The Men of Letters are "preceptors, observers, beholders, chroniclers" of mysteries not easily explainable or known to men. They had knowledge of mysteries of the supernatural and many arcane arts like alchemy. They also considered hunters to be inferior to them. Thus, their order only shares its secrets to the most elite hunters they deem to be worthy. They also served as the Monster Club Universe's main line of defense against the threat of the Akrida before the Men of Letters were wiped out by Joan Hopkins for their continued interference.
Overview[]
The order was identified with the crest of the Aquarian Star, a six-pointed sign that represents great magic and power and was linked to the gates of Atlantis. The order was led by elders, who held their most protected secrets. Members of the order were ordained through the paternal line of their family.
The Men of Letters were known to use monsters lobotomized by Peter Hobbes as watchdogs over sites of great importance such as the crypt containing the Ostium and one of their offices that had information on both it and the Akrida. Another office had a number of zombie guards.
While the Main Universe Men of Letters had a bunker and chapter houses all over, the Monster Club Universe version had a clubhouse in Lawrence, Kansas and a number of offices around the country. It is unknown if they also had the bunker while the Clubhouse was potentially one of their chapter houses.
Due to the threat of the Akrida, the Men of Letters in the Monster Club Universe appeared to be more directly involved with hunters than the Main Universe Men of Letters and more directly intervened in dangerous monster threats. However, Samuel Campbell thought very little of them.
History[]
The Men of Letters had been active beginning at an unspecified point in time. However, over the course of centuries, they repelled attempted invasions by the Akrida, monsters not of this world that threatened all of existence.
In the 17th century, the threat of the insane, immortal, former hunter Joan Hopkins drove the Men of Letters to work together with hunters to banish Joan from the world as she couldn't be killed by anything of their Earth. However, this caused Joan to meet the Akrida and become the Akrida Queen, leading their repeated invasions.
In 1957, the Men of Letters successfully repelled another Akrida invasion using the Ostium to banish most of the Akrida from their world. However, this came at the cost of severe casualties for the organization and Joan managed to escape banishment along with a number of Akrida who went into hiding on Earth. Mustering every ounce of power that she had left, Joan wiped out the Men of Letters to permanently end their threat to her plans.
In 1972, Men of Letters legacy John Winchester discovered the abandoned Men of Letters Clubhouse in Lawrence, Kansas after mysteriously receiving a letter that his father Henry had left for him. By this time, the Akrida were beginning another invasion and the Men of Letters were no longer around to stop them. Discovering the threat of the Akrida invasion, Samuel Campbell began searching old Men of Letters properties across the United States for the Ostium, a weapon created by the Men of Letters and the only thing that could kill the Akrida. With Samuel having vanished, John, Mary Campbell and their friends took up the mission of stopping the Akrida themselves, turning the old clubhouse into their headquarters.
During the following war, the Monster Club had to deal with the return of Jack Wilcox who had been kicked out for illegal experiments before the Men of Letters were destroyed. They also summoned Henry's ghost to help them understand the Ostium and how it worked, retrieving and using Henry's piece of the Ostium's power source to recharge it. However, their attempts to stop the Akrida with the Ostium failed when they discovered that the Akrida Leader was not their queen and the banishment of her and several other Akrida resulted in the Ostium breaking. Despite this, the Monster Club learned from the Men of Letters files on the Akrida and the Ostium that if they killed or banished the queen, the other Akrida wouldn't be able to survive, but they struggled to find a solution as the Akrida couldn't be harmed by anything of their world and the Ostium was broken.
Eventually, it was revealed that John was given Henry's letter by Dean Winchester, his son and a hunter and Men of Letters legacy from another universe who sought to stop the Akrida who threatened all of existence. During the final battle with the Akrida, Joan revealed that she was the one to kill the Men of Letters before she was finally killed by Mary with Dean's car the Impala which, being from another universe, was able to harm Joan. The death of Joan destroyed the Akrida and ended their threat forever.
Known Members[]
- Quentin Isaac Rankrish - Mentioned on a list of Men of Letters in the Men of Letters Clubhouse.
- Joshua Ginseppe Smith - Mentioned on a list of Men of Letters in the Men of Letters Clubhouse.
- Amelia Nicole Lonherangrin - Mentioned on a list of Men of Letters in the Men of Letters Clubhouse.
- Lars Franklin Martin - Mentioned on a list of Men of Letters in the Men of Letters Clubhouse.
- Rafael Jude Markham - Studied the Gem of Ursitoare.
- Charles Leonard Augeos - Mentioned on a list of Men of Letters in the Men of Letters Clubhouse.
- Robert Thomas Smith - Mentioned on a list of Men of Letters in the Men of Letters Clubhouse.
- Delphine Arielle Jonas - Mentioned on a list of Men of Letters in the Men of Letters Clubhouse.
- Micah Richard Allen - Mentioned on a list of Men of Letters in the Men of Letters Clubhouse.
- Wesley Gregor Bryant - Mentioned on a list of Men of Letters in the Men of Letters Clubhouse.
- Emmett Avery Sampson - Mentioned on a list of Men of Letters in the Men of Letters Clubhouse.
- Richard Lanar Weston - Mentioned on a list of Men of Letters in the Men of Letters Clubhouse.
- Tatiana Camille Bancher - Mentioned on a list of Men of Letters in the Men of Letters Clubhouse.
- Jack Wilcox - A former member who was kicked out for illegal human experimentation. Accidentally killed by Mary Campbell in 1972.
- Henry Winchester's paternal ancestors.
- Henry Winchester - An initiate in the order and the father of John Winchester. Exposed Jack Wilcox's illegal experiments and took notes on the Ostium and the Akrida. Killed by Joan Hopkins in 1957, but passed on a letter to Dean Winchester at some point that helped his son take up the Men of Letters' cause. Helped the Monster Club as a ghost in 1972.
- John Winchester - A legacy who took up the Men of Letters' cause of stopping the Akrida in 1972.