[YSDC] Into The Deep - User contributions [en]

Necronomicon

2006-03-07T18:40:59Z

Whateley23: /* External links */

The '''''Necronomicon''''' is the title of a fictional book created by [[H.P. Lovecraft]] and often featured in stories based on the [[Cthulhu Mythos]] inspired by his works. However, some people believe in the existence of an actual ancient text called the ''Necronomicon'' which may or may not fit the description given in Lovecraft's fiction.

== The book ==
Lovecraft often referenced fictional works in his [[horror fiction]], a practice common among subsequent fantasy authors like [[Jorge Luis Borges]] and [[William Goldman]]. The ''Necronomicon'' was first mentioned in Lovecraft's [[1923 in literature|1923]] short story "[[The Hound]]", though hints of it (or similar books) appear as far back as "[[The Statement of Randolph Carter]]" ([[1919 in literature|1919]]). In the stories, the book is [[Motif of harmful sensation|dangerous to read]] because it is often harmful to the health and sanity of its readers. For this reason, libraries keep it under lock and key.

Capitalizing on the notoriety of the fictional tome, real-life [[publisher]]s have printed many books entitled ''Necronomicon'' since Lovecraft's death.

=== Origin and fictional history ===
How Lovecraft conceived the name "Necronomicon" is not clear—Lovecraft himself claimed that the title came to him in a dream. Perhaps he was influenced by [[Edgar Allan Poe]]'s "[[The Fall of the House of Usher]]" and an unfinished [[first century]] [[astronomy|astronomical]] poem by Roman poet [[Marcus Manilius]] titled the ''[[Astronomicon]]''. Although some have suggested that Lovecraft was influenced primarily by [[Robert W. Chambers]]' collection of short stories, ''[[The King in Yellow]]'', it is now believed that Lovecraft did not read that work until [[1927]].

Lovecraft originally titled the book the ''Al Azif'' (from [[Arabic language|Arabic]], meaning the sound of [[cicada]]s and other nocturnal [[insect]]s, which [[folklore]] claims is the conversations of [[demon]]s) and said that it was written by the Mad [[Arab]] [[Abdul Alhazred]]. Among other things, the work contained an account of the [[Cthulhu mythos|Old Ones]], their history, and the means for summoning them.

According to Lovecraft, Alhazred wrote the original text in [[Damascus]] around [[730]] AD, but a number of translations were made over the centuries. The Greek translation, which gave the book its most famous title, was made by a (fictional) [[Eastern Orthodoxy|Orthodox]] scholar, Theodorus Philetas of [[Constantinople]] circa [[950]] AD. [[Olaus Wormius]] (an actual historical person wrongly placed by Lovecraft in the [[thirteenth century]]) translated it into [[Latin]] and indicated in the preface that the Arabic original was lost. This translation was printed twice: In the [[fifteenth century]], evidently in [[Germany]] in [[black-letter]], and in the [[seventeenth century|seventeenth]], probably in [[Spain]].

When the Latin translation called attention to the ''Necronomicon'', it was banned by [[Pope Gregory IX]] in [[1232]]. The Greek translation, printed in [[Italy]] between [[1500]] and [[1550]], was probably lost when fire destroyed R. U. Pickman's library in [[Salem, Massachusetts|Salem]]. The [[Elizabethan]] magician [[John Dee]] allegedly had a copy (an idea suggested to Lovecraft by his friend [[Frank Belknap Long]]) and is thought to have made an [[English language|English]] translation, of which only fragments survive.

=== Criticism ===

Some critics accuse Lovecraft of using the ''Necronomicon'' as ''[[deus ex machina]]'' in his stories, having it mentioned whenever the narrator makes an occult reference, no matter how unlikely it is that the narrator has delved into the occult. However, this practice is far more common in the [[wikt:pastiche|pastiche]]s of his imitators than in the stories of Lovecraft himself. With the possible exception of the protagonists in "The Dunwich Horror", all of the characters in Lovecraft's works who read the Mad Arab's book come to horrific ends.


Some note that in ''[[At the Mountains of Madness]]'' virtually all the characters on the [[Antarctic]] expedition have read the ''Necronomicon'', although it is unlikely that a diverse group of [[geologists]], [[biologists]], and [[engineers]] would have had reason to read such an unusual book. The explanation may lie in their connection with [[Miskatonic University]]. The university is renowned for its occult library, which holds a copy of the famed Necronomicon—a book likely to be of interest to both students and academics alike, especially those who value knowledge and experience outside their fields. Consequently, it may not be a coincidence that all the members of the expedition have read the ''Necronomicon''—reading the dreaded book ultimately ties in with their fate in the Antarctic. Furthermore, [[Cthulhu mythos biographies|Danforth]], who has read the book cover-to-cover, suffers a worse fate than the more casual readers.

== Appearance and content ==
Lovecraft made frequent reference to the ''Necronomicon'' but was very sparing with actual detail of its appearance and contents. That it is a substantial tome cannot be questioned as Wilbur Whateley of [[Dunwich]] comes to [[Miskatonic University]] to find the page which would have appeared on the 751st page of his own inherited, but defective, Dee edition by comparing it with the University's copy ("[[The Dunwich Horror]]").

However, other than the obvious black letter editions nothing else is known of its physical dimension or appearance although it is commonly portrayed as bound in leather of various types and having metal clasps. Editions are sometimes disguised, as Mr John Merrit discovers to his disquiet when pulling down a book labelled ''Qanoon-e-Islam'' from Joseph Curwen’s bookshelf and discovering it actually to be the Necronomicon in ''[[The Case of Charles Dexter Ward]]''.

The three direct quotes by Lovecraft from the ''Necronomicon'' are as follows:

* From "[[The Nameless City]]":
<blockquote>
''That is not dead which can eternal lie,''
 ''And with strange aeons death may die.''
 (Later versions of the same quote always read "even death may die".)
</blockquote>

* From "[[The Festival]]":
<blockquote>
''The nethermost caverns are not for the fathoming of eyes that see; for their marvels are strange and terrific. Cursed the ground where dead thoughts live new and oddly bodied, and evil the mind that is held by no head. Wisely did Ibn Schacabao say, that happy is the tomb where no wizard hath lain, and happy the town at night whose wizards are all ashes. For it is of old rumour that the soul of the devil-bought hastes not from his charnel clay, but fats and instructs the very worm that gnaws; till out of corruption horrid life springs, and the dull scavengers of earth wax crafty to vex it and swell monstrous to plague it. Great holes secretly are digged where earth's pores ought to suffice, and things have learnt to walk that ought to crawl.''
</blockquote>

* From "[[The Dunwich Horror]]":
<blockquote>
''Nor is it to be thought that man is either the oldest or the last of earth's masters, or that the common bulk of life and substance walks alone. The [[Great Old One|Old Ones]] were, the Old Ones are, and the Old Ones shall be. Not in the spaces we know, but between them, they walk serene and primal, undimensioned and to us unseen. [[Yog-Sothoth]] knows the gate. Yog-Sothoth is the gate. Yog-Sothoth is the key and guardian of the gate. Past, present, future, all are one in Yog-Sothoth. He knows where the Old Ones broke through of old, and where They shall break through again. He knows where They had trod earth's fields, and where They still tread them, and why no one can behold Them as They tread. By Their smell can men sometimes know Them near, but of Their semblance can no man know, saving only in the features of those They have begotten on mankind; and of those are there many sorts, differing in likeness from man's truest eidolon to that shape without sight or substance which is Them. They walk unseen and foul in lonely places where the Words have been spoken and the Rites howled through at their Seasons. The wind gibbers with Their voices, and the earth mutters with Their consciousness. They bend the forest and crush the city, yet may not forest or city behold the hand that smites. [[Kadath]] in the cold waste hath known Them, and what man knows Kadath? The ice desert of the South and the sunken isles of Ocean hold stones whereon Their seal is engraver, but who hath seen the deep frozen city or the sealed tower long garlanded with seaweed and barnacles? Great [[Cthulhu]] is Their cousin, yet can he spy Them only dimly. Iä! [[Shub-Niggurath]]! As a foulness shall ye know Them. Their hand is at your throats, yet ye see Them not; and Their habitation is even one with your guarded threshold. Yog-Sothoth is the key to the gate, whereby the spheres meet. Man rules now where They ruled once; They shall soon rule where man rules now. After summer is winter, after winter summer. They wait patient and potent, for here shall They reign again.''
</blockquote>

There exist innumerable other ''Necronomicon'' quotes but those above are the only ones written by Lovecraft himself.

== Locations ==
In Lovecraft's works, various people and places have copies of the ''Necronomicon'' (although it is far rarer than later imitators would have one believe despite its persistent appearances). Copies of the ''Necronomicon'' are held by only five institutions worldwide: The [[British Museum]] (now held at the [[British Library]]); the [[Bibliothèque nationale de France]]; [[Widener Library]] of [[Harvard University]] in [[Cambridge, Massachusetts|Cambridge]], [[Massachusetts]]; the [[Universidad de Buenos Aires|University of Buenos Aires]]; and the library of the [[fiction]]al [[Miskatonic University]] in the equally fictional [[Arkham]], [[Massachusetts]]. The latter edition is the Latin translation by Olaus Wormius, printed in [[Spain]] in the [[17th century]].

Other copies are kept by private individuals. Wilbur Whateley possesses a copy in "[[The Dunwich Horror]]" ([[1929 in literature|1929]]), which is presumed to have gone to his heirs after his death. Joseph Curwen's copy, mentioned above, was almost certainly destroyed by the raiding party that took his life. Harley Warren's version (which is not mentioned by name but is instead most likely a copy) goes with him to his fate in "The Statement of Randolph Carter" ([[1919 in literature|1919]]). A version is mentioned as being held in Kingsport in both "[[The Festival]]" ([[1925 in literature|1925]]) and (by implication) ''[[The Case of Charles Dexter Ward]]'' ([[1941 in literature|1941]]). The provenance of the copy read by the narrator of "The Nameless City" ([[1921 in literature|1921]]) is unknown, while the version read by the main character in "The Hound" ([[1924 in literature|1924]]) is presumed destroyed when all of his charnel goods are so disposed.

== Etymology of the title ==
Lovecraft wrote that the meaning of the title as translated from the [[Greek language]]: ''nekros'' (corpse), ''nomos'' (law), ''eikon'' (image) was: "An image of the law of the dead." A more prosaic (but probably more correct) translation, is via conjugation of ''nemo'' (''to consider''): "Concerning the dead." Another [[etymology]] that has been suggested here is "knowledge of the dead," from Greek ''nekrós'' (''corpse'', ''dead''), and ''gnomein'' (''to know''), on the apparent assumption that the ''[[g]]'' could be lost.

Greek editions of Lovecraft's works have commented that in Greek the word can have several different meanings when broken at its roots. More specifically:

; ''Necro-Nomicon'' : The Book of the Law of the Dead, derived from Nomicon (Book of Law).
; ''Necro-Nomo-icon'' : The Book of Dead Laws.
; ''Necro-Nemo-ikon'' : A Study or Classification of the Dead.
; ''Necro-Nomo-eikon'' : Image of the Law of the Dead.
; ''Necro-Nemein-Ikon'' : Book Concerning the Dead.
; ''Necrό-Nomo-eikon'' : Law of Dead Images.
; ''Necr-Onom-icon'' : The Book of Dead Names, derived from onoma (name).


== The ''Necronomicon'' as a real book ==
Though Lovecraft insisted the book was pure invention (and other writers invented passages from the book in their own works), there are accounts of some people actually believing his ''Necronomicon'' to be a real book. Even during Lovecraft's life he received letters from fans inquiring about the ''Necronomicon''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s authenticity. Occasionally, [[prank]]sters listed the ''Necronomicon'' for sale in book store newsletters or inserted phony [[library]] [[card catalogue]] entries for the book.

This line between fact and fiction was further confused in the late [[1970s]] by the publication of a book purporting to be a translation of the "real" ''Necronomicon''. This book, by the pseudonymic "Simon", has little connection to the fictional Lovecraft mythology but rather is based on [[Sumerian Mythology]]. It has later been dubbed the "[[Simon Necronomicon]]".

A blatant hoax version of the ''Necronomicon'' was produced by paranormal researcher and writer [[Colin Wilson]], describing how it was translated by computer from a discovered "cipher text." It is far truer to the Lovecraftean version and even incorporates quotations from Lovecraft's stories into its passages.

Historical "Books of the Dead" such as the [[ancient Egypt]]ian ''[[Book of the Dead]]'' or the [[Tibet]]an ''[[Bardo Thodol]]'' are sometimes described as "real ''Necronomicons''." They should not be confused with the Lovecraft ''Necronomicon'', as their contents are meant to be read or remembered by the dead, rather than used by the living to summon the dead. Lovecraft, however, may have been inspired by these books.

== References to the ''Necronomicon'' ==
[[Image:necronomicon-1.jpg|thumb|''Necronomicon Ex Mortis'', from [[The Evil Dead]] trilogy of films]]

Many [[fantasy]] and [[horror fiction|horror]] writers have mentioned the ''Necronomicon'' in their own stories. The ''Necronomicon'' has also become part of [[popular culture]], influencing [[band (music)|bands]], [[filmmaker]]s, [[television]] writers, and [[video game]] developers.

* Various writers in the school of the Cthulhu mythos have "quoted" from the ''Necronomicon'', among them [[Clark Ashton Smith]] and [[August Derleth]].

* The movie ''[[Necronomicon (movie)|Necronomicon]]'' is based on Lovecraft's stories.

* The [[Stephen King]] book ''[[The Eyes of the Dragon]]'' includes a reference to a book "bound in human flesh" that the magician Flagg cannot read for too long for fear of losing his sanity. It is also referenced as a very long book.

* In a passage in [[Gene Wolfe]]'s [[novel]] ''Peace'', a book of [[necromancy]] being forged by a character is not named but its form suggests the popular image of the ''Necronomicon''.

* [[Neil Gaiman]] and [[Terry Pratchett]] created a parody of the ''Necronomicon'' called the ''[[Minor Discworld concepts#Necrotelecomnicon|Necrotelecomnicon]]''—the book of [[phone number]]s of the dead.

* [[Andrzej Sapkowski]] mentions a [[Polish language|Polish]] translation of the book titled ''Źwierzcyadło Maggi Czarney Bissurmańskiey'' in his short story "Tandaradei!". It is also mentioned under its original title in his novel ''Boży bojownicy'' (''God's Warriors'').

* [[Sergey Lukyanenko]] employes the ''Necronomicon'' in ''[[Night Watch (Russian novel)|Night Watch]]''.

* The ''Necronomicon'' appears in ''[[Illuminatus! Trilogy|The Illuminatus! Trilogy]]'' by [[Robert Anton Wilson]] and [[Robert Shea]].

* ''[[Necronomicon (H. R. Giger)|Necronomicon]]'' was the title of a book of paintings by the [[Swiss]] artist [[H. R. Giger]] (published in [[1978]]). It was appropriately titled considering his particularly sinister style of blended machinery and flesh.

* In [[Sam Raimi]]'s popular movie trilogy, ''[[Evil Dead]]'', ''[[Evil Dead 2]]'', and ''[[Army of Darkness]]'', the ''Necronomicon Ex Mortis'' appears as an evil book of magic. In the first film of the trilogy, [[Ash Williams]] hears a recording of an academic reading from the book which eventually leads to his later trouble.

* [[Science fiction]] author [[Neal Stephenson]] derived the title of his book ''[[Cryptonomicon]]'' from the ''Necronomicon'' featured in the ''[[Evil Dead]]'' movies, not knowing that the name had originated from Lovecraft.

* [[Metallica]]'s song "The Thing that Should not Be" contains lines derived from a quotation from the ''Necronomicon'': "That is not dead which can eternal lie/ And with strange eons even death may die" (shortened to "Not dead which eternal lie / stranger eons death may die"). [[Beatallica]]'s "The Thing that Should not Let it Be" is thus also derived from the ''Necronomicon'', albeit second hand.

* In ''[[The Simpsons]]'', [[Bob Dole]] reads from the ''Necronomicon'' at the [[Republican Party]]'s headquarters.

* In ''[[The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy]]'', Billy steals Grim's copy of "The Bad Book" to raise Yog Soloth.

* In an episode of ''[[Aqua Teen Hunger Force]]'', Frylock almost gives Meatwad the ''Necronomicon'' instead of the [[Bible]].

* In an episode of ''[[Justice League Unlimited]]'', [[Shayera]] and [[Wonder Woman]] come across the ''Necronomicon'' shortly after entering Hades' library. Minutes later, Felix Faust casually mentions the book by name.

* In an episode of ''[[The Venture Bros.]]'', Dr. Orpheus refuses to swear on a Bible before taking the witness stand in court, instead preferring to take the oath on the ''Necronomicon''.

* In a level of the video game ''[[Max Payne]]'', Max encounters the ''Necronomicon'' and ''[[Paradise Lost]]'' among people who believe in the somewhat unrelated [[Norse mythology]].

* In ''[[Castlevania 64]]'' for [[Nintendo 64]], the option menu is a book entitled ''Necronomicon''. The book also appears in the video games ''[[Tales of Phantasia]]'' and ''[[Tales of Symphonia]]''.

* ''Digital Pinball: Necronomicon'' is a [[Japan|Japanese]] video pinball game for the [[Sega Saturn]] console.

* In ''[[Megatokyo]]'', a [[webcomic]], one of the characters finds a book called ''Necrowombicon'', said to be used to make ''[[Daikatana]]''. The ''Necrowombicon'' has its origins in the webcomic ''[[Penny Arcade (comic)|Penny Arcade]]''.

* In the humorous [[film noir]] movie ''Cast a Deadly Spell'', [[Fred Ward]] plays the private detective H. Phillip Lovecraft, who is hired by a questionable character to retrieve a book called ''The Necronomicon''. The book has been stolen from the latter's personal library.

* In ''[[Defense of the Ancients]]'', the ''Necronomicon'' is an item that increases the Intelligence statistic and allows the player to summon two soldiers with [[wikt:necromatic|necromatic]] powers. It is mainly useful to [[mage]]s.

* In [[1971 in literature|1971]], science fiction author [[Larry Niven]] published a humorous short story called "The Last Necronomicon".

* In the comic ''[[Van Von Hunter]]'', there is a book called ''Notdanecronomicon'' which when touched without first saying "all clear" summons an undead army.

* In the webcomic ''[[Sam and Fuzzy]]'', there is a book called "the necro-deatho-bookikon" referred to as mainstream satanistic garbage.

* In the webcomic ''[[Movie Punks]]'', there is a book called the ''Punkronomicon'', which is used for picking up goth chicks in clubs and bars.

* In the 2nd edition ''[[Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay]]'' core book, there is a very thinly-veiled reference on page 219 to the ''Necronomicon'': "Another such volume is the ''Book of the Dead'', written by the mad Arabyan prince Abdul ben Raschid ... Only the most strong-willed can read these books and retain any sense of sanity. These forbidden tomes tell of the horrible secrets of the beyond, of the dark insane dreams that the dead dream in their eternal rest."

* In the song "Twisted", rapper [[Tech N9ne]] threatens to make a [[Christian]] read their kids the ''Necronomicon'' on [[Christmas]].

* In the ''[[Wild Arms]]'' video game series, the ''Necronomicon'' is a piece of equipment that can greatly increase the user's magic statistics.

* In the fourth of Sierra's ''[[Quest for Glory]]'' series, ''[[Shadows of Darkness]]'', the ''Necronomicon'' is set upon an altar, bound in human [[skin]], and written in [[blood]]. A derivation from tales of the ''Necronomicon'' relate to [[concentration camp]]s.

* The [[Nintendo GameCube]] game ''[[Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem]]'' is heavily inspired by Lovecraft's works. It features a major item called the [[Tome of Eternal Darkness]], an evil book made of flesh and bone and "bound together with the oddest magickal incantation."

* In the 13-episode horror anthology series [http://www.mastersofhorror.net/ Masters of Horror], the ''Necronomicon'' is featured in the second episode, an adaptation of Lovecraft's "The Dreams in the Witch House".

* The tombstone on the front cover of [[Iron Maiden]]'s seminal Live album "[[Live After Death]]" contains the quote "That is not dead / Which can eternal lie / Yet with strange aeons / Even death may die"

* ''[[Necronomicon - Geträumte Sünden]]'' (1967) is the title of a feature film directed by [[Jesus Franco|Jess Franco]]

* In Dan Abnett's ''[[Eisenhorn]]'', the ''Necronomicon'' (called the Necroteuch) is one of the worst books of Chaos in existence. If someone picks it up, the person holding it will be mesmerized by it and will be unable to do anything but stare at the book. It corrupted and caused the death of the entire Saruthi race. It also distorted the way physical dimensions acted near it.

* Porndeath/Grind band ''[[Lividity]]'' from USA, have also referred to the ''Necronomicon Ex-Mortis'', as an intro to one of their songs from their '' [[Age of Clitorial Decay]] '' release. The intro talks about how the book was inked with blood, the same blood that used to flow in all the rivers at that time, and how it got lost.

* The US musical group [[Nox Arcana]] released an album in 2004 entitled ''Necronomicon.'' The predominantly instrumental music ranges from ominous orchestrations with a Middle Eastern influence, evoking mystical reference to the [[Mad Arab Alhazred]]. Vocals consist of various "otherworldly" chants, including ritual phrases from the ''Necronomicon'' according to Lovecraft. The ''Necronomicon'' cd booklet also contains fantasy artist [[Joseph Vargo|Joseph Vargo's]] rendition of [[Cthulhu]] and several pages from the ''Necronomicon'' book as well as other illustrations of [[The Great Old Ones]].

