Today is the 10th anniversary of the death of Keith Herber, “American author, editor, and musician” as someone summarized him on Wikipedia.

Instead just eulogizing Keith today (not that it isn’t deserved – here’s Ken Hite on Keith; here’s a memorial thread on Yog-Sothoth.com), I thought I might highlight places where his legacy lives on.  Do yourself a favor  and have a look at his CV in his Wikipedia entry (if you’ve never looked it over) and consider just how wide-ranging body of work was.

 

Perhaps the most impressive memorial to Keith is the H. P. Lovecraft Historical Society’s titanic radio play production of his Fungi from Yuggoth/Day of the Beast campaign for Call of Cthulhu – The Brotherhood of the Beast.  They didn’t just bring it to life in audio form (complete with 4 different endings), but they produced a plethora of HPLHS-quality props that would be just as useful for a table-top game.

No less impressive in detail is Cthulhu Reborn’s magnificent Herber Arkham-O-Pedia, a tremendous index of all the people and places (and streets, and address…) in Keith Herber’s seminal Arkham Unveiled.  Anyone working in that sandbox ought to give this a look; it is my go-to when I need to find someone… or something… in Arkham.

Likewise, Cthulhu Reborn’s Dateline Lovecraft series – anchored by a 16 (!) page prop copy of the Arkham Advertiser, with, to date has included 3 system-neutral (and pay-what-you-want) Arkham-set scenarios:

• “Help Wanted” by Jo Kreil
• “Smoke Green” by Noah Lloyd
• “Spoiled Milk” by Jo Kreil

The Call of Cthulhu licensee publisher Stygian Fox is still working on a revamped version of Keith’s New Tales of the Miskatonic Valley (originally published by his Miskatonic River Press).  Other works he spear-headed for MRP like More Adventures in Arkham Country and Our Ladies of Darkness are supposed to follow, eventually.

Finally, of course, there is our Arkham Gazette, but I would hope if you are here, you are already familiar with that publication.  I sincerely hope we would have done him proud.

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If you want to hear from the man himself, Episode #34 of Yog Radio included an interview with Keith recorded in January of 2009.  There’s even a short post-interview video chat.

If you want to do a deep dive into Herberiana, Yog-Sothoth.com has a vast collection of Keith’s old notes, including:

• Development notes for “Secrets of the Miskatonic” (what would eventually become Arkham Unveiled).
• Development notes for “Shadows Out of Dunwich” (which would be published as Return to Dunwich)
• Notes for scenarios including “The Condemned” includinng “The Evil Stars”
• Selections from his draft of Trail of Tsathoggua.
• A lot of other bits and bobs, like his hand-drawn map for “The Condemned”.  Look for anything with the header “Herber Archive”.