Boston Visit

[Inner Prop]

I'm going to Boston for the first time.  I have one day to explore the city.  Is there any especially Lovecraftian place I should visit?

I've only ever been to New England once and that was on a camping trip to Maine, so everything is pretty new.

[HeirophantX]

I've forgotten what they call it... the Liberty Walk? Basically it's a walking tour of the city by a tourguide in Revolutionary period garb.  That's kinda cool because about half of it is schlepping through cemeteries. 

Another alternative is that you are basically a 30 minute train ride from Salem, which is basically Arkham (only with more dragonsblood incense).  Naturally, the town has capitalized on the witchcraft/witch trials thing, but some of the museums are pretty cool.  And, even if you've only got a couple hours, you can totally get some good sights in, hit a couple museums, get some chow and have time to duck into Harrison's Comics on Essex St. on the way back to the train station.  Yes, from the depot you can walk to everything cool in Salem in short order.

Of all the places I checked out in Salem, the BEST was a wax museum dedicated to classic horror called "Count Orlok's Nightmare Gallery."

There isn't much particularly Lovecraftian in Boston (IMHO, others' mileage may vary), other than obscure things like trying to find Pickman's address.  Otherwise it's just a beautiful city (though not as well laid out as Chicago), full of women in skirt-suits, smoking, talking in loud Colin Quinn voices and dropping f-bombs every 3rd word.  HPL probably wouldn't approve .

[CMcCormack]

Hey there!

If you've only got one day in Boston, HeirophantX might be right--if you walk the Freedom Trail (Liberty Walk was very close!), that gives you a good tour of revolutionary Boston, and takes you from Boston Common all the way through the North End (which I believe is where Pickman resided, yes?).  There's a lot of preserved stuff from the era including cemeteries, churches, and buildings, but I wouldn't say it's the most Lovecraftian thing you can do.

I also agree that if you want to venture outside the city, Salem might be the best bet.  It IS very touristy, but it's also a legit Lovecraft locale, and if you have a smart phone, you can even do what I did, which was pull up HPLovecraft.com's list of Lovecraftian landmarks in Salem, and go on your own little guided tour. 

For the more adventurous with more than a single day, I would actually recommend doing Salem and Marblehead, if only to get over to the Marblehead cemetery as described in The Festival.  I actually was thinking it'd be cool if someone ran "Lovecraft's Boston" bus tour or something, but alas, it's not the case.

Happy hunting!

p.s. since it's the summer now, hopefully there'll be fewer pantsuits and swears, and more short shorts and smiles. 

[Inner Prop]

I'm back. We caught parts of the Freedom Trail, but didn't have time for all of it and it was raining on and off the whole time.

Short skirts, low cut tops and boots were in evidence.  I really didn't catch any swearing or smoking.