== Commercially available books titled ''Necronomicon'' ==
* ''Al Azif: The Necronomicon'' by [[L. Sprague de Camp]] (1973, ISBN 1587150433)
* ''[[Simon Necronomicon|Necromonicon]]'' by "Simon" (1980, ISBN 0380751925)
* ''H.R. Giger's Necronomicon'' by [[H.R. Giger]] (1991, ISBN 0962344729)
* ''The Necronomicon'' by George Hay (1993, ISBN 1871438160)
* ''The Necronomicon'' edited by Robert M. Price (1996, ISBN 1568820704)
* ''Necronomicon: The Wanderings Of Alhazred'' by Donald Tyson (2004, ISBN 0738706272)

== See also ==
* [[Chaldean mythology]]
* [[Cthulhu mythos arcane literature]]
* [[False document]]
* [[Grimoire]]
* [[Necromancy]]
* [[References to the Cthulhu mythos]]

== References ==
* H.P. Lovecraft: "A History of The Necronomicon". Necronomicon Press. ISBN 0-318047-15-2.
* H.P. Lovecraft: ''The Case Of Charles Dexter Ward''. Ballantine Books. ISBN 0-345-35490-7.
* Dan Harms and John Wisdom Gonce III: ''The Necronomicon Files''. Red Wheel Weiser. ISBN 1-578-63269-2.

== External links ==
*[http://www.bardo.org/ani/ Egyptian Book of the Dead]
*[http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/9879/necfake.htm Fake Necronomicons]
*[http://www.larryniven.org/stories/Necronomicon.htm "The Last Necronomicon"], a short story by [[Larry Niven]]
*[http://www.digital-brilliance.com/necron/necron.htm The Necronomicon Anti-FAQ by Colin Low], a spoof FAQ about the "real" Necronomicon
**[http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/9879/necfaq.htm A rebuttal of the Necronomicon Anti-FAQ by Dan Clore]
*[http://ravensblight.com/Book.htm Necronomicon as Papercraft], make your own Necronomicon Notebook
*[http://www.textfiles.com/occult/OTO/necron.txt Sumerian copy of the ''Necronomican''], a purported translation, circa 1985
*[http://www.lib.virginia.edu/speccol/exhibits/dead/ Tibetan Book of the Dead]
*[http://www.palmyra.demon.co.uk/superstition/necronomicon/necronomicon.htm Wilson ''Necronomicon''], text of the Wilson ''Necronomicon'' as well as a later project known as the ''R'lyeh Text''
*[http://lovecraft.cjb.net The Ultimate Cthulhu Mythos Book List], listing of all mythos novels, anthologies, collections, comic books, and more

Original Wiki source: [http://en.wikipedia.org/ Wikipedia]

[[Category:Mythos:Tomes|Necronomicon]]

Necronomicon

2006-03-07T18:31:46Z

Whateley23: /* Commercially available books titled ''Necronomicon'' */

The '''''Necronomicon''''' is the title of a fictional book created by [[H.P. Lovecraft]] and often featured in stories based on the [[Cthulhu Mythos]] inspired by his works. However, some people believe in the existence of an actual ancient text called the ''Necronomicon'' which may or may not fit the description given in Lovecraft's fiction.

== The book ==
Lovecraft often referenced fictional works in his [[horror fiction]], a practice common among subsequent fantasy authors like [[Jorge Luis Borges]] and [[William Goldman]]. The ''Necronomicon'' was first mentioned in Lovecraft's [[1923 in literature|1923]] short story "[[The Hound]]", though hints of it (or similar books) appear as far back as "[[The Statement of Randolph Carter]]" ([[1919 in literature|1919]]). In the stories, the book is [[Motif of harmful sensation|dangerous to read]] because it is often harmful to the health and sanity of its readers. For this reason, libraries keep it under lock and key.

Capitalizing on the notoriety of the fictional tome, real-life [[publisher]]s have printed many books entitled ''Necronomicon'' since Lovecraft's death.

=== Origin and fictional history ===
How Lovecraft conceived the name "Necronomicon" is not clear—Lovecraft himself claimed that the title came to him in a dream. Perhaps he was influenced by [[Edgar Allan Poe]]'s "[[The Fall of the House of Usher]]" and an unfinished [[first century]] [[astronomy|astronomical]] poem by Roman poet [[Marcus Manilius]] titled the ''[[Astronomicon]]''. Although some have suggested that Lovecraft was influenced primarily by [[Robert W. Chambers]]' collection of short stories, ''[[The King in Yellow]]'', it is now believed that Lovecraft did not read that work until [[1927]].

Lovecraft originally titled the book the ''Al Azif'' (from [[Arabic language|Arabic]], meaning the sound of [[cicada]]s and other nocturnal [[insect]]s, which [[folklore]] claims is the conversations of [[demon]]s) and said that it was written by the Mad [[Arab]] [[Abdul Alhazred]]. Among other things, the work contained an account of the [[Cthulhu mythos|Old Ones]], their history, and the means for summoning them.

According to Lovecraft, Alhazred wrote the original text in [[Damascus]] around [[730]] AD, but a number of translations were made over the centuries. The Greek translation, which gave the book its most famous title, was made by a (fictional) [[Eastern Orthodoxy|Orthodox]] scholar, Theodorus Philetas of [[Constantinople]] circa [[950]] AD. [[Olaus Wormius]] (an actual historical person wrongly placed by Lovecraft in the [[thirteenth century]]) translated it into [[Latin]] and indicated in the preface that the Arabic original was lost. This translation was printed twice: In the [[fifteenth century]], evidently in [[Germany]] in [[black-letter]], and in the [[seventeenth century|seventeenth]], probably in [[Spain]].

When the Latin translation called attention to the ''Necronomicon'', it was banned by [[Pope Gregory IX]] in [[1232]]. The Greek translation, printed in [[Italy]] between [[1500]] and [[1550]], was probably lost when fire destroyed R. U. Pickman's library in [[Salem, Massachusetts|Salem]]. The [[Elizabethan]] magician [[John Dee]] allegedly had a copy (an idea suggested to Lovecraft by his friend [[Frank Belknap Long]]) and is thought to have made an [[English language|English]] translation, of which only fragments survive.

=== Criticism ===

Some critics accuse Lovecraft of using the ''Necronomicon'' as ''[[deus ex machina]]'' in his stories, having it mentioned whenever the narrator makes an occult reference, no matter how unlikely it is that the narrator has delved into the occult. However, this practice is far more common in the [[wikt:pastiche|pastiche]]s of his imitators than in the stories of Lovecraft himself. With the possible exception of the protagonists in "The Dunwich Horror", all of the characters in Lovecraft's works who read the Mad Arab's book come to horrific ends.


Some note that in ''[[At the Mountains of Madness]]'' virtually all the characters on the [[Antarctic]] expedition have read the ''Necronomicon'', although it is unlikely that a diverse group of [[geologists]], [[biologists]], and [[engineers]] would have had reason to read such an unusual book. The explanation may lie in their connection with [[Miskatonic University]]. The university is renowned for its occult library, which holds a copy of the famed Necronomicon—a book likely to be of interest to both students and academics alike, especially those who value knowledge and experience outside their fields. Consequently, it may not be a coincidence that all the members of the expedition have read the ''Necronomicon''—reading the dreaded book ultimately ties in with their fate in the Antarctic. Furthermore, [[Cthulhu mythos biographies|Danforth]], who has read the book cover-to-cover, suffers a worse fate than the more casual readers.

== Appearance and content ==
Lovecraft made frequent reference to the ''Necronomicon'' but was very sparing with actual detail of its appearance and contents. That it is a substantial tome cannot be questioned as Wilbur Whateley of [[Dunwich]] comes to [[Miskatonic University]] to find the page which would have appeared on the 751st page of his own inherited, but defective, Dee edition by comparing it with the University's copy ("[[The Dunwich Horror]]").

However, other than the obvious black letter editions nothing else is known of its physical dimension or appearance although it is commonly portrayed as bound in leather of various types and having metal clasps. Editions are sometimes disguised, as Mr John Merrit discovers to his disquiet when pulling down a book labelled ''Qanoon-e-Islam'' from Joseph Curwen’s bookshelf and discovering it actually to be the Necronomicon in ''[[The Case of Charles Dexter Ward]]''.

The three direct quotes by Lovecraft from the ''Necronomicon'' are as follows:

* From "[[The Nameless City]]":
<blockquote>
''That is not dead which can eternal lie,''
 ''And with strange aeons death may die.''
 (Later versions of the same quote always read "even death may die".)
</blockquote>

* From "[[The Festival]]":
<blockquote>
''The nethermost caverns are not for the fathoming of eyes that see; for their marvels are strange and terrific. Cursed the ground where dead thoughts live new and oddly bodied, and evil the mind that is held by no head. Wisely did Ibn Schacabao say, that happy is the tomb where no wizard hath lain, and happy the town at night whose wizards are all ashes. For it is of old rumour that the soul of the devil-bought hastes not from his charnel clay, but fats and instructs the very worm that gnaws; till out of corruption horrid life springs, and the dull scavengers of earth wax crafty to vex it and swell monstrous to plague it. Great holes secretly are digged where earth's pores ought to suffice, and things have learnt to walk that ought to crawl.''
</blockquote>

* From "[[The Dunwich Horror]]":
<blockquote>
''Nor is it to be thought that man is either the oldest or the last of earth's masters, or that the common bulk of life and substance walks alone. The [[Great Old One|Old Ones]] were, the Old Ones are, and the Old Ones shall be. Not in the spaces we know, but between them, they walk serene and primal, undimensioned and to us unseen. [[Yog-Sothoth]] knows the gate. Yog-Sothoth is the gate. Yog-Sothoth is the key and guardian of the gate. Past, present, future, all are one in Yog-Sothoth. He knows where the Old Ones broke through of old, and where They shall break through again. He knows where They had trod earth's fields, and where They still tread them, and why no one can behold Them as They tread. By Their smell can men sometimes know Them near, but of Their semblance can no man know, saving only in the features of those They have begotten on mankind; and of those are there many sorts, differing in likeness from man's truest eidolon to that shape without sight or substance which is Them. They walk unseen and foul in lonely places where the Words have been spoken and the Rites howled through at their Seasons. The wind gibbers with Their voices, and the earth mutters with Their consciousness. They bend the forest and crush the city, yet may not forest or city behold the hand that smites. [[Kadath]] in the cold waste hath known Them, and what man knows Kadath? The ice desert of the South and the sunken isles of Ocean hold stones whereon Their seal is engraver, but who hath seen the deep frozen city or the sealed tower long garlanded with seaweed and barnacles? Great [[Cthulhu]] is Their cousin, yet can he spy Them only dimly. Iä! [[Shub-Niggurath]]! As a foulness shall ye know Them. Their hand is at your throats, yet ye see Them not; and Their habitation is even one with your guarded threshold. Yog-Sothoth is the key to the gate, whereby the spheres meet. Man rules now where They ruled once; They shall soon rule where man rules now. After summer is winter, after winter summer. They wait patient and potent, for here shall They reign again.''
</blockquote>

There exist innumerable other ''Necronomicon'' quotes but those above are the only ones written by Lovecraft himself.

== Locations ==
In Lovecraft's works, various people and places have copies of the ''Necronomicon'' (although it is far rarer than later imitators would have one believe despite its persistent appearances). Copies of the ''Necronomicon'' are held by only five institutions worldwide: The [[British Museum]] (now held at the [[British Library]]); the [[Bibliothèque nationale de France]]; [[Widener Library]] of [[Harvard University]] in [[Cambridge, Massachusetts|Cambridge]], [[Massachusetts]]; the [[Universidad de Buenos Aires|University of Buenos Aires]]; and the library of the [[fiction]]al [[Miskatonic University]] in the equally fictional [[Arkham]], [[Massachusetts]]. The latter edition is the Latin translation by Olaus Wormius, printed in [[Spain]] in the [[17th century]].

Other copies are kept by private individuals. Wilbur Whateley possesses a copy in "[[The Dunwich Horror]]" ([[1929 in literature|1929]]), which is presumed to have gone to his heirs after his death. Joseph Curwen's copy, mentioned above, was almost certainly destroyed by the raiding party that took his life. Harley Warren's version (which is not mentioned by name but is instead most likely a copy) goes with him to his fate in "The Statement of Randolph Carter" ([[1919 in literature|1919]]). A version is mentioned as being held in Kingsport in both "[[The Festival]]" ([[1925 in literature|1925]]) and (by implication) ''[[The Case of Charles Dexter Ward]]'' ([[1941 in literature|1941]]). The provenance of the copy read by the narrator of "The Nameless City" ([[1921 in literature|1921]]) is unknown, while the version read by the main character in "The Hound" ([[1924 in literature|1924]]) is presumed destroyed when all of his charnel goods are so disposed.

== Etymology of the title ==
Lovecraft wrote that the meaning of the title as translated from the [[Greek language]]: ''nekros'' (corpse), ''nomos'' (law), ''eikon'' (image) was: "An image of the law of the dead." A more prosaic (but probably more correct) translation, is via conjugation of ''nemo'' (''to consider''): "Concerning the dead." Another [[etymology]] that has been suggested here is "knowledge of the dead," from Greek ''nekrós'' (''corpse'', ''dead''), and ''gnomein'' (''to know''), on the apparent assumption that the ''[[g]]'' could be lost.

Greek editions of Lovecraft's works have commented that in Greek the word can have several different meanings when broken at its roots. More specifically:

; ''Necro-Nomicon'' : The Book of the Law of the Dead, derived from Nomicon (Book of Law).
; ''Necro-Nomo-icon'' : The Book of Dead Laws.
; ''Necro-Nemo-ikon'' : A Study or Classification of the Dead.
; ''Necro-Nomo-eikon'' : Image of the Law of the Dead.
; ''Necro-Nemein-Ikon'' : Book Concerning the Dead.
; ''Necrό-Nomo-eikon'' : Law of Dead Images.
; ''Necr-Onom-icon'' : The Book of Dead Names, derived from onoma (name).


== The ''Necronomicon'' as a real book ==
Though Lovecraft insisted the book was pure invention (and other writers invented passages from the book in their own works), there are accounts of some people actually believing his ''Necronomicon'' to be a real book. Even during Lovecraft's life he received letters from fans inquiring about the ''Necronomicon''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s authenticity. Occasionally, [[prank]]sters listed the ''Necronomicon'' for sale in book store newsletters or inserted phony [[library]] [[card catalogue]] entries for the book.

This line between fact and fiction was further confused in the late [[1970s]] by the publication of a book purporting to be a translation of the "real" ''Necronomicon''. This book, by the pseudonymic "Simon", has little connection to the fictional Lovecraft mythology but rather is based on [[Sumerian Mythology]]. It has later been dubbed the "[[Simon Necronomicon]]".

A blatant hoax version of the ''Necronomicon'' was produced by paranormal researcher and writer [[Colin Wilson]], describing how it was translated by computer from a discovered "cipher text." It is far truer to the Lovecraftean version and even incorporates quotations from Lovecraft's stories into its passages.

Historical "Books of the Dead" such as the [[ancient Egypt]]ian ''[[Book of the Dead]]'' or the [[Tibet]]an ''[[Bardo Thodol]]'' are sometimes described as "real ''Necronomicons''." They should not be confused with the Lovecraft ''Necronomicon'', as their contents are meant to be read or remembered by the dead, rather than used by the living to summon the dead. Lovecraft, however, may have been inspired by these books.

== References to the ''Necronomicon'' ==
[[Image:necronomicon-1.jpg|thumb|''Necronomicon Ex Mortis'', from [[The Evil Dead]] trilogy of films]]

Many [[fantasy]] and [[horror fiction|horror]] writers have mentioned the ''Necronomicon'' in their own stories. The ''Necronomicon'' has also become part of [[popular culture]], influencing [[band (music)|bands]], [[filmmaker]]s, [[television]] writers, and [[video game]] developers.

* Various writers in the school of the Cthulhu mythos have "quoted" from the ''Necronomicon'', among them [[Clark Ashton Smith]] and [[August Derleth]].

* The movie ''[[Necronomicon (movie)|Necronomicon]]'' is based on Lovecraft's stories.

* The [[Stephen King]] book ''[[The Eyes of the Dragon]]'' includes a reference to a book "bound in human flesh" that the magician Flagg cannot read for too long for fear of losing his sanity. It is also referenced as a very long book.

* In a passage in [[Gene Wolfe]]'s [[novel]] ''Peace'', a book of [[necromancy]] being forged by a character is not named but its form suggests the popular image of the ''Necronomicon''.

* [[Neil Gaiman]] and [[Terry Pratchett]] created a parody of the ''Necronomicon'' called the ''[[Minor Discworld concepts#Necrotelecomnicon|Necrotelecomnicon]]''—the book of [[phone number]]s of the dead.

* [[Andrzej Sapkowski]] mentions a [[Polish language|Polish]] translation of the book titled ''Źwierzcyadło Maggi Czarney Bissurmańskiey'' in his short story "Tandaradei!". It is also mentioned under its original title in his novel ''Boży bojownicy'' (''God's Warriors'').

* [[Sergey Lukyanenko]] employes the ''Necronomicon'' in ''[[Night Watch (Russian novel)|Night Watch]]''.

* The ''Necronomicon'' appears in ''[[Illuminatus! Trilogy|The Illuminatus! Trilogy]]'' by [[Robert Anton Wilson]] and [[Robert Shea]].

* ''[[Necronomicon (H. R. Giger)|Necronomicon]]'' was the title of a book of paintings by the [[Swiss]] artist [[H. R. Giger]] (published in [[1978]]). It was appropriately titled considering his particularly sinister style of blended machinery and flesh.

* In [[Sam Raimi]]'s popular movie trilogy, ''[[Evil Dead]]'', ''[[Evil Dead 2]]'', and ''[[Army of Darkness]]'', the ''Necronomicon Ex Mortis'' appears as an evil book of magic. In the first film of the trilogy, [[Ash Williams]] hears a recording of an academic reading from the book which eventually leads to his later trouble.

* [[Science fiction]] author [[Neal Stephenson]] derived the title of his book ''[[Cryptonomicon]]'' from the ''Necronomicon'' featured in the ''[[Evil Dead]]'' movies, not knowing that the name had originated from Lovecraft.

* [[Metallica]]'s song "The Thing that Should not Be" contains lines derived from a quotation from the ''Necronomicon'': "That is not dead which can eternal lie/ And with strange eons even death may die" (shortened to "Not dead which eternal lie / stranger eons death may die"). [[Beatallica]]'s "The Thing that Should not Let it Be" is thus also derived from the ''Necronomicon'', albeit second hand.

* In ''[[The Simpsons]]'', [[Bob Dole]] reads from the ''Necronomicon'' at the [[Republican Party]]'s headquarters.

* In ''[[The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy]]'', Billy steals Grim's copy of "The Bad Book" to raise Yog Soloth.

* In an episode of ''[[Aqua Teen Hunger Force]]'', Frylock almost gives Meatwad the ''Necronomicon'' instead of the [[Bible]].

* In an episode of ''[[Justice League Unlimited]]'', [[Shayera]] and [[Wonder Woman]] come across the ''Necronomicon'' shortly after entering Hades' library. Minutes later, Felix Faust casually mentions the book by name.

* In an episode of ''[[The Venture Bros.]]'', Dr. Orpheus refuses to swear on a Bible before taking the witness stand in court, instead preferring to take the oath on the ''Necronomicon''.

* In a level of the video game ''[[Max Payne]]'', Max encounters the ''Necronomicon'' and ''[[Paradise Lost]]'' among people who believe in the somewhat unrelated [[Norse mythology]].

* In ''[[Castlevania 64]]'' for [[Nintendo 64]], the option menu is a book entitled ''Necronomicon''. The book also appears in the video games ''[[Tales of Phantasia]]'' and ''[[Tales of Symphonia]]''.

* ''Digital Pinball: Necronomicon'' is a [[Japan|Japanese]] video pinball game for the [[Sega Saturn]] console.

* In ''[[Megatokyo]]'', a [[webcomic]], one of the characters finds a book called ''Necrowombicon'', said to be used to make ''[[Daikatana]]''. The ''Necrowombicon'' has its origins in the webcomic ''[[Penny Arcade (comic)|Penny Arcade]]''.

* In the humorous [[film noir]] movie ''Cast a Deadly Spell'', [[Fred Ward]] plays the private detective H. Phillip Lovecraft, who is hired by a questionable character to retrieve a book called ''The Necronomicon''. The book has been stolen from the latter's personal library.

* In ''[[Defense of the Ancients]]'', the ''Necronomicon'' is an item that increases the Intelligence statistic and allows the player to summon two soldiers with [[wikt:necromatic|necromatic]] powers. It is mainly useful to [[mage]]s.

* In [[1971 in literature|1971]], science fiction author [[Larry Niven]] published a humorous short story called "The Last Necronomicon".

* In the comic ''[[Van Von Hunter]]'', there is a book called ''Notdanecronomicon'' which when touched without first saying "all clear" summons an undead army.

* In the webcomic ''[[Sam and Fuzzy]]'', there is a book called "the necro-deatho-bookikon" referred to as mainstream satanistic garbage.

* In the webcomic ''[[Movie Punks]]'', there is a book called the ''Punkronomicon'', which is used for picking up goth chicks in clubs and bars.

* In the 2nd edition ''[[Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay]]'' core book, there is a very thinly-veiled reference on page 219 to the ''Necronomicon'': "Another such volume is the ''Book of the Dead'', written by the mad Arabyan prince Abdul ben Raschid ... Only the most strong-willed can read these books and retain any sense of sanity. These forbidden tomes tell of the horrible secrets of the beyond, of the dark insane dreams that the dead dream in their eternal rest."

* In the song "Twisted", rapper [[Tech N9ne]] threatens to make a [[Christian]] read their kids the ''Necronomicon'' on [[Christmas]].

* In the ''[[Wild Arms]]'' video game series, the ''Necronomicon'' is a piece of equipment that can greatly increase the user's magic statistics.

* In the fourth of Sierra's ''[[Quest for Glory]]'' series, ''[[Shadows of Darkness]]'', the ''Necronomicon'' is set upon an altar, bound in human [[skin]], and written in [[blood]]. A derivation from tales of the ''Necronomicon'' relate to [[concentration camp]]s.

* The [[Nintendo GameCube]] game ''[[Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem]]'' is heavily inspired by Lovecraft's works. It features a major item called the [[Tome of Eternal Darkness]], an evil book made of flesh and bone and "bound together with the oddest magickal incantation."

* In the 13-episode horror anthology series [http://www.mastersofhorror.net/ Masters of Horror], the ''Necronomicon'' is featured in the second episode, an adaptation of Lovecraft's "The Dreams in the Witch House".

