16
Dec
07

The Arkham Assessment

Saw this on Toren’s Blog.

Your Score: Henry W. Akeley

In H. P. Lovecraft’s universe you are

Henry W. Akeley

Benevolence Inquisitiveness Obstinacy Discretion
medium low high low high

Do you have an imaginary friend? Is your imaginary friend real? Are you somebody else’s imaginary friend? Henry Akeley found that such questions aren’t as ridiculous as they seem in The Whisperer In Darkness. He was a Vermont farmer who had the misfortune to own land near the location of a Mi-Go landing site. Aliens from another galaxy who came to mine rare elements, the Mi-Go caused all sorts of problems until they changed their approach and decided to become Henry’s friends. Depending on your perspective, this change marked either the end of his Mi-Go problems or the beginning of them. Your score on this test suggests that, like Henry, you’ve come to grips with some occult, alien, paranormal, or just plain weird event, and with a little luck (not measured by this test) you find yourself in control of it rather than the other way around.

The image above comes from Gravehill Productions‘ movie The Whisperer in Darkness, still unreleased as of the writing of this test. The producers say it should be available on DVD by Halloween 2007. Akeley, the hooded figure in the foreground, is played by Mike Sexton.

Similar Entities

< ! Alhazred>
less discrete

< ! Whateley>
less benevolent

< ! West>
more obstinate

Scoring

Your Inquisitiveness score indicates a desire to thoroughly research new activities. This may be a good or bad thing: if it stems from a fear of being ridiculed for a mistake or a mistrust of your own instincts, it’s a drawback; if it’s the result of rigorous training or natural curiosity tempered with skepticism, it’s a strength. In either case you’re more likely to study first and act later rather than move ahead rashly without getting all the facts. In Lovecraftian terms, you’re the person who goes to the library, catacomb, or museum to study the ancient text, or you assemble the scattered pieces of the protective amulet before facing the horror lurking in the shadows. Alas, often it’s reading the text or assembling the amulet that releases the [insert entity here], which emerges to destroy the universe beginning with you.

Your Benevolence score suggests a cautious nature, a show-me attitude that doesn’t preclude generosity and support once you’re convinced of the sincerity of any request. In a Lovecraft story, you wouldn’t go meet the monster; you’d wait for it to come to you. Alas, many of his creations are willing to travel. Your greatest vulnerability in such a scenario is that you’d be less likely than most to recognize help when it’s offered by a stranger or by something whose shape or substance you can’t quite discern.

Your Obstinacy score indicates alertness to danger and agility in avoiding it. Having a low level of obstinacy may seem like a good thing to you, but in Lovecraft Land it really just defines the nature of your doom. You’re the character who stays where he belongs, who doesn’t unlock the forbidden door, who doesn’t read the ancient inscription aloud, who doesn’t consort with weird creatures in his dreams, who avoids the sinister new neighbors, who doesn’t drink from the mysterious vial. Too bad: the stuff in that vial would have saved you from Cthulhu!

Your Discretion score indicates ability to keep a secret and go about your business without calling attention to yourself. In the real world that’s a good thing, but in a Lovecraft story it can be fatal. You’re the character who keeps his discoveries to himself and thus precludes any warning or rescue from those who may have unearthed a piece of the Cosmic Puzzle that could counteract the one imperiling you. When you travel into the Unknown, you go alone and tell nobody your destination; eventually it’s just you standing before Something Huge and Horrible on the next-to-last page.

Test Methodology and Complete List of Characters


The comparisons below won’t mean much because this test only records the categories (high, medium high, medium low, or low) of your scores rather than the exact values, and the totals only include half the possible range of characters. The comparisons at the end of The OkLovecraft Test are much better indicators of how your results compare to those of other test-takers.


Link: The Arkham Assessment Test written by Utopius on OkCupid, home of the The Dating Persona Test

1 Response to “The Arkham Assessment”


  1. Gravatar Icon 1 acrobat Dec 18th, 2007 at 8:22 pm

    Turns out I am Edwin M. Lillibridge.

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