Arkham in Popular Culture

Arkham is one of the most iconic elements of the Cthulhu Mythos and is synonymous with H. P. Lovecraft; as a result, it has appeared in or been referenced by countless other works in popular culture. The following is a non-comprehensive list of media that either includes Arkham or contains references, allusions or themes relating to it.
==Comics==
*DC Comics: Arkham Asylum is a high-security asylum for the criminally insane which has been the subject of story arcs and graphic novels (A Serious House on Serious Earth, The Last Arkham). In the fictional universe, it was built and operated by the Arkham family, who gave it its name.
*The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: Arkham is mentioned in Allan and the Sundered Veil, The New Traveller's Almanac and The Black Dossier.
==Film & Television==
*Arkham Sanitarium: both the name and the setting of a film currently in post-production (as of March 2022) by UK production company Survivor Films Ltd.
*Die, Monster, Die!: movie based on "The Colour Out of Space", Arkham is the setting, although here the town is located in England.
*The Haunted Palace: 1963 movie based on Lovecraft's "The Case of Charles Dexter Ward". Arkham appears.
*The Real Ghostbusters: in the episode "The Collect Call of Cthulhu" the Ghostbusters go to Miskatonic University to get information on how to stop Cthulhu.
==Games==
===Board Games===
*Arkham Horror: a cooperative adventure board-game themed around H. P Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos. The game has players exploring the town of Arkham as they attempt to stop unmentionable horrors from spilling into the world.
===Video Games===
*Shadow Hearts: From the New World: features a visit to the fictional Arkham University, based in Boston, Massachusetts. H. P. Lovecraft himself appears as a professor at the university, conjuring demons for the heroes to fight at their request.
*Urban Dead: web-based roleplaying game which features two suburbs, named Old Arkham and New Arkham. Some players have even started to refer to a specific area as Miskatonic University.
==Literature==
*Aliens: Labyrinth: a Titan Books franchise tie-in novel by S. D. Perry which features a Colonial Marines starship named the Arkham.
*The Arcanum: H. P. Lovecraft himself is said to have been involved in solving a case involving a witch cult in Arkham.
*Arkham Detective Agency: a collection of stories set in Arkham whic centre around a private detective who specialises in occult cases.
*The Atrocity Archives: Charles Stross novel in which a philosopher is attracted to Arkham due to the "unique library" there.
*The Illuminatus! Trilogy: Arkham features in several scenes, and it is mentioned that the Arkham Police Department often has to deal with local cults and disappearances.
*The Jennifer Morgue, Charles Stross novel in which the occult branch of the American intelligence community, code-named "Black Chamber, is headquartered in Arkham.
==Music==
*Ryan Adams: alt-country musician who wrote a song called "Arkham Asylum," which he and The Cardinals have performed since 2006.
*Common Market: hip hop group who wrote and performed a song titled "Escaping Arkham" for their EP The Winter's End.
*Discordance Axis: grindcore band who recorded a song entitled Radiant Arkham.
*Bob Drake: avant-garde rock artist whose song "Kaziah's Pet" is set in Arkham.
*High on Fire: heavy metal band who mention Arkham on their track "The Face of Oblivion".
*Metallica: heavy metal band whose song "Sanitarium" was inspired by Arkham Asylum.
*Rudimentary Peni: death rock band who not only make a reference to Arkham in their song "Arkham Hearse", but also numerous other nods to H. P. Lovecraft throughout their musical catalogue.
==Other==
*NXT Wrestling: Arkham is used as the hometown of Simon Gotch, a wrestler with a 1930s man-out-of-time gimmick.
==Video Games==
*The Batman Franchise: Batman: Arkham Asylum, Batman: Arkham Origins, Batman: Arkham City, and Batman: Arkham Knight are all related to the fictional asylum (see Comics, above).
*Bioshock Infinite: first-person roleplaying game whose main character, Booker Dewitt, is stated to come from Arkham.
*Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth: roleplaying game in which the main character, private detective Jack Walters, is admitted to the Arkham Mental Institution after seeing Yithians and going insane during a raid on a Boston home.
*Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness: roleplaying game which features the city of New Arcadia which is a parody of Arkham.
*Shadow Hearts: From the New World: features a visit to the fictional Arkham University, based in Boston, Massachusetts. Lovecraft himself appears as a professor at the university, conjuring demons for the heroes to fight on request.
*Splatterhouse: 2010 video game which takes place in the setting of Arkham, Massachusetts.
Category:In Popular Culture