* The tombstone on the front cover of [[Iron Maiden]]'s seminal Live album "[[Live After Death]]" contains the quote "That is not dead / Which can eternal lie / Yet with strange aeons / Even death may die"

* ''[[Necronomicon - Geträumte Sünden]]'' (1967) is the title of a feature film directed by [[Jesus Franco|Jess Franco]]

* In Dan Abnett's ''[[Eisenhorn]]'', the ''Necronomicon'' (called the Necroteuch) is one of the worst books of Chaos in existence. If someone picks it up, the person holding it will be mesmerized by it and will be unable to do anything but stare at the book. It corrupted and caused the death of the entire Saruthi race. It also distorted the way physical dimensions acted near it.

* Porndeath/Grind band ''[[Lividity]]'' from USA, have also referred to the ''Necronomicon Ex-Mortis'', as an intro to one of their songs from their '' [[Age of Clitorial Decay]] '' release. The intro talks about how the book was inked with blood, the same blood that used to flow in all the rivers at that time, and how it got lost.

* The US musical group [[Nox Arcana]] released an album in 2004 entitled ''Necronomicon.'' The predominantly instrumental music ranges from ominous orchestrations with a Middle Eastern influence, evoking mystical reference to the [[Mad Arab Alhazred]]. Vocals consist of various "otherworldly" chants, including ritual phrases from the ''Necronomicon'' according to Lovecraft. The ''Necronomicon'' cd booklet also contains fantasy artist [[Joseph Vargo|Joseph Vargo's]] rendition of [[Cthulhu]] and several pages from the ''Necronomicon'' book as well as other illustrations of [[The Great Old Ones]].

== Commercially available books titled ''Necronomicon'' ==
* ''Al Azif: The Necronomicon'' by [[L. Sprague de Camp]] (1973, ISBN 1587150433)
* ''[[Simon Necronomicon|Necromonicon]]'' by "Simon" (1980, ISBN 0380751925)
* ''H.R. Giger's Necronomicon'' by [[H.R. Giger]] (1991, ISBN 0962344729)
* ''The Necronomicon'' by George Hay (1993, ISBN 1871438160)
* ''The Necronomicon'' edited by Robert M. Price (1996, ISBN 1568820704)
* ''Necronomicon: The Wanderings Of Alhazred'' by Donald Tyson (2004, ISBN 0738706272)

== See also ==
* [[Chaldean mythology]]
* [[Cthulhu mythos arcane literature]]
* [[False document]]
* [[Grimoire]]
* [[Necromancy]]
* [[References to the Cthulhu mythos]]

== References ==
* H.P. Lovecraft: "A History of The Necronomicon". Necronomicon Press. ISBN 0-318047-15-2.
* H.P. Lovecraft: ''The Case Of Charles Dexter Ward''. Ballantine Books. ISBN 0-345-35490-7.
* Dan Harms and John Wisdom Gonce III: ''The Necronomicon Files''. Red Wheel Weiser. ISBN 1-578-63269-2.

== External links ==
*[http://www.bardo.org/ani/ Egyptian Book of the Dead]
*[http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/9879/necfake.htm Fake Necronomicons]
*[http://www.larryniven.org/stories/Necronomicon.htm "The Last Necronomicon"], a short story by [[Larry Niven]]
*[http://www.digital-brilliance.com/necron/necron.htm The Necronomicon Anti-FAQ by Colin Low], a spoof FAQ about the "real" Necronomicon
**[http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/9879/necfaq.htm A rebuttal of the Necronomicon Anti-FAQ by Dan Clore]
*[http://ravensblight.com/Book.htm Necronomicon as Papercraft], make your own Necronomicon Notebook
*[http://www.textfiles.com/occult/OTO/necron.txt Sumerian copy of the ''Necronomican''], a purported translation, circa 1985
*[http://www.lib.virginia.edu/speccol/exhibits/dead/ Tibetan Book of the Dead]
*[http://www.palmyra.demon.co.uk/ Wilson ''Necronomicon''], text of the Wilson ''Necronomicon'' as well as a later project known as the ''R'lyeh Text''
*[http://lovecraft.cjb.net The Ultimate Cthulhu Mythos Book List], listing of all mythos novels, anthologies, collections, comic books, and more

Original Wiki source: [http://en.wikipedia.org/ Wikipedia]

[[Category:Mythos:Tomes|Necronomicon]]

Cthulhu

2006-03-07T18:24:28Z

Whateley23: /* Film and Other Media */

[[Image:cthulhu.jpg|thumb|The Great Old One]]

'''Cthulhu''' (alternate spellings: ''Tulu'', ''Cthulu'', ''Ktulu'', and many others) is a [[fictional character]] in the [[Cthulhu Mythos]] of [[H.P. Lovecraft]]. ''Cthulhu'' often includes the title ''Great'' or ''Dread''.

Cthulhu's name is usually pronounced {{IPA|/kəˈθuːluː/}}, {{IPA|/kəˈθʊːluː/}}, or {{IPA|/kəˈtʰʊːluː/}} ([[International Phonetic Alphabet for English|IPA]] [[transliteration]]); however, according to Lovecraft, this may simply be the closest that human [[vocal cords]] can come to reproducing the syllables of an [[alien language]]{{Rn|Akeley-a}}. In fact, Lovecraft speculated that "Khlul'hloo" might be closer to the actual pronunciation. The ancient [[Babylonia]]ns believed in fish-men named Kulullu, a race of demons that [[Tiamat]] gave birth to.

Although the cycle of stories written by Lovecraft, his proteges, and his literary successors bear the label "Cthulhu mythos" (a term invented by [[August Derleth]] and never used by Lovecraft), Cthulhu is arguably one of the least terrible creatures in the pantheon. Cthulhu himself debuted in Lovecraft's [[short story]] "[[The Call of Cthulhu (Fiction)|The Call of Cthulhu]]" ([[1928 in literature|1928]])—though he makes minor appearances in a few other of Lovecraft's works{{Rn|Angell-a}}. Much of what is now termed the "Cthulhu mythos" varies greatly from Lovecraft's original conception of a meaningless, value-less universe with no eternal struggle. Furthermore, the mythos lore that came after Lovecraft's death was mostly concocted by Derleth.



==Cthulhu in the mythos==
<blockquote>
If I say that my somewhat extravagant imagination yielded simultaneous pictures of an octopus, a dragon, and a human caricature, I shall not be unfaithful to the spirit of the thing. A pulpy, tentacled head surmounted a grotesque and scaly body with rudimentary wings... It represented a monster of vaguely anthropoid outline, but with an octopus-like head whose face was a mass of feelers, a scaly, rubbery-looking body, prodigious claws on hind and fore feet, and long, narrow wings behind. This thing, which seemed instinct with a fearsome and unnatural malignancy, was of a somewhat bloated corpulence...
 — H.P. Lovecraft, "The Call of Cthulhu"
</blockquote>

[[Image:cthulhu-painting-carrick.jpg|thumb|left|Cthulhu art by Paul Carrick]]

Cthulhu is a [[Great Old One]]{{Rn|Sumerian-theory}} and is by far the most prominent member of the group. He currently lies in death-like sleep in the sunken city of [[R'lyeh]] somewhere in the Southeast [[Pacific Ocean]]. "When the stars are right", R'lyeh will rise from the sea, never to sink again, and Cthulhu will awaken and revel across the world, "ravening for delight". Though humans might worship Cthulhu as he lies sleeping, they are immaterial to his grand design (it is implied, however, that Cthulhu will ultimately require the assistance of his human cult to escape from his watery tomb in R'lyeh, but there are many other beings in the mythos that could fill this role, including the servants of Cthulhu himself.)

Cthulhu is described as being colossal, but his exact size is not given. In Lovecraft's story, he was able to pursue a ship across the Pacific Ocean for some distance, albeit on some underwater portion of risen R'lyeh, yet still keep most of his body above water. Although he can communicate with "the fleshy mind of [[mammal]]s" in their dreams, this contact is currently blocked by his present immersion in seawater.

Cthulhu is sometimes regarded as "evil", but this is not how he is depicted in "The Call of Cthulhu" and other works. Instead, he is portrayed as [[wikt:amoral|amoral]], with an [[ethic]] that transcends conventional notions of [[morality|good and evil]]. Cthulhu's amorality might be compared to what [[S.T. Joshi]] and David E. Schultz call the "anti-mythology" of Lovecraft's fiction{{Rn|Joshi-51}}. In most [[mythology|mythologies]], man's significance in the universe is validated by his connection to divine agents with similar moral values. Lovecraft shattered this conceit by basing his stories on the "premise that common human laws and interests and emotions have no validity or significance in the vast cosmos-at-large... To achieve the essence of real externality, whether of space or time or dimension, one must forget that such things as organic life, good and evil, love and hate, and all such local attributes of a negligible and temporary race called mankind, have any existence at all... [W]hen we cross the line to the boundless and hideous unknown—the shadow haunted ''Outside''—we must remember to leave our humanity and terrestrialism at the threshold."{{Rn|Lovecraft-150}} Cthulhu's nature seems to be consistent with this view.

Cthulhu is closely identified with this quote from the [[Necronomicon]]:

<blockquote>
"That is not dead which can eternal lie,
 And with strange æons, even death may die."
</blockquote>

He is also associated with the phrase "ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn," which translates to "In his house at R'lyeh dead Cthulhu waits dreaming." Ostensibly part of a couplet from the Necronomicon, the other line being "yet He shall rise and His kingdom shall cover the Earth."

Cthulhu has several [[avatar]]s, including B'moth (Beh'moth, the Devourer) and Chorazin, although these are not mentioned in Lovecraft's work and are actually later additions. Cthulhu is served by the beings known as the ''star-spawn'' (see below), which look like smaller versions of Cthulhu himself. His coming to earth aeons ago and the sinking of R'lyeh were recorded by the [[Elder Thing|Elder Things]] (in ''[[At the Mountains of Madness]]'') with whom he warred.

==Cthulhu in Derleth's mythos==
In Derleth's stories, Cthulhu is not as powerful as the other god-like mythos creatures, nor is he much of a leader. In fact, the two most powerful beings in the mythos are, in order, [[Azathoth]] (''The Blind Idiot God'') and [[Yog-Sothoth]] (''The Lurker at the Threshold''). Nonetheless, Cthulhu's [[cult]] is the most widespread and has the largest number of worshippers.

===Cthulhu cult===
Cthulhu's cult has survived through the centuries and is arguably the most effective at recruiting new members. While Cthulhu dreams in R'lyeh, his cult actively pursues its agenda in his name. The cult's behind-the-scenes activities play a major role in Derleth's stories, and through them Cthulhu can continue to implicitly exert his influence.

===Cthulhu's rival===
Although Cthulhu is the best known figure in the pantheon, his alliance with the other mythos creatures in Derleth's stories is an uneasy one at best. At least one other Great Old One rivals his power and appears to be his personal enemy. That being is [[Hastur]], ''Lord of the Interstellar Spaces'', who currently resides in the [[Hyades (star cluster)|Hyades]]. Although Derleth did not create Hastur, he did introduce him into the mythos as Cthulhu's half-brother and worst enemy. Various stories feature Hastur's cult assisting those trying to prevent Cthulhu from awakening. Other stories simply mention the rivalry between the two. In Derleth's "The Return of Hastur", first published in March 1939, the two gods even meet face-to-face, albeit briefly. This must be taken with a grain of salt, however, since many authors of Mythos fiction rarely dwell on this assumed rivalry, if they acknowledge it at all. Also, Hastur's domain is limited to a region far beyond Earth ([[Carcosa]]) and rarely impinges on Cthulhu's territory.

==Cthulhu's family tree==
According to Lovecraft and his correspondent [[Clark Ashton Smith]], Cthulhu's parent is the [[wikt:androgynous|androgynous]] deity [[Nug and Yeb|Nagoob]]. Nagoob mated with the [[Outer God]] [[Yog-Sothoth]] to bear Cthulhu on the planet [[Cthulhu mythos celestial bodies#Vhoorl|Vhoorl]]. [[Lin Carter]], in his [[Xothic legend cycle]], mated Cthulhu with the quasi-female entity Idh-yaa to produce four offspring: [[Ghatanothoa]]{{Rn|Ghatanothoa}}, [[Ythogtha]], [[Zoth-Ommog]], and [[Cthylla]]. The English horror writer [[Brian Lumley]] introduced an equally powerful, but questionably benevolent, "brother" to Cthulhu called [[Kthanid]].

===Idh-yaa===
According to the [[Ponape Scripture]], '''Idh-yaa''' is the "wife" of Cthulhu. No description for Idh-yaa is given, but the being is said to dwell on a planet near the [[binary star|double star]] [[Cthulhu mythos celestial bodies#Xoth|Xoth]]. It is here where Cthulhu mated with Idh-yaa to produce their four progenies.

===Star-spawn of Cthulhu===
The '''star-spawn of Cthulhu''' (or ''Cthulhi'') are beings who arrived on Earth with Cthulhu. They resemble Cthulhu and may be his progenies. Like Cthulhu, they can mutate their shapes, but always retain their master's distinctive outline.

After coming to Earth, the star-spawn built a great basalt city called [[R'lyeh]] on an island in the [[Pacific Ocean]]. They warred briefly with the [[Elder Thing|Elder Things]], but thereafter established a treaty. When R'lyeh sank, the star-spawn became trapped beneath the sea with Cthulhu (nonetheless, a few of his spawn may still be free).

(The [[Illithids]]—or Mind Flayers—of the [[role-playing game]] ''[[Dungeons and Dragons]]'' are thought to be based on these creatures.)

==References to Cthulhu==

:''See also: [[References to the Cthulhu mythos]]''

===Literary references===
*The "Lovecraft Circle"

**[[Ramsey Campbell]]'s short story "The Tugging" ([[1976 in literature|1976]]) pays homage to "The Call of Cthulhu", hinting that the appearance of a strange [[planetoid|astronomical body]] in the [[solar system]] heralds the return of the Great Old One himself.

**In [[Brian Lumley]]'s short story "The Fairground Horror" (1976), Cthulhu's priests bear the "Mark of Cthulhu", which looks something like a white [[sea anemone]]—in one priest, this "mark" substituted in place of a hand, while in another it grew from the top of the priest's head, seemingly rooted deep in the brain.

*Other literary references

**A Cthulhu-like entity features in the ''[[Doctor Who]]'' [[Virgin New Adventures|novel]] ''White Darkness'' by [[David A. McIntee]]. A later ''Doctor Who'' novel, ''All-Consuming Fire'' by [[Andy Lane]], states that the entity in question ''was'' Cthulhu, although McIntee stated in internet postings that this was not his original intention ([http://www.epberglund.com/RGttCM/nightscapes/NS03/ns3rev.htm#drwho which see]).

**Cthulhu is referenced in the book ''El Mas Violento Paraíso'' by [[Costa Rican]] author [[Alexander Obando]].

**The name is used in ''Foucault's Pendulum'' by [[Umberto Eco]], towards the end of Ch. 113
**Cthulhu is the master of William Starling in the book ''Knees Up Mother Earth'' (2004) by [[United Kingdom|British]] author [[Robert Rankin]]. Raised by the Eye of Utu, he sought to unearth the serpent featured in Genesis of the Bible, but was ultimately blown up by a witch's familiar.
**Cthulhu is referred to in [[The Illuminatus! Trilogy]] in a song about sharks sung by Howard, the dolphin, the line in question being '"May storms and typhoons beat them" Howard sang on, "May Great Cthulhu rise and eat them."' - there is also a scene based in the [[Miskatonic University]] of the Cthulhu Mythos.

===Music references===


*French [[black metal]] band [[Arkham (band)|Arkham]] has many songs dealing with topics covered in the mythos, most notably in their album ''[[Chapter III - The Madness From The Sea]]'', which includes a track entitled "The Call Of Cthulhu".
*Self-proclaimed "Britannic [[battle metal]]" band [[Bal-Sagoth]] has a song called "The Dreamer In The Catacombs of Ur" on the ''[[Atlantis Ascendant]]'' [[Album (music)|album]] in which Cthulhu is mentioned.
*British [[progressive]] rock band [[Caravan (band)|Caravan]] has a song "C'thlu Thlu" on their 1973 album ''For Girls Who Grow Plump in the Night''.
*There is a reference to Cthulhu by the band [[Clutch (band)|Clutch]] in the song "Circus Maximus": "Cthulu’s red headed step child, quite the precocious babe."
*[[Cradle of Filth]], the [[black metal]] band, wrote a song about Cthulhu, "Cthulhu Dawn" (on the album ''[[Midian (album)|Midian]]'', respectively). In the song, they pronounce it {{IPA|[kəˈθuːluː]}}. On the Nymphetamine (2004) album the band plays a sequel to this song called "Mother of Abominations".
*[[The Darkest of the Hillside Thickets]], a Canadian [[rock band]], makes frequent (and usually tongue-in-cheek) references to Cthulhu and other members of the Lovecraft mythos, going so far as to have albums with names like ''Cthulhuriffomania!'' and ''Cthulhu Strikes Back''. They also produced ''Let Sleeping Gods Lie'', an album made with [[Wizards of the Coast]] to promote the new edition of the ''[[Call of Cthulhu (role-playing game)|Call of Cthulhu]]'' [[role-playing game]].
*The Spanish [[progressive metal]] band [[Dark Moor]] released a song called "The Call" in which they mention Cthulhu.
*[[Fields of the Nephilim]], the influential British [[Gothic rock]] band, had several references to Cthulhu in "Last Exit for the Lost" and "Dead but Dreaming" (on the albums ''[[The Nephilim (album)|The Nephilim]]'' and ''[[Elizium (album)|Elizium]]'', respectively).
*[[Gwar]] vocalist [[Oderus Urungus]] has named his enormous, terrifying penis the 'Cuttlefish of Ctulu'.
*[[King Diamond]] sang "Kutulu (The Mad Arab Part Two)" while he was with the band [[Mercyful Fate]].
*The [[heavy metal music|heavy metal]] band [[Metallica]] wrote two songs about Cthulhu: "The Call of Ktulu" (partially written by former Metallica guitarist [[Dave Mustaine]]), recorded on the [[1984 in music|1984]] album ''[[Ride the Lightning]]'', and "The Thing That Should Not Be", appearing on the [[1986 in music|1986]] album ''[[Master of Puppets]]''. The band's late bassist [[Cliff Burton]] was an avid fan of H. P. Lovecraft.
*The [[death metal]] band [[Morbid Angel]] mentions Cthulhu in the song "Lord Of All Fevers & Plague", which is included on the album ''Altars of Madness''. The band also produced a Lovecraft influenced album entitled ''Blessed Are The Sick'' (songs like "Doomsday Celebration" and "The Ancient Ones" give a hint, and the songs "Fall From Grace" and "Unholy Blasphemies" contain Lovecraftian references). On their album ''Covenant'', [[Shub-Niggurath]] is mentioned in the song "Angel of Disease"—Cthulhu is also mentioned in the final verses of this song, and, as a final nod to the mythos, the last line declares "Ancient ones rule once more."
*The American [[death metal]] band [[Nile (band)|Nile]] refers to Cthulhu or related deities in various songs, with some of their work related to Lovecraftian fiction, including the song "Von [[Unaussprechlichen Kulten]]". Most of the band members, particularly [[Karl Sanders]], admit to being great fans of Lovecraft's work.
*The band [[Rotting Christ]] mentions both Cthulhu and [[Yog-Sothoth]] in the album ''[[Non Serviam]]'', and [[R'lyeh]] in the song "Which Eternal Lie" from the album ''[[Necrotical]]''.
*A group called [[Talisdream]] produced a 70-minute CD called ''[[Mythos - H.P.Lovecraft's Cthulhu Nightmares]]'' in [[2003 in music|2003]]. This was planned as the first part of a musical trilogy, in a style similar to that of ''[[Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of The War of the Worlds]]''. In early 2004, the website registration expired, and [http://web.archive.org/web/20021001131435/http://talisdream.com/mythos_album.htm few traces] of the group or its plans remain. Some copies of the CD, sold only online via [[PayPal]], are still in circulation.
*There was a [[black metal]] parody band called [http://www.crazeone.com/rock.html Teen Cthulhu] from Washington that has since broken up.
*The [[symphonic metal]] band [[Therion (band)|Therion]] released a song named "Ctulhu" on their second studio album ''[[Beyond Sanctorum]]'' ([[1992 in music|1992]]). This was arguably their final pure [[death metal]] release before their style began to evolve into its present form (although two of the songs, "Symphony Of The Dead" and "Paths" utilize a pair of classical vocalists). There is also a demo version of "Ctulhu" on the [[2000 in music|2000]] re-release of this album.
*[[Samael]], a [[Black Metal]] band from Switzerland, had an instrumental track named "Rite of Cthulhu" on their album "Worship Him".
*Electronic music is not at rest, with a Belgian DJ going by the name Cthulhu.


* There are many [[filk]] songs about Cthulhu in which the name is pronounced {{IPA|[kəˈθuːluː]}}.

===Role-playing games===
*''[[Call of Cthulhu (RPG)|Call of Cthulhu]]'' is the title of a popular [[role-playing game]] based on the Cthulhu mythos.
*The Cthulhu myths were introduced in the role-playing game ''[[Dungeons and Dragons]]'' in the first edition of the [[TSR, Inc.|TSR]] book ''Deities and Demigods'' (in 1980) further editions were released without the Cthulhu myths due to copyright issues. In 2002, an edition of ''Call of Cthulhu'' was released under the [[d20]] license, an open source rule system compatible with ''Dungeons and Dragons'' (ISBN 0786926392).
*The ''Horrors of the Z'Bri'' sourcebook (ISBN 1896776574) for the ''[[Tribe 8 (RPG)|Tribe 8]]'' game briefly mentions ''Tct'lu the Ancient'' who is "slumbering beneath the water, [his] dreams winding into the thoughts of Skkr." The author has confirmed this as a reference to Cthulhu.
*Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay features the Ruinous Powers, gods of Chaos that are reminiscent of Cthulhu and his associates. WFRP has been described as tricking you into thinking it's D&D, and then turning out to be Call of Cthulhu.

