Arkham
65730
226067258
2008-07-16T18:03:36Z
74.163.132.122
/* Film and television */
''This article is about the fictional city in the writings of [[H. P. Lovecraft]]. For other uses, see the "other appearances" section of this article.''
'''Arkham''' is a [[fictional city]] in [[Massachusetts]], part of the [[Lovecraft Country]] setting created by [[H. P. Lovecraft]] and is featured in many of his stories, as well as those of other [[Cthulhu Mythos]] writers.
[[Arkham House]], a [[publisher|publishing company]] started by two of Lovecraft's correspondents, [[August Derleth]] and [[Donald Wandrei]], takes its name from this city as a tribute.<ref>Cf. "About Arkham House" web site.</ref>
==Arkham in Lovecraft's fiction==
[[Image:Crowninshield-Bentley House - Salem, Massachusetts.JPG|thumb|right|300px|Lovecraft's Crowninshield House in ''[[The Thing on the Doorstep]]'' was modelled on the real ''[[Crowninshield-Bentley House]]'' in [[Salem, Massachusetts]].]]
In the 1933 story ''[[The Thing on the Doorstep]]'', Lovecraft described
:the ancient, mouldering, and subtly fearsome town...witch-cursed, legend-haunted Arkham, whose huddled, sagging [[gambrel]] roofs and crumbling [[Colonial house|Georgian]] balustrades brood out over the centuries beside the darkly muttering Miskatonic.
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 in literature|1936]]) and ''[[The Shadow out of Time]]'' (1936). [[The Dreams in the Witch House#Walter Gilman|Walter Gilman]], of ''[[The Dreams in the Witch House]]'' ([[1933 in literature|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 (H. P. Lovecraft)|Dunwich]]. In the [[1880]]s, its newspaper is 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 (Lovecraft)|Dunwich]]. However, it may be surmised from Lovecraft's stories that it is some distance to the north of [[Boston, Massachusetts|Boston]], probably in [[Essex County, Massachusetts]].<!--...FOOTNOTE BEGINS...--><ref>
The actual location of Arkham is a subject of debate. [[Will Murray (writer)|Will Murray]] places Arkham in central Massachusetts and suggests that it is based on the small village of Oakham. Robert D. Marten rejects this claim and equates Arkham with Salem, 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 "[my] mental picture of Arkham is of a town something like Salem in atmosphere [and] style of houses, but more hilly [and] with a college (which Salem [lacks]) ... I place the town [and] the imaginary Miskatonic [River] somewhere north of Salem—perhaps near Manchester." (Joshi & Schultz, pp. 6–7.)
</ref><!--...FOOTNOTE ENDS...--> The real-life model for Arkham seems to be, in fact, [[Salem, Massachusetts|Salem]], its reputation for the occult making it appealing to one who dabbles in the weird tale.<ref>[[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.)</ref>
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.<ref>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".</ref> ([[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 in literature|1920]])—the story is also the first to mention "Miskatonic". It also appears in other stories by Lovecraft, including:
*"[[Herbert West—Reanimator]]" ([[1921 in literature|1921]]–[[1922 in literature|22]]); first story to mention "Miskatonic University"
*"[[The Unnamable (short story)|The Unnamable]]" ([[1923 in literature|1923]])
*"[[The Colour out of Space]]" ([[1927 in literature|1927]])
*"[[The Dunwich Horror]]" ([[1928 in literature|1928]])
*<!--NOTE-->''[[At the Mountains of Madness]]''<!--A NOVELLA USES ITALICS--> ([[1931 in literature|1931]]); one of the ships is named ''Arkham''
*"[[The Shadow Over Innsmouth]]" (1931), first to mention "Arkham Historical Society"
*"[[The Dreams in the Witch House]]" ([[1932 in literature|1932]])
*"[[Through the Gates of the Silver Key]]" (1932–[[1933 in literature|1933]])
*"[[The Thing on the Doorstep]]" (1933); first to mention "Arkham Sanitarium"
*"[[The Shadow out of Time]]" ([[1934 in literature|1934]]–[[1935 in literature|1935]])
===Other authors===
Arkham also appears in the [[Cthulhu Mythos]] tales of other writers since Lovecraft's death. Among them:
*[[Robert Bloch|Bloch, Robert]]. "The Creeper in the Crypt" ([[1937 in literature|1937]])
*Brennen, Joseph Payne. "Forringer's Fortune" ([[1975 in literature|1975]])
*Brunner, John. "Concerning the Forthcoming Inexpensive Paperback Translation of the Necronomicon of Abdul Alhazred" ([[1992 in literature|1992]])
*[[Ramsey Campbell|Campbell, Ramsey]]
**"The Tomb Herd" ([[1986 in literature|1986]])
**"The Tower from Yuggoth" (1986)
*Jens, Tina L. "In His Daughter's Darkling Womb" ([[1997 in literature|1997]]), mentions "Arkham Industries"
*[[Brian Lumley|Lumley, Brian]]. ''The Transition of Titus Crow'' (1975)
*[[Robert M. Price|Price, Robert M.]] "Wilbur Whateley Waiting" ([[1987 in literature|1987]])
*Shea, Michael. ''The Color out of Time'' ([[1984 in literature|1984]])
*[[Clark Ashton Smith|Smith, Clark Ashton]]. "I Am a Witch" (19??)
