This One's Not About Batman (A review of Arkham Horror)

Box!

Often when I introduce the game "Arkham Horror" to new players, their first thought goes to Batman.  It makes sense, after all Batman is a little more mainstream and Arkham does happen to be the name of the asylum where most of his supervillain nemeses are kept.

So, quick lesson regarding literature:  "Arkham" is actually the name of a fictional city in Massachusetts from a series of horror stories written by one H. P. Lovecraft.  These stories feature a number of enormous, ancient, horrific alien monsters including the most well known Cthulhu.  They also feature their main characters losing their sanity and/or coming to a gruesome and violent end.  The Arkham in Batman takes its name from this city, and not the other way around.