===Video games===


*The 3DO console game ''Alone In The Dark'' features a hidden book in the library predicting the coming of Cthulhu. After reading the book, the main character is seen contorted and twisted disturbingly.
*''[[Call of Cthulhu - Dark Corners of the Earth]]'' is a [[Computer and video games|computer game]] by [[Headfirst Productions]] and [[Bethesda Softworks]], the makers of the highly praised ''[[The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind|Morrowind]]''. The game is based on the pen-and-paper role-playing game.
*Cthulhu, or a very similar monster, appears in the ''[[Castlevania]]'' video game series, most notably in ''[[Castlevania: Symphony of the Night]]'' and ''[[Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow]]''. Since [[Konami]]'s rendition of the monster is remarkably similar to Lovecraft's design, it was renamed "Malachi" in the English language versions to avoid copyright infringement. However, its name remains "Cthulhu" in the Japanese versions.
*''[[Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem]]'' is a [[psychological thriller]]/[[survival horror]] [[video game]] exclusively for the [[Nintendo GameCube]], largely inspired by (but not directly adapting) the works of [[H. P. Lovecraft]]. Many images and creatures apparently inspired by Cthulhu appear in later levels, particularly in wall-etchings in an ancient tomb visited repeatedly throughout the game. This creature is not referred to by name and resembles a creature of the Cthulhu Mythos known as Azathoth.
*The entire ''[[Megami Tensei]]'' series and its offshoots, most notably ''[[Persona 2]]'', draw heavily on Cthulhu and other Lovecraftian creatures for their enemy designs.
*''[[Pathways Into Darkness]]'', an early FPS/RPG hybrid by [[Bungie Software]] for the [[Macintosh]], challenges the player to prevent a dreaming god of chaos from awakening.
*The ''[[Marathon (computer game)|Marathon]]'' series of games, also by Bungie, makes numerous references to the Cthulhu mythos.
*''[[Prisoner of Ice]]'' and ''[[Shadow of the Comet]]'' are PC adventure games in the ''Call of Cthulhu'' game series that center around the Cthulhu mythos.
*The PC game ''[[Quake]]'' uses many Cthulhu-related names for monsters and levels, e.g. [[Shub-Niggurath]] as the final level [[Boss (video games)|boss]].
*In the PC game ''[[Thief]]'', Cthulhu is depicted as a giant statue wearing a white robe. This image appears in the level "The Lost City" which is set in a long forgotten ruin buried deep underground.
*''[[X-COM: Terror from the Deep]]'' has a main adversary with a very similar appearance and origin to Cthulhu. Also, there is a race of aliens named [[Deep Ones]].
*In the PC [[PlayStation 2]] and [[Xbox]] game ''[[Max Payne]]'', Cthulhu is one of an assortment of demons and dark gods invoked in a rant by an insane level boss (Jack Lupino).
*The [[PlayStation 2]] game ''[[Shadow Hearts]]'' is inspired by the Cthulhu mythos, using such notables as Cthulhu and [[Nyarlathotep]] for monster designs.
*The PC game ''[[Pray for Death]]'' by LightShock Software is a beat 'em up which features Cthulhu as one of the playable characters.

===Television===
*In the ''[[Digimon]]'' [[television series]], a Digimon resembling Cthulhu ([[Dragomon]]) is seen at the end of the episode "His Master Voice".
*Cthulhu and his cult (along with other mythos references) appear in an episode of the ''[[Real Ghostbusters]]'' [[animated series]] entitled "The Collect Call of Cthulhu".
*In ''[[The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy]]'' animated series, episode number 52, "The Prank Call of Cthulu", features a phone of Cthulu which Grim says is the most dangerous phone in the universe, and which Billy hopes to use to avoid being identified by [[caller ID]]. Cthulu then enlists Billy and Irwin into a prank calling business, turning the people of Endsville into squid-like horrors. In the episode, Cthulhu appears more [[wikt:anthropomorphic|anthropomorphic]] than usual, with scrawny legs and purple skin.
*In an episode of the ''[[Justice League]]'' animated series entitled "The Terror Beyond", [[Superman]], [[Wonder Woman]], and [[Hawkgirl]] join forces with [[Dr. Fate]], [[Aquaman]], and [[Solomon Grundy]] to stop an invasion by strange, alien creatures. Their leader turns out to be a Cthulhu-like being named [[Ichthultu]], and it is revealed that Hawkgirl's people (the [[Thanagarian]]s) used to worship him centuries ago.
*In an episode of the [[Freakazoid!]] animated series entitled "Statuesque," Waylan Jeepers creates a Medusa Watch that turns Freakazoid's girlfriend, Steff, into a statue, then summons a Cthulu-like creature named Vorn the Unspeakable to aid him in his dastardly plans. Vorn is more anthropomorphic than his Lovecraftian originator, and he exhibits a personality not unlike the average person. He and Jeepers get into several arguments, in which Jeepers calls him squid-face and Vorn ridicules Jeepers' first attempt at a magical watch: one that turned beavers into gold.
*The character of [[Illyria]] from [[Joss Whedon]]'s television show [[Angel (TV series)]] has many parallels to Cthulhu. She was one of the Old Ones; she still has worshipers who wait for her to return; she is beyond good and evil, and humanity is mostly irrelevant to her.

===Film and Other Media===
*The H. P. Lovecraft Historical Society has produced an independent black-and-white silent film titled "The Call of Cthulhu", based closely on Lovecraft's original story. More about the film through [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0478988/ IMDB] or the HPLHS [http://www.cthulhulives.org/cocmovie/index.html website].

*Arkham NW Productions, a Seattle based production company is producing a feature horror film titled "Cthulhu" loosely based on the short story "Shadow Over Innsmouth". The film stars Jason Cottle, Scott Green, Cara Bouno and Tori Spelling and is scheduled to be released in 2006. More on the movie through [http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0478126/ imdb].

*Cthulhu is a recurring character in the [[webcomic]]s ''[[Penny Arcade (comic)|Penny Arcade]]'', ''[[Ghastly's Ghastly Comic]]'', ''[[User Friendly]]'', ''[[Irregular Webcomic!]]'', ''[[Nothing Nice to Say]]'', ''[[Mac Hall]]'' and ''[[Exploitation Now]]''. Cthulhu also appears as a recurring character in writer and artist Matt Howarth's ''Those Annoying Post Bros'' and ''Savage Henry'' comic books (using the spelling "C'Thulu") as a member of a fictional [[electronic music]] band, [[The Bulldaggers]].
*Cthulhu [[plushies]] (stuffed animals) are available from a number of vendors.
*[[Davy Jones' Locker|Davey Jones]], the villain in the film ''[[Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest]]'', looks to be based on Cthulhu, having the face of a squid.

*In [[Joss Whedon]]'s movie [[Serenity]], an animated, stylized octopus makes an appearance in a Fruity Oaty Bar commercial, emerging from an animated woman's cleavage. Some feel that this looks like Cthulhu.

*The movie [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0101550/ Cast a Deadly Spell] is a 1991 film based in a 1940s Cthulhuvian universe. The main actor plays a detective named H. Phillip Lovecraft, who is hired to find an ancient book (the [[Necronomicon]]). It has a rather impressive Cthulhu that gets summoned at the end of it.

==Parodies of Cthulhu==
Cthulhu has become an [[icon]] symbolizing [[evil]] in [[parody|humorous writing]] and [[webcomic]]s. If a character resembles Cthulhu, it is a safe bet that the character is evil.

*In Shivian Montar Bolaris's webcomic "[http://ohmygods.timerift.net/strips/2002/03/07.php Oh My Gods]" Cthulhu makes a few guest appearances.
*In [[Terry Pratchett]]'s ''[[Discworld]]'' novels, the ichor god [[Bel-Shamharoth]] is a parody of Cthulhu, complete with cult following and veneration of the number Eight.
*On the [[User Friendly]]-Website, there are a few plot-lines involving Cthulhu and/or other Great Old Ones.
*In the Mark Rogers fantasy/parody series ''[[Samurai Cat]]'', the hero faces "Great K'chu", and later his vengeful brother Bl'syu.
*In the comic ''[[Nothing Nice to Say]]'', Cthulhu is apparently discovered slumbering in the closet of the main characters. He is eventually transformed into a kitten.
*In the webcomic ''[http://www.dndorks.com DnDorks]'', one of the characters summons Cthulhu, who appears about 3 inches tall in the DM's bathroom.
*Cthulhu is one of the main characters of Blagaria and its sequel ''[http://C.Blagu.com Coffee Shop Cthulhuca]''.
*[[David_Morgan-Mar]]'s ''[[Irregular Webcomic!]]'' has Cthulhu making several appearances in the "Steve and Terry" storyline.
*In [[Michael Poe]]'s webcomic ''[http://www.exploitationnow.com Exploitation Now]'', Cthulhu appears out of an uncleaned toilet that someone had dumped bad seafood into.
*In the webcomic ''[http://www.giantitp.com/ Order Of The Stick]'', a variant of the god Banjo (a hand puppet) is Banjthulu (a Cthulhu hand puppet).
*In the sci-fi [[webcomic]] ''[[Schlock Mercenary]]'' by [[Howard Tayler]], Cthulhu has joined the Rook, Knight, and Bishop as one of the pieces in [[chess]]. It is unclear what the rules for this piece are.
*Cthulhu was a [[fictional character|fictional]] presidential candidate in the [[U.S. presidential election, 2004|US's 2004 presidential election]]. The [[Political campaign|campaign]] poked fun at the [[wikt:mediocrity|mediocrity]] of the forerunners in that election, exemplified by the catchphrase: "Cthulhu for President 2004 – Don't Settle for the Lesser Evil!", which was featured on a variety of [[merchandise]].
*There was an online parody of a [[Jack Chick]] tract, [http://www.howardhallis.com/bis/cthulhuchick/ "Who Will Be Eaten First?"], which featured a message about Cthulhu instead of Christ. It was removed after Chick's lawyers sent a letter to the author. An off-site copy can be viewed [http://bellend.strtok.net/~tyler/cthulhu/ here]. 
*In the webcomic ''[[College Roomies from Hell!!!]]'', Cthulhu appears in an early storyline.
*In the webcomic ''[[Penny Arcade]]'', Cthulhu appears in a Christmas-themed series titled ''[http://www.penny-arcade.com/view.php?date=2004-12-16&res=l The Last Christmas]'' that chronicles the end of the world.
*The CDs of [http://www.cthulhulives.org The HP Lovecraft Historical Society] feature a Lovecraftian [[Broadway musical]] entitled ''[http://www.cthulhulives.org/shoggoth/ A Shoggoth on the Roof]'' and a collection of mythos holiday tunes called ''[http://www.cthulhulives.org/solstice/ A Very Scary Solstice]''.
*The bone-collectors of ''[[The Hickory Staff]]'' are described as being Cthulhu-like.
*In the online RPG [[Runescape]], a variant of the Karambawan (a commonly eaten octopus) is the Karamthulhu (an evil, sinister octopus).
*In the webcomic ''[[Something Positive]]'' the main characters produce a [[public access TV show]] called ''My Neighbor Cthulhu''. Several references to Cthulhu also appear throughout the comic.
*In the Munchkin card game expansion pack ''[[Star Munchkin]]'', one card features "The Great Cthulhu" as a monster.
*Cthulhu often appears in the webcomic ''[[Machall]]'' as a character or just a symbol (on clothing).
*On [[DeviantART]], if you go to the prose section of the submission area, chose fiction, and then click the select bubble next to "occult" the category description at the bottom will read "The occult spans everything from witches and runes to UFOs and ESP. Writings that bear the characteristic quality of Cthulu belong here."
*Cthulhu is the main character of the webcomic ''[http://www.hello-cthulhu.com/ Hello Cthulhu]'', a parody that throws the mythos into the Hello Kitty universe.
*Cthulhu has several small cameos in the Final Fantasy VII fanfiction titled "Writing of Wrongs". He can be found running the elevator in Wutai, and his presence causes several characters to go temporarily insane.

==References==
*{{Web reference | author=Akeley, Henry (a pseudonym?) | title=Cthul--Who?: How Do You Pronounce 'Cthulhu'? | work=Crypt of Cthulhu | url=http://www.clare.ltd.new.net/cryptofcthulhu/cthulwho.htm | date=September 8 | year=2005 }}
*{{Web reference | author=Angell, George Gammell (a pseudonym?) | title=Cthulhu Elsewhere in Lovecraft | work=Crypt of Cthulhu | url=http://www.clare.ltd.new.net/cryptofcthulhu/cthulhuelsewhere.htm | date=October 29 | year=2005 }}
*Burleson, Donald R. ''H.P. Lovecraft, A Critical Study'', Westport, CT / London, England: Greenwood Press, 1983. ISBN 0-313-23255-5.
*Harms, Daniel. "Cthulhu" in ''The Encyclopedia Cthulhiana'' (2nd ed.), pp.64–7. Chaosium, Inc., 1998. ISBN 1-56882-119-0.
:—"Idh-yaa", pp.148. Ibid.
:—"Star-spawn of Cthulhu", 283–4. Ibid.
*Joshi, S.T. and David E. Schultz. ''An H.P. Lovecraft Encyclopedia'', Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 2001. ISBN 0-313-31578-7.
*Lovecraft, Howard P. ''Selected Letters II'', Sauk City, WI: Arkham House, 1968. ISBN 0-870-54029-7.
*Pearsall, Anthony B. ''The Lovecraft Lexicon'' (1st ed.), Tempe, AZ: New Falcon Pub., 2005. ISBN 1-561-84129-3.

===Notes===
#{{Note|Akeley-a}}Akeley, "Cthul--Who?: How Do You Pronounce 'Cthulhu'?".

#{{Note|Pearsall-129}}Lovecraft suggested that "the first syllable [of ''Khlul'-hloo'' is] pronounced gutturally and very thickly. The ''u'' is about like that in ''full''; and the first syllable is not unlike ''klul'' in sound, hence the ''h'' represents the gutteral thickness." (Pearsall, "CTHULHU", ''The Lovecraft Lexicon'', pp. 301.)

#{{Note|Note-a}}Although commonly referred to as "he", Cthulhu's gender is never defined and is probably an absurd definition to give to "outre" creatures such as the Great Old Ones. However, there is the impression that another being in the mythos, [[Shub-Niggurath]], an [[Outer God]], has distinct female qualities due to her presumed [[wikt:fecundity|fecundity]].

#{{Note|Burleson-8}}Derleth was probably inspired by Lovecraft's seminal tale to call his mythology the "Cthulhu mythos"; though Lovecraft himself (had he heard it) would likely never have approved. (Burleson, ''H.P. Lovecraft, A Critical Study'', pp. 8.)

#{{Note|Angell-a}}Angell, "Cthulhu Elsewhere in Lovecraft".

#{{Note|Sumerian-theory}}It is sometimes claimed that Cthulhu corresponds to a monster or god in [[Sumerian mythology]] named "Kutulu" (or sometimes "Cuthalu"). This is not true. "Kutulu" comes from [[Simon's Necronomicon]], which is a fiction based loosely on Sumerian mythology and other things.

#{{Note|Joshi-51}}S.T. Joshi & David E. Schultz, ''An H.P. Lovecraft Encyclopedia'', pp. 51.
#{{Note|Lovecraft-150}}H.P. Lovecraft, ''Selected Letters II'', pp. 150.

#{{Note|Ghatanothoa}}Ghatanothoa first appeared in Hazel Heald's short story "Out of the Aeons"—a story [[wikt:ghostwrite|ghostwritten]] by Lovecraft (''[http://www.clare.ltd.new.net/cryptofcthulhu/newclues.htm q.v.]''). Carter later included the deity in his Xothic legend cycle, which connected Ghatanothoa to Cthulhu, though no such relation appears in the original Heald story. It is also worth noting that the mythos links Ghatanothoa to the energy beings known as the [[Lloigor (Cthulhu mythos race)|Lloigor]].

==External links==
*[http://www.dagonbytes.com/thelibrary/lovecraft/index.html The Complete Works of H.P. Lovecraft]
*[http://lovecraft.cjb.net The Ultimate Cthulhu Mythos Book List], a listing of all the mythos novels, anthologies, collections, comic books, and more
*[http://www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~damerell/CUWoCS/CUWoCS.html CUWoCS], the [[Cambridge University]] Worshippers of Cthulhu Society
*[http://www.macguff.fr/goomi/unspeakable/home.html ''Unspeakable Vault of Doom''], a [[webcomic]] devoted entirely to the [[:Category:Great Old Ones|Great Old Ones]]
*[http://www.mossroot.com/cthulhuwiki/index.php/Main_Page Cthulhu Wiki]
===The lighter side of Cthulhu===
*[http://www.cthulhuforpresident.com/ Cthulhu for President 2004]
*Flash animations that parody the proliferation of Cthulhu merchandise:
**[http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/81337 Cutethulhu], a parody about the proliferation of Cthulhu [[Plush toy|plushies]]
** [http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/147618 Cutethulhu valentine]
*[http://www.hello-cthulhu.com/ The Misadventures of Hello-Cthulhu], a [[web comic]] that features Cthulhu trapped in the world of [[Hello Kitty]].
*[http://www222.pair.com/sjohn/pokethulhu.htm The Pokéthulhu (rpg) Adventure Game], You're 10 years old. You're our last hope. Armed with a Shining Dodecahedron and the elder incantations to make it work, you capture the monsters and train them to use their power!
*[http://www.logicalcreativity.com/jon/plush/01.html Tales of Plush Cthulhu]
*[http://www.whitetreeaz.com/plastic_jesus/ 'Plastic Jesus' song about Cthulhu.]

===On-line short stories===
*[http://www.infinityplus.co.uk/stories/colderwar.htm "A Colder War"], a [[short story]] by [[Charles Stross]] about the [[Cold War]] in which the superpowers collected more than [[nuclear weapon]]s.
*[http://www.tomsmithonline.com/comedy/thing_in_the_crib.htm "Cthulhu Cthild Cthare"], a short story by [[Tom Smith (filker)|Tom Smith]] in Lovecraftian style
*[http://www.neilgaiman.com/exclusive/essay07.asp "I CTHULHU"], a short story by [[Neil Gaiman]] about Cthulhu's personal anxieties
*[http://www.neilgaiman.com/exclusive/StudyinEmerald.asp "A Study in Emerald"], a short story by Neil Gaiman infusing the Cthulhu mythos into a [[Sherlock Holmes]] [[Detective fiction|mystery]]

Original Wiki source: [http://en.wikipedia.org/ Wikipedia]

[[Category:Great Old Ones]]

Tynes Mythos

2006-03-07T18:12:32Z

Whateley23:

[[John Tynes]], in his article on the subject in the roleplaying game [[D20 system|Call of Cthulhu D20]], laid out a structure of the Mythos which attempts to envision it from the point of view of a cultist. It centers on four of the gods:

[[Azathoth]] - god of entropy, change, chaos.

[[Shub-Niggurath]] - goddess of procreation and the creative urge, unrestrained growth.

[[Yog-Sothoth]] - god of time and probably space.

[[Nyarlathotep]] - Tynes seems unsure of the place of this god, whether he is the creation of the other Outer Gods or a parasite on their existence. The present author is of the opinion that, in this scheme, he represents the interaction of consciousness with the stochastic universe represented by the other Outer Gods.

In addition to these [[Outer Gods]], Tynes sees the [[Great Old Ones]] in a role similar to that of angels in more traditional mythologies. [[Cthulhu]] is the angel of dreams and nightmares, [[Hastur]] the angel of decay and corruption, and so forth. He goes into some detail regarding Hastur in [[Delta Green: Countdown]] (a roleplaying supplement expanding on the [[Delta Green]] modern-day setting), tying him in with the [[King in Yellow]] and [[Carcosa]] of [[Robert Chambers]].

[[Category:Cthulhu Mythos]]

Tynes Mythos

2006-03-07T18:11:24Z

Whateley23:

[[John Tynes]], in his article on the subject in the roleplaying game [[D20 system|Call of Cthulhu D20]], laid out a structure of the Mythos which attempts to envision it from the point of view of a cultist. It centers on four of the gods:

[[Azathoth]] - god of entropy, change, chaos.

[[Shub-Niggurath]] - goddess of procreation and the creative urge, unrestrained growth.

[[Yog-Sothoth]] - god of time and probably space.

[[Nyarlathotep]] - Tynes seems unsure of the place of this god, whether he is the creation of the other Outer Gods or a parasite on their existence. The present author is of the opinion that, in this scheme, he represents the interaction of rationality with the stochastic universe of the other Outer Gods.

In addition to these [[Outer Gods]], Tynes sees the [[Great Old Ones]] in a role similar to that of angels in more traditional mythologies. [[Cthulhu]] is the angel of dreams and nightmares, [[Hastur]] the angel of decay and corruption, and so forth. He goes into some detail regarding Hastur in [[Delta Green: Countdown]] (a roleplaying supplement expanding on the [[Delta Green]] modern-day setting), tying him in with the [[King in Yellow]] and [[Carcosa]] of [[Robert Chambers]].

[[Category:Cthulhu Mythos]]

Tynes Mythos

2006-03-07T18:10:55Z

Whateley23:

John Tynes, in his article on the subject in the roleplaying game [[D20 system|Call of Cthulhu D20]], laid out a structure of the Mythos which attempts to envision it from the point of view of a cultist. It centers on four of the gods:

[[Azathoth]] - god of entropy, change, chaos.

[[Shub-Niggurath]] - goddess of procreation and the creative urge, unrestrained growth.

[[Yog-Sothoth]] - god of time and probably space.

[[Nyarlathotep]] - Tynes seems unsure of the place of this god, whether he is the creation of the other Outer Gods or a parasite on their existence. The present author is of the opinion that, in this scheme, he represents the interaction of rationality with the stochastic universe of the other Outer Gods.

In addition to these [[Outer Gods]], Tynes sees the [[Great Old Ones]] in a role similar to that of angels in more traditional mythologies. [[Cthulhu]] is the angel of dreams and nightmares, [[Hastur]] the angel of decay and corruption, and so forth. He goes into some detail regarding Hastur in [[Delta Green: Countdown]] (a roleplaying supplement expanding on the [[Delta Green]] modern-day setting), tying him in with the [[King in Yellow]] and [[Carcosa]] of [[Robert Chambers]].

