Church of Starry Wisdom

Church of Starry Wisdom
General Information
Also known as	Celestial Providence sect
Type	Cult
Location	Providence, Rhode Island Yorkshire, England (1880 to 1890) Chicago, Illinois (-1871) Arkham, Massachusetts (1920s) San Francisco Canada Equatorial Guinea (1970s)
Affiliations	Haunter of the Dark
Notable Members	Professor Enoch Bowen
Real World Information
First appearance	EXP: "The Illuminatus! Trilogy"
Created by	Robert Anton Wilson Robert Shea

The Church of Starry Wisdom, or the Starry Wisdom Cult, is a cult that worships Nyarlathotep in his aspect of the Haunter of the Dark as described in the story of the same name.

The sect was founded in Providence, Rhode Island, in the United States in 1844 by professor archaeologist and occultist Enoch Bowen. The sect uses a holy relic known as the Shining Trapezohedron to summon the Haunter of the Dark, who demands terrible sacrifices in exchange for boundless wisdom from the universe.

Although the cult received demands from local churches, it was able to grow to 200 members. Mysterious disappearances in the area led the general public to suspect the sect. After numerous protests led by local residents and the municipal government, the sect was closed and 181 residents left Providence for unknown reasons. The sect, which had its ceremonies inside a church, maintained an extensive library of literature related to the occult. Most of these books were removed by Dr. Ambrose Dexter after the sect was sued for the mysterious death of Robert Harrison Blake. Although the sect was officially closed in 1877, it appeared elsewhere, including Yorkshire, England. Chicago, Illinois, Arkham, Massachusetts and Canada.

Historic information

The Church of Starry Wisdom was actually St. John's Church, a Catholic church located on Federal Hill, Providence, Rhode Island. It was built and completed on March 17, 1873. The church builder is known as Patrick McEvoy, who arrived in Providence from Ireland in the spring of 1843. When he completed the construction of the church, McEvoy suffered a fall from one of the mechanical lifts for construction and died two weeks later from an infection in his knee. His wife, Catherine Riley McEvoy, died suddenly six weeks later for unknown reasons. Her eight children were orphaned at their home located on Chalkstone Hill (Berlin Street). The children were left homeless in the church and were never paid for their father's work. The third daughter, Ellen McEvoy, married Michael Lynch and took ownership of the house and the hardware store that was opposite the church. The Diocese of Providence rejected the church and closed it for the pagan/Gaelic style of architecture as not suitable for the extravagant and noble Italians who were rapidly filling the neighborhood.