*Thompson, C. Hall. "The Will of Claude Ashur" ([[1947 in literature|1947]])
*[[F. Paul Wilson|Wilson, F. Paul]]. "The Barrens" ([[1990 in literature|1990]])
==Other appearances==
* Arkham Tattoo is located in [[Akron, Ohio]].
* Arkham is the setting for all of the stories in the [[2006]] anthology ''[[Arkham Tales]]'' published by [[Chaosium]].
===Film and television===
*Arkham also appeared in the movie ''Haunted Palace'' ([[1963 in film|1963]]) starring [[Vincent Price]].
*Arkham is the name of the [[Psychiatric hospital|mental hospital]] mentioned in ''[[The Rage: Carrie 2]]'', which is about certain characters who survived the events in ''[[Carrie (film)|Carrie]]''.
*"Arkham" is the codename used for a plan to assassinate Mr. Parker in NBC's television show ''[[The Pretender (TV series)|The Pretender]]''.
*Arkham also appears as the town in the movie ''[[Die, Monster, Die]]'' starring Boris Karloff and Nick Adams.(This film is based upon Lovecraft's [[The Colour Out of Space]].)
*Arkham appears in "The Collect Call of Cathulhu", an episode from ''[[The Real Ghostbusters]]'', when members of the Ghostbusters go to Miskatonic University to get information on how to stop [[Cthulhu]].
*Arkham is the name of the main prison/asylum located outside [[Gotham City]] in [[Batman: The Animated Series]].
*In Universal Pictures' 1940s ''Mummy'' films, the sinister priests are usually referred to as members of the Temple of Karnak, but in [[The Mummy's Ghost]] (1944), this becomes the Temple of Arkham.
===Comics===
* In the [[DC Universe]], [[Arkham Asylum]] is a high-security asylum for dangerous [[psychopath]]s where many [[Gotham City]] [[supervillains]], including the [[Joker (comics)|Joker]], are kept under guard.
* The [[ARCAM Corporation]] in the manga ''[[Spriggan (manga)|Spriggan]]'' took its name from the fictional city of Arkham.
*In ''[[The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen]]'', Arkham is mentioned in ''[[Allan and the Sundered Veil]]'', ''[[The New Traveller's Almanac]]'' and ''[[The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: Black Dossier|The Black Dossier]]''.
===Games===
* Arkham is the setting for [[roleplaying games]] based on the Mythos, such as ''[[Call of Cthulhu (role-playing game)|Call of Cthulhu]]''.
* The third ''[[Shadow Hearts]]'' video game (''[[Shadow Hearts: From the New World]]'') features a visit to the fictional Arkham University, based in [[Boston]], [[Massachusetts]]. H. P. Lovecraft himself appears as a professor at the university, conjuring up demons for the heroes to fight at their request.
* Arkham is one of the antagonists in the video game ''[[Devil May Cry 3: Dante's Awakening]]'', the father of "Lady". It is also noted that the character Arkham's alter ego is Jester, a character that closely resembles Joker.
* In the web-based roleplaying game ''[[Urban Dead]]'', there are two suburbs, named Old Arkham and New Arkham. Some players have even started to refer to a specific area as [[Miskatonic University]].
* ''[[Arkham Horror]]'' is a cooperative adventure board-game themed around H.P Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos. The game has players exploring the town of Arkham as they attempt to stop unmentionable horrors from spilling into the world.