[[Category:Cthulhu Mythos]]

Tierney Gnostic Mythos

2006-03-07T18:10:29Z

Whateley23:

Richard Tierney took the idea of the [[Derleth Mythos]], that there were gods working on humanity's behalf, and ran it through the filter of the early Christian Gnostic heresies. The result is the remarkable Tierney Mythos, which includes such dramatic and interesting ideas as that of Jesus Christ being a hybrid Old One, much like [[Wilbur Whateley]], or [[Azathoth]] being the demiurge creator of the corrupt physical world.

[[Category:Cthulhu Mythos]]

Lumley Mythos

2006-03-07T18:09:59Z

Whateley23:

Lumley started with the ideas of the [[Derleth Mythos]], though he appears to have discarded the "war in heaven" angle. He then proceeded to personalize the horrors of the Mythos, making them much more closely tied to the protagonists of his stories. While this is very effective at its best, at its worst it results in such bizarre passages as one in which Great [[Cthulhu]] has an exchange with [[Titus Crow]] which is straight out of a Republic serial, including a villainous laugh from Cthulhu!

[[Category:Cthulhu Mythos]]

Derleth Mythos

2006-03-07T18:09:13Z

Whateley23:

Derleth instituted a structure in which the [[Great Old Ones]] were representatives of the four classical elements, earth, air, fire, and water. Unfortunately, there was no entity to represent fire, so Derleth invented [[Cthugha]] to fill that role. In addition, he incorporated the idea of the war in heaven, with certain [[Elder Gods]] fighting on humanity's behalf against the demonic Great Old Ones.

[[Category:Cthulhu Mythos]]

Cthulhu Mythos

2006-03-07T17:59:41Z

Whateley23: /* Non-fictional elements of the mythos */

[[Image:cthulhu.jpg|thumb|Cthulhu in R'lyeh]]

'''Cthulhu mythos''' is the term coined by the writer [[August Derleth]] to describe the shared themes, characters, and elements in the works of [[H.P. Lovecraft]], his protegés, and writers influenced by him. Together, they form the [[mythos]] that authors, writing in the Lovecraftian [[wikt:milieu|milieu]], have used—and continue to use—to craft their stories.{{Rn|Harms-viii-a}}

Although this mythology is sometimes called the ''Lovecraft Mythos''—most notably by the Lovecraft scholar [[S. T. Joshi]]{{Rn|Joshi-31ff}}—it has long since moved beyond Lovecraft's original conception. Still, purists who wish to discuss Lovecraft's work, rather than the modifications and expansions of it written by others, consider this to be the most accurate term. Lovecraft himself occasionally referred to it as the ''[[Arkham, Massachusetts|Arkham]] cycle''{{Rn|Joshi-50}}, after the main fictional town in his world, or ''[[Yog-Sothoth]]ery''{{Rn|Joshi-51}}, after one of its primary gods.

==Lovecraft and the mythos==

In his essay "The Lovecraft Mythos", S. T. Joshi defines four key elements in Lovecraft's mythos: (1) the fundamental principle of ''cosmicism'', (2) an imaginary New England setting, (3) recurring "pseudomythological" entities, and (4) works of arcane literature. Joshi points out, however, that Lovecraft never fully realized his mythos at any time in his career, but instead developed it gradually, adding elements to it with each story he wrote.{{Rn|Joshi-32}}

===Cosmicism===

Common themes in Lovecraft's fiction are the insignificance of [[humanity]] in the [[universe]]{{Rn|Price-247}} and the search for knowledge ending in disaster{{Rn|Price-xviii}}. Humans are often subject to powerful beings and other cosmic forces, but these forces are not so much malevolent as they are indifferent toward humanity{{Rn|Price-249}}. Lovecraft called this viewpoint ''Cosmicism'', a doctrine which holds that humankind's religious beliefs are a mere conceit and that ultimately humanity is alone and defenseless in an uncaring universe.{{Rn|Tremlett-tum}}

===Imaginary New England setting===

Many of Lovecraft's tales take place in a fictional New England setting which may be connected to what Lovecraft called his "Arkham cycle". These ficticious locales may also parallel real-life places in [[Massachusetts]] (see table below).{{Rn|Joshi-31}}

{|class="wikitable"
|+'''Lovecraft's parallels to real places'''
!Fictional town or city
!Actual location in Massachusetts
|-
|Arkham||[[Salem, Massachusetts|Salem]]
|-
|Dunwich||Vicinity of [[Hampden, Massachusetts|Hampden]], [[Wilbraham, Massachusetts|Wilbraham]], and [[Monson, Massachusetts|Monson]]
|-
|Innsmouth||[[Newburyport, Massachusetts|Newburyport]]
|-
|Kingsport||[[Marblehead,Massachusetts|Marblehead]]
|}
----
===Lovecraft's pantheon===

[[Image:CthulhumythosShrefflerchart.gif|frame|right|Lovecraft's original pantheon]]
When Lovecraft conceived his imaginary mythology, he apparently never laid out a definitive plan to follow. Instead, he simply launched into writing his stories, adding matter-of-fact references to the various deities and monsters of the mythos. Furthermore, Lovecraft often used these references capriciously, indicating that he probably favored drama over consistency (a noteworthy example is Lovecraft's use of ''[[Old One]]s'', a term whose meaning varied from story to story). Nonetheless, Phillip A. Schreffler, in his book ''The H. P. Lovecraft Companion'', argues that by carefully scrutinizing Lovecraft's writings a workable framework emerges for a pantheon of beings (see figure at right).{{Rn|Shreffler-156}} Not included in this chart is [[Nodens (Cthulhu mythos)|Nodens]]{{Rn|Shreffler-157}}, a member of a rival group of potent deities known as the "Elder Gods" (never expanded by Lovecraft) that were more or less benign.{{Rn|Mosig-24}}

Lovecraft's central deities are [[Azathoth]] and [[Yog-Sothoth]], both representing opposing cosmic principles. Azathoth, the "blind and idiotic" ruler of the pantheon, occupies the literal center of the universe, whereas Yog-Sothoth, Azathoth's co-ruler, embodies the infinite, existing in all places and in all times. Next in the hierarchy is [[Shub-Niggurath]] (whom Lovecraft mentions but never describes in his stories), representing a kind of [[paganism|pagan]] fertility god. Attending Azathoth at his court are the Other Gods, mysterious beings that dance mindlessly around Azathoth's throne in cadence to the piping of a demonic flute, and [[Nyarlathotep]], the avatar and messenger of Azathoth and the Other Gods. Nyarlathotep is the only being that can interact intelligently with human beings, though he often manifests himself in human form to disguise his true appearance.

The topmost tier of deities is served by earthbound, non-human beings. [[Cthulhu]] is regarded as the priest of the gods, while [[Dagon]] appears to be his subordinate. The lowest tier consists of the [[Elder Thing]]s and the [[Mi-go]], both [[extraterrestrial]] races, and the [[Deep One (Cthulhu mythos)|Deep Ones]], ocean-dwelling humanoids, which serve Cthulhu and Dagon.{{Rn|Shreffler-158}}

Because of the additions of later authors, the mythos pantheon has grown considerably and is now populated by deities and beings never conceived of by Lovecraft. Nevertheless, the original schema, which places Azathoth and Yog-Sothoth at the top of the pantheon, is still widely recognized by many mythos writers.

====Gods and devils====

According to Robert M. Price in his essay "Lovecraft's 'Artificial Mythology'", Lovecraft never intended his pantheon of beings—occasionally referred to as the ''Old Ones''—to be supernatural creatures but instead powerful [[extraterrestrial]]s. For naive humans to worship these beings as ''gods'' or to deride them as ''devils'' was to feebly attempt to [[wikt:anthropomorphize|anthropomorphize]] them and thus render them into mundane and explainable terms. What early humans could not understand they characterized as divine; thus, prescientific cultures deified incomprehensible entities like [[Azathoth]]. Though humans might try to placate or earn the favor of these beings by worshiping them, the Old Ones were not welcoming of such veneration and moreover were quick to exploit the gullibility of their worshipers to further their own agenda.

Lovecraft's inspiration was to tear humanity from its supposedly vaunted place in the universe by forcing his characters to confront alien beings far older and wiser than humankind. Unfortunately, August Derleth, as well as other writers who followed after him, misinterpreted Lovecraft's original conception and took the Old Ones to be literally supernatural and godlike. Derleth further distorted Lovecraft's vision by concocting a parallel to the [[Christianity|Christian]] narrative of [[Satan]] warring against [[Heaven]], pairing the ''devils'' of Lovecraft's mythos (the Old Ones) against a race of benevolent ''[[Elder God]]s'' with humanity's fate hanging in the balance. In Price's view, "religious fiction" of this sort could not be further from Lovecraft's fundamental notion of an indifferent, nihilistic universe.{{Rn|Price-248}}

----

===Cthulhuian pseudobiblia===
{{main|Cthulhu mythos arcane literature}}

A hallmark of Lovecraft's mythos is the various mystical books and other writings of arcane lore which Edward Lauterbach calls "Cthulhuian pseudobiblia"{{Rn|Lauterbach-96ff}}. These tomes were invented by Lovecraft and his imitators to lend more believability to their stories. A good measure of humor was also employed in their creation; for example, ''Cultes des Goules'' is credited to the fictional writer Comte d'Erlette, an obvious pun of August Derleth's name.{{Rn|Lauterbach-96}}

{|class="wikitable"
|+'''Selected fictional works''' '''created by mythos authors'''
!Author
!Fictional book
|-
|[[Robert Bloch]]||Cultes des Goules, De Vermis Mysteriis
|-
|[[Ramsey Campbell]]||Revelations of Glaaki
|-
|[[Lin Carter]]||Ponape Scripture, Zanthu Tablets
|-
|August Derleth||Celaeno Fragments, R'lyeh Text
|-
|[[Robert E. Howard]]||Unaussprechlichen Kulten
|-
|H. P. Lovecraft||Dhol Chants, Necronomicon, Pnakotic Manuscripts, Seven Cryptical Books of Hsan
|-
|[[Brian Lumley]]||Cthäat Aquadingen, G'harne Fragments
|-
|[[Clark Ashton Smith]]||Book of Eibon
|}

==Structure of the mythos==

The mythos is centered on the [[Great Old One]]s, a fearsome assortment of ancient, powerful [[deity|deities]] that once ruled the Earth. They are presently [[wikt:quiescent|quiescent]], having fallen into a death-like sleep at some time in the distant past. {{Rn|Harms-viii-b}} The most well-known of these beings is [[Cthulhu]], who currently lies "dead [but] dreaming" in the submerged city of [[R'lyeh]] somewhere in the Southeast [[Pacific Ocean]]. One day, "when the stars are right", R'lyeh will rise from beneath the sea, and Cthulhu will awaken and wreak havoc on the earth.{{Rn|Lovecraft-tcoc}}

Despite his notoriety, Cthulhu is not the most powerful of the deities nor is he the [[Theology|theological]] center of the mythos{{Rn|Mosig-25}}. Instead, this position is held by the demon-god Azathoth, an [[Outer God]], ruling from his cosmically-centered court. Nonetheless, Nyarlathotep, who fulfills Azathoth's random urges, has intervened more frequently and more directly in human affairs than any other Outer God. He has also displayed more blatant contempt for humanity, including his own worshipers, than almost any other Lovecraftian deity.

A number of different authors have applied different methods of structuring the entities of the Mythos. In part, this is an excellent manifestation of the ideas originated by Lovecraft, where contradictions were deliberately introduced to make the Mythos feel more naturalistic. However, some individuals like to choose one particular structuring form for their own use, whether private, for gaming, for fiction, or for whatever other use. To this end, a number of articles describing some of these structuring forms will be linked from here.

[[Chaosium Mythos]]

[[Derleth Mythos]]

[[Lumley Mythos]]

[[Tierney Gnostic Mythos]]

[[Tynes Mythos]]

==Derleth's involvement==

Derleth had his own take on the mythos and tried to make it conform to his own [[Catholic]] values and [[dualism]]. Instead of a universe of meaninglessness and chaos, Derleth's mythos is a struggle of ''good versus evil''.{{Rn|Bloch-9}} Derleth once wrote:

<blockquote>

As Lovecraft conceived the deities or forces of his mythos, there were, initially, the Elder Gods... [T]hese Elder Gods were benign deities, representing the forces of good, and existed peacefully at or near [[Betelgeuse|Betelgeuze]] in the constellation [[Orion (constellation)|Orion]], very rarely stirring forth to intervene in the unceasing struggle between the powers of evil and the [[race (fantasy)|race]]s of Earth. These powers of evil were variously known as the Great Old Ones or the Ancient Ones...
 —August Derleth, "The Cthulhu Mythos"{{Ref|Derleth-vii}}
</blockquote>

Lovecraft was an [[atheist]]{{Rn|Joshi-II}} and claimed that [[Immanuel Kant|Kant]]'s ethical system "is a joke."{{Rn|Derleth-unknown}} Because of this, Derleth's theories about the ''Cthulhu mythos'' are inconsistent with Lovecraft's design. The mythos was never intended to be a cohesive, singular entity; instead, it should be regarded as simply a collection of ideas that can be used in separate works to provoke the same emotions.{{Rn|Turner-x}}

Another problem with Derleth's mythos is that the Elder Gods never appear in Lovecraft's writings; except for one or two who appear as "Other Gods", such as [[Nodens]] in Lovecraft's "[[The Strange High House in the Mist]]" (though perhaps this is an example of how "very rarely [they stir] forth"; i.e., usually never). Furthermore, the Great Old Ones, or ''Ancient Ones'', have no unified [[pantheon (gods)|pantheon]]{{Rn|Tremlett-tbq}}. Indeed, the term "Ancient Ones" appears in only one Lovecraft story, "[[Through the Gates of the Silver Key]]" (moreover, the story is actually a collaboration between Lovecraft and his friend and correspondent [[E. Hoffman Price]]).

Derleth also introduced the concept of ''[[elemental]]s'', tying the deities of the mythos to the four elements of "air", "earth", "fire", and "water". This system left gaps which Derleth filled in by creating the beings [[Cthugha]] and [[Ithaqua]], representing the spheres of "fire" and "air", respectively. However, the system is fraught with problems. For example, Derleth classified Cthulhu as a ''water elemental'', but if this were so, how could he be trapped beneath the ocean and how could his [[Telepathy|psychic emanations]] be blocked by water? Another problem is that Derleth matched the "earth" beings against the "fire" beings and the "air" beings against the "water" beings, which is not consistent with the traditional elemental dichotomy (namely, that ''air'' opposes ''earth'' and ''fire'' opposes ''water'').{{Rn|Harms-101}}

{|class="wikitable"
|+'''Derleth's elemental deities'''{{Ref|Price-72}}
!Air
!Earth
!Fire
!Water
|-
|[[Hastur]] [[Ithaqua]] [[Zhar (Great Old One)|Zhar and Lloigor]]
|[[Nyarlathotep]] [[Shub-Niggurath]] [[Tsathoggua]] [[Yog-Sothoth]]
|[[Cthugha]]
|[[Cthulhu]]
|}

To his credit, Derleth became a [[publisher]] of Lovecraft's stories after his death{{Rn|bloch-8}}. Lovecraft himself was very critical of his own writings and was often easily discouraged, especially when faced with any rejection of his work{{Rn|Joshi-I}}. Were it not for Derleth, Lovecraft's writings and the Cthulhu mythos might have remained largely unknown.

== Elements of the mythos ==

====Overview====

Tables appearing under these entries are organized as follows:

* ''Name''. This is the commonly accepted name of the being or mythos element.
* ''Epithet(s), Other name(s)''. This field lists any epithets or alternate names. These are names sometimes mentioned in [[Cthulhu mythos arcane literature|books of arcane literature]], but may also be the names preferred by cults.
* ''Description''. This entry gives a brief description of the being or mythos element.
* ''References''. This field lists the stories in which the being or mythos element makes a ''significant'' appearance or otherwise receives important mention. A simple two-letter code is used (the key to the codes is found '''[[Cthulhu mythos reference codes and bibliography|here]]'''). If a code appears in '''bold''', this means that the story introduces the being or mythos element.

===Beings===

----
====Great Old Ones====
{{main|Great Old One}} (includes a table listing all the Great Old Ones in the mythos)

The Great Old Ones are powerful and ancient creatures worshiped by deranged human [[cult]]s. Many of the Great Old Ones are made of an unearthly substance having properties unlike normal matter. A Great Old One's influence is often limited to the [[planet]] on which it dwells. If a Great Old One is based on a planet outside the [[solar system]], it can only extend its influence to earth when the [[star]] of its [[planetary system]] is in the night sky. In such cases, the help of cultists performing various rituals may be required.
----

====Outer Gods====
{{main|Outer God}} (includes a table listing all the Outer Gods in the mythos)

The Outer Gods have unlimited influence, unlike the Great Old Ones, and function on a cosmic scale{{Rn|Harms2-2.1-para4}}. They include a subgroup known as the Lesser Outer Gods, or Other Gods.
----
==== Elder Gods ====
{{main|Elder God (Cthulhu mythos)}} (includes a table listing all the Elder Gods in the mythos)

The Elder Gods are beings who oppose the Outer Gods and the Great Old Ones. Many consider them to be non-Lovecraftian, because they introduce a "good versus evil" dichotomy into the cosmic indifference of Lovecraft's fiction{{Rn|Harms2-2.1-para6}}. However, others argue that these beings have no more concern for human notions of morality than the beings they oppose, and that humanity and the human world are beneath their regard{{Rn|misc-eldergods}}.
----
====Great Ones====
{{main|Dreamlands#The Great Ones}}

The Great Ones are the so-called "gods" of the [[Dreamlands]], but they are not as powerful as the Great Old Ones and are not even as intelligent as most humans. However, they are protected by the Outer Gods, especially Nyarlathotep.{{Rn|Harms2-2.1-para7}}
----
====Other supernatural beings====


{|class="wikitable"
|+ '''Supernatural beings'''
|-
!Name
!Epithet(s), Other name(s)
!Description
![[Cthulhu mythos reference codes and bibliography|References]]
|-
| [[Alala]] || ? || Being made of living sound that dwells in the [[S'glhuo|Gulf of S'glhuo]]. || PL, '''WP'''
|-
| [[Ammutseba]] || ''Devourer of Stars'' || ? || ?
|-
| [[Beast in the Pit]] || ? || ? || ?
|-
| [[Beast of Averoigne]] || ? || ? || '''BA'''
|-
| [[Droom-Avista]] || ? || ? || '''JD'''
|-
| [[The Dunwich Horror]] || ''Son of Yog-Sothoth'' || An invisible monstrosity with some human features. || '''[[The Dunwich Horror|DH]]'''
|-
| The [[Eater of Souls]] || ? || ? || EA
|-
| [[Fthaggua]] || ''Lord of Ktynga'' || Appears as a bluish ball of energy. || '''FV''', [[The Horror in the Gallery|HG]]
|-
| [[Gnoph-Keh]] || <center>— || Appears as huge [[gnophkeh]]; possibly an avatar of [[Rhan-Tegoth]]. || '''HM'''
|-
| [[God of the Red Flux]] || ? || Monstrous, red flowing creature. || '''TR'''
|-
| [[The Green God]] || ? || Appears as a [[moai]] covered with foliage. || '''HR'''
|-
| The [[High Priest Not to Be Described]] || <center>— || Humanoid wearing a silken mask. || '''[[Celephaïs|CE]]''', [[The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath|DQ]]
|-
| The [[Hoppwood Tenant]] || ? || ? || ?
|-
| [[Kali (supernatural being)|Kali]] || ? || ? || ?
|-
| [[Knygathin Zhaum]] || <center>— || Appears as a quasi-humanoid Voormi. || FT, '''TM'''
|-
| [[K'thun]] (female) and [[Noth-Yidik]] (male) || ? || Abhorrent, [[wikt:malodorous|malodorous]] beings whose mating spawned the Hounds of Tindalos. || '''HM''', MT
|-
| [[Mappo no Ryujin]] || ''Coatlicue'', ''Mother of All Serpents'' || A gigantic, [[wikt:serpentine|serpentine]] monstrosity covered in small white snakes || ?
|-
| [[M'Bwa]] || ? || ? || '''TR'''
|-
| [[Million Favored Ones]] || <center>— || Beings said to be [[Nyarlathotep]]'s spawn. || MF, '''WD'''
|-
| [[Mlandoth|Mlandoth and Mril Thorion]] || ''The Source'', ''The One'' || Unknown. || '''WY'''
|-
| [[Our Ladies of Sorrow]] || ? || ? || ?
|-
| [[Pharol the Black]] || <center>— || Appears as a black, fanged [[demon]] with tentacles instead of arms. || '''HY''', AG
|-
| The [[Prisoner of Vornai]] || ? || ? || ?
|-
| [[Saboth the Elder]] || ''The Grinning Ghoul'' || ? || ?
|-
| [[Shaurash-Ho]] || ? || ? || ?
|-
| [[Sss'haa]] || Sssaaa || Leader of the serpent people of Valusia. || [[The Horror in the Gallery|HG]], '''TH''', VY
|-
| [[Sthood]] || ? || ? || ?
|-
| The [[Thing Hanging in the Void]] || ? || ? || ?
|-
| [[Ubb (Cthulhu mythos)|Ubb]] || ''Father of Worms'' || Leader of the Yuggs. || '''OA''', PI, UV, [[The Thing in the Pit|TP]]
|-
| [[Cyäegha|The five Vaeyen]] || <center>— || Quintet of [[vulture]]-like statues that both guard and sequester the Great Old One [[Cyäegha]] || '''DM'''
|-
| The [[Vale Which is the Night]] || ? || ? || ?
|-
| [[Vibur]] || ? || A green, [[wikt:tendril|tendril]] covered orb. || ?
|-
| [[The Dunwich Horror|Wilbur Whateley]] || <center>— || Mostly-human twin of the aforementioned Dunwich Horror. || '''[[The Dunwich Horror|DH]]'''
|-
| [[Wuthoqquan's Bane]] || ? || A large, shapeless beast lurking in the sewers of [[Commoriom]]. || '''WQ'''
|-
| [[Xathagorra]] || ? || Vile, multiform creature with a vast wingspan. || '''CH'''
|-
| [[Xexanoth]] || ''Bane of Aforgomon'' || ? || '''CM'''
|-
| [[Xiurhn]] || ''Guardian of the Dark Jewel'' || A slothlike, winged thing with a terrible face. || '''XI'''
|-
| [[Yegg-Ha]] || ''Lord of Nightgaunts'' || A huge, faceless humanoid with tiny wings. || '''IE''', TC, WI
|-
| [[Y'hkmaat]] || ''Queen of One Thousand Eyes'' || ? || ?
|-
| [[Zyhumé]] || ? || A gigantic, spectral elk. || ?
|-
|}

