Rhode Island is the 13th state of the Union, admitted in 1790. It is the smallest state and the 43rd most populous, although it has the longest official name: "State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations". Its capital and largest city is Providence. It is bordered on land by Massachusetts and Connecticut, and by sea with New York.

The state appears frequently in Cthulhu Mythos stories. H.P. Lovecraft, the creator of the Mythos, was born in Providence and set some of his stories there, although the majority of his stories took place in the fictional town of Arkham, Massachusetts. Rhode Island also appears in some X-Files stories, as the home of Fox Mulder's family. DC Comics' Justice League were originally based in the fictional Rhode Island city of Happy Harbor, and the city still makes occasional appearances in DC stories.