The A.S.M.R. Test at Miskatonic University ( A "Rift World" Origin Story )

During your stay in the old town of Arkham, Massachusetts, you find an advertisement in the local Arkham Advertiser newspaper regarding a test being performed (with a modest payment for volunteering, of course) at nearby historic Miskatonic University.

The test is being held by a young man who goes by the name of William Clemmons, a graduate student mastering in Psychology with an interest in other fields such as geology and the occult. Seeing as you are new to the town of Arkham, Mr. Clemmons shares some brief information regarding a few notable points of interest, such as a recent meteor crash, an old witch house, the beautiful Miskatonic river and the far northern fishing town of Innsmouth.

Mr. Clemmons also expresses his frustrations and empathy for the patients of Arkham Sanitarium where the nature of this test was discovered: a pleasant tingling sensation reportedly felt by many of the patients when receiving care from the sanitarium's medical staff. He then explains how that facility is in a current state of decay and neglect, perhaps at the oversight of the current director. Mr. Clemmons states how he wishes he had the financial means to operate the facility himself in order to revitalize it and bring it into the modern day era, so that it could provide far better care for its patients.

The test itself was arranged by Mr. Clemmons, who was also charged with the task as part of his graduate courses, and consists of a very simple health questionnaire, a basic health checkup, and is then followed by various stimuli such as calm hand movements, page turning, and the crinkling sound of plastic, in order to determine if the general population, such as yourself, experience this phenomena.

William is married to his expecting wife Margaret, who is also in medical school to become a nurse and who has a passion for theatre and the arts. Upon their graduation and before the birth of their child, they both plan to take part in an expedition, along with some of the other Miskatonic faculty, to either the deserts of Australia or the mountains of the Himalayas, in search of ancient ruins and artifacts.

Mr. Clemmons also makes reference to the medical conditions of various patients at the sanitarium, stating how some of them are suffering from extreme paranoid delusions such as believing tin foil will protect them from nefarious entities that are out to harm them. He also makes mention of a local repairman, and towards the end of the session talks about his brother, who is in the pharmaceutical field, and who was involved in a serious accident of some kind that left his face disfigured.

Of course, with all that being said, I must implore to you, dear reader, that this could all very well be just one possible history in a series of alternate timelines, or perhaps worse than I fear: a strange dream from which you cannot awake.

Sincerely,
L. S.
159 Sentinel St., Apt. 3C
Arkham, MA

Intro song "Cool Vibes - Film Noire" by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/...)
Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-...
Artist: http://incompetech.com/

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What is ASMR? It is both a sensation and a medium.

ASMR stands for Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response and is the current, non-scientific name given to the feeling characterized as a pleasurable tingling sensation felt in the head, scalp, back and other regions of the body in response to visual, auditory, tactile, olfactory, and/or cognitive stimuli, such as crinkling bags, hand movements, whispering, personal attention or watching someone perform a task. It's like goosebumps, but much more pleasant.

ASMR videos are meant to intentionally help induce this sensation, also referred to as "tingles", but also provide a relaxing, calming, soothing, therapeutic and even entertaining experience for the viewer.

Many people who do not experience ASMR still enjoy the videos for their calming and sleepy effect.