====Non-human species of the mythos====

=====Table-a (A–F)=====
{|class="wikitable"
|+ '''Non-human species A–F'''
|-
!Name
!Description
![[Cthulhu mythos reference codes and bibliography|References]]
|-
| [[Adumbrali]] || [[wikt:extradimensional|Extradimensional]] beings that appear as orbs of darkness. || '''AB'''
|-
| [[Aihais]] || Humanoids from [[Mars (planet)|Mars]]. || '''VU'''
|-
| [[Antehumans]] || Slender, tall, gaunt proto-humans of great intelligence. || SG
|-
| [[Being of Xiclotl|Beings of Xiclotl]] || Horrifying, oddly plant-like, carnivorous giants, native to the planet Xiclotl, and the slaves of the Insects from Shaggai (the Shan). || '''IS'''
|-
| [[Dhole (Cthulhu mythos)|Bhole]]s || Gigantic, worm-like creatures that inhabit the earth's Dreamlands. || DL, '''[[The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath|DQ]]'''
|-
| [[Blupe]]s || Translucent, bluish, oval-shaped creatures that can float through the air. || DL
|-
| [[Brothers of Chaugnar Faugn]] || Beings that resemble smaller versions of [[Chaugnar Faugn]]. || '''HF'''
|-
| [[Byakhee]] || Resemble bat-like, hornet-like human corpses. || '''FE''', GS, HC, WS
|-
| [[Cat from Saturn|Cats from Saturn]] || Cat-like beings from the Dreamlands with abstract, multi-hued bodies. || DL, '''[[The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath|DQ]]'''
|-
| [[Cat from Uranus|Cats from Uranus]] || Like those from Saturn, but far more terrible. || DL
|-
| [[Chatoka]] || ? || ?
|-
| [[Children of the Sphinx]] || Sub-cult of the [[Brotherhood of the Black Pharaoh]]. || ''n/a''{{Ref|DiTillio-a}}
|-
| [[Chthonian]]s (''The Burrowers Beneath'') || Gigantic, squid-like worms. || BU, '''CS'''
|-
| [[Colour out of Space]] || Appears as a shapeless, plastic entity glowing with the colors of an unknown [[Optical spectrum|spectrum]]. || '''CO''', CT
|-
| [[Crawling One]]s (''The Worms that Walk'') || Appear as human-sized worms. || '''FE'''
|-
| [[Dark Young of Shub-Niggurath]] || Appear as ropy, black tentacles on a pair of stumpy, hooved legs. || MK, '''NF'''
|-
| [[Deep One (Cthulhu mythos)|Deep One]]s || Ocean-dwelling humanoids that appear to be half-frog and half-fish. || BU, DO, GS, HC, [[The Horror in the Gallery|HG]], RD, SA, '''[[The Shadow Over Innsmouth|SI]]'''
|-
| [[Dhole (Cthulhu mythos)|Dhole]]s || Gigantic, worm-like creatures. || DR, TG, '''WP'''
|-
| [[Dimensional Shambler]]s || [[Dimension]]-hopping humanoids with rough, leathery bodies and huge claws. || '''HM'''
|-
| [[Doel]]s || Tiny, extradimensional, flesh-eating creatures. || '''HN'''
|-
| [[Elder Things]] (''Old Ones'') || Appear as five-sided, oval-shaped barrels with starfish-like appendages at each end. || '''[[At the Mountains of Madness|AM]]''', IV, PW
|-
| rowspan=2 | [[Fire vampires]]
| 1. (Flame Creatures of Cthugha) Appear as tiny points of light that ingite everything they touch. || '''DD'''
|-
| 2. (Fire Vampires of Fthaggua) Appear as bursts of crimson lightning that set fire to sentient beings. || '''FV''', [[The Horror in the Gallery|HG]]
|-
| [[Fishers from Outside]] || Enigmatic, prehistoric, flying race associated with [[Gol-Goroth]] and the Shantaks. || '''FO'''
|-
| [[Flying polyp]]s || Appear as floating, semi-visible, polypous horrors capable of controlling great winds. || PW, '''ST''', SY, WF
|-
| [[Formless spawn]] of Tsathoggua and Knygathin Zhaum || Appear as gelatinous, shape-shifting, black goo. || MO, '''TS'''
|}

=====Table-b (G–M)=====
{|class="wikitable"
|+ '''Non-human species G–M'''
|-
!Name
!Description
![[Cthulhu mythos reference codes and bibliography|References]]
|-
| [[Underworld (Dreamlands)#Ghasts|Ghasts]] || Fearsome, underground-dwelling humanoids with kangaroo-like legs that inhabit the earth's Dreamlands. || '''[[The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath|DQ]]'''
|-
| [[Ghoul]]s || Corpse-eating, [[wikt:canine|canine]]-like humanoids. || DQ, IC, '''PM'''
|-
| rowspan=2 | [[Gnophkeh]]
| 1. Six-legged, furry, [[rhinocerous]]-like creatures with an affinity for cold climes. || '''HM''', LT, SM
|-
| 2. Hairy cannibals that once dwelt in Lomar. || '''PO'''
|-
| [[Gnorri]] || Resemble [[Merman|mermen]] with possibly one or two additional arms. || '''SK'''
|-
| [[Shub-Niggurath|Gof'nn hupadgh Shub-Niggurath]] || [[wikt:transmogrified|Transmogrified]], once-human cultists of Shub-Niggurath. || '''ML'''
|-
| [[Great Race of Yith]] || Resemble tall, rugose cones with four appendages: two claws, a trumpet-like limb, and a yellow, globe-like organ. || CF, PW, SO, '''ST''', SY
|-
| [[Underworld (Dreamlands)#Gugs|Gugs]] || Horrifying, furry giants of the Dreamlands with a mouth that opens sideways. || '''DQ'''
|-
| [[Gyaa-Yothn]] || Quasi-human, rhinocerous-like [[wikt:quadruped|quadrupeds]] used as [[wikt:beast of burden|beasts of burden]] by the denizens of K'n-yan. || '''MO'''
|-
| [[Haemophores]] || Small, vampiric creatures with webbed hands and feet. || DL
|-
| [[Hounds of Tindalos]] || Extradimensional horrors that can enter our universe through any three-dimensional corner. || EL, '''HN''', MT, TC
|-
| [[Hunters from Beyond]] || ? || ?
|-
| [[Hunting Horrors]] || Resemble huge, immaterial serpents with bat wings. || '''DQ''', LT
|-
| [[Hyperboreans (Cthulhu mythos)|Hyperboreans]] || A race of early pre-humans. || DS, SG, '''TS''', UB
|-
| [[K'n-yan|K'n-yan, Natives of]] || Technologically and psychically advanced humanoids who dwell underground. || OE, '''MO'''
|-
| [[Kyresh]] || Vicious, wolven creatures of the Dreamlands. || '''YG'''
|-
| [[Larvae of the Outer Gods]] || [[Proteus|Protean]] beings spawned by the Outer Gods. || DQ
|-
| [[Lamp-Eft]]s || Resemble small, flying [[iguana]]s. || DL
|-
| [[Leeches of Yoh-Vombis]] || Parasitic Martian creatures. || ?
|-
| [[Cthulhu mythos celestial bodies#L'gy'hx|L'gy'hx, Natives of]] || Cube-shaped, multi-legged, metallic beings that inhabit the planet L'gy'hx (Uranus). || '''IS'''
|-
| [[Lloigor (Cthulhu mythos)|Lloigor]] || Beings that may alternately appear as vortices of energy or dragon-like dinosaurs (Ghatanothoa may be a particularly powerful one). || IU, '''RL'''
|-
| [[Men of Leng]] || [[Satyr]]-like beings that inhabit the Plateau of Leng. || DQ
|-
| [[Mi-go]] (''Fungi from Yuggoth'', ''Outer Ones'') || Resemble human-sized, winged [[crustacean]]s with globular heads covered with [[cilia]]. || DT, OW, '''WD'''
|-
| [[Miri Nigri]] || Amphibious humanoids created by Chaugnar Faugn. || '''HF'''
|-
| [[Moon-beasts]] || Plump, toad-like humanoids. || '''DQ''', MD
|}

=====Table-c (N–Z)=====
{|class="wikitable"
|+ '''Non-human species N–Z'''
|-
!Name
!Description
![[Cthulhu mythos reference codes and bibliography|References]]
|-
| [[Cyäegha|Nagäae]] || Toadish servants of Cyäegha. || '''DM'''
|-
| [[The Nameless City|Nameless City, Denizens of]] || Alligator-like, seal-like humanoids. || '''NC'''
|-
| [[Great Race of Yith|New Great Race of Yith]] (''Coleopterous Race'') || Resemble human-sized beetles. || '''ST'''
|-
| [[Nightgaunt]]s || Faceless, bat-like humanoids. || '''DQ''', HE, OK, WI
|-
| rowspan=2 | [[Nioth-Korghai]]
| 1. Extraterrestrial, carnivorous monster held in captivity by king Ossaru in Zothique. || '''TB'''
|-
| 2. Extraterrestrial, aquatic creatures that feed on the life-force of human beings. || '''PS'''
|-
| [[Ny'ghaan-grii]] || ? || ?
|-
| [[Rat-Thing]]s || Tiny, rat-like creatures with human-like faces. || '''DW'''
|-
| [[Sand-dweller]]s || Appear as sand-encrusted, skeleton-like humanoids with large claws. || '''GW'''
|-
| [[Serpent people]] || Serpent-like humanoids. || [[The Horror in the Gallery|HG]], '''HK''', IU, OW, SG,
|-
| [[Servant of Glaaki|Servants of Glaaki]] || Undead [[zombie]]s that serve the being Glaaki. || '''IL'''
|-
| [[Servitors of the Outer Gods]] || Beings of varied form that dance mindlessly about Azathoth's throne at the center of the universe. || '''AZ'''
|-
| [[S'glhuo|S'glhuo, Denizens of]] || Tall, bluish humanoids with blank eyes and boneless fingers; actually entities made of living sound. || '''PL'''
|-
| The [[Shan]] (''Insects from Shaggai'') || Resemble large insects. || '''IS''', QU
|-
| [[Shantaks]] || Elephantine, reptilian birds of the Dreamlands. || '''DQ''', FO, RY
|-
| [[Shoggoth]] || Resemble gigantic amoebae with numerous floating eyes. || '''[[At the Mountains of Madness|AM]]''', GC, NE, PG, [[The Shadow Over Innsmouth|SI]], TC
|-
| The [[Space-Eaters]] || ? || '''PE'''
|-
| [[Spawn of Ubbo-Sathla]] || Large, formless, black [[wikt:protean|protean]] beings. || ?
|-
| [[Spiders of Leng]] || Giant purple spiders that inhabit the Plateau of Leng. || DL
|-
| Star-spawn of Cthulhu (''Cthulhi'') || Resemble smaller versions of Cthulhu himself. || '''AM''', PW, TC
|-
| [[Star vampire]] (''Shambler from the Stars'') || Invisible, levitating, vampiric horror with a myriad of suckers and two huge claws. || '''SF'''
|-
| [[Tcho-Tcho]] || Mutated humanoids descended from the Miri-Nigri. || BK, EH, '''LS''', MH
|-
| [[Terrors from Beyond]] || ? || ?
|-
| [[Thuum'ha]] (''Beings of Ib'') || Green, toad-like humanoids with gelatinous bodies and emerald eyes || BM, '''DC''', NL
|-
| [[Tree Men of M'Bwa]] || ? || '''TR'''
|-
| [[Voonith]] || Huge lizards of the Dreamlands. || DL
|-
| [[Voor]] || Degenerate wormlike creatures; survivors of a now-fallen civilisation in Hyperborea. || ?
|-
| [[Voormis]] || Yeti-like bipeds that inhabit Mount Voormithadreth in Hyperborea. || AF, SG, SM, '''TM'''
|-
| [[Xo Tl'mi-go]] || Pale, eyeless, leech-mouthed, and sterile [[hominid]]s. || '''CK'''
|-
| [[Cthulhu mythos celestial bodies#Yaddith|Yaddith, Natives of]] || Humanoid inhabitants of the planet Yaddith that resemble a cross between mammals and reptiles. || DR, [[The Horror in the Gallery|HG]], '''TG''', VI
|-
| [[Cthulhu mythos celestial bodies#Yekub|Yekubians]] || Technologically-advanced, centipede-like beings that inhabit the planet Yekub. || '''CF'''
|-
| rowspan=2 | [[Yuggya]]
| 1. (Yuggs or Yuggya) Beings that resemble white, [[planarian]]-like flatworms. || '''OA''', WI
|-
| 2. (Yuggya) The offspring of a mating between a Yugg and a Deep One hybrid. || PI, WF
|-
| [[Zoogs]] || Creatures of the Dreamlands that resemble small, [[elf]]in rodents. || '''DQ''', HE
|}

===Cults in the mythos===

{|class="wikitable"
|+ '''Cults'''
|-
!Name
![[Cthulhu mythos reference codes and bibliography|References]]
|-
| [[Cthulhu mythos cults#Black Brotherhood|Black Brotherhood]] || '''SE'''
|-
| [[Cthulhu mythos cults#Brotherhood of the Beast|Brotherhood of the Beast]] || ''n/a''{{Ref|Herber-FY}}
|-
| [[Cthulhu mythos cults#Brotherhood of the Black Pharaoh|Brotherhood of the Black Pharaoh]] || ''n/a''{{Ref|DiTillio-b}}
|-
| [[Cthulhu mythos cults#Brothers of the Yellow Sign|Brothers of the Yellow Sign]] (Cult of the Yellow Sign) || IU, '''WD'''
|-
| [[Cthulhu mythos cults#Chesuncook Witch Coven|Chesuncook Witch Coven]] (Cult of the Skull) || DK, '''TN'''
|-
| [[Cthulhu mythos cults#Chorazos Cult|Chorazos Cult]] || '''UT''', RN
|-
| [[Cthulhu mythos cults#Church of Starry Wisdom|Church of Starry Wisdom]] || GA, '''HD''', HI, SD, SE, DE
|-
| [[Cthulhu|Cult of Cthulhu]] || '''CC'''
|-
| [[Cult of Bubastis]] || ?
|-
| [[Cthulhu mythos cults#Cult of the Bloody Tongue|Cult of the Bloody Tongue]] || ''n/a''{{Ref|DiTillio-c}}
|-
| [[Esoteric Order of Dagon]] || '''SI'''
|}

===Arcane literature and other media===

{|border=0 width=100%
|+'''Arcane media'''
|valign=top width=48%|
{|class="wikitable"
|-
!Name
![[Cthulhu mythos reference codes and bibliography|Ref.]]*
|-
|[[Book of Azathoth]]
!DW
|-
|[[Book of Dzyan]] (the Stanzas of Dzyan)
!S4
|-
|[[Book of Eibon]] (Liber Ivonis, Livre d'Eibon)
!UB
|-
|[[The Book of Iod]]
!BH
|-
|[[Celaeno Fragments]]
!HC
|-
|[[Cthaat Aquadingen]] (possibly Things of the Water)
!YE
|-
|[[Cultes des Goules]] (Cults of the Ghouls)
!SU
|-
|[[De Vermis Mysteriis]] (Mysteries of the Worm)
!SF
|-
|[[Dwellers in the Depths]]
!AQ
|-
|[[Eltdown Shards]]
!EC
|-
|[[The Ford Translation]] of the [[Voynich Manuscript]]
!RL (?)
|-
|[[G'harne Fragments]]
!CS
|-
|[[The King in Yellow]]
!YS
|}
|valign=top width=48%|
{|class="wikitable"
|-
!Name
!Ref.
|-
|[[Massa Di Requiem per Shuggay]] ("Requiem for Shaggai")
!''n/a''{{Ref|Aniolowski-MM}}
|-
|The [[Necronomicon]] ("An Image [or Picture ''sic''] of the Law of the Dead")
!HO
|-
|[[Kitab Al-Azif]] (equivalent to the Necronomicon)
!LA
|-
|[[The Pnakotic Manuscripts]] (Pnakotic Fragments)
!PO
|-
|[[Ponape Scripture]]
!OA
|-
|[[Revelations of Glaaki]]
!IL
|-
|[[The R'lyeh Text]]
!RH
|-
|[[Saracenic Rituals]] (infamous chapter from ''De Vermis Mysteriis'')
!SF
|-
|[[The Testament of Carnamagos]]
!XE
|-
|[[Unaussprechlichen Kulten]] (interpreted as "Unspeakable Cults", also: Black Book, Nameless Cults)
!CN
|-
|[[Zanthu Tablets]]
!DT
|}
|}
* Reference to first appearance.

===Fictional locations===

{|border=0 width=100%
|+'''Locations'''
|valign=top width=48%|
{|class="wikitable"
!Name
!What or where
![[Cthulhu mythos reference codes and bibliography|Ref.*]]
|-
|[[Arkham]]
|A city in [[Massachusetts]].
!PH
|-
|[[Brichester]]
|A town in [[England]].
!UH
|-
|[[Carcosa]]
|On the shores of [[Lake Hali]], on a [[planet]] in the [[Hyades (star cluster)|Hyades]].
!IH
|-
|[[Celephaïs]]
|A city in the Dreamlands.
!CE
|-
|[[Commoriom]]
|The capital of Hyperborea.
!TS
|-
|The [[Court of Azathoth]]
|At the center of the universe.
!AZ
|-
|[[Cykranosh]]
|The planet [[Saturn (planet)|Saturn]].
!DS
|-
|The [[Dreamlands]]
|In another [[dimension]].
!CE
|-
|The mountain [[Cyäegha|Dunkelhügel]]
|Near [[Cyäegha|Freihausgarten]], [[Germany]].
!DM
|-
|[[Dunwich (H. P. Lovecraft)|Dunwich]]
|A village in Massachusetts.
!DH
|-
|[[Elysia]]
|The homeland of the Elder Gods.
!TC
|-
|[[G'harne]]
|A primeval city in Africa.
!CS
|-
|[[Cthulhu mythos celestial bodies#Glyu-Uho|Glyu-Uho]]
|The star [[Betelgeuse]].
!S4
|-
|[[Hyperborea (Cthulhu mythos)|Hyperborea]]
|A now-vanished kingdom in [[Greenland]].
!TS
|-
|[[Ib]]
|A pre-human settlement in Mnar.
!DC
|-
|[[Innsmouth]]
|A coastal town in Massachusetts.
!SI
|-
|[[Kadath]]
|The home of the Great Ones.
!OG
|-
|[[Kingsport (fictional town)|Kingsport]]
|A coastal town in Massachusetts.
!FE
|-
|[[K'n-yan]]
|Blue-litten realm beneath [[Oklahoma]].
!MO
|-
|[[Cthulhu mythos celestial bodies#Ktynga|Ktynga]]
|A large comet near [[Arcturus]].
!FV
|-
|[[Cthulhu mythos celestial bodies#Kythanil|Kythanil]]
|A double planet.
!TG
|-
|The [[Plateau of Leng]]
|A cold, arid [[plateau]].
!HO
|-
|[[Lomar]]
|An ancient region.
!PO
|-
|[[Cthulhu mythos celestial bodies#L'gy'hx|L'gy'hx]]
|The planet [[Uranus (planet)|Uranus]].
!IS
|-
|[[Miskatonic University]]
|In Arkham, Massachusetts.
!WR
|-
|[[Mnar]]
|Probably in the Dreamlands.
!DC
|-
|[[Mu (Cthulhu mythos)|Mu]]
|A sunken continent.
!OE
|-
|[[Naat (fictional)|Naat]]
|?
!?
|-
|[[The Nameless City]]
|A buried city.
!NC
|-
|[[N'kai]]
|A lightless cavern beneath Yoth (or possibly underneath Mt. Voormithadreth).
!MO
|-
|[[Olathoë]]
|A city in Lomar.
!PO
|-
|[[Pnakotus]]
|A [[wikt:primeval|primeval]] city in the [[Great Sandy Desert]] in [[Australia]].
!ST
|}
|valign=top width=48%|
{|class="wikitable"
!Name
!What or where
!Ref.
|-
|[[Vale of Pnath]]
|In the [[Underworld (Dreamlands)|Underworld]].
!EM
|-
|[[R'lyeh]]
|The sunken island/city where Cthulhu is entombed.
!CC
|-
|[[The Doom that Came to Sarnath|Sarnath]]
|A destroyed city in Mnar.
!DC
|-
|[[Cthulhu mythos celestial bodies#Shaggai|Shaggai]]
|A planet orbiting twin emerald suns.
!HD
|-
|[[Gulf of S'glhuo|S'glhuo, Gulf of]]
|An alternate dimension.
!PL
|-
|The [[Zhar (Great Old One)#Alaozar|Plateau of Sung]] (or "Tsang"?)
|Possibly a region of Leng.
!HF
|-
|[[Cthulhu mythos celestial bodies#Thuggon|Thuggon]]
|A planet.
!IS
|-
|[[Cthulhu mythos celestial bodies#Thyoph|Thyoph]]
|A planet.
!IS
|-
|[[Ulthar]]
|A cat-laden town in the Dreamlands.
!CU
|-
|[[Uzuldaroum]]
|A city in Hyperborea.
!TS
|-
|[[Valley of Do-Hna]]
|In Xinaián (K'n-yan).
!MO
|-
|[[Valusia]]
|The ancient land of the Serpent people.
!HK
|-
|[[Mount Voormithadreth]]
|Four-coned extinct volcano in Hyperborea; contains the Cavern of Archetypes and the Web of [[Atlach-Nacha]].
!SG
|-
|[[Xiccarph]]
|?
!?
|-
|[[Cthulhu mythos celestial bodies#Xiclotl|Xiclotl]]
|The sister planet to Shaggai.
!IS
|-
|[[Xinaián]], or K'n-yan
|Composed roughly of the kingdom of [[Tsath]].
!MO
|-
|[[Cthulhu mythos celestial bodies#Xoth|Xoth]]
|A [[binary star]].
!FT
|-
|[[Yaanek]] / Yarak
|Legendary mountain/[[volcano]] at the [[North Pole]].
!UL
|-
|[[Cthulhu mythos celestial bodies#Yaddith|Yaddith]]
|A planet.
!TG
|-
|[[Mount Yaddith-Gho]]
|Dwelling place of [[Ghatanothoa]] in Mu.
!OE
|-
|[[Cthulhu mythos celestial bodies#Yaksh|Yaksh]]
|The planet [[Neptune (planet)|Neptune]].
!FT
|-
|[[Cthulhu mythos celestial bodies#Yekub|Yekub]]
|A planet in a distant [[galaxy]].
!CF
|-
|[[Plateau of Leng|'Ygiroth]]
|In the Dreamlands.
!YG
|-
|[[Y'ha-nthlei]]
|An undersea city.
!SI
|-
|[[Abyss of Yhe]]
|In a Muvian province.
!HC?
|-
|[[Yian-Ho]], or Yian
|A deserted city.
!TG
|-
|[[Cthulhu mythos celestial bodies#Ylidiomph|Ylidiomph]]
|The planet [[Jupiter (planet)|Jupiter]].
!UA
|-
|[[Yoth]]
|Red-litten cavern beneath K'n-yan.
!MO
|-
|[[Hyperborea (Cthulhu mythos)|Y'quaa]]
|A gray-litten cavern, the dwelling place of [[Abhoth]].
!HG
|-
|[[Cthulhu mythos celestial bodies#Yuggoth|Yuggoth]]
|The planet [[Pluto (planet)|Pluto]](?).
!FY
|-
|[[Vaults of Zin]]
|In N'kai.
!EM
|-
|[[Zothique]]
|A continent in the distant future.
!EN
|}
|}
* Reference to first appearance.

