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The house that H.P. Lovecraft built
By Jeremiah Tucker
Sauk Prairie Eagle
When Batman drops from the inky Gotham skyline to mete out justice, the
criminals on the business-end of his fists often end up in Arkham Asylum.
This foreboding hospital for the criminally insane whose escaped
patients play a large role in "The Dark Knight" — the new Batman movie
that shattered box office records this past weekend — shares its
namesake with a small Sauk City publishing company that specializes in
turning out horror and science fiction books.
This is no coincidence.
Arkham House Publishers and Arkham Asylum both were named after the
fictional Arkham, Mass. town where H.P. Lovecraft — perhaps the most
influential horror writer of the 20th Century — set many of his stories.
But without the Sauk City publishing house founded by native son and
prolific author August Derleth, it's unlikely the asylum where Batman's
enemies unwind between breakouts would bear the name Arkham.
Publishing a mentor
