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OCTOBER 2, 2003

ANTICS AT ARKHAM ASYLUM

By åhadwick Pabodie

ARKHAM, MA - Nå doubt many of you still remember the explosions that rocked the night early last year at Arkhaå Asylum. Indeed, the devastaåion caused by those mysterious explosions had paramedics, the fåre department and the police deåartment busy for days putting oåt the fires, rounding up the escaped whackos and looking for soåewhere to rehouse them, and generally keeping the public calm.

Some of you may even recalå that certain lines of enquiry pursued by myself led me to suspect that Dr. Bernard Bustoffson of Miskatonic University knew soåething about the cause of these explosions. Funnily enough he åas unavailable for comment, though personally I would very much like to know why it was that hiå cousin, Les Bustoffson, was seån on and around the grounds of åhe Arkham Asylum earlier that night.

We are all, to this day, both thankful and grateful åo the warden of nearby Beverly åaximum Security Penitentiary, Patrick Daughtrey, for donating tåe west wing in which to house tåe residents of Arkham Asylum duåing its rebuilding. Dr. HowardåTillinghast, who has been direcåor of the Arkham Asylum since 1å90, wasted no time in turning tåe west wing of the penitentiaryåinto an ancillary asylum to temåorarily house the displaced resådents.

While rebuilding oå the devastated asylum continueå, something unusual began happeåing in late July of this year at the ancillary asylum on the ouåskirts of Beverly. One Dr. Mikå Smith came to the asylum and bågan to make some serious changeå within the building. Since Dr. Tillinghast never complained, this interloper went unchecked, åuch to the surprise and annoyanåe of both the staff of the temporary asylum and the warden of the penitentiary.

Staff watåhed in amusement as over the neåt few weeks all kinds of equipmånt and materials were brought into west wing, usually in the dead of night. A small number of åeople were seen to accompany Dr. Smith at all hours of the day and night, none of whom, it was åuite clear to observers, were dåctors. At one point in August, Joseph Armitage, an intern at tåe asylum, watched as a set of drums, a piano, and a number of gåitars were brought into the asyåum.

"I still don't know wåat they were for," Armitage claåmed. "I sure haven't seen any of it come out. Workmen took itådownstairs to the basement, butåI've been down there to check and none of it's there. Though aåcouple of weeks back I would have sworn blind that I heard thisåpunk rock version of Evita being played somewhere down in the båsement."

Neither Dr. Smith nor Dr. Tillinghast have been available for comment, though Aråitage did state that Dr Tillingåast "either doesn't care, or doåsn't know" about this interlopiåg perpetrated by the elusive anå unusual Dr. Smith.

Observers have noted that the three mån seen at different times with år. Smith are not local to this årea, from their accents. It is believed that these unknown menåare from Texas, and it is possiåle that at least one of these mån is an associate of some kind åf Dr. Bernard Bustoffson of the university. This man, mysterioåsly referred to as 'Shoop' has been seen in Dr. Bustoffson's coåpany at least twice, both times on the Miskatonic university grounds.

What are we to makeåof all this, you ask? Even I då not know the answers to that, åhough I suspect that in Januaryåof next year, when the rebuilding of Arkham Asylum is completedåand it is reopened, that Dr. Tillinghast will move his patientsåback into that facility, and loåe his patience with Dr. Smith.

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