Miskatonic University
Encyclopedia
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
(which is also fictional). After first appearing in the H. P. Lovecraft
1922
serial "Herbert West–Reanimator", the school appeared in numerous horror stories in the Cthulhu Mythos
written by Lovecraft and other writers. The story "The Dunwich Horror
" implies that Miskatonic University is a highly prestigious university, on par with Harvard University
, and that Harvard and Miskatonic are the two most popular schools for the children of the “Old Gentry” of Massachusetts to attend. The university also appears in role-playing games
based on the mythos.
on the Merrimack river
. Haverhill is a mill town
with hard lined class distinctions. The mills and their workers resided on the north side of the river, with the owners residing in the fine homes on the hill over the river in the town of Bradford. Haverhill is also the home of John L. Goldwater
, Creator of Archie comics
. Bradford college was created to train young ladies to be missionaries' wives, and then their students. Lovecraft's girlfriend attended the school and was exposed to the diverse community in an eerie location. In Lovecraft's stories, the university's student body is implied to be all-male, much like northeastern universities of Lovecraft's time. The only female student mentioned is Asenath Waite, of Lovecraft's "The Thing on the Doorstep
" (1937
).
For a location in which to shoot Miskatonic University scenes in their adaptation of The Whisperer in Darkness
in 2009, the H. P. Lovecraft Historical Society
chose the campus of Mount Holyoke College
.
Miskatonic University is famous for its collection of occult books
. The library at the university
holds one of the few genuine copies of the Necronomicon
. Other tomes held at the library include the Unaussprechlichen Kulten
by Friedrich von Junzt and the fragmentary Book of Eibon.
Miskatonic has a medical school
, as featured in "Herbert West—Reanimator".
Mythos fiction by other authors as well as fan interpretations of Lovecraft's Miskatonic University differ in whether mystical and Mythos studies are covert or overt. In the first interpretation, which follows Lovecraftian literary traditions, Miskatonic University is an ordinary university that also harbors secrets and has an unfortunately frequent number of run-ins with Mythos elements. In the second, more common in comedic and RPG
works (and in Miskatonic University paraphernalia), Mythos and strange elements are overtly displayed at Miskatonic University and form part of its campus cultural identity.
published several guides to the 1920s Miskatonic University. The first was a lengthy section in 'Arkham Unveiled' (1990) by Keith Herber
with others and put a full university setting around existing H. P. Lovecraftian Mythos references. The second was Miskatonic University (1995), a full-length book by Sandy Antunes
. Subtitled 'Where Science Meets the Mythos', this edition tried to merge and reconcile the Chaosium setting of 'Arkham Unveiled', the original Mythos sources, and historical 'period' details derived especially from 1920s Boston University
, while also added new items to the setting. A copy of this out-of-print book
is in Boston University's Special Collections
, and Chaosium granted rights in 1997 to Miskatonic University to reuse some of this material for their website. The third was a new edition of 'Miskatonic University' (2005) by 'Sam Johnson & friends' published in late 2005. This edition reworked the previous book and added more mystical and mythos game elements.
Joan Stanley published a small book, Ex Libris Miskatonici: A Catalogue of Selected Items from the Special Collections in the Miskatonic University Library, which is a researched historical fiction reference for canonical Mythos book references regarding MU.
Work was started at Chaosium on a sourcebook Arkham 1990 including a modern-day Miskatonic University, but that has not (as of 2006) yet been published.
Mottos for MU have ranged from "Ex Ignorantia Ad Sapientiam; E Luce Ad Tenebras" (Out Of Ignorance Into Wisdom; Out Of Light Into Darkness) to "A Small Sacrifice for Knowledge", and their mascot has been stated as everything from the Badger
to the Fighting Cephalopods (as in, "Go ′Pods!").
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....
; a fictitious town which is said to exist in Essex County, Massachusetts
Essex County, Massachusetts
-National protected areas:* Parker River National Wildlife Refuge* Salem Maritime National Historic Site* Saugus Iron Works National Historic Site* Thacher Island National Wildlife Refuge-Demographics:...
. It is named after the Miskatonic River
Miskatonic River
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...
(which is also fictional). After first appearing in the 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....
1922
1922 in literature
The year 1922 in literature involved some significant events and new books.Under the current U.S. copyright law, all works published before January 1, 1923 with a proper copyright notice entered the public domain no later than 75 years from the date of the copyright...
serial "Herbert West–Reanimator", the school appeared in numerous horror stories in the Cthulhu Mythos
Cthulhu Mythos
The Cthulhu Mythos is a shared fictional universe, based on the work of American horror writer H. P. Lovecraft.The term was first coined by August Derleth, a contemporary correspondent of Lovecraft, who used the name of the creature Cthulhu - a central figure in Lovecraft literature and the focus...
written by Lovecraft and other writers. The story "The Dunwich Horror
The Dunwich Horror
"The Dunwich Horror" is a short story by H. P. Lovecraft. Written in 1928, it was first published in the April 1929 issue of Weird Tales . It takes place in Dunwich, a fictional town in Massachusetts...
