Innsmouth, Massachusetts

*For a map of Innsmouth, please see Innsmouth Map.*

**Innsmouth** is a small fishing town in Massachusetts, USA that sits on the coast next to the Manuxet River as it flows into the Atlantic Ocean.

## History

Innsmouth as a town was founded by Obed Marsh in the early 1600s. The first mention of the Fisher family was in a census from 1645 when Temperance and Matthew Fisher travelled from England. The Fishers quickly became an important part of the town when, backed with funding from Obed Marsh, they set up a shipping business that drew trade and considerable wealth to the area.

At some point around the 1800s, Obed Marsh made an enormous change to the town when he relocated Alhazred's Elder Beings to the Devil's Reef just off the coast of the town. Over the next century, Marsh and the Fisher family founded the Esoteric Order of Dagon and converted the whole population to worship these beings, which they called the Deep Ones. By 1897, this religious belief had taken such hold that Eliza Orne would become the last person to be given a Christian burial - from then on, all those who passed away were offered up as blessings to the Deep Ones and thus 'buried' at sea above the Devil's Reef. During this time, the Order of Dagon spread throughout the world, always keeping its headquarters in Innsmouth but making connections with numerous other esoteric groups including the Rosicrucians, the Invisible College, the Freemasons and the Church of Starry Wisdom.

As the town's population grew more comfortable with the Deep Ones, these beings became more visible around the town. However, this became a problem when, in 1927, an accidental visitor to Innsmouth, Robert Olmstead, saw these creatures and mistook their activities as indicative of illegal alcohol smuggling. The following year, the federal authorities raided the town and Abigail Fisher was forced to flee. This would be the last time a named member of the Fisher family would visit Innsmouth until Kennedy Fisher in 2020.

## Transport & Town Layout

The town has scant public transport connections with only a single bus per day that will take people from Newburyport as it stops on its way to Rockport. As for buses starting from Innsmouth that run back up the coast to Newburyport, there is only one service that runs twice a week. However, despite it's out-of-the-way location, Innsmouth is not the rundown fishing town that one might expect. Despite many of the buildings being well over a hundred years old, the town is clean and well preserved. There are a number of big houses on the cliffs overlooking the harbour, one of which is the Marsh house. The centre of the town is a square that has the Town Hall and the Gilman House Hotel. One of the many oddities of the town is that it's oddly easy to get turned around when walking along the streets - the roads often don't take you to where you think you are going.

## Population

The town has had a somewhat intransient population over the generations and this has led to physical oddities and similarities within the population that suggest an unhealthy degree of inbreeding creating a rather shallow genepool. The most noticeable example of this is the 'Innsmouth look' that a number of residents seem to have: a flattish nose, a wide mouth and eyes that seem a little too far apart. This is commented on by both Kennedy and Alice, and inbreeding as a cause was seemingly confirmed by Casey. The population is also very quiet, keeping themselves to themselves. While she is visiting the town, Kennedy immediately notices the lack of community activity - no cars, no people, no restaurants. There is also no taxi company servicing the town. It is likely that, for these reasons, Caroline Morse describes the town as a dump.

## Places in Innsmouth

* Town Square (south of the Manuxet)
* The Gilman House Hotel (in the Town Square)
* Town Hall (in the Town Square)
* Federal Street (heads north out of the town square)
* Dock Street (location of the hall of the Esoteric Order of Dagon)
* Water Street (running north/south along the coast to the north of the Manuxet)
* South Street (running north/south along the coast to the south of the Manuxet)
* Marsh Refining Company (gold refinery set up by the Marsh family in the 19th century, closed in the early-mid 20th century)
* Innsmouth Historical Society (located on the docks)
* Abandoned Church (on higher ground above the town and looking out across the sea, graveyard has Eliza Orne in it)
* Innsmouth Harbour (location of the Innsmouth Historical Society and a café that does very good hash browns)
* Devil's Reef (out in the water off Innsmouth Harbour)
* The Marsh House (on the cliffs overlooking the harbour)

## Notable Residents

* Obed Marsh (founder of the town)
* Temperance and Matthew Fisher (founders of the town's shipping company)
* Samuel and Emily Fisher (later owners of the shipping company)
* Annabelle Marsh (wife of the refining company's owner)
* Abigail Fisher
* Zadok Allen (member of the Innsmouth Historical Society)

## Notes

* The town is based on the fictional town of Innsmouth in H. P. Lovecraft's original story, The Shadow over Innsmouth.

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 TSoI: "Haumea"
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 TSoI: "Saint Germain"
3. ↑ TSoI: "Apartment 6"
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 TSoI: "Melusine"
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 TSoI: "Harlequin"
6. ↑ TWiD: "Urgent Update from Kennedy Fisher"
7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 TSoI: "Footsteps"
8. ↑ THoTD: "Episode 8"