For the past few years we have had a post-a-day celebration of October and all thing Lovecraftian/New England related.

2016’s posts were… are… a little delayed.

We resumed in 2018 with “Grave-tober” and in 2019 was “Book-tober”

2014

1. All Saint’s Eve – the first entry, with some audio of Vincent Price reading “All Saint’s Eve”
2. Graves and Gravestones – links to online resources for New England Gravestones; Markers, an academic journal of taphography and the Farber Gravestone Database
3. Other October Projects – Links to previous October post-a-day projects; Scott Dorward’s month of horror films and the Octobernomicon at Shoggoth.net
4. Eerie Audio – Supernatural music, strange records, and Psy-op ghosts
5. Mythos Stars – a short catalog of stars with some Cthulhu Mythos connection
6. Lovecraft Country Scenario Index – A PDF list of all the scenarios set in Lovecraft Country, giving locations visited and source of the scenario
7. The H.P. Lovecraft Literary Podcast – A link to that fine podcast with Chad Fifer and Chris Lackey
8. The Graveyard Rats – A PDF containing the text of Henry Kuttner’s “The Graveyard Rats” as well as original notes about Salem’s cemeteries and ideas for the Keeper to use the entity from the story in a game
9. What Do We Know About Bolton? – A summary of what Lovecraft (and the Call of Cthulhu RPG) have said about the invented town of Bolton
10. The Ladd School – A real-life horror, a nightmarish institution for unwanted children
11. Animated Halloween Specials – A link to a site all about assorted US Halloween specials; there’s more than the Great Pumpkin
12. Dunwich’s Whippoorwills – Real-world inspiration for Lovecraft’s dreaded whippoorwills in “The Dunwich Horror”
13. New England ‘Megaliths’ – Real-world inspiration for Dunwich’s standing stones
14. New England’s Cryptids – Links to sites and books all about the Cryptozoological entities and legends of New England
15. Books of New England Legends – Links to assorted folkloric work about New England from Archive.org
16. Q&A with Mike Mason – Chaosium’s Call of Cthulhu line editor talks about their plans for future Lovecraft Country projects
17. The Vermont Floods of 1927 – Photos, links, and a documentary about the catastrophic flooding that inspired “The Whisperer in Darkness”
18. Books by Edward Rowe Snow – Two books by the maritime historian of New England
19. Peter Rugg, the Ghost that Wasn’t There – A bit of pseudo-occultism, a fictional ghost that people think is real
20. The Skeleton in Armor – A curious corpse found in Fall River, Massachusetts; was he a Native chieftain, a wayward Phoenician, or lost Hyperborean? (Hint- its the first one)
21. Lost Kingsport – Two pieces of Kingsport ephemera; lost text from the 2003 reprint and a short article from the Unspeakable Oath #3 by Kevin Ross, expanding upon his scenario “Dead in the Water”
22. Ghouls, Fairies, Murray, and Lovecraft – A discussion of how Murray’s theories about the connection between atavistic dwarves and witches inspired Lovecraft’s description of ghouls as well as a PDF containing selected quotes from “The Witch-Cult in Western Europe”
23. The Ghost of the Swift River – The Quabbin Reservoir, its history, and inspiration for Lovecraft
24. New England Disasters, part 1 (Land) – Terrible things have happened in New England, see some of them here
25. New England Disaster, part 2 (Sea) – Terrible things have happened in the oceans off New England, see them here
26. All About Sefton – Lovecraft only mentioned this imagined place in “Herbert West: Reanimator”, we summarize that information here
27. Witches and Other Night Fears – The text of Charles Lamb’s oft quoted essay about the nature of imagination and fear
28. In (Qualified) Praise of August Derleth – Lovecraft usually trumps Derleth, but as one exception, I highlight Derleth’s female characters, turning one into a Call of Cthulhu NPC
29. St. John’s Cemetery, Providence – An overview of this famed Providence burying ground, with photographs
30. The Mystery of Lucy Keyes – A little girl vanished from the slopes of Mount Wachusett in central Massachusetts; links to a book on the topic and a summary of the case and supposed ghosts connected to it
31. Wrap-up and News – A quick overview of this series and an announcement about the future of Sentinel Hill Press and The Arkham Gazette