" implies that Miskatonic University is a highly prestigious university, on par with Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
, and that Harvard and Miskatonic are the two most popular schools for the children of the “Old Gentry” of Massachusetts to attend. The university also appears in role-playing games
Call of Cthulhu (role-playing game)
Call of Cthulhu is a horror fiction role-playing game based on H. P. Lovecraft's story of the same name and the associated Cthulhu Mythos.The game, often abbreviated as CoC, is published by Chaosium.-Setting:...
based on the mythos.
Campus
Miskatonic University is evidently modeled on the now defunct (since 2000) Bradford College in Haverhill, MassachusettsHaverhill, Massachusetts
Haverhill is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 60,879 at the 2010 census.Located on the Merrimack River, it began as a farming community that would evolve into an important industrial center, beginning with sawmills and gristmills run by water power. In the...
on the Merrimack river
Merrimack River
The Merrimack River is a river in the northeastern United States. It rises at the confluence of the Pemigewasset and Winnipesaukee rivers in Franklin, New Hampshire, flows southward into Massachusetts, and then flows northeast until it empties into the Atlantic Ocean at Newburyport...
. Haverhill is a mill town
Mill town
A mill town, also known as factory town or mill village, is typically a settlement that developed around one or more mills or factories .- United Kingdom:...
with hard lined class distinctions. The mills and their workers resided on the north side of the river, with the owners residing in the fine homes on the hill over the river in the town of Bradford. Haverhill is also the home of John L. Goldwater
John L. Goldwater
John L. Goldwater founded MLJ Comics , and served as editor and co-publisher for many years. In the mid-1950s he was a key proponent and custodian of the comic book censorship guidelines known as the Comics Code Authority.-Early life and career:John L...
, Creator of Archie comics
Archie Comics
Archie Comics is an American comic book publisher headquartered in the Village of Mamaroneck, Town of Mamaroneck, New York, known for its many series featuring the fictional teenagers Archie Andrews, Betty Cooper, Veronica Lodge, Reggie Mantle and Jughead Jones. The characters were created by...
. Bradford college was created to train young ladies to be missionaries' wives, and then their students. Lovecraft's girlfriend attended the school and was exposed to the diverse community in an eerie location. In Lovecraft's stories, the university's student body is implied to be all-male, much like northeastern universities of Lovecraft's time. The only female student mentioned is Asenath Waite, of Lovecraft's "The Thing on the Doorstep
The Thing on the Doorstep
"The Thing on the Doorstep" is a short story written by H. P. Lovecraft, part of the so-called Cthulhu Mythos universe of horror fiction. It was written in August 1933, and first published in the January 1937 issue of Weird Tales.-Inspiration:...
" (1937
1937 in literature
The year 1937 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*January 9 - The first issue of Look magazine goes on sale in the United States.*Thomas Quinn Curtiss meets Klaus Mann.-New books:*Eric Ambler - Uncommon Danger...
).
For a location in which to shoot Miskatonic University scenes in their adaptation of The Whisperer in Darkness
The Whisperer in Darkness
"The Whisperer in Darkness" is a short story by H. P. Lovecraft. Written February–September 1930, it was first published in Weird Tales, August 1931. Similar to "The Colour Out of Space" , it is a blend of horror and science fiction...
in 2009, the H. P. Lovecraft Historical Society
H. P. Lovecraft Historical Society
The H. P. Lovecraft Historical Society or HPLHS is the organization that hosts Cthulhu Lives!, a group of live-action roleplayers for the Cthulhu Live version of Call of Cthulhu. Founded in Colorado in 1984, it is now based in Glendale, California...
chose the campus of Mount Holyoke College
Mount Holyoke College
Mount Holyoke College is a liberal arts college for women in South Hadley, Massachusetts. It was the first member of the Seven Sisters colleges, and served as a model for some of the others...
.
Miskatonic University is famous for its collection of occult books
Cthulhu Mythos arcane literature
Many fictional works of arcane literature appear in the Cthulhu Mythos. The main literary purpose of these works is to explain how characters within the tales come by occult or esoteric knowledge that is unknown to the general populace. However, in some cases the works themselves serve as an...
