There are some ordinary people who live and/or work there whom he is able to get some information from, while others are unusual in appearance and keep to themselves, often walking with a shambling gait. When he eventually arrives, he finds that at first glance Innsmouth isn’t much more than a decrepit fishing town that has been largely abandoned. His dismissal of gossip feels believable. There is enough foreboding intrigue and questionable hearsay tied to simple mundane degradation that makes his decision understandable, despite the impending horror. The narrator’s chance to look upon one before first setting foot in the town itself is a compelling sequence thanks to the feelings of unease it evokes in the narrator. An effective way this is built upon is with the pieces of jewellery that have made their way out of the town, believed to have been found in a secret treasure hoard, which are described as being disquietingly alien in design. Innsmouth isn’t a town that’s completely off limits or considered definitively dangerous, but there’s a consistent air that something simply isn’t right with the place. I really enjoyed much of the early portions of the story for how well they established atmosphere. He then proceeds to explain the nature of his trip and his growing interest in visiting the town after people in neighbouring areas supply him with superstitious rumours. The story opens with him informing the reader that he instigated government investigation of the town of Innsmouth, which resulted in multiple raids, demolition of properties, and mysterious arrests with little to no records of the prisoners. This tale is for the most part told retrospectively, the frame being the narrator’s choice to commit his experiences to writing. Upon arrival he learns of some locations of interest, witnesses and interacts with strange people, and eventually bears witness to the horrifying truth of the town’s dark and sordid history. The nearby town of Innsmouth is suggested to him as a curiosity and a cheaper stop on his journey. The story follows a student taking a tour through New England to see the sights and appreciate the architecture of some of its older towns. I read this story in the Necronomicon published by Gollancz in 2008, which is an extensive collection of the author’s “Best Weird Tales.” It was first rejected by the magazine Weird Tales for being too long to publish in its entirety yet structured in such a way that it could not be cleanly cut into two parts. It was originally written in late 1931, though the story did not see publication until April 1936 as a complete book by Visionary Publishing Company. It is part of the Cthulhu Mythos for which the author is famous, making numerous references to recurring places, creatures, and other shared elements. The Shadow over Innsmouth is a horror novella written by H.P.
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