Archibald Locke is the Professor of Esoteric Studies at New York University, an office he holds due in no small part to his award winning work on ancient cultures of Europe and his groundbreaking criticism of Margaret Murray’s Witch-Cult in Western Europe, the first such work to not approach the book from a skeptic’s point of view, but rather that Murray did not go far enough in her descriptions.

Known as “Archie” to his friends (much to his consternation), Archibald believes himself to be a true Renaissance Man, capable of feats of mental acuity, physical prowess, and disarming charm. With an ego merging on megalomania at times, he often sees himself as the leader of the group, and will leap ahead, sometimes to his detriment.

Professor Locke graduated from Miskatonic University in witch-haunted Arkham. A noted alumni of that august institution, he has many contacts among the faculty and staff there. During his time at the Massachusetts-based university, he had occasion to study many strange and ancient texts, and developed a philosophy that modern science is simply too blind of the possibilities within the invisible world for its own good.

Archibald was initially interested in becoming a doctor, and enrolled in pre-medical school classes, where he met Victoria Niesennkraft. Archibald attempted to date Victoria several times during the years they matriculated together, but she had no interest in him. He assumed it was a language barrier issue, since Victoria was a native of Germany, and though she spoke perfect English, he began studying German in hopes of wooing her. This also did not succeed, but Archibald did become quite fluent in German as a result.

Born from a wealthy family, Archibald considers himself quite rich, and enjoys life’s little pleasures. His current teaching schedule affords him time to go on globetrotting adventures, but the university has been asking for more published works, intimating that he may be resting upon his laurels. This was one of the driving factors in Professor Locke taking the job from Thomas Harrison Bailey III, as he was quite sure such an adventure would lead to many scholarly articles.

Archibald was quite excited to meet the infamous Aleister Crowley, but was unhappy when the occultist rebuffed him. He hoped to prove that he was worthy of the man’s attention the next time they met.