Miskatonic River
Encyclopedia
The Miskatonic River is a fictional New England
river in the writings of H. P. Lovecraft
. It is also the name of a river system, the Miskatonic Valley. The equally fictitious Miskatonic University
in Arkham
is named after this river. The Miskatonic was first mentioned (as "Miskatonic Valley") in Lovecraft's "The Picture in the House
" (1920
).
The fictional communities of Arkham
and
Dunwich
, Massachusetts
are said to be located along the Miskatonic. In "The Colour Out of Space
" (1927
), the narrator claims that there is a "small island in the Miskatonic where the devil held court beside a curious stone altar older than the Indians."
. It runs eastward past Dunwich, turns southeast, and flows through Arkham
. The river empties into the sea two miles to the south near Kingsport
, which lies just to the northeast.
language. Place-names based on the Algonquian languages
, which was nearly extinct by the 17th century, are still found throughout New England
. Anthony Pearsall believes that Lovecraft based the name on the Housatonic River
which extends from the Long Island Sound
through the Berkshires of Western Massachusetts
and western Connecticut
.
Daniel Harms suggests that Miskatonic is derived from the Misqat, a tribe descended from the Native Americans
of Massachusetts.
Another likely origin, to the mind of this editor, for the word Miskatonic is that it actually is a phonetic contraction of the English prefix 'Mis-', indicating something wrong (as in ‘misplaced’), or bad (as in ‘misanthropy’), and Chthonic (from Greek χθόνιος – chthonios, "in, under, or beneath the earth"), which designates, or pertains to, deities or spirits of the underworld, especially in relation to Greek religion. The Greek word khthon is one of several for "earth"; it typically refers to the interior of the soil, rather than the living surface of the land. It evokes at once abundance and the grave. This would clearly fit with Lovecraft’s wit and mythos.
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
river in the writings of H. P. Lovecraft
H. P. Lovecraft
Howard Phillips Lovecraft --often credited as H.P. Lovecraft — was an American author of horror, fantasy and science fiction, especially the subgenre known as weird fiction....
. It is also the name of a river system, the Miskatonic Valley. The equally fictitious Miskatonic University
Miskatonic University
Miskatonic University is a fictional university located in Arkham; a fictitious town which is said to exist in Essex County, Massachusetts. It is named after the Miskatonic River . After first appearing in the H. P...
in Arkham
Arkham
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....
is named after this river. The Miskatonic was first mentioned (as "Miskatonic Valley") in Lovecraft's "The Picture in the House
The Picture in the House
"The Picture in the House" is a short story written by H. P. Lovecraft. It was written on December 12, 1920, and first published in the July 1919 issue of The National Amateur-- which actually was published in the summer of 1921.-Lovecraft Country:...
" (1920
1920 in literature
The year 1920 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*Agatha Christie publishes her first novel, The Mysterious Affair at Styles, introducing the long-running character detective, Hercule Poirot....
).
The fictional communities of Arkham
Arkham
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....
and
Dunwich
Dunwich (Lovecraft)
Dunwich is a fictional town that appeared in the H. P. Lovecraft short story "The Dunwich Horror" . Dunwich is found in the fictional Miskatonic River Valley of Massachusetts, part of the imaginary region sometimes called Lovecraft Country...
, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
are said to be located along the Miskatonic. In "The Colour Out of Space
The Colour Out of Space
"The Colour Out of Space" is a short story written by American fantasy author H. P. Lovecraft in March 1927. In the tale, an unnamed narrator pieces together the story of an area known by the locals as the "blasted heath" in the wild hills west of Arkham, Massachusetts...
" (1927
1927 in literature
The year 1927 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*Random House, book publishers, is founded in New York City by Bennett Cerf and Donald Klopfer.-New books:*James Boyd - Marching On...
), the narrator claims that there is a "small island in the Miskatonic where the devil held court beside a curious stone altar older than the Indians."
Location
The Miskatonic seems to follow a west-to-east path across Massachusetts, originating from springs in the hills west of DunwichDunwich (Lovecraft)
Dunwich is a fictional town that appeared in the H. P. Lovecraft short story "The Dunwich Horror" . Dunwich is found in the fictional Miskatonic River Valley of Massachusetts, part of the imaginary region sometimes called Lovecraft Country...
. It runs eastward past Dunwich, turns southeast, and flows through Arkham
Arkham
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....
. The river empties into the sea two miles to the south near Kingsport
Kingsport (Lovecraft)
Kingsport is a fictional town in the writings of H. P. Lovecraft. The town first appeared in Lovecraft's short story "The Terrible Old Man"...
, which lies just to the northeast.
Origin
Lovecraft concocted the word Miskatonic from a mixture of root words from the AlgonquianAlgonquian languages
The Algonquian languages also Algonkian) are a subfamily of Native American languages which includes most of the languages in the Algic language family. The name of the Algonquian language family is distinguished from the orthographically similar Algonquin dialect of the Ojibwe language, which is a...
language. Place-names based on the Algonquian languages
Algonquian languages
The Algonquian languages also Algonkian) are a subfamily of Native American languages which includes most of the languages in the Algic language family. The name of the Algonquian language family is distinguished from the orthographically similar Algonquin dialect of the Ojibwe language, which is a...
, which was nearly extinct by the 17th century, are still found throughout New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
. Anthony Pearsall believes that Lovecraft based the name on the Housatonic River
Housatonic River
The Housatonic River is a river, approximately long, in western Massachusetts and western Connecticut in the United States. It flows south to southeast, and drains about of southwestern New England into Long Island Sound...
which extends from the Long Island Sound
Long Island Sound
Long Island Sound is an estuary of the Atlantic Ocean, located in the United States between Connecticut to the north and Long Island, New York to the south. The mouth of the Connecticut River at Old Saybrook, Connecticut, empties into the sound. On its western end the sound is bounded by the Bronx...
through the Berkshires of Western Massachusetts
Western Massachusetts
Western Massachusetts is a loosely defined geographical region of the U.S. state of Massachusetts which contains the Berkshires, the Pioneer Valley, and some or all of the Swift River Valley. The region is always considered to include Berkshire, Franklin, Hampshire, and Hampden counties, and the...
and western Connecticut
Connecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
.
Daniel Harms suggests that Miskatonic is derived from the Misqat, a tribe descended from the Native Americans
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
of Massachusetts.
Another likely origin, to the mind of this editor, for the word Miskatonic is that it actually is a phonetic contraction of the English prefix 'Mis-', indicating something wrong (as in ‘misplaced’), or bad (as in ‘misanthropy’), and Chthonic (from Greek χθόνιος – chthonios, "in, under, or beneath the earth"), which designates, or pertains to, deities or spirits of the underworld, especially in relation to Greek religion. The Greek word khthon is one of several for "earth"; it typically refers to the interior of the soil, rather than the living surface of the land. It evokes at once abundance and the grave. This would clearly fit with Lovecraft’s wit and mythos.