Innsmouth Academy

Innsmouth Academy
Innsmouth Academy was originally built in 1798, but has been rebuilt and renovated several times since. Today, the school grounds are dominated by the beautiful, colonial Georgian main building, erected in 1906.

Its students enjoy the luxuries of a privately funded boarding school while other children in Kingsmouth have to commute off the island. This has caused some discontent among the average citizens, who find it hard to accept that the only school on the island is restricted to rich, spoiled kids. At one point, the envy and dismay of the townspeople culminated in a petition to the state Board of Education, claiming the school took bribes in exchange for perfect grades. The investigation found no sign of misconduct and the case was closed.

Innsmouth Academy - a powerful institution in Kingsmouth and an integral part of its acute history - has brought the town several benefits, such as a boosted economy, resident scholars and plenty of academic interest. The academy only admits especially gifted children and has very strict entry exams. The school ranks very high in subjects such as natural science, history and archaeology and is considered one of the premier prep schools in the United States.

But this is only the public face of Innsmouth Academy.

The outer walls of the private school hide one of the best magic academies in the world and a natural starting point for anyone who is serious about the craft. Here, talented children are groomed for a brilliant future within the cabals.

Aside from regular school subjects, the students learn about spell craft, alchemy and occultism, and are trained to become competent magi. A successful graduate will be highly capable of navigating the secret world, and several alumni have elevated into prominent positions within the most powerful cabals.

Historically, only children of Illuminati families were accepted, but the school has on occasion recruited gifted students from other factions. Nowadays, talent weighs heavier than affiliation. The teachers of the school are mostly influential Illuminati magi, but other factions are also represented among the staff.

Even though the Illuminati headquarters have long since moved to New York and Washington D.C., Innsmouth Academy has retained its important position as not only a prime educational facility, but also a great example of how to integrate into the non-magical world.

The population of Kingsmouth has been exposed to magic - both good and bad - since the town was founded, and a lot of it has stemmed from Innsmouth Academy. But regular people have been protected from the brunt of it and, throughout the years, the faculty has been forced to cover up occult incidents. Closing rifts to other dimensions, disposing of magical and mythical monsters and shielding the population from too much information has all been part of their responsibility.

During the Overlook Motel incident, the headmaster at the time, along with several of the staff, closed a portal within the motel and cast powerful, protective spells to dissuade the curious from poking around the occult rift within.

Shortly after, a student broke the school rules and used magic outside the campus to kill a wendigo. The powerful, occult flux created by the portal at the motel had attracted the creature, which mauled and killed two young boys from Kingsmouth. Again, school staff had to act. They used magic to cover its tracks and douse the occult vacuum, then brought the carcass to the academy grounds where it was destroyed. Danger hasn't always come from within Kingsmouth, though.

Due to its Illuminati affiliation, the academy has endured several magical and physical attacks from enemies of the secret society. It has been rebuilt three times following incidents that damaged its buildings, events which Illuminati and school officials claim were the work of its archrival - the Templars.

In 1852 parts of the structure collapsed after a fire broke out in the great hall in the middle of the night. A well respected teacher was killed. The school had to close for two months to rebuild.

In 1904, a magical attack masked as an earthquake caused severe structural damage to the academy grounds. Only parts of the outer walls were left standing, while almost all the interior collapsed. Forty-three people died - most of them students - and it took two years to rebuild the entire campus.

Finally, in 1967, an accident involving dimensional portals destroyed the school's elementalism lab and caused damage to the electrical system. No one was hurt, but all science classes were moved to a makeshift laboratory until the damage was repaired and an internal investigation was completed.

As an educational facility, Innsmouth cannot retaliate with violence. Instead they have by necessity become experts on defence and diversion.

No amount of magical defences could stop the fog, however, and now the school lies empty - the ghostly shell of what was once a most unique academy.