We’re back and we’re sightseeing. Like most penurious writers, we’re doing so on a tight budget. Wasting money on expensive train tickets means that we won’t be able to afford the good cheese crackers for lunch. Happily, the ticket clerk is happy to offer cheaper alternatives. Sure, he’s also offering dire warnings about travelling via Innsmouth, but that just makes it sound all the more exciting. Anyway, this can’t be the worst replacement bus service we’ve ever taken.

Main Topic: The Shadow Over Innsmouth part 1

This is the first instalment of a multi-episode exploration of HP Lovecraft’s classic weird tale, “The Shadow Over Innsmouth”. It is a dive so deep it goes all the way down to Y’ha-nthlei.

While “The Call of Cthulhu” gets all the name recognition, it’s fair to say that “The Shadow Over Innsmouth” is Lovecraft’s most influential story. It has spawned countless sequels, adaptations and imitations over the 90+ years since its first publication, and these show no sign of slowing down. More importantly for our purposes, Innsmouth and its ichthyic, batrachian residents are at the centre of a staggering number of Call of Cthulhu scenarios.

This time, however, we start off by looking into the origins and influences behind this tale, then pick through the first chapter of the story, looking for gaming inspiration.

Links

Things we mention in this episode include:

• “The Call of Cthulhu” by HP Lovecraft
• “The Shadow Over Innsmouth” by HP Lovecraft
• “The Dunwich Horror” by HP Lovecraft
• Dark Adventure Radio Theatre Presents “The Shadow Over Innsmouth”
• The Complete Fiction of H.P. Lovecraft Audiobook by the HP Lovecraft Historical
• HP Lovecraft Literary Podcast on “The Shadow Over Innsmouth”
• “Celephaïs” by HP Lovecraft
• “Fungi From Yuggoth” by HP Lovecraft
• Scan of Lovecraft’s plot notes for “The Shadow Over Innsmouth”
• Weird Tales
• At the Mountains of Madness by HP Lovecraft
• “Herbert West – Reanimator” by HP Lovecraft
• The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath by HP Lovecraft
• “The Colour Out of Space” by HP Lovecraft
• “Pickman’s Model” by HP Lovecraft
• Frank Utpatel
• The New Annotated HP Lovecraft edited by Leslie Klinger
• The Outsider and Others by HP Lovecraft

• The Innsmouth Cycle: The Taint of the Deep Ones, edited by Robert M Price
• “The Harbour Master” from In Search of the Unknown by Robert W Chambers
• The King in Yellow by Robert W Chambers
• “The Dreams in the Witch-House” by HP Lovecraft
• “Fishhead” by Irvin S Cobb
• An HP Lovecraft Encyclopedia by ST Joshi and David E. Schultz
• “Ancient Sorceries” by Algernon Blackwood
• “In the Abyss” by HG Wells
• Paranoia
• “The War on [insert noun]”
• Concentration camps
• Japanese internment camps
• Something About Cats and Other Pieces by HP Lovecraft
• Robert Olmstead’s family tree
• The Nameless Dark by TE Grau
• Spaceship Zero

News

Apocalypse Grizzlies

Scott recently joined the Apocalypse Players over at Grizzly Peaks Radio for a special series of crossover episodes, playing “Secret of Castronegro” from The Cthulhu Companion. Expect shenanigans!

More Eldritch Stories

Paul and Mike Mason have put out another batch of Eldritch Stories. You can find them anywhere you might find podcasts, or over at eldritchstories.com.

Scott on Tear Them Apart

Scott recently joined Paul Yellovich and Evan Dorkin for a livestream of the Tear Them Apart podcast, discussing all manner of horror films and how they relate to RPGs. You can watch the video below.

Paul on Innsmouth Book Club

Paul recently appeared on Episode 72 of the Innsmouth Book Club podcast, where he was joined by Mark Griffin from 30 Minutes+ With HPL.

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