Innsmouth

Innsmouth, Massachusetts is a small city which features prominently in H.P. Lovecraft’s Cthulhu Mythos.

Description
Lying in a large coastal bay somewhere in Massachusetts’ Essex County, Innsmouth is a town which has been heavily urbanised regardless of its lack of human population. The impression that the place gives off is one of abandonment and decay, with many of its (mostly wooden) structures having been left to rot over the years. Although large sections of Innsmouth were destroyed during the first half of the twentieth century, it still seems to resemble the slums of 1800’s London.

Recent development work in Innsmouth would suggest that it is enjoying something of an urban rejuvenation, although who or what is behind these new constructions is anybody’s guess, but visitors to the town have always been made to feel like intruders.

Early Years
Innsmouth was founded in 1643, and in its early years was known for shipbuilding and the prosperous maritime trade which it enjoyed. However, during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries it experienced heavy losses to its community of experienced seamen due to particularly bad weather; this, combined with the War of 1812, drove the town into decline, and by 1828 the only major source of income for Innsmouth was the fishing and trading fleet owned by Obadiah “Obed” Marsh, a man whose actions would have a profound and lasting effect on both Innsmouth and its people.

A Deal with the Deep Ones
Whilst many of the townships on Massachusetts’ coast suffered the same hardships as Innsmouth, Obed was determined that this should not happen to his. Basing his practices on those of certain degenerate Polynesian islanders with whom he had conducted trade in the past, Obed founded a cult (later known as the Esoteric Order of Dagon) through which he established contact with the marine monstrosities known as Deep Ones.

The Deep Ones, he discovered, were ever looking to expand their sphere of influence, and to this effect, Obed struck a deal with them: in exchange for bountiful catches of fish and exotic gold jewellery to ensure the prosperity of Innsmouth, the town would in turn supply a portion of its members as a breeding supply to mate with the Deep Ones. Whilst seeming like normal humans at birth, these hybrids would slowly change over the course of their lives until they finally metamorphosed into full-fledged Deep Ones and abandoned Innsmouth in favour of the submarine city which existed outside Innsmouth harbour, just off Devil’s Reef.

This continues to be a source of the sparseness of human life within the city; the interbreeding of species has spread to most of the population, leading to large numbers of offspring eventually abandoning Innsmouth to take their place amongst the Deep Ones.

Catastrophe of 1928
After a visitor to Innsmouth in 1927 who had stumbled across the cult of the Deep Ones reported the city to the authorities, a full-scale investigation into Innsmouth was launched by the U.S. Government. What they found there (which was publicly attributed to smugglers and bootlegging) caused the investigating parties to detain and secrete away a large percentage of Innsmouth’s population, plant and detonate explosives in and around Devil’s Reef, and even torpedo an undisclosed submarine target nearby.

These actions had the effect of pushing Innsmouth into even deeper decay, although as has been mentioned, new works in the city lead to the conclusion that a possible revival of the town‘s fortunes may be on the cards.

Notable Residents

 * Toadface, a Deep One with psychic powers who took pleasure in preying upon the unsuspecting human residents of Innsmouth at the beginning of the twenty-first century.