History Literature / TheShadowOverInnsmouth

* SpiritualSuccessor: Several Innsmouth/Deep Ones stories by later authors make reference to or were inspired by ''Film/CreatureFromTheBlackLagoon''. "Understudy" by Gary Myers is a great example; also "Cabinet 34, Drawer 6" by Creators/CaitlinKiernan and "The Deep End" by Gregory Luce. There are also some ripples of Innsmouth in Creator/GuillermoDelToro's ''Film/TheShapeOfWater'', though Del Toro takes things in a [[FantasticRomance somewhat radical direction]].

** In a twist, though, the actual final lines of the book are a lot more lucid than those of a typical maddened Lovecraft protagonist, suggesting that his new outlook on the Deep Ones is fully rational.

* EasilyForgiven: The protagonist causes the Deep Ones ''a lot'' of trouble, but when [[spoiler: he joins them at the end, they assure him that his penance will not be heavy.]]

Written in late 1931 and published in 1936, "The Shadow Over Innsmouth" is one of Creator/HPLovecraft's longest and most famous stories. Among the various beasties of the Franchise/CthulhuMythos, the Deep Ones and their half-human spawn are among the most popular and enduring, inspiring numerous other authors (there are numerous Innsmouth short story anthologies), as well as the 2001 film ''Film/{{Dagon}}'', the 2007 film ''Film/{{Cthulhu}}'', and the video game ''VideoGame/CallOfCthulhuDarkCornersOfTheEarth'' - though they're often saddled with AdaptationalVillainy, in contrast to their more ambiguous and nuanced portrayal in this story - especially its famous TwistEnding.

''Innsmouth'' has also been adapted twice as an audio drama by the Atlanta Radio Theater Company and the ''Radio/DarkAdventureRadioTheatre'' series, with a third audio adaptation scheduled for late-2020 as the final installment of the "''Mystery Machine''"-arc of the "Radio/PleasantGreenUniverse" saga. It has also been [[http://www.clasicadecomedias.com/version_teatral.html adapted for stage in Spain,]] and even a [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3tTHn2tHhcI silly musical synopsis]] by the H.P. Lovecraft Historical Society.

Innsmouth is a small, run-down village on the northern coast of Massachusetts, near Ipswich, Gloucester, and [[LovecraftCountry Arkham]]. Locals don't like it much. There are whispered rumors about dark dealings with the supernatural, the taint of foreign blood, and some sort of hereditary deformity. While touring New England, a young man learns of the town's sinister reputation and decides it's worth a visit. Curiouser and curiouser, he bribes the local drunk, said to be the only normal human left, with his favorite poison. The tale he tells sounds crazy, yet the narrator cannot ignore the sinister atmosphere and the evidence before his own eyes.

* HumanSacrifice: Practiced by the Esoteric Order of Dagon, as recalled by Zadok Allen.

* HillbillyHorrors: Innsmouth is an isolated small town. The Arkham ticket agent describes its denizens as "white trash." In a spin on this trope, however, it's a fishing town in New England, rather than some mountain community in Appalachia.

* FishPeople: The Deep Ones.

Written in late 1931 and published in 1936, "The Shadow Over Innsmouth" is one of Creator/HPLovecraft's longest and most famous stories. Among the various beasties of the Franchise/CthulhuMythos, the Deep Ones and their half-human spawn are among the most popular and enduring, inspiring numerous other authors (there are numerous Innsmouth short story anthologies), as well as the 2001 film ''Film/{{Dagon}}'', the 2007 film ''Film/{{Cthulhu}}'', and the video game ''VideoGame/CallOfCthulhuDarkCornersOfTheEarth''.

* AuthorAvatar: The narrator shares his antiquarian interests and frugal travel habits with Lovecraft.

* SpiritualSuccessor: Several Innsmouth/Deep Ones stories by later authors make reference to or were inspired by ''Film/CreatureFromTheBlackLagoon''. "Understudy" by Gary Myers is a great example; also "Cabinet 34, Drawer 6" by Creators/CaitlinKiernan and "The Deep End" by Gregory Luce. There are also some ripples of Innsmouth in Creator/GuillermoDelToro's ''Film/TheShapeOfWater'', though Del Toro takes things in a somewhat radical direction.

* TalkativeLoon: When properly "motivated" by alcohol, Zadok will ramble on and on about the true nature of the town, though most people dismiss his rantings as the delusional fantasies of a madman

* TomatoInTheMirror: [[spoiler: The narrator is a Deep One hybrid himself, descended from Obed Marsh and one Pth'thya-l'yi]].

''Innsmouth'' has also been adapted twice as an audio drama by the Atlanta Radio Theater Company and the ''Radio/DarkAdventureRadioTheatre'' series, with a third audio adaptation scheduled for late-2020 as the final installment of the "''Mystery Machine''"-arc of the "Radio/PleasantGreenUniverse" saga. It has also been [[http://www.clasicadecomedias.com/version_teatral.html adapted for stage in Spain.]]

''Innsmouth'' has also been adapted twice as an audio drama by the Atlanta Radio Theater Company and the ''Radio/DarkAdventureRadioTheatre'' series, with a third audio adaptation scheduled for late-2020 as the final installment of the "''Mystery Machine''"-arc (following adaptations of ''Literature/TheCaseOfCharlesDexterWard'' and ''Literature/TheWhispererInDarkness'') of the "Radio/PleasantGreenUniverse" saga. It has also been [[http://www.clasicadecomedias.com/version_teatral.html adapted for stage in Spain.]]

''Innsmouth'' has also been adapted twice as an audio drama by the Atlanta Radio Theater Company and the ''Radio/DarkAdventureRadioTheatre'' series. It has also been [[http://www.clasicadecomedias.com/version_teatral.html adapted for stage in Spain.]]