*''[[MechWarrior 2]]'' features a level named Arkham Bridge with a song so entitled.
*The city of New Arcadia from ''[[Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness]]'' is a spoof of Arkham.
===Music===
* Arkham was a rock band that put out two full length albums on Volcom Entertainment. They performed for three years on the Vans Warped Tour and toured with bands such as Thrice and Rise Against.
* Arkham was also the name of a short-lived band featuring several of the members of [[British Sea Power]] prior to the formation of BSP.
* Arkham is also the name of a Brazilian rock/metal/experimental band formed in 2001 from Rio de Janeiro .
*The Arkhams are a Psychobilly/Rockabilly band from New York that chose their name, in part, based on the writings of HP Lovecraft.
* Grindcore band [[Discordance Axis]] have a song entitled ''Radiant Arkham''.
* Scottish hip hop artist Loki has a song entitled ''Escape From Arkham'' from the ''Friendly World'' LP.
* Avant-garde rock artist [[Bob Drake]]'s song, "Kaziah's Pet," is set in Arkham.
* [[Deathrock]] band [[Rudimentary Peni]] not only makes a reference to Arkham in their song "Arkham Hearse", but also numerous other [[H. P. Lovecraft]] references throughout their musical catalogue.
*Alt-country musician [[Ryan Adams]] wrote a song called "Arkham Asylum," which he and [[Ryan Adams and the Cardinals|the Cardinals]] have performed live since September 18, 2006.'
==See also==
* [[Arkham Asylum]], an institution in the [[DC Comics]] universe, named in honor of Lovecraft's Arkham
* [[Arkham Horror]], a board game set in Arkham, where the players war against the Cthulhu Mythos
* [[Lovecraft Country]]
Other fictional settings from the stories of [[H. P. Lovecraft]]:
* [[Dunwich (Lovecraft)|Dunwich]], Massachusetts
* [[Innsmouth]], Massachusetts
* [[Kingsport (Lovecraft)|Kingsport]], Massachusetts
==References==
===Primary sources===
* Lovecraft, Howard P.
**''At the Mountains of Madness, and Other Novels'' (7th corrected printing), S. T. Joshi (ed.), Sauk City, WI: Arkham House, 1985. ISBN 0-87054-038-6. Definitive version.
**''Dagon and Other Macabre Tales'', S. T. Joshi (ed.), Sauk City, WI: Arkham House, 1987. ISBN 0-87054-039-4. Definitive version.
**''The Dunwich Horror and Others'' (9th corrected printing), S. T. Joshi (ed.), Sauk City, WI: Arkham House, 1984. ISBN 0-87054-037-8. Definitive version.
===Secondary sources===
====Books====
*{{cite book|last=Harms|first=Daniel|chapter=Arkham|pages=p. 10|title=The Encyclopedia Cthulhiana|edition=2nd ed.|year=1998|location=Oakland, CA|publisher=Chaosium|id=ISBN 1-56882-119-0}}
*{{cite book | last=Joshi | first=S. T. | authorlink=S. T. Joshi | coauthors=David E. Schultz | title=An H. P. Lovecraft Encyclopedia | chapter=Arkham | pages = pp. 6–7 | location=Westport, CT | publisher=Greenwood Press | date=2001 | id=ISBN 0-313-31578-7}}
====Web sites====
*{{cite web|title=About Arkham House Publishers|url=http://www.arkhamhouse.com/about.htm|accessmonthday=January 19 |accessyear=2006}}
*{{cite web|author=Joseph Morales|title=A Short Tour of Lovecraftian New England|url=http://baharna.com/cmythos/NewEngland/Danvers/danvers.htm|accessmonthday=April 16 |accessyear=2006}}
===Notes===
{{reflist}}
==External links==
*[http://www.baharna.com/cmythos/arkham.htm "Lovecraft's Map of Arkham"], from The Cthulhu Mythos: A Guide
<!--
Note: Category is already part of Category:Fictional locations.
-->
[[Category:Cthulhu Mythos locations]]
[[Category:Fictional cities and towns in Massachusetts]]
[[de:Arkham]]
[[es:Arkham]]
[[fr:Arkham]]
[[ko:아캄]]
[[it:Arkham (città)]]
[[ja:アーカム]]
[[pl:Arkham]]
[[ru:Аркхем]]
[[sv:Arkham]]
[[br:Arkham]]
{{Template:H.P. Lovecraft}}