. The library at the university
University
A university is an institution of higher education and research, which grants academic degrees in a variety of subjects. A university is an organisation that provides both undergraduate education and postgraduate education...
holds one of the few genuine copies of the Necronomicon
Necronomicon
The Necronomicon is a fictional grimoire appearing in the stories by horror writer H. P. Lovecraft and his followers. It was first mentioned in Lovecraft's 1924 short story "The Hound", written in 1922, though its purported author, the "Mad Arab" Abdul Alhazred, had been quoted a year earlier in...
. Other tomes held at the library include the Unaussprechlichen Kulten
Unaussprechlichen Kulten
Unaussprechlichen Kulten is a fictional work of arcane literature in the Cthulhu Mythos. The book first appeared in Robert E. Howard's short stories "The Children of the Night" and "The Black Stone" as Nameless Cults. Like the Necronomicon, it was later mentioned in several stories by H. P...
by Friedrich von Junzt and the fragmentary Book of Eibon.
Miskatonic has a medical school
Medical school
A medical school is a tertiary educational institution—or part of such an institution—that teaches medicine. Degree programs offered at medical schools often include Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine, Bachelor/Doctor of Medicine, Doctor of Philosophy, master's degree, or other post-secondary...
, as featured in "Herbert West—Reanimator".
Mythos fiction by other authors as well as fan interpretations of Lovecraft's Miskatonic University differ in whether mystical and Mythos studies are covert or overt. In the first interpretation, which follows Lovecraftian literary traditions, Miskatonic University is an ordinary university that also harbors secrets and has an unfortunately frequent number of run-ins with Mythos elements. In the second, more common in comedic and RPG
Role-playing game
A role-playing game is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, either through literal acting, or through a process of structured decision-making or character development...
works (and in Miskatonic University paraphernalia), Mythos and strange elements are overtly displayed at Miskatonic University and form part of its campus cultural identity.
Lovecraft's work
The following table lists the professors of Miskatonic University and their respective departments from Lovecraft's stories.| Name | Department | Appearances |
|---|---|---|
| Dr. Henry Armitage | Chief Librarian | "The Dunwich Horror The Dunwich Horror "The Dunwich Horror" is a short story by H. P. Lovecraft. Written in 1928, it was first published in the April 1929 issue of Weird Tales . It takes place in Dunwich, a fictional town in Massachusetts... " |
| Professor Ferdinand C. Ashley | Ancient History | "The Shadow Out of Time The Shadow Out of Time The Shadow Out of Time is a novella by Americanhorror fiction writer H. P. Lovecraft. Written between November 1934 and February 1935, it was first published in the June 1936 issue of Astounding Stories.-Plot summary:... " |
| Professor Atwood | Physics | At the Mountains of Madness At the Mountains of Madness At the Mountains of Madness is a novella by horror writer H. P. Lovecraft, written in February/March 1931 and rejected that year by Weird Tales editor Farnsworth Wright on the grounds of its length. It was originally serialized in the February, March and April 1936 issues of Astounding Stories... |
| Professor Dexter | Zoology | "The Whisperer in Darkness The Whisperer in Darkness "The Whisperer in Darkness" is a short story by H. P. Lovecraft. Written February–September 1930, it was first published in Weird Tales, August 1931. Similar to "The Colour Out of Space" , it is a blend of horror and science fiction... " |
| Professor William Dyer | Geology | At the Mountains of Madness "The Shadow Out of Time" |
| Professor Ellery | Chemistry | "The Dreams in the Witch House The Dreams in the Witch House "The Dreams in the Witch House" is a short story by H. P. Lovecraft, part of the Cthulhu Mythos genre of horror fiction. Written in January/February 1932, it was first published in the July 1933 issue of Weird Tales.-Inspiration:... " |
| Professor Tyler M. Freeborn | Anthropology | "The Shadow Out of Time" |
| Dr. Allen Halsey | Dean of the Medical School | "Herbert West–Reanimator" |
| Professor Lake | Biology | At the Mountains of Madness |
| Dr. Francis Morgan | Archaeology | "The Dunwich Horror" |
| Professor Frank H. Pabodie | Engineering | At the Mountains of Madness |
| Professor Nathaniel Wingate Peaslee | Political Economy | "The Shadow Out of Time" |
| Professor Wingate Peaslee | Psychology | "The Shadow Out of Time" |
| Professor Warren Rice | Languages | "The Dunwich Horror" |
| Professor Upham | Mathematics | "The Dreams in the Witch House" |
| "Old" Waldron | College doctor | "The Dreams in the Witch House" |