** There's also the grocery clerk, who actually draws our protagonist ''a map of the town''. Good thing he had that map....seemed extraneous at the time.

* LordOfTheOcean: Dagon and Hydra

* HornySailors: Lovecraft doesn't provide much detail into the "breeding" of the Hybrids. But considering Innsmouth is a port, its only major industry was shipping, and it was a sea captain who made the alliance with the Deep Ones, it's implied that sailors out at sea with nobody else nearby but the Deep Ones could be the main contributors to the Hybrid gene pool.

* AmbiguousEnding: Has the protagonist genuinely [[spoiler: lost his mind, or does he genuinely believe the Deep Ones [[DarkIsNotEvil aren't so bad after all]] and that [[LivingForeverIsAwesome immortality sounds pretty nice]]. Notably, the writing itself seems a lot more cogent than the stream-of-consciousness style Lovecraft would often adopt when some of his other protagonists truly lost it.]]

* FantasticRacism: The locals from the nearby towns hate the Innsmouth folk but are actually unaware of the HalfHumanHybrid part. They think the people of Innsmouth are just degenerate, and/or mixed-race in the mundane sense of the word. Of course, the story today is often read as a metaphor for the "danger" and "degeneracy" of miscegenation, though some critics have challenged this, pointing to the oddly happy ending and Lovecraft's apparent admiration for the Deep Ones' intricate culture and artistic traditions.

** Musn't forget the grocery clerk, who actually draws our protagonist ''a map of the town''. Good thing he had that map....seemed extraneous at the time.

* MesopotamianMonstrosity: Dagon was the name of a Mesopotamian deity who is sometimes interpreted as being a merperson or otherwise related to fish.[[note]]More recent scholarship prefers a different etymology of the key word that interprets it as "grain" instead of "fish".[[/note]] It's unclear from this story whether the Esoteric Order's patron is intended to be the same being, or if its human adherents just an existing name to it.

* AdaptationalWimp: On a meta level. Most times you'll see someone making the case that this story is about Lovecraft's own personal racism and his horror of race-mixing will downplay the fact that the Deep Ones are actually kind of awesome, and the story goes out of its way to praise their artistic achievements, super-human intelligence, and culture in general.

** ''The Shadow Over Innsmouth'' itself is heavily influenced by Creator/RobertWChambers' "The Harbour Master" (a chapter in his episodic novel ''In Search of the Unknown'', as well as Irvin S. Cobb's short story "Fishhead", about a man with uncanny, piscine features - a sort of proto-Innsmouth Look.

* OurMermaidsAreDifferent: Just as Lovecraft liked putting his own spin on [[Literature/TheDreamsOfTheWitchHouse witches]] and [[Literature/PickmansModel ghouls]], this story shows us his version of merpeople, and their peculiar attraction to surface people.

* UnderwaterCity: Y'ha-nthlei.

* NoCommunitiesWereHarmed: Innsmouth was based on Newburyport (mentioned in the story as a separate town), which was apparently a dump at the time (it's since recovered, with no help from Dagon, we hope).

* FantasticRacism: Inverted. The locals from the nearby towns hate the Innsmouth folk but are actually unaware of the HalfHumanHybrid part. They think the people of Innsmouth are just degenerate, and/or mixed-race in the mundane sense of the word. Of course, the story today is often read as a metaphor for the "danger" and "degeneracy" of miscegenation, though some critics have challenged this, pointing to the oddly happy ending and Lovecraft's apparent admiration for the Deep Ones' intricate culture and artistic traditions.

* ThoseWereOnlyTheirScouts: [[spoiler: While the US military was able to clean up Innsmouth, thus defeating the Deep Ones' invasion attempt, and even managed to damage their base at Y'ha-nthlei with depth charges, the epilogue reveals that this was more of an inconvenience than a serious setback to the aliens. They are already planning a new operation, and next time they will target a larger and more important city.]]

* NoNameGiven: The protagonist of the story is never named. His name, however, is revealed to be Robert Olmstead in [[AllThereInTheManual Lovecraft's notes]]. [[spoiler:The notes also give a name to his great-grandmother, Alice Marsh]].

* NoNameGiven: The protagonist of the story is never named. His name, however, is revealed to be Robert Olmstead in [[AllThereInTheManual Lovecraft's notes]].

Innsmouth is a small, run-down village on the northern coast of Massachusetts, near Ipswich, Gloucester, and [[LovecraftCountry Arkham]]. Locals don't like it much. There are whispered rumors about dark dealings with the supernatural, the taint of foreign blood, and some sort of hereditary deformity. While touring New England, a young man learns of the town's sinister reputation and [[SchmuckBait decides it's worth a visit]]. Curiouser and curiouser, he bribes the local drunk, said to be the only normal human left, with his favorite poison. The tale he tells sounds crazy, yet the narrator cannot ignore the sinister atmosphere and the evidence before his own eyes.

* SchmuckBait: Innsmouth's bad reputation is precisely one of the reasons the narrator decided to go.
-->A town able to inspire such dislike in it its neighbors, I thought, must be at least rather unusual, and worthy of a tourist's attention.

Innsmouth is a small, run-down village on the northern coast of Massachusetts, near Ipswich, Gloucester, and [[LovecraftCountry Arkham]]. Locals don't like it much. There are whispered rumors about dark dealings with the supernatural, the taint of foreign blood, and some sort of hereditary deformity. While touring New England, a young man learns of the town's sinister reputation and [[SchmuckBait decides it's worth a visit]]. Curiouser and curiouser, he bribes the local drunk, said to be the [[OnlySaneMan only normal human left]], with his favorite poison. The tale he tells sounds crazy, yet the narrator cannot ignore the sinister atmosphere and the evidence before his own eyes.