The spatial hypertext known as The Shadow City is the end product of a semester of collaborative research, an investigation into the close ties between Howard Phillips Lovecraft and his city. We have sought to merge Providence as it stands today with the city as he saw it, to create a spatial story that bridges two worlds while somehow existing in each.

The Shadow City is not a story that is told; rather, it is a story that happens, but one that you will not see much of unless you go out and explore it. Participants select a character and, over the course of a week, watch the tale's unfolding from that character's viewpoint, following his or her travails both virtually and in physical space. Links to more information, different aspects of the story, and otherwise-unfindable scenes can be discovered in the least expected places -- under a certain bench mentioned elsewhere in the story, say, or between the covers of the Mad Arab's fabled Necronomicon.

If this is something in which you would like to participate, read on, but do not make this decision likely. Be aware that this is an immersive experience -- if you do not devote sufficient time and energy to it, you are unlikely to get much out of it. If you have questions or concerns, contact the cloaked figures.