2015

1. News from Sentinel Hill Press – An introduction to this year’s October-ganza, along with news about the Kickstarter for issue #3, and our annual listen to Vincent Price read “All Saints Eve”.
2. William Mumler, Boston’s ‘Ghost’ Photographer – The career of a man who claimed to photograph ghosts.
3. Beyond H.P. Podcraft – I share the merits of a pair of podcasts – the Double Shadow, all about Clark Ashton Smith, and A Podcast to the Curious, all about the ghost stories of M.R. James.
4. The Real ‘Old’ Gods of New England – A sketch introduction to the supernatural beliefs of the Native Americans of New England.
5. Uriah Jewett and the Serpent of Lake Memphremagog – A link to an short book about an encounter with a lake monster in Vermont.
6. The ‘Hieroglyphic’ Carver of Londonderry, NH – A short biography of John Wight, an 18th century gravestone carver with a unique style.
7. ‘Vikings’ in New England, part 1 – An introduction to the theory that New England was the Viking ‘Vinland’ and the scanty evidence mustered to support this thesis.
8. ‘Vikings’ in New England, part 2 – A look at where in North America we know the Vikings were and how New England Vikings have showed up in Call of Cthulhu scenarios.
9. Lovecraft Country Scenario List (and my favorite scenarios in each location) – An updated release of the scenario list for Lovecraft Country along with my comments about my favorite scenario for each major spot in Lovecraft
10. Robert Ellis Cahill – An introduction to a former sheriff of Essex County who wrote more than a dozen short books about the supernatural and the odd in New England.
11. The Executions of Phillis and Mark, 1755 – A dark moment of history, regarding when pair of slaves were burned alive and hanged and gibbeted (respectively) for poisoning their owner.
12. The Club of Odd Volumes – A Boston-based society for bibliophiles.
13. “[A] prodigious war, made by the spirits of the invisible world” – A letter from 1697/8 recounts a series of weird sighting around Gloucester (MA) in the summer of 1692.
14. New England’s ‘Haunted’ Cemeteries, part 1 – ‘Haunted’ cemeteries in Connecticut, Maine, and Massachusetts.
15. New England’s ‘Haunted’ Cemeteries, part 2 – ‘Haunted’ cemeteries in New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont.
16. The Blackburn Cult – We leave New England for this real-life California cult in the 1920s.
17. New England’s Unique Beverages – Moxie, Cabinets, Coffee Milk, and more.
18. Ghoulish Boston, part 1 – North End tunnels, lost (and moved) cemeteries, and a weird quote from a book from 1849.
19. Ghoulish Boston, part 2 – The enclosure in King’s Chapel Burying Ground, moved and missing Boston gravestones, the Spunker’s Club, and a PDF of Ye Ancient Burying Grounds of Boston (New England Magazine, 1892).
20. New England’s Islands, part 1 – Plum Island, Block Island, and the Isle of Shoals.
21. New England’s Islands, part 2 – The Thimble Islands, Martha’s Vineyard, and Monhegan Island.
22. New England’s Islands, part 3 – Mount Desert Island, Nantucket, and other islands.
23. ‘Dagon’ in New England – Merrymount, the ‘JN’ gravestone carver, and A Place Called Dagon.
24. The Odd Migrations of the Rollstone Boulder – A little-known local landmark in north central Massachusetts.
25. Lovecraft Country Before Arkham Unveiled, part 1 – Scenarios set in Lovecraft Country, 1983-1984.
26. Lovecraft Country Before Arkham Unveiled, part 2 – Scenario set in Lovecraft Country, 1985-1990.
27. King Philip’s War, an Overview – An introduction to the pivotal war of 1675-76.
28. New England’s Native People, in Lovecraft’s Fiction and Lovecraftian Gaming – How were the Native peoples of New England portrayed by Lovecraft; how they have appeared in the role-playing game his writing inspired.
29. New England’s Diners – A pocket history of New England’s diners and an overview of what diners you might find in Lovecraft Country.
30. The Boston Society for Psychical Research – A real-world organization from 1925-1941, that wanted to apply a more scientific basis to the search for supernatural phenomena.
31. What’s Next for Sentinel Hill Press – An update on the release of issue #3, a look at future issues of the Arkham Gazette and other SHP projects, and a call for your thoughts on the sort of projects you hope to see from us.

