PLEASE NOTE: THIS BOOK DOES NOT CONTAIN THE PRE-ORDER BONUSES! The Pre-Order Bonus items were only available with the 1st print run.
"We shall see that at which dogs howl in the dark, and that at which cats prick up their ears after midnight. We shall see these things, and other things which no breathing creature has yet seen. We shall overleap time, space, and dimensions, and without bodily motion peer to the bottom of creation."
–H.P. Lovecraft, From Beyond
The Ancient Ones stir in their slumber. These are beings so impossible that to behold them is to lose one’s mind, and as they stir, they touch the minds of cultists ready to prepare malefic rituals. They tear holes in the barriers between our world and other dimensions, they unleash unspeakable monstrosities from unimaginable realities, and they prowl our city streets under the cover of darkness.
Few have yet encountered these threats. Even fewer have survived. And only a handful of these survivors have had the strength to retain their sanity and the courage to take action…
With lavish art and haunting stories, this gorgeous, 264-page, hardcover art and setting book delves more deeply into the lives of the investigators from the acclaimed Arkham Horror Files games as they explore 1920s Arkham, the far-flung corners of the Earth, and the strange worlds of the Cthulhu Mythos.
An essential tome for all the most daring fans of our Arkham Horror Files games, The Investigators of Arkham Horrorcontains fifty-two short stories with full-color art by more than forty of the industry's most talented artists.
The Beating Heart of Arkham
The eerie supernatural horror stories written by H.P. Lovecraft have inspired countless forays into the strange Cthulhu Mythos. It is a place where human understanding falls short, confronted by the awesome grandeur of an infinite, uncaring, and unknowable cosmos. Although we humans may consider ourselves the masters of all we survey, our perceptions are woefully inadequate, and neither our five senses nor our science are capable of uncovering the most significant creatures or events making their entry into our world.
The popularity and longevity of this conceit have led many to explore the Cthulhu Mythos. Like H.P. Lovecraft himself, many have chosen to recoil in horror, struck mad by the realization that there may be other worlds, dimensions, and grotesque life-forms—all hovering about us, just outside of our ability to perceive them. But while the vast majority of humanity remains ignorant of these alien worlds and creatures and the threats they present, and while most who encounter them go mad if they survive their encounters, the investigators of Fantasy Flight Games' Arkham Horror Files games find themselves driven to action.
"I’m not a fan of cold cases. They’re like a bad scab, sitting in the back of your brain. The more you scratch, the deeper you go. The deeper you go, the more you bleed."
–Joe Diamond: The Private Eye
Forced into a subgenre of supernatural horror that's all about people overcome by horror and despair, the investigators of Arkham Horror, Eldritch Horror, Elder Sign, and our other Arkham Horror Files games are heroic. When others go mad, they raise their .38s and their tommy guns and fight back. When the Ancient Ones and their cultists pose new threats to all humanity, the investigators of Arkham Horror race desperately to find ways to avert the coming apocalypse.
Though the world of the Cthulhu Mythos and our Arkham Horror Files games is, itself, highly evocative, it's not the world that drives our games, nor the magical and spellbinding stories they weave. The city of Arkham and the Cthulhu Mythos bring you close to the action, but to get to the heart of the action, you need to follow the investigators.
In all of our Arkham Horror Files games, players assume the roles of different investigators and enter a world where supernatural horror meets pulp action and in which their investigators' personalities and personal histories may play—at any moment—either to their advantage or their detriment. The investigators of the Arkham Horror Filessetting are heroic, yes, but they are also flawed. These are the characters you meet over the course of the fifty-two tales related in The Investigators of Arkham Horror, and their lives are just as conflicted, complex, and thrilling as you could hope.
Explore the World and Investigators of Arkham Horror
Perhaps you first encountered it in your dreams—nightmares, perhaps, of swirling shapes and alien worlds. Perhaps you feel something looming over you, and even though you check over your shoulder and find nothing, the feeling never quite goes away. Perhaps you cracked open the dread Necronomicon and recognized the unholy truths of a world ordered by more than the natural laws we have identified through science.
"Marie was warming up backstage when the soft sound of clapping startled her. Whirling, she saw a tall, slim man in a black tailcoat. She hadn’t heard him approach, despite the Nightingale’s notoriously creaky floorboards…"
–Marie Lambeau: The Entertainer
For whatever reason, you recognize there is more to our world than can be proven empirically. There is more than we can see through the senses. There are, in fact, other worlds, and you may even have heard rumors of those men and women labeled mad for their pursuit of those worlds and the creatures they say have come through to our own. But where you find others dismissive of these so-called "investigators," you feel compelled to learn more. Their stories may support what you have seen and heard and learned—the truths you may never again unsee or unlearn.
Take your next steps into the supernatural side of the Roaring Twenties. Discover the fates of those who fight on humanity's behalf. Witness the horror for yourself. The Investigators of Arkham Horror is coming. |
