The Inner Circle

Origin
The group that came to be known as the Inner Circle was chartered by Sir Randolph Carter in the year 1695.

In 1680, Sir Randolph, who had always been interested in the supernatural and such, left his native England. He traveled around the world, visiting places few, if any, Europeans has ever gone before. During that journey, he collected old books and scrolls that few had ever seen before.

In 1692, Sir Randolph arrived in the New World, thinking that said new world would be open to new ideas. However, the Salem Witch Trials quickly convinced him that was not the case. He decided to lie low and settled in the town of Arkham, where he discovered that there are others who were open to new ideas, like he was. This led him to charter the Inner Circle three years later.

When Sir Randolph's son, Edmund, came of age, he was told about the Inner Circle. In time, Edmund inherited leadership of the Circle from his father, as did his son, and so on. The Carter family led the Inner Circle right up to the 21st Century and the current Randolph Carter.

Based in Arkham, the Inner Circle gathered and studied information about things and concepts that the mainstream world didn't believe in or know about, including the Old Ones. The books and scrolls that Sir Randolph gathered on his trip around the world are kept by the Inner Circle. Over the centuries, the Inner Circle has made some powerful and influential friends, including those in the U.S. Government (even some Presidents, according to Randolph).

Stopping the return of the Old Ones
The Inner Circle has been prominent if stopping attempts to release the Old Ones from their empty dimensional prison.

Herbert West
In 1913, the Inner Circle, which was then led by Jacob Carter (great-grandfather of Randolph Carter), became concerned when Herbert West, who had acquired a copy of the Necronomicon, some years before, started talking about freeing the Old Ones. The Circle approached West's friend and assistant, Dan Cain. They informed him that they were aware of what West was attempting to do. The Inner Circle then asked Cain to watch West, and inform them when and if Cain felt that things were getting out of hand. Out of fear and concern for his friend, Cain agreed.

Although they did not sanction his actions, the Circle did help Dan Cain to cover things up when he was forced to shoot West to death in 1921, to prevent West from murdering a young boy. The boy, William Clarke, was meant to be a sacrifice to the Old Ones.

The Esoteric Order Of Dagon
During the years 1927-28, the Inner Circle discovered the activities of The Esoteric Order Of Dagon in the nearby town of Innsmouth and dispatched one of their members, Robert Olmstead,  there to confirm their suspicions. When Olmstead discovered just what The Esoteric Order Of Dagon has been up to, a long range plan to free the Old Ones, the Circle used its influence in the U.S. Government to organize a raid on Innsmouth. In said raid, many buildings were blown up, and the U.S. Navy fired torpedoes at Devil Reef, where the Deep Ones had been living since Obed Marsh had summoned them to Innsmouth, decades before. It was not known if the Deep Ones survived that attack, although it is possible that they simply relocated elsewhere, beneath the seas.

The Innsmouth hybrids were arrested, but were treated humanely. For their own protection they were subsequently sequestered from the rest of humanity for the rest of their lives.

Robert Olmstead wrote an account about this incident. After his death, decades later, the report was placed in the sealed records room of Miskatonic University.

The Dunwich Horror
In 1928, the event, which came to be known as the Dunwich Horror, occurred. A degenerate family named Whateley, who apparently worshipped the Old One named Yog-Sothoth, summoned an unknown creature. Said creature, after apparently destroying the Whateley family, then went on a rampage, slaughtering cattle and killing two families named Frye and Bishop.

In the end, the Inner Circle dispatched three of its members, professors from Miskatonic University, named Armitage, Rice, and Morgan, to Dunwich. They manage to stop the creature.

The records of the incident were then ordered sealed by the Dean of Miskatonic University, so exactly how the three professors stopped the creature remained a mystery, except to the Inner Circle itself.

Recruitment of Rex Buckland and Hannah Webster
In late 2014, Randolph Carter figured that Rex Buckland and Hannah Webster would be a welcome addition to the Inner Circle, so he persuaded them to take steps to get Rex and Hannah to come to Arkham. This included arranging for Rex to get the job as Head of the Ancient Languages Department at Miskatonic University (Richard Pickman, the current Dean of Miskatonic University, is a member of the Inner Circle) and procuring the house Rex and Hannah now live in.

Randolph and the Inner Circle, thanks to the books and scrolls they have, became aware of Rex and Hannah’s Warlock background.

After Rex and Hannah arrived in Arkham, Randolph became a close ally, until he felt the time was right to tell  Rex and Hannah about the Inner Circle.

However, Randolph greatly underestimated the tenacity of Rex and Hannah. They had uncovered the existence of the Inner Circle faster than expected, forcing Randolph reveal the truth about Inner Circle to Rex and Hannah and invite them to join it. He then explained that Rex's knack for translating old books and scrolls, and their magical abilities would be a great addition to the Circle. Randolph said that Hannah would be the first woman admitted.

Attempt on Hannah's life
Joseph Philip, another member of the Circle, objected to the idea of letting a woman into the group, but Randolph overruled him. Philip then tried to kill Hannah by hitting her with his car, but Hannah survived, despite some serious injuries that required surgery at Arkham Community Hospital.

Randolph subsequently revealed that, since one of their own had caused Hannah’s injuries, the Inner Circle had pulled some strings and arranged to pay for Hannah’s long hospital stay.

Rex and Hannah agree to join the Inner Circle
At that point, the two former Warlocks informed Randolph that they had decided to join the Inner Circle. A grateful Randolph welcomed Rex and Hannah into the fold.

Headquarters
The main headquarters for the Inner Circle is a secret chamber, which is hidden beneath Miskatonic University. It had originally built to hide Patriots during the American Revolution. Later, it became part of the Underground Railroad for escaping slaves in the years preceding and during the Civil War. The Inner Circle began using it in the years following the Civil War.

Following the incident with the Hobus Crystal, Randolph Carter finally revealed the Inner Circle's main headquarters to Rex and Hannah.

Current Membership
The current roster of the Inner Circle now includes the following people: Rex Buckland Hannah Webster Randolph Carter

Staci Clarke

Richard Pickman

Robert Howard (the Mayor of Arkham)

Staci Clarke was the second woman admitted to the Inner Circle, on Hannah's recommendation.