2016

1. Introduction – Sentinel Hill Press news and our annual post of “All-Saint’s Eve”.
2. Ghost Tours of New England – A listing of, for 2016 at least, the extant ghost tours of the New England region.
3. ‘Nantucket Island: the Home of the Ocean Breezes’ – A PDF scan of an early 20th century tourist pamphlet for Nantucket.
4. Call of Cthulhu Scenarios in New England Part 1 – Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont.
5. A Gallery of Horror from Chris Huth – Illustrations by Mr. Huth for our Kickstarter backers, shared with our readers.
6. Two Dangerous Maine Islands – Boon Island, site of a shipwreck and Matinicus Island, a remote and unfriendly place.
7. Lovecraft Country Beyond HPL and Derleth – Lovecraft Country fiction from the original circle of Cthulhu Mythos writers.
8. Witchcraft Charges After 1692 – Witchcraft accusations and claims after the Salem Witch Trials.
9. New England’s Mysterious ‘Triangle’ Part 1 – The Bridgewater Triangle.
10. The Autopsy of Walter Gilman – A lovely prop document, written by Graeme Price and laid-out by Dean Engelhardt, presenting a mock-up of what Gilman’s autopsy (from “The Dreams in the Witch House”) might have looked like.
11. The Watch and Ward Society’s War on Vice, 1917-18 – A look at the moral crusade against prostitution and gambling in at the end of World War I.
12. Call of Cthulhu Scenarios in New England, Part 2 – Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Western and Central Massachusetts.
13. Lovecraft and the Veiled Clergy, Part 1 – Rev. Moody aka Handkerchief Moody.
14. Lovecraft and the Veiled Clergy, Part 2 – Hawthorne’s “The Minister’s Black Veil” and Lovecraft’s High Priest Who-is-not-to-be-Described.
15. Quaker and Shaker Burying Grounds – All about the unique qualities of the burial places of these two minority religious communities.
16. New England’s Alchemists, Part 1: John Winthrop the Younger – Governor, academic, occultist.
17. New England Cemeteries Lost & Found – A discussion of forgotten burial grounds in New England
18. Call of Cthulhu Scenarios in New England, Part 3 – Coastal Massachusetts and Boston
19. A Pentad of Peculiar Plants – Five pieces on plants, from the odd to the bizarre.
20. Hosea Keach’s Wild Ride – A most unusual tale of a bridge not so much crossing a river as riding down it.

2018 – Grave-tober!

1. Sarah Tefft
2. Lydia Hall
3. Daniel Campbell
4. Martha Green and Infant
5. Mary Buss
6. William Sinclear
7. William Dickson
8. Rebecca White
9. The Neal Children
10. Captain Edward Hutchinson
11. Chow Manderien
12. Zadock Davis
13. William Greenough
14. Mary Dorr
15. Captain Tobias Lear
16. Joseph Palmer
17. Two Unusual Carvers, “The Bat” & “The Bozrah Devil”
18. Mary Nasson, the “witch” of York, Maine
19. Abram Bradly
20. Hasadiah Houghton
21. Margaret Haile (and Seth Luthor)
22. Chocksett’s Plague Year, 1756
23. Nathaniel Graves and the Felton Family of carvers
24. Eleazar Allen
25. Nancy Adams
26. Flova, Nero, & Thomas
27. Elizabeth Goldthwait
28. Rebecca Polock
29. John Trapp
30. Elisabeth Jones
31. Hannah Ide

2019 – Book-tober

1. Tippity Witchit’s Hallowe’enTippity Witchit’s Hallowe’en
2. The Tell-Tale Heart
3. Damocles
4. The Outsider
5. Greasy Lake
6. The Smell of Cherries
7. The Screwfly Solution
8. A rebours
9. Jerusalem’s Lot