===Non-fictional elements of the mythos ===

The Cthulhu mythos incorporates many historical, astronomical, and mythological elements from the real world.

* [[Aldebaran]], a star
* [[Bast_(goddess)|Bast]], cat goddess of ancient [[Egypt]]
* [[Book of Dzyan]]
* [[Celaeno]], a star in the [[Pleiades (star cluster)|Pleiades]]
* [[Dagon]], the [[Mesopotamia]]n fish god of vegetation and fertility
* [[John Dee]], a historical person
* [[Fomalhaut]], a star
* [[H. P. Lovecraft]], as himself
* [[Hypnos]], the god of [[sleep]] in [[Greek mythology]]
* [[Irem of the Pillars|Irem]], City of Pillars, a legendary buried city from [[Islamic mythology]] (possibly the lost city of [[Ubar]])
*[[Lemuria (continent)|Lemuria]], a fabled land bridge, but a lost continent in the mythos
* [[Nodens]], the Hunter, a [[Celtic mythology|Celtic]] deity worshiped in [[Britain]]
* [[Olaus Wormius]], Danish antiquary cited as translator of the Necronomicon
* [[Pluto (planet)|Pluto]], identified by Lovecraft as Yuggoth
* [[Ponape]], an island, spelled "Pohnpei" in modern orthography
* The [[Severn Valley]], in England
* [[Tunguska]], in [[Siberia]]
* The [[Voynich Manuscript]]
* [[Wendigo]], borrowed from [[Native American mythology]]

==See also==

* Elements of the Cthulhu mythos have become part of [[popular culture]]. See [[References to the Cthulhu mythos]] for a list.

* For a list of characters, see [[Cthulhu mythos biographies]].

==References==

===Books===

*Bloch, Robert. "Heritage of Horror" (1982) in ''The Best of H.P. Lovecraft: Bloodcurdling Tales of Horror and the Macabre'' (1st ed.), Ballantine Books, 1982. ISBN 0-345-35080-4.

*Derleth, August. "The Cthulhu Mythos" in ''Tales of the Cthulhu Mythos'', Sauk City, WI: Arkham House, 1969.

*DiTillio, Larry and Lynn Willis. ''Masks of Nyarlathotep'', Oakland, CA: Chaosium, 1996. ISBN 1-568-82069-0.

*Harms, Daniel. ''The Encyclopedia Cthulhiana'' (2nd ed.), Chaosium, Inc., 1998. ISBN 1-56882-119-0.

*Joshi, S.T.
**''H. P. Lovecraft'' (1st ed.), Mercer Island, WA: Starmont House, 1982. ISBN 0-916-73236-3 / ISBN 0-916-73235-5 (paper).
**(ed.) ''H. P. Lovecraft: Four Decades of Criticism'', Athens, OH: Ohio University Press, 1980. ISBN 0-821-40442-3 (cloth) / ISBN 0-821-40577-2 (paper).
:—and David E. Schultz. ''An H.P. Lovecraft Encyclopedia'', Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 2001. ISBN 0-313-31578-7.

*Mosig, Yozan Dirk W. ''Mosig at Last: A Psychologist Looks at H. P. Lovecraft'', 1st printing, West Warwick, RI: Necronomicon Press, 1997. ISBN 0-940-88490-9.

*Price, Robert M.
**(ed.) ''Black Forbidden Things: Cryptical Secrets from the "Crypt of Cthulhu"'', San Bernardino, CA: The Borgo Press, 1992. ISBN 1-557-42248-6 / ISBN 1-557-42249-4.
**"Introduction" in ''The New Lovecraft Circle'', Robert M. Price (ed.), New York, N.Y.: Random House, Inc., 1996. ISBN 0-345-44406-X.
**"Lovecraft's 'Artificial Mythology'" in ''An Epicure in the Terrible: a centennial anthology of essays in honor of H.P. Lovecraft'', David E. Schultz and S.T. Joshi (ed.), Rutherford, NJ: Fairleigh Dickinson University Press; Cranbury, NJ: Associated University Presses, 1991. ISBN 0-838-63415-X.

*Shreffler, Phillip A. ''The H. P. Lovecraft Companion'', Westport, CT / London, England: Greenwood Press, 1977. ISBN 0-837-19482-2.

*Turner, James. "Iä! Iä! Cthulhu Fhtagn!" in ''Tales of the Cthulhu Mythos'' (1st ed.), Random House, 1998. ISBN 0-345-42204-X.

===Web sites===

* {{Web reference | author=Harms, Daniel | title=Part 2: Mythos Lore | work=The Official Cthulhu Mythos FAQ | url=http://www.necfiles.org/part2.htm | date=August 19 | year=2005 }}

* {{Web reference | author=Joshi, S. T | title=H. P. Lovecraft | work=The Scriptorium | url=http://www.themodernword.com/scriptorium/lovecraft.html | date=July 20 | year=2005 }}

* Tremlett, J. Edward. {{Web reference | title=A Color Out of Space, A Shadow Out of Time: H.P. Lovecraft & His Works | url=http://www.nocturnis.net/articles/genwod/printable/51/page1.html | date=October 14 | year=2005 }}

===Notes===
#{{Note|Harms-viii-a}}Harms, "A Brief History of the Cthulhu Mythos", ''The Encyclopedia Cthulhiana'', pp. viii–ix.
#{{Note|Joshi-31ff}}Joshi, "The Lovecraft Mythos", ''H. P. Lovecraft'', pp. 31ff.
#{{Note|Joshi-50}}Although Lovecraft sometimes mentioned the "Arkham cycle" in his correspondence, he never explained its meanings; it is possible that he was referring to his stories that take place in his mythical [[New England]] setting. (Joshi & Schultz, ''An H.P. Lovecraft Encyclopedia'', pp. 50.)
#{{Note|Joshi-51}}Lovecraft's flippant use of ''Yog-Sothothery''—a veiled reference to [[Yog-Sothoth]], one of the mythical beings in his tales—probably indicates that he never took his mythos very seriously. In a letter to [[Frank Belknap Long]] in early 1931, Lovecraft wrote "that 'Yog-Sothoth' is a basically immature conception [and] unfitted for really serious literature". (Joshi & Schultz, ''An H. P. Lovecraft Encyclopedia'', pp. 51.)

#{{Note|Joshi-32}}Joshi's characterizations are a followup to George T. Wetzel's assertion that Lovecraft's mythos stories can be thought of as chapters of a long novel (Joshi, "The Lovecraft Mythos", pp. 32). See also Wetzel's essay "The Cthulhu Mythos: A Study" (''H. P. Lovecraft: Four Decades of Criticism", pp. 79–95).
#{{Note|Price-247}}Price, "Lovecraft's 'Artificial Mythology'", ''An Epicure in the Terrible'', pp. 247.
#{{Note|Price-xviii}}Price, "Introduction", ''The New Lovecraft Circle'', pp. xviii–xix. Price writes: "One seeks forbidden knowledge, whether wittingly or, more likely, unwittingly, but one may not know till it is too late... The knowledge, once gained, is too great for the mind of man. It is [[Promethean]], [[Faustian]] knowledge. Knowledge that destroys in the moment of enlightenment, a [[Gnosis]] of damnation, not of salvation."
#{{Note|Price-249}}Price, "Lovecraft's 'Artificial Mythology'", pp. 249.
#{{Note|Tremlett-tum}}Tremlett, 'The Unknown Mind', "A Color Out of Space, A Shadow Out of Time: H.P. Lovecraft & His Works".
#{{Note|Joshi-31}}Joshi, "The Lovecraft Mythos", pp. 31.

#{{Note|Shreffler-156}}Shreffler, "The Hierarchy of Monsters", ''The H. P. Lovecraft Companion'', pp. 156–7.
#{{Note|Shreffler-157}}Nodens, the Lord of the Abyss, holds a singular place in Lovecraft's writings because he is the only god to intervene on behalf of human beings. (Shreffler, pp. 158.) Examples of this are found in ''[[The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath]]'' (1926) and "The Strange High House in the Mist" (1931).
#{{Note|Mosig-24}}This view of the "Elder Gods" conflicts with those held by Dirk W. Mosig. In his essay "H. P. Lovecraft: Myth-Maker", Mosig asserts that Lovecraft never intended the "Elder Gods" to be benign, protective deities; instead, they are actually ineffectual beings synonymous with Lovecraft's "weak gods of the earth". (Mosig, "H.P. Lovecraft: Myth-Maker", ''Mosig at Last'', pp. 24–5.)
#{{Note|Shreffler-158}}Shreffler, pp. 158–162.

#{{Note|Price-248}}Price, "Lovecraft's 'Artificial Mythology'", pp. 248–50.

#{{Note|Lauterbach-96ff}}Edward Lauterbach, "Some Notes on Cthulhuian Pseudobiblia", ''H. P. Lovecraft: Four Decades of Criticism'', pp. 96ff.
#{{Note|Lauterbach-96}}Ibid, pp. 96–97.

#{{Note|Harms-viii-b}}Harms, "A Brief History of the Cthulhu Mythos", pp. viii.
#{{Note|Lovecraft-tcoc}}Lovecraft, "The Call of Cthulhu" (1928).
#{{Note|Mosig-25}}Mosig argues that Cthulhu "is perhaps one of the weakest and least important of the main entities [in the mythos]—save for his immediacy". He also notes that in the Necronomicon passage in Lovecraft's "The Dunwich Horror" (1929), Cthulhu is demoted to "their cousin". (Mosig, "H.P. Lovecraft: Myth-Maker", ''Mosig at Last'', pp. 25.)

#{{Note|Bloch-9}}Bloch, "Heritage of Horror", pp. 9.
#{{Note|Derleth-vii}}Derleth, "The Cthulhu Mythos", ''Tales of the Cthulhu Mythos'', pp. vii.

#{{Note|Joshi-II}}Joshi, ''The Scriptorium'', "H. P. Lovecraft", section II.
#{{Note|Derleth-unknown}}This quote lacks a reference. You can improve this article by providing one.
# {{Note|Turner-x}}Turner, "Iä! Iä! Cthulhu Fhtagn!", ''Tales of the Cthulhu Mythos'', pp. viii. Turner writes: "Lovecraft's imaginary [[wikt:cosmogony|cosmogony]] was never a static system but rather a sort of [[wikt:aesthetic|aesthetic]] construct that remained ever adaptable to its creator's developing personality and altering interests... [T]here was never a rigid system that might be posthumously appropriated by the [[wikt:pasticheur|pasticheur]]... [T]he essence of the mythos lies not in a pantheon of imaginary deities nor in a cobwebby collection of forgotten tomes, but rather in a certain convincing cosmic attitude."

#{{Note|Tremlett-tbq}}Tremlett, 'The Big Question', "A Color Out of Space, A Shadow Out of Time: H.P. Lovecraft & His Works".
#{{Note|Harms-101}}Harms, "Elemental Theory", pp. 101.
#{{Note|Price-72}}Price, "August Derleth: Myth-Maker", ''Black Forbidden Things'', pp. 72.

#{{Note|Bloch-8}}Bloch, "Heritage of Horror", pp. 8.
#{{Note|Joshi-I}}Joshi, ''The Scriptorium'', "H. P. Lovecraft", section I.


#{{Note|Harms2-2.1-para4}}Harms, ''The Official Cthulhu Mythos FAQ'', "Part 2: Mythos Lore", section 2.1, "Outer Gods".

#{{Note|Harms2-2.1-para6}}Harms, "Part 2: Mythos Lore", section 2.1, "Elder Gods".

#{{Note|misc-eldergods}}Harms, Ibid. Harms writes: "Others consider their inclusion proper and fitting within their own interpretation of Lovecraft." Lovecraft views humanity as being insignificant in the universe; thus, the Elder Gods share little concern for humankind's fate.

#{{Note|Harms2-2.1-para7}}Harms, "Part 2: Mythos Lore", section 2.1, "Great Ones", "Other Gods".

# {{Note|DiTillio-a}}These beings appear in the [[role-playing game]] supplement ''Masks of Nyarlathotep'' (DiTillio & Willis).

#{{Note|Herber-FY}}Keith Herber, ''The Fungi from Yuggoth'' (1984). Role-playing game material.
# {{Note|DiTillio-b}}This cult appears in ''Masks of Nyarlathotep'' (DiTillio & Willis).
#{{Note|DiTillio-c}}Ibid.

#{{Note|Aniolowski-MM}}Scott D. Aniolowski, "Mysterious Manuscripts" in ''The Unspeakable Oath #3'', John Tynes (ed.), Seattle, WA: Pagan Publishing, August 1991. Periodical (role-playing game material).

==External links==

* [http://www.hplovecraft.com/ The H.P. Lovecraft Archive]
* [http://lovecraft.cjb.net The ULTIMATE Cthulhu Mythos Book List], listing of all mythos novels, anthologies, collections, comic books, and more
* [http://www.clare.ltd.new.net/cryptofcthulhu/ Crypt of Cthulhu], online version of the [[magazine]]
* [http://www.catb.org/~esr/jargon/html/C/cthulhic.html cthulhic], entry in the Jargon File
* [http://www.cthuugle.com/ Cthuugle], the H.P. Lovecraft search engine
* [http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/9879/lurker.htm The Lurker at the Threshold of Interpretation: Necronomicon Hoaxes and Paratextual Noise]
* [http://members.fortunecity.com/johnsilence/issue.htm Mythos Online], short stories relating to the Cthulhu mythos
* [http://www.necfiles.org/mythos.htm The Official Cthulhu Mythos FAQ], by Daniel Harms
* [http://www.epberglund.com/RGttCM/contents.htm Reader's Guide to the Cthulhu Mythos], maintained by E.P. Berglund
* [http://members.shaw.ca/csstrowbridge/Tulzscha/MainPage.htm Servants of Tulzscha], information about the gods and creatures of the Cthulhu mythos
* [http://www.shoggoth.net/ Shoggoth.net], a Cthulhu mythos [[blog]]
* [http://www.templeofdagon.com/ The Temple of Dagon], general Lovecraftian information and repository for Cthulhu mythos stories by modern writers
* [http://www.macguff.fr/goomi/unspeakable/home.html Unspeakable Vault (of Doom)], WebComic drawn by French artist Francois Launet

==Further reading==

* Carter, Lin. ''Lovecraft: A Look Behind the Cthulhu Mythos'', New York, NY: Ballantine Books, 1972. ISBN 0-345-25295-0-150.

[[Category:Cthulhu Mythos]]

Tierney Gnostic Mythos

2006-03-07T17:56:27Z

Whateley23:

Derleth Mythos

2006-03-07T17:55:43Z

Whateley23:

Tynes Mythos

2006-03-07T17:54:29Z

Whateley23:

Tynes Mythos

2006-03-07T17:53:18Z

Whateley23:

John Tynes, in his article on the subject in the roleplaying game [[D20 system|Call of Cthulhu D20]], laid out a structure of the Mythos which attempts to envision it from the point of view of a cultist. It centers on four of the gods:

[[Azathoth]] - god of entropy, change, chaos.

[[Shub-Niggurath]] - goddess of procreation and the creative urge, unrestrained growth.

[[Yog-Sothoth]] - god of time and probably space.

[[Nyarlathotep]] - Tynes seems unsure of the place of this god, whether he is the creation of the other Outer Gods or a parasite on their existence. The present author is of the opinion that, in this scheme, he represents the interaction of rationality with the stochastic universe of the other Outer Gods.

In addition to these Outer Gods, Tynes sees the Great Old Ones in a role similar to that of angels in more traditional mythologies. [[Cthulhu]] is the angel of dreams and nightmares, [[Hastur]] the angel of decay and corruption, and so forth. He goes into some detail regarding Hastur in [[Delta Green: Countdown]] (a roleplaying supplement expanding on the [[Delta Green]] modern-day setting), tying him in with the [[King in Yellow]] and [[Carcosa]] of Robert Chambers.

Talk:Lumley Mythos

2006-03-07T17:52:39Z

Whateley23:

someone who has more respect than i do for Lumley's work should probably write this entry. i tried to be fair, but i just can't get by the Republic serial villain nature of Cthulhu in the Titus Crow stories. [[User:Whateley23|Whateley23]] 12:52, 7 March 2006 (EST)

Lumley Mythos

2006-03-07T17:51:24Z

Whateley23:

Tynes Mythos

2006-03-07T17:44:45Z

Whateley23:

John Tynes, in his article on the subject in the roleplaying game [[D20 system|Call of Cthulhu D20]], laid out a structure of the Mythos which attempts to envision it from the point of view of a cultist. It centers on four of the gods:

[[Azathoth]] - god of entropy, change, chaos.

[[Shub-Niggurath]] - goddess of procreation and the creative urge, unrestrained growth.

[[Yog-Sothoth]] - god of time and probably space.

[[Nyarlathotep]] - Tynes seems unsure of the place of this god, whether he is the creation of the other Outer Gods or a parasite on their existence. The present author is of the opinion that, in this scheme, he represents the interaction of rationality with the stochastic universe of the other Outer Gods.

In addition to these Outer Gods, Tynes sees the Great Old Ones in a role similar to that of angels in more traditional mythologies. Cthulhu is the angel of dreams and nightmares, Hastur the angel of decay and corruption, and so forth. He goes into some detail regarding Hastur in [[Delta Green: Countdown]] (a roleplaying supplement expanding on the [[Delta Green]] modern-day setting), tying him in with the [[King in Yellow]] and [[Carcosa]] of Robert Chambers.

Tynes Mythos

2006-03-07T17:44:11Z

Whateley23:

John Tynes, in his article on the subject in the roleplaying game [[D20 system|Call of Cthulhu D20]], laid out a structure of the Mythos which attempts to envision it from the point of view of a cultist. It centers on four of the gods:

[[Azathoth]] - god of entropy, change, chaos.

[[Shub-Niggurath]] - goddess of procreation and the creative urge, unrestrained growth.

[[Yog-Sothoth]] - god of time and probably space.

[[Nyarlathotep]] - Tynes seems unsure of the place of this god, whether he is the creation of the other Outer Gods or a parasite on their existence. The present author is of the opinion that, in this scheme, he represents the interaction of rationality with the stochastic universe of the other Outer Gods.

In addition to these Outer Gods, Tynes sees the Great Old Ones in a role similar to that of angels in more traditional mythologies. Cthulhu is the angel of dreams and nightmares, Hastur the angel of decay and corruption, and so forth. He goes into some detail regarding Hastur in [[Delta Green Countdown]] (a roleplaying supplement expanding on the [[Delta Green]] modern-day setting), tying him in with the [[King in Yellow]] and [[Carcosa]] of Robert Chambers.

Tynes Mythos

2006-03-07T17:43:24Z

Whateley23:

John Tynes, in his article on the subject in the roleplaying game [[D20 system|Call of Cthulhu D20]], laid out a structure of the Mythos which attempts to envision it from the point of view of a cultist. It centers on four of the gods:

[[Azathoth]] - god of entropy, change, chaos.

[[Shub-Niggurath]] - goddess of procreation and the creative urge, unrestrained growth.

[[Yog-Sothoth]] - god of time and probably space.

[[Nyarlathotep]] - Tynes seems unsure of the place of this god, whether he is the creation of the other Outer Gods or a parasite on their existence. The present author is of the opinion that, in this scheme, he represents the interaction of rationality with the stochastic universe of the other Outer Gods.

In addition to these Outer Gods, Tynes sees the Great Old Ones in a role similar to that of angels in more traditional mythologies. Cthulhu is the angel of dreams and nightmares, Hastur the angel of decay and corruption, and so forth. He goes into some detail regarding Hastur in [[Delta Green Countdown]], tying him in with the [[King in Yellow]] and [[Carcosa]] of Robert Chambers.

