innsmouth​
TBA

 

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V. Kingsport​
TBA

 

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VI. Other Places​
TBA