An old city in Massachusetts, in the United States, crossed by the murky Miskatonic River, Arkham was founded in the first years of the seventeenth century but has changed very little since then (the reconstruction after the Flood in the 1980's is almost finished). In the hills around, in the dark valley of white stones nearby and on the uninhabited island in the Miskatonic River, terrible ceremonies are said to have taken place since the founding of the city. Many buildings in Arkham are the silent witnesses of dark deeds: the famous Witch House, for instance, inhabited by Keziah Mason who caused an unmentionable scandal during her trial in 1692. The old graveyard is also an interesting place to visit during daylight hours only.

Miskatonic University, one of the centres of New England culture, has specialized in the occult, and a number of famous scholars -- Dr. Armitage, Professor Wilmarth, Randolf Carter, Sam Hane Sr. -- have passed through its venerable halls. The library of the University is celebrated for its rare and dangerous books: the Necronomicon of the mad Arab Abdul al Hazred, the fragmentary Book of Eibon, the Unaußprechlichen Kulten by von Juntz, the Pnakotician Manuscripts, the Sussex Fragments and the Cultes des Goules by the Count of Erlette.

This is also the headquarters for Arkham House Publishing, specializing in rare and unusual books of all kinds.

While the main streets of the city are dreadful enough, the alleys are not a place for the casual traveler. DO NOT take photographs of the local inhabitants, and DO NOT accept invitations to "gatherings" or "meetings" after dark.

We also do not recommend the sushi bars to those with weak hearts or queasy stomachs.

The history of Arkham is full of dreadful episodes. Travellers visiting the city do so at their own risk but they are warned that the consequences of such a visit may haunt them for the rest of their lives.