Mysteries of Montreal

Two years after the Titanic was sunk, the Empress of Ireand sunk in the St Lawrence river (29th of May 1914). 1,012 people were killed, as the ship went down in just 14 minutes, after colliding with a Norwegian freighter, the SS Sorstad Near Rimouski . 465 of the original 1477 people on board survived. It seems the story of the Empress has been lost, as it's death-toll was overshadowed by that of the Titanic two years earlier, and the story in international news at the time was pushed aside weeks later by the outbreak of the Great War. Not to lessen the tragedy of such a wreck, but to ignore it's gaming potential, especially for Call of Cthulhu, would be to deny the reason for this blog's existence. My first thought on this, was to use the Titanic as a starting point. As a more famous wreck, in the same time frame and with a very similar passenger list, it would be foolish not to see what was already out there. Pelgrane Press's RMS Titanic: The Millionaire’s Sp...

You may notice I have a new header image. I had been on the lookout for an image of the skyline of Montreal fro the 1920s or there abouts. I found what I have been looking for in a flickr stream of pictures on Montreal from the air between 1925 and 1935 . Photos aériennes prises pour la Ville de Montréal par la Fairchild Serial Surveys Co. (of Canada) Ltd de Grand-Mère, Québec., entre 1925 et 1935. Ces images nous offrent un aperçu exceptionnel d’un Montréal en pleine expansion, entre 1925 et 1935. La vague d’annexions qui s’est terminée en 1918 confère à la cité agrandie une allure parfois rurale, du fait du grand nombre d’espaces non construits. Les nouveaux quartiers vont se remplir peu à peu de nouveaux habitats, parmi lesquelles le multiplex domine. Les terrains cultivés cèdent progressivement la place à ces constructions, aux installations industrielles ou aux infrastructures routières. Ce lot de photos sur plaque de verre montre notamment les secteurs des usines Angus, du cen...

I came across this whilst on another google search of all things Lovecraft and Mthos in Montreal. Indeed, I am surprised I haven't chanced acros it before. Based in Montreal is The Miskatonic Institute of Horror Studies. The Miskatonic Institute of Horror Studies is a non-profit, community-based curriculum through which established horror writers, directors, scholars and programmers/curators celebrate horror history and culture while helping enthusiastic fans of the genre to gain a critical perspective. One reason I may not have come across them previously is that my recent searches on the Montreal Mythos have not been concerned solely with the 1920-30s. The second reason is that the Institute itself has only existed since 2010. Mostly it seems to be a forum for discussion of the Horror genre in film, however, there is an uncoming course/event running for 5 weeks called H.P. Lovecraft – From Cosmic Horror to Heavy Metal  that I am seriously considering going along to. So w...

  Merry Christmas to you all. For something a little festive, may I suggest the H.P.Podcraft's reading s of H.P.L.s Christmas poetry. Set one , set two and set three .    As for me, I have a bunch of posts lined up for the new year. I hope to use the next couple of weeks off to make some headway.  Here's to a mysterious 2014.

Been away on holidays, where I planned to read through the new quickstart rules for 7th edition Call of Cthulhu, however, it was not to be. I still plan to do this, and will post my thoughts on the new edition, and how it differs from 6th (and previous) editions of Call of Cthulhu, but in the mean time, here's omething a little different in tone: Feminist Yog-Sothoth .

The wonders of the modern day publishing system, allowing new authors to be easily published is something I really treasure of this internet age. The barriers to self publishing have been lowered, and the advent of crowd sourcing makes projects of many kinds even more attainable. To this end, I bring to your attention " Baby Teeth ". What a great name for a collection of horror short stories by fledling authors.  Based on the chills and shivers of the creepy things children have been heard to say at the most unexpected times, this collection is an assortment of unexpected frights, nervous giggles and often poignant reflections on life, childhood, and the terrors of growing up. Mostly horror, you'll also find stories in this book of fantasy, science fiction, crime and even comedy, from a wide range of established and emerging writers (36 stories from 26 authors!). I must admit, I have only heard of one of the authors, and he is a friend of mine , but I like the set...

There are a great number of cinemas or movie theatres in Montreal, many of them dating from the golden age of cinema. Including the Ouimetoscope , the first Canadian theater dedicated exclusively to showing movies (opened in 1906), and which was situated right round the corner from my house (and is currently being transformed into a block of appartments). Showing local productions, including his own, news movies, French and translated American movies, the theater would remain open for eighteen years until, in 1922, Ouimet's financial difficulties forced him to sell the Ouimetoscope, which closed two years later. Another is the Rialto Theatre  ( official site ), built in 1924, and although it stopped being a cinema in 1990, the building is protected as a Candian Heritage Site. You can see a few pictures of the wonderful interiors here . It would be remiss of me, being a Call of Cthulhu Blogger, if, whilst on this subject, I did not mention the tra...