(Updated 12/16/24)

Please apply the usual Mythosy quote about “with Strange Aeons” and witness the revivification of Sentinel Hill Press!

Time’s arrow has been unforgiving but through a series of successful Luck rolls, we’re again able to press forward on with a cluster of nightmarish projects. Foremost among these are the next issue of the Arkham Gazette (the fabled issue #5, “Kingsport Nightmares”), our long-rumored guide to the Watch & Ward Society, and our first Miskatonic Country scenario collection – Primal Secrets(!). Being restless spirits we’ve also begun a new project which calls for submissions…

New England’s Creatures, Creepers, and Cryptids

This is a bestiary of the monsters and mythic beings found in the folklore of New England, written for Call of Cthulhu Keepers. Our goal is to gather together in one place a catalog of the region’s numerous entities, horrific and otherwise, from the earliest times and into the modern day. Each entry will offer an overview of the creature – physical description, behavior, range, history of sightings – as well as suggestions for use in play and, where appropriate possible links to other entities, either human mythology or the Cthulhu Mythos.

I thought it would be helpful to include a sample entry to show potential contributors what we are looking for. Below is our entry for the so-called Danville “Devil” Monkey, text by myself; layout and original illustration by Chris Huth.

What we are looking for: Short (~1500 words, +/- depending on complexity of the entity) articles presenting a creature from New England folklore for use in the Call of Cthulhu RPG. Entries should follow this format:

• Appearance – what do witnesses describe?
• Behavior – what does it do? How does it interact with humans?
• Range – where is it found?
• History – when was it first spotted? Last spotted? What was the reaction after encounters?
• Keeper’s Suggestions – how can this creature be used in play? What ideas can be taken from this creature generally? How might it connect to other entities? Not every creature has to be fully explained to worked into a wider context. Focus on what is unique about it. Don’t shoe-horn in the Cthulhu Mythos!
• Statistics – if the creature has not been previously covered in the Call of Cthulhu Keeper’s Guide or the Malleus Monstrorum, we will provide statistics for it; if it is a variation on a covered entity, we will suggest how to adjust the creature to better reflect the folklore.
• Bibliography – lay the path for future reading and exploration of the creature. When possible find primary sources and quote them in your article. Sentinel Hill Press has a pretty extensive library and can assist in research and, in some cases, provide research materials. We will post a separate post listing the research material we have acquired for this project

Authors will receive a base of $75 for each entry; 1/2 upon receipt of first draft, remainder at time of publication. Contributors will also receive a print and PDF of the finished book. We reserve the right to edit submissions to best fit the project. Any RPG material must be written for the 7th Edition Call of Cthulhu. Please send all questions, pitches, and submissions to ArkhamGazetteMagazine@gmail.com .

What follows is a list, grouped topically where possible, of suggested entities for potential inclusion in our guide of New Englands “creatures, creepers, and cryptids” (as I am currently dubbing them). Where possible I’ve included a link to a source discussing the entity; these are not necessarily the best source (and rarely include primary source material) but offer a good introduction. We have created a separate post listing some of the works we’re consulting for this project.

Items with a strike-through have been requested by an author.

THE LIST:

• the Black Flash of Provincetown
• Cats and Canids, “alien” and otherwise
  • the Beast of Truro
  • the Black Fox of Salmon River
  • the Catamount
  • the Celofay
  • “Human-faced” cats
  • the White Wolf of Peacedale Cemetery
• the Densmore Hill monster
• the Dismal Swamp monster
• Fairies
  • Lutins
  • Perry Boney
  • Sock Saunders
• Flying beasts
  • the Awful
  • the Giant Bat of Mine Hill, CT
  • Pterodactyls
• the Glocester Ghoul
• Hoaxes and Fables
  • Dead Creek Serpent
  • Fur-bearing Trout
  • the North Stonington “Ape Man”
  • Pseudosaurus
• Hominids
  • the Creature in the Dairy Barn
  • the Downs Road Monster
  • the Durham Gorilla
  • Goat-men
  • the Goonyak
  • the “Woods Devil“
• IT, the Creature of the Dark Swamp of Gloucester, Rhode Island
• Loup-garou
• Lumberjack Legends
  • the Agropelter
  • the Billdad
  • Ding-maul/Dingball
  • Dungavenhooter
  • the Hide-Behind
  • Lunksoos
  • Razor-shins
  • Sidehill Gouger/Wamfahoofus
  • the Tote-Road Shagamaw
  • Tree-squeak
  • Wedge-Ledge Chomper
  • Will-am-alone
• the Old Marsh Pond Monster of Bristol, CT
• Phantoms and Spirits
  • the Bowman Statue
  • the Headless Horseman of Canton, CT
  • the Orb of the Valley
  • Phantom Hitchhikers (such as the red-headed phantom of Rte 44)
  • the Stone-Throwing Devil of Great Island
  • Treasure guardians
  • the White Moose of Maine
  • Will-o-the-wisp
  • Worrineagues
• Satan and his imps
  • Witches’ familiars
• the Talcot Mountain “Robot”
• the Turner Beast
• Water Creatures
  • the Block-ness Monster
  • the Candlewood Lake Monster
  • Cassie, the Casco Bay Serpent
  • Champ, the creature of Lake Champlain
  • the Lake Bomoseen Creature
  • the Lake Willoughby Wisp
  • Mephre, the monster of Lake Memphremagog
  • Moore Lake Monster (see also)
  • Mermaids & Tritons
  • the Plum Island’s Giant Squid
  • Ponik, the Lake Pohengamook Monster

I am still looking for a few links to include with a handful of the most obscure beasties, but I’d rather post something now than wait until I’ve found an appropriate site to link to for each.

Additionally I have a secondary list of beings from Native tradition that could possibly be included if it can be done in a culturally respectful way:

• Ap’cnic, the Magog Lake horror
• At-o-sis, the Snake Bride
• Chenoo and Giwakwa
• Hobomock
• Kiwolatomuhsisok
• Lumpeguin, a water spirit
• Makiawisug, little people of Mohegan lore
• Manogamasak, little people of the river
• Mikumwesuk, little people of the forest
• Pamola, the great bird of Katahdin
• Pukjinskwes, the jug woman
• Pskegdemus, the swamp woman
• Sabawaelnu, the “half-way” people
• Skadegamutc, the “ghost-witch”
• Weewillmekq, a water spirit
• Wiklatmu’j, stone spirits or little people

We have a core of the submissions from our Patreon supporters and a few authors I reached out to in advance of the book. Entities who have already found an author include:

Aliens, the Bennington Monster, Black Beast of Snake Mountain, the Black Dog of the Hanging Hills, the Bridgewater Triangle, the Devil Monkey of Danville, the Dover Demon, the Dublin Lake Monster,Glawackus, the Headless Skeleton of Swampton, Loup-garou, the Man-Eating Stone of Glastenbury, Mellonheads, the Monstrous Swine of New Haven, Pig Men, Puckwudgies, Sea Monsters/River Monsters/Lake Monster, Slipperyskin, the Silver Lake Frog-Man, Vampires, the Vampire Vine of Dummerston, Wild Men / Bigfoot.