Dupin Society

Clued-In Observers of the Supernatural

In the late 19th century, Frederic Alcott—a fan of Edgar Allan Poe who lived in Baltimore — purchased a trunk at an estate auction. The trunk was full of old papers and assorted junk from an obscure literature professor from Franklin & Marshall College, a specialist in early to mid-19th century American popular literature.

Alcott examined the papers and discovered that many were written by Poe himself and were as yet unknown to academia. However, they were not the fiction, essays, or literary criticism that Poe was known for; they were a catalog of real-world supernatural events and entities around Baltimore, Philadelphia, and Richmond.

Poe was clued-in, knew an awful lot, and had the good sense not to publish any of it; who would have believed him? The Dupin Society (named after the hero of Poe’s detective stories) dedicated itself to continuing to observe the supernatural around Baltimore. If you want to know something about the supernatural community in Baltimore, chances are the Dupin Society knows it, or at least knows who you can contact to find out.

The Dupin Society learned a tough lesson right around the turn of the 20th century. They found out about a scourge of Black Court vampires in northeast Baltimore and determined to drive them out of the city. The society was nearly wiped out; Alcott was killed, as were half a dozen of his students and associates.

The survivors licked their wounds and decided never to intervene actively again; they would do nothing more than observe and record. They're good at this; if a person or event in Baltimore has a supernatural angle to it, chances are the Dupin Society knows about it.

Currently, the Dupin Society consists of around two dozen Baltimoreans from all walks of life, and most—if not all—have no supernatural talents of their own. Its director is Paul Mackey (page 384), who works as a curator at the Edgar Allan Poe House and Museum. The society poses as a literary discussion group; its true nature is kept secret.

Some members are questioning the society’s firm policy of nonintervention, the most vocal of which is John Vastolo. They point to the success of “Lizard” Gibbs and his cohorts in slaying a White Court vampire, and they argue for taking a more militant line against supernaturals that prey on mortals. Others argue that they are not trained or equipped to do so, and that they should simply continue to observe and record. The society clearly embodies the theme of Conflicting Identities.

The Dupin Society does not enjoy a terribly warm relationship with Evan Montrose, the Montrose family, or other Baltimore wizards. It’s personal — we’ll discuss this more later.

• Paul Mackey
• John Vastolo
• Dr. Allison Ralston

I want to preserve knowledge

Paul Mackey is an expert in early American literature and is the curator of the Edgar Allan Poe House and Museum. As such, it’s never questioned that he spends almost all his time there. He is also director of the Dupin Society. He is resisting a push among some in the society to become more active in protecting mortals from supernatural forces.

I want to stop the predators

John Vastolo is a member of the Dupin Society, and one that believes that the group should become more active in resisting the weird. He is being held in check by Paul Mackey, for now, but that doesn’t stop him from passing information on to his niece, Patrol Office Leslie Vastolo of the BPD.

I want to know, no matter who says I shouldn't

Deep in the basement of the Meyer Building on the campus of Johns Hopkins Hospital, forensic pathologist Dr. Allison Ralston toils away in relative anonymity. She has little regard for formal hospital procedure, which led to her exile in the basement. Provided she publishes once or twice a year, her superiors rarely bother to check up on her.

She is also an active member of the Dupin Society and uses her position at the hospital to perform unofficial postmortems and other medical examinations vital to their mission as recorders of supernatural events. She’s not above doing other off-the-books work, such as treating injuries of heroic monster hunters who get a bit banged up in the course of their work. She’s a regular at Neutral Grounds (see page 394), and she once briefly dated Dave Gerard.