| Albert N. Wilmarth | English | At the Mountains of Madness "The Whisperer in Darkness" |
Other authors' work
| Name | Department | Appearances |
|---|---|---|
| Tony Alwyn | Assistant Librarian | "Beyond the Threshold" |
| Dr. Dan Cain | Hospital | Bride of Re-Animator Bride of Re-Animator Bride of Re-Animator is an American horror film released in 1990. It was directed by Brian Yuzna and was written by Yuzna, Rick Fry and Woody Keith. H. P. Lovecraft wrote the original series of stories, titled Herbert West–Reanimator, from which the characters were derived. The plot roughly... |
| Randolph Carter Randolph Carter Randolph Carter is a recurring protagonist in H. P. Lovecraft'sfiction and a thinly disguised alter ego of Lovecraft himself. The first tale in which Carter appears--"The Statement of Randolph Carter" --is based on one of Lovecraft's dreams.... |
Unstated | "The New Traveller's Almanac The New Traveller's Almanac The New Traveller's Almanac was a series of writings included in the back of all six issues of The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Volume II, covering the timeline and the world of The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.... " |
| Professor Alice Derleth August Derleth August William Derleth was an American writer and anthologist. Though best remembered as the first publisher of the writings of H. P... |
Occult Sciences | "The Collect Call of Cathulhu" |
| Dr. T.W. Erwin | Mathematics | "The Revolution's Fine" in The Avengers Avengers (comics) The Avengers is a fictional team of superheroes, appearing in magazines published by Marvel Comics. The team made its debut in The Avengers #1 The Avengers is a fictional team of superheroes, appearing in magazines published by Marvel Comics. The team made its debut in The Avengers #1 The Avengers... vol. 1, #83 |
| Dr. Graves | Hospital | Bride of Re-Animator |
| Dr. Carl Hill | Medical School | Re-Animator Re-Animator Re-Animator is a 1985 American science fiction horror film based on the H. P. Lovecraft story "Herbert West–Reanimator." Directed by Stuart Gordon, it was the first film in the Re-Animator series. The film has since become a cult film, driven by fans of Jeffrey Combs and H. P... |
| Ms. Doris Horus | Librarian (as of June 26, 1969) | The Illuminatus! Trilogy The Illuminatus! Trilogy The Illuminatus! Trilogy is a series of three novels written by Robert Shea and Robert Anton Wilson first published in 1975. The trilogy is a satirical, postmodern, science fiction-influenced adventure story; a drug-, sex-, and magick-laden trek through a number of conspiracy theories, both... |
| Professor Ted Klein T. E. D. Klein Theodore "Eibon" Donald Klein is an American horror writer and editor.Klein has published very few works, but they have all achieved positive notice for their meticulous construction and subtle use of horror: critic S. T... |
Unstated | "The Collect Call of Cathulhu" |
| Professor Lake | Ocean biology | The Last Lovecraft: Relic of Cthulhu The Last Lovecraft: Relic of Cthulhu The Last Lovecraft: Relic of Cthulhu is a 2009 horror comedy film directed by Henry Saine about the last living relative of noted short-story writer H.P. Lovecraft. The film premiered at the Slamdance Film Festival and was acquired by MPI Media which intends on releasing it theatrically through... |
| Professor Seneca Lapham | Anthropology | "The Lurker at the Threshold The Lurker at the Threshold The Lurker at the Threshold is a short novel in the Cthulhu Mythos genre of horror. It was written in 1945 by August Derleth, based on two short fragments written by H. P. Lovecraft, who died in 1937, and published as a collaboration between the two authors. According to S. T... " |
| Dr. Cyrus Llanfer | Chief Librarian (following Armitage) | "The Return of Hastur" |
| Professor Joshua N. Marsh | Anthropology | The Illuminatus! Trilogy |
| Professor Dominique 'Mo' O'Brien | Philosophy | The Atrocity Archives The Atrocity Archives The Atrocity Archives contains two stories by British author Charles Stross, consisting of the short novel The Atrocity Archive and The Concrete Jungle, which won the 2005 Hugo Award for Best Novella.The stories are Lovecraftian spy thrillers involving a secret history of the 20th century,... The Jennifer Morgue The Jennifer Morgue The Jennifer Morgue is the second collection of stories by Charles Stross featuring Bob Howard, containing the title novel The Jennifer Morgue, the short story "Pimpf", and an essay titled "The Golden Age of Spying"... The Fuller Memorandum The Fuller Memorandum The Fuller Memorandum is the third novel by Charles Stross in his "Laundry" series of Lovecraftian spy thrillers. The previous novels in the series were The Atrocity Archives and The Jennifer Morgue... |
| Ward Phillips (I) | First President (late 17th century) | "The Lurker at the Threshold" |
| Ward Phillips (II) | Chief Librarian (early 19th century) | "The Lurker at the Threshold" |
| Professor Laban Shrewsbury | Anthropology and philosophy | "The Trail of Cthulhu The Trail of Cthulhu The Trail of Cthulhu is a series of interconnected short stories written by August Derleth as part of the Cthulhu Mythos genre of horror fiction... " |
| Keith Brian Swerdlov | Archaeology | Alan Mendelsohn, the Boy from Mars Alan Mendelsohn, the Boy from Mars Alan Mendelsohn, the Boy from Mars is a novel by Daniel Pinkwater, published in 1979.-Plot summary:The story is about a portly kid named Leonard Neeble moving from his old neighborhood to West Kangaroo Park, Hogboro. There Leonard goes to a new school, Bat Masterson Junior High... |
| Ebenezer Tillinghast | Geology | "The Smoker from the Shadows" |
| Dr. Henry West MD | Necrobiology | Splatterhouse (2010 video game) |
| Nathaniel Pickman Wingate | Physics | Kamillions Kamillions Kamillions is a 1989 film directed by Mikel B. Anderson from a story by Robert Hsi and a screenplay Anderson wrote in collaboration with Harry S. Robins. The film was re-edited by producer Teresa Woo, who later admitted she did not really understand an English language science fiction comedy, and... |
| Professor Brightmeer | Chemistry | Call of Cthulhu: The Wasted Land (2011 video game) |
Reference guides
Chaosium PressChaosium
Chaosium is one of the longer lived publishers of role-playing games still in existence. Founded by Greg Stafford, its first game was actually a wargame, White Bear and Red Moon, which later mutated into Dragon Pass and its sequel, Nomad Gods...
published several guides to the 1920s Miskatonic University. The first was a lengthy section in 'Arkham Unveiled' (1990) by Keith Herber
Keith Herber
Keith "Doc" Herber was an American author, editor, and musician.Herber was born in Detroit, Michigan, United States. He was known for his work on Chaosium's Call of Cthulhu role-playing game. He was employed by Chaosium from 1989 through 1994...
with others and put a full university setting around existing H. P. Lovecraftian Mythos references. The second was Miskatonic University (1995), a full-length book by Sandy Antunes
Sandy Antunes
Alexander "Sandy" Antunes is a Maryland-area astronomer, author, and role playing game designer. He graduated from Boston University in 1989 with a dual major in astronomy and physics, received a Masters in astronomy from Penn State in 1992, and received his PhD in computational astrophysics from...
. Subtitled 'Where Science Meets the Mythos', this edition tried to merge and reconcile the Chaosium setting of 'Arkham Unveiled', the original Mythos sources, and historical 'period' details derived especially from 1920s Boston University
Boston University
Boston University is a private research university located in Boston, Massachusetts. With more than 4,000 faculty members and more than 31,000 students, Boston University is one of the largest private universities in the United States and one of Boston's largest employers...
, while also added new items to the setting. A copy of this out-of-print book
Out-of-print book
An out-of-print book is a book that is no longer being published. Out-of-print books are often rare, and may be difficult to acquire.A publisher will usually create a print run of a fixed number of copies of a new book. These books can be ordered in bulk by booksellers, and when all the...
is in Boston University's Special Collections
Special collections
In library science, special collections is the name applied to a specific repository or department, usually within a library, which stores materials of a "special" nature, including rare books, archives, and collected manuscripts...
, and Chaosium granted rights in 1997 to Miskatonic University to reuse some of this material for their website. The third was a new edition of 'Miskatonic University' (2005) by 'Sam Johnson & friends' published in late 2005. This edition reworked the previous book and added more mystical and mythos game elements.
Joan Stanley published a small book, Ex Libris Miskatonici: A Catalogue of Selected Items from the Special Collections in the Miskatonic University Library, which is a researched historical fiction reference for canonical Mythos book references regarding MU.
Work was started at Chaosium on a sourcebook Arkham 1990 including a modern-day Miskatonic University, but that has not (as of 2006) yet been published.
Mottos for MU have ranged from "Ex Ignorantia Ad Sapientiam; E Luce Ad Tenebras" (Out Of Ignorance Into Wisdom; Out Of Light Into Darkness) to "A Small Sacrifice for Knowledge", and their mascot has been stated as everything from the Badger
Badger
Badgers are short-legged omnivores in the weasel family, Mustelidae. There are nine species of badger, in three subfamilies : Melinae , Mellivorinae , and Taxideinae...
to the Fighting Cephalopods (as in, "Go ′Pods!").