Talk:Tierney Gnostic Mythos

2006-03-07T17:33:13Z

Whateley23:

like the [[Derleth Mythos]], this needs expansion and revision. [[User:Whateley23|Whateley23]] 12:33, 7 March 2006 (EST)

Tierney Gnostic Mythos

2006-03-07T17:32:46Z

Whateley23:

Richard Tierney took the idea of the [[Derleth Mythos]], that there were gods working on humanity's behalf, and ran it through the filter of the early Christian Gnostic heresies. The result is the remarkable Tierney Mythos, which includes such dramatic and interesting ideas as that of Jesus Christ being a hybrid Old One, much like Wilbur Whateley, or Azathoth being the demiurge creator of the corrupt physical world.

Tierney Gnostic Mythos

2006-03-07T17:32:27Z

Whateley23:

Richard Tierney took the idea of the [[Lumley Mythos]], that there were gods working on humanity's behalf, and ran it through the filter of the early Christian Gnostic heresies. The result is the remarkable Tierney Mythos, which includes such dramatic and interesting ideas as that of Jesus Christ being a hybrid Old One, much like Wilbur Whateley, or Azathoth being the demiurge creator of the corrupt physical world.

Talk:Derleth Mythos

2006-03-07T17:29:21Z

Whateley23:

this definitely needs expansion. [[User:Whateley23|Whateley23]] 12:29, 7 March 2006 (EST)

Derleth Mythos

2006-03-07T17:28:59Z

Whateley23:

Derleth instituted a structure in which the Great Old Ones were representatives of the four classical elements, earth, air, fire, and water. Unfortunately, there was no entity to represent fire, so Derleth invented Cthugha to fill that role. In addition, he incorporated the idea of the war in heaven, with certain Elder Gods fighting on humanity's behalf against the demonic Great Old Ones.

Cthulhu Mythos

2006-03-07T17:26:45Z

Whateley23: /* Structure of the mythos */

[[Image:cthulhu.jpg|thumb|Cthulhu in R'lyeh]]

'''Cthulhu mythos''' is the term coined by the writer [[August Derleth]] to describe the shared themes, characters, and elements in the works of [[H.P. Lovecraft]], his protegés, and writers influenced by him. Together, they form the [[mythos]] that authors, writing in the Lovecraftian [[wikt:milieu|milieu]], have used—and continue to use—to craft their stories.{{Rn|Harms-viii-a}}

Although this mythology is sometimes called the ''Lovecraft Mythos''—most notably by the Lovecraft scholar [[S. T. Joshi]]{{Rn|Joshi-31ff}}—it has long since moved beyond Lovecraft's original conception. Still, purists who wish to discuss Lovecraft's work, rather than the modifications and expansions of it written by others, consider this to be the most accurate term. Lovecraft himself occasionally referred to it as the ''[[Arkham, Massachusetts|Arkham]] cycle''{{Rn|Joshi-50}}, after the main fictional town in his world, or ''[[Yog-Sothoth]]ery''{{Rn|Joshi-51}}, after one of its primary gods.

==Lovecraft and the mythos==

In his essay "The Lovecraft Mythos", S. T. Joshi defines four key elements in Lovecraft's mythos: (1) the fundamental principle of ''cosmicism'', (2) an imaginary New England setting, (3) recurring "pseudomythological" entities, and (4) works of arcane literature. Joshi points out, however, that Lovecraft never fully realized his mythos at any time in his career, but instead developed it gradually, adding elements to it with each story he wrote.{{Rn|Joshi-32}}

===Cosmicism===

Common themes in Lovecraft's fiction are the insignificance of [[humanity]] in the [[universe]]{{Rn|Price-247}} and the search for knowledge ending in disaster{{Rn|Price-xviii}}. Humans are often subject to powerful beings and other cosmic forces, but these forces are not so much malevolent as they are indifferent toward humanity{{Rn|Price-249}}. Lovecraft called this viewpoint ''Cosmicism'', a doctrine which holds that humankind's religious beliefs are a mere conceit and that ultimately humanity is alone and defenseless in an uncaring universe.{{Rn|Tremlett-tum}}

===Imaginary New England setting===

Many of Lovecraft's tales take place in a fictional New England setting which may be connected to what Lovecraft called his "Arkham cycle". These ficticious locales may also parallel real-life places in [[Massachusetts]] (see table below).{{Rn|Joshi-31}}

{|class="wikitable"
|+'''Lovecraft's parallels to real places'''
!Fictional town or city
!Actual location in Massachusetts
|-
|Arkham||[[Salem, Massachusetts|Salem]]
|-
|Dunwich||Vicinity of [[Hampden, Massachusetts|Hampden]], [[Wilbraham, Massachusetts|Wilbraham]], and [[Monson, Massachusetts|Monson]]
|-
|Innsmouth||[[Newburyport, Massachusetts|Newburyport]]
|-
|Kingsport||[[Marblehead,Massachusetts|Marblehead]]
|}
----
===Lovecraft's pantheon===

[[Image:CthulhumythosShrefflerchart.gif|frame|right|Lovecraft's original pantheon]]
When Lovecraft conceived his imaginary mythology, he apparently never laid out a definitive plan to follow. Instead, he simply launched into writing his stories, adding matter-of-fact references to the various deities and monsters of the mythos. Furthermore, Lovecraft often used these references capriciously, indicating that he probably favored drama over consistency (a noteworthy example is Lovecraft's use of ''[[Old One]]s'', a term whose meaning varied from story to story). Nonetheless, Phillip A. Schreffler, in his book ''The H. P. Lovecraft Companion'', argues that by carefully scrutinizing Lovecraft's writings a workable framework emerges for a pantheon of beings (see figure at right).{{Rn|Shreffler-156}} Not included in this chart is [[Nodens (Cthulhu mythos)|Nodens]]{{Rn|Shreffler-157}}, a member of a rival group of potent deities known as the "Elder Gods" (never expanded by Lovecraft) that were more or less benign.{{Rn|Mosig-24}}

Lovecraft's central deities are [[Azathoth]] and [[Yog-Sothoth]], both representing opposing cosmic principles. Azathoth, the "blind and idiotic" ruler of the pantheon, occupies the literal center of the universe, whereas Yog-Sothoth, Azathoth's co-ruler, embodies the infinite, existing in all places and in all times. Next in the hierarchy is [[Shub-Niggurath]] (whom Lovecraft mentions but never describes in his stories), representing a kind of [[paganism|pagan]] fertility god. Attending Azathoth at his court are the Other Gods, mysterious beings that dance mindlessly around Azathoth's throne in cadence to the piping of a demonic flute, and [[Nyarlathotep]], the avatar and messenger of Azathoth and the Other Gods. Nyarlathotep is the only being that can interact intelligently with human beings, though he often manifests himself in human form to disguise his true appearance.

The topmost tier of deities is served by earthbound, non-human beings. [[Cthulhu]] is regarded as the priest of the gods, while [[Dagon]] appears to be his subordinate. The lowest tier consists of the [[Elder Thing]]s and the [[Mi-go]], both [[extraterrestrial]] races, and the [[Deep One (Cthulhu mythos)|Deep Ones]], ocean-dwelling humanoids, which serve Cthulhu and Dagon.{{Rn|Shreffler-158}}

Because of the additions of later authors, the mythos pantheon has grown considerably and is now populated by deities and beings never conceived of by Lovecraft. Nevertheless, the original schema, which places Azathoth and Yog-Sothoth at the top of the pantheon, is still widely recognized by many mythos writers.

====Gods and devils====

According to Robert M. Price in his essay "Lovecraft's 'Artificial Mythology'", Lovecraft never intended his pantheon of beings—occasionally referred to as the ''Old Ones''—to be supernatural creatures but instead powerful [[extraterrestrial]]s. For naive humans to worship these beings as ''gods'' or to deride them as ''devils'' was to feebly attempt to [[wikt:anthropomorphize|anthropomorphize]] them and thus render them into mundane and explainable terms. What early humans could not understand they characterized as divine; thus, prescientific cultures deified incomprehensible entities like [[Azathoth]]. Though humans might try to placate or earn the favor of these beings by worshiping them, the Old Ones were not welcoming of such veneration and moreover were quick to exploit the gullibility of their worshipers to further their own agenda.

Lovecraft's inspiration was to tear humanity from its supposedly vaunted place in the universe by forcing his characters to confront alien beings far older and wiser than humankind. Unfortunately, August Derleth, as well as other writers who followed after him, misinterpreted Lovecraft's original conception and took the Old Ones to be literally supernatural and godlike. Derleth further distorted Lovecraft's vision by concocting a parallel to the [[Christianity|Christian]] narrative of [[Satan]] warring against [[Heaven]], pairing the ''devils'' of Lovecraft's mythos (the Old Ones) against a race of benevolent ''[[Elder God]]s'' with humanity's fate hanging in the balance. In Price's view, "religious fiction" of this sort could not be further from Lovecraft's fundamental notion of an indifferent, nihilistic universe.{{Rn|Price-248}}

----

===Cthulhuian pseudobiblia===
{{main|Cthulhu mythos arcane literature}}

A hallmark of Lovecraft's mythos is the various mystical books and other writings of arcane lore which Edward Lauterbach calls "Cthulhuian pseudobiblia"{{Rn|Lauterbach-96ff}}. These tomes were invented by Lovecraft and his imitators to lend more believability to their stories. A good measure of humor was also employed in their creation; for example, ''Cultes des Goules'' is credited to the fictional writer Comte d'Erlette, an obvious pun of August Derleth's name.{{Rn|Lauterbach-96}}

{|class="wikitable"
|+'''Selected fictional works''' '''created by mythos authors'''
!Author
!Fictional book
|-
|[[Robert Bloch]]||Cultes des Goules, De Vermis Mysteriis
|-
|[[Ramsey Campbell]]||Revelations of Glaaki
|-
|[[Lin Carter]]||Ponape Scripture, Zanthu Tablets
|-
|August Derleth||Celaeno Fragments, R'lyeh Text
|-
|[[Robert E. Howard]]||Unaussprechlichen Kulten
|-
|H. P. Lovecraft||Dhol Chants, Necronomicon, Pnakotic Manuscripts, Seven Cryptical Books of Hsan
|-
|[[Brian Lumley]]||Cthäat Aquadingen, G'harne Fragments
|-
|[[Clark Ashton Smith]]||Book of Eibon
|}

==Structure of the mythos==

The mythos is centered on the [[Great Old One]]s, a fearsome assortment of ancient, powerful [[deity|deities]] that once ruled the Earth. They are presently [[wikt:quiescent|quiescent]], having fallen into a death-like sleep at some time in the distant past. {{Rn|Harms-viii-b}} The most well-known of these beings is [[Cthulhu]], who currently lies "dead [but] dreaming" in the submerged city of [[R'lyeh]] somewhere in the Southeast [[Pacific Ocean]]. One day, "when the stars are right", R'lyeh will rise from beneath the sea, and Cthulhu will awaken and wreak havoc on the earth.{{Rn|Lovecraft-tcoc}}

Despite his notoriety, Cthulhu is not the most powerful of the deities nor is he the [[Theology|theological]] center of the mythos{{Rn|Mosig-25}}. Instead, this position is held by the demon-god Azathoth, an [[Outer God]], ruling from his cosmically-centered court. Nonetheless, Nyarlathotep, who fulfills Azathoth's random urges, has intervened more frequently and more directly in human affairs than any other Outer God. He has also displayed more blatant contempt for humanity, including his own worshipers, than almost any other Lovecraftian deity.

A number of different authors have applied different methods of structuring the entities of the Mythos. In part, this is an excellent manifestation of the ideas originated by Lovecraft, where contradictions were deliberately introduced to make the Mythos feel more naturalistic. However, some individuals like to choose one particular structuring form for their own use, whether private, for gaming, for fiction, or for whatever other use. To this end, a number of articles describing some of these structuring forms will be linked from here.

[[Chaosium Mythos]]

[[Derleth Mythos]]

[[Lumley Mythos]]

[[Tierney Gnostic Mythos]]

[[Tynes Mythos]]

==Derleth's involvement==

Derleth had his own take on the mythos and tried to make it conform to his own [[Catholic]] values and [[dualism]]. Instead of a universe of meaninglessness and chaos, Derleth's mythos is a struggle of ''good versus evil''.{{Rn|Bloch-9}} Derleth once wrote:

<blockquote>

As Lovecraft conceived the deities or forces of his mythos, there were, initially, the Elder Gods... [T]hese Elder Gods were benign deities, representing the forces of good, and existed peacefully at or near [[Betelgeuse|Betelgeuze]] in the constellation [[Orion (constellation)|Orion]], very rarely stirring forth to intervene in the unceasing struggle between the powers of evil and the [[race (fantasy)|race]]s of Earth. These powers of evil were variously known as the Great Old Ones or the Ancient Ones...
 —August Derleth, "The Cthulhu Mythos"{{Ref|Derleth-vii}}
</blockquote>

Lovecraft was an [[atheist]]{{Rn|Joshi-II}} and claimed that [[Immanuel Kant|Kant]]'s ethical system "is a joke."{{Rn|Derleth-unknown}} Because of this, Derleth's theories about the ''Cthulhu mythos'' are inconsistent with Lovecraft's design. The mythos was never intended to be a cohesive, singular entity; instead, it should be regarded as simply a collection of ideas that can be used in separate works to provoke the same emotions.{{Rn|Turner-x}}

Another problem with Derleth's mythos is that the Elder Gods never appear in Lovecraft's writings; except for one or two who appear as "Other Gods", such as [[Nodens]] in Lovecraft's "[[The Strange High House in the Mist]]" (though perhaps this is an example of how "very rarely [they stir] forth"; i.e., usually never). Furthermore, the Great Old Ones, or ''Ancient Ones'', have no unified [[pantheon (gods)|pantheon]]{{Rn|Tremlett-tbq}}. Indeed, the term "Ancient Ones" appears in only one Lovecraft story, "[[Through the Gates of the Silver Key]]" (moreover, the story is actually a collaboration between Lovecraft and his friend and correspondent [[E. Hoffman Price]]).

Derleth also introduced the concept of ''[[elemental]]s'', tying the deities of the mythos to the four elements of "air", "earth", "fire", and "water". This system left gaps which Derleth filled in by creating the beings [[Cthugha]] and [[Ithaqua]], representing the spheres of "fire" and "air", respectively. However, the system is fraught with problems. For example, Derleth classified Cthulhu as a ''water elemental'', but if this were so, how could he be trapped beneath the ocean and how could his [[Telepathy|psychic emanations]] be blocked by water? Another problem is that Derleth matched the "earth" beings against the "fire" beings and the "air" beings against the "water" beings, which is not consistent with the traditional elemental dichotomy (namely, that ''air'' opposes ''earth'' and ''fire'' opposes ''water'').{{Rn|Harms-101}}

{|class="wikitable"
|+'''Derleth's elemental deities'''{{Ref|Price-72}}
!Air
!Earth
!Fire
!Water
|-
|[[Hastur]] [[Ithaqua]] [[Zhar (Great Old One)|Zhar and Lloigor]]
|[[Nyarlathotep]] [[Shub-Niggurath]] [[Tsathoggua]] [[Yog-Sothoth]]
|[[Cthugha]]
|[[Cthulhu]]
|}

To his credit, Derleth became a [[publisher]] of Lovecraft's stories after his death{{Rn|bloch-8}}. Lovecraft himself was very critical of his own writings and was often easily discouraged, especially when faced with any rejection of his work{{Rn|Joshi-I}}. Were it not for Derleth, Lovecraft's writings and the Cthulhu mythos might have remained largely unknown.

== Elements of the mythos ==

====Overview====

Tables appearing under these entries are organized as follows:

* ''Name''. This is the commonly accepted name of the being or mythos element.
* ''Epithet(s), Other name(s)''. This field lists any epithets or alternate names. These are names sometimes mentioned in [[Cthulhu mythos arcane literature|books of arcane literature]], but may also be the names preferred by cults.
* ''Description''. This entry gives a brief description of the being or mythos element.
* ''References''. This field lists the stories in which the being or mythos element makes a ''significant'' appearance or otherwise receives important mention. A simple two-letter code is used (the key to the codes is found '''[[Cthulhu mythos reference codes and bibliography|here]]'''). If a code appears in '''bold''', this means that the story introduces the being or mythos element.

===Beings===

----
====Great Old Ones====
{{main|Great Old One}} (includes a table listing all the Great Old Ones in the mythos)

The Great Old Ones are powerful and ancient creatures worshiped by deranged human [[cult]]s. Many of the Great Old Ones are made of an unearthly substance having properties unlike normal matter. A Great Old One's influence is often limited to the [[planet]] on which it dwells. If a Great Old One is based on a planet outside the [[solar system]], it can only extend its influence to earth when the [[star]] of its [[planetary system]] is in the night sky. In such cases, the help of cultists performing various rituals may be required.
----

====Outer Gods====
{{main|Outer God}} (includes a table listing all the Outer Gods in the mythos)

The Outer Gods have unlimited influence, unlike the Great Old Ones, and function on a cosmic scale{{Rn|Harms2-2.1-para4}}. They include a subgroup known as the Lesser Outer Gods, or Other Gods.
----
==== Elder Gods ====
{{main|Elder God (Cthulhu mythos)}} (includes a table listing all the Elder Gods in the mythos)

The Elder Gods are beings who oppose the Outer Gods and the Great Old Ones. Many consider them to be non-Lovecraftian, because they introduce a "good versus evil" dichotomy into the cosmic indifference of Lovecraft's fiction{{Rn|Harms2-2.1-para6}}. However, others argue that these beings have no more concern for human notions of morality than the beings they oppose, and that humanity and the human world are beneath their regard{{Rn|misc-eldergods}}.
----
====Great Ones====
{{main|Dreamlands#The Great Ones}}

The Great Ones are the so-called "gods" of the [[Dreamlands]], but they are not as powerful as the Great Old Ones and are not even as intelligent as most humans. However, they are protected by the Outer Gods, especially Nyarlathotep.{{Rn|Harms2-2.1-para7}}
----
====Other supernatural beings====


{|class="wikitable"
|+ '''Supernatural beings'''
|-
!Name
!Epithet(s), Other name(s)
!Description
![[Cthulhu mythos reference codes and bibliography|References]]
|-
| [[Alala]] || ? || Being made of living sound that dwells in the [[S'glhuo|Gulf of S'glhuo]]. || PL, '''WP'''
|-
| [[Ammutseba]] || ''Devourer of Stars'' || ? || ?
|-
| [[Beast in the Pit]] || ? || ? || ?
|-
| [[Beast of Averoigne]] || ? || ? || '''BA'''
|-
| [[Droom-Avista]] || ? || ? || '''JD'''
|-
| [[The Dunwich Horror]] || ''Son of Yog-Sothoth'' || An invisible monstrosity with some human features. || '''[[The Dunwich Horror|DH]]'''
|-
| The [[Eater of Souls]] || ? || ? || EA
|-
| [[Fthaggua]] || ''Lord of Ktynga'' || Appears as a bluish ball of energy. || '''FV''', [[The Horror in the Gallery|HG]]
|-
| [[Gnoph-Keh]] || <center>— || Appears as huge [[gnophkeh]]; possibly an avatar of [[Rhan-Tegoth]]. || '''HM'''
|-
| [[God of the Red Flux]] || ? || Monstrous, red flowing creature. || '''TR'''
|-
| [[The Green God]] || ? || Appears as a [[moai]] covered with foliage. || '''HR'''
|-
| The [[High Priest Not to Be Described]] || <center>— || Humanoid wearing a silken mask. || '''[[Celephaïs|CE]]''', [[The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath|DQ]]
|-
| The [[Hoppwood Tenant]] || ? || ? || ?
|-
| [[Kali (supernatural being)|Kali]] || ? || ? || ?
|-
| [[Knygathin Zhaum]] || <center>— || Appears as a quasi-humanoid Voormi. || FT, '''TM'''
|-
| [[K'thun]] (female) and [[Noth-Yidik]] (male) || ? || Abhorrent, [[wikt:malodorous|malodorous]] beings whose mating spawned the Hounds of Tindalos. || '''HM''', MT
|-
| [[Mappo no Ryujin]] || ''Coatlicue'', ''Mother of All Serpents'' || A gigantic, [[wikt:serpentine|serpentine]] monstrosity covered in small white snakes || ?
|-
| [[M'Bwa]] || ? || ? || '''TR'''
|-
| [[Million Favored Ones]] || <center>— || Beings said to be [[Nyarlathotep]]'s spawn. || MF, '''WD'''
|-
| [[Mlandoth|Mlandoth and Mril Thorion]] || ''The Source'', ''The One'' || Unknown. || '''WY'''
|-
| [[Our Ladies of Sorrow]] || ? || ? || ?
|-
| [[Pharol the Black]] || <center>— || Appears as a black, fanged [[demon]] with tentacles instead of arms. || '''HY''', AG
|-
| The [[Prisoner of Vornai]] || ? || ? || ?
|-
| [[Saboth the Elder]] || ''The Grinning Ghoul'' || ? || ?
|-
| [[Shaurash-Ho]] || ? || ? || ?
|-
| [[Sss'haa]] || Sssaaa || Leader of the serpent people of Valusia. || [[The Horror in the Gallery|HG]], '''TH''', VY
|-
| [[Sthood]] || ? || ? || ?
|-
| The [[Thing Hanging in the Void]] || ? || ? || ?
|-
| [[Ubb (Cthulhu mythos)|Ubb]] || ''Father of Worms'' || Leader of the Yuggs. || '''OA''', PI, UV, [[The Thing in the Pit|TP]]
|-
| [[Cyäegha|The five Vaeyen]] || <center>— || Quintet of [[vulture]]-like statues that both guard and sequester the Great Old One [[Cyäegha]] || '''DM'''
|-
| The [[Vale Which is the Night]] || ? || ? || ?
|-
| [[Vibur]] || ? || A green, [[wikt:tendril|tendril]] covered orb. || ?
|-
| [[The Dunwich Horror|Wilbur Whateley]] || <center>— || Mostly-human twin of the aforementioned Dunwich Horror. || '''[[The Dunwich Horror|DH]]'''
|-
| [[Wuthoqquan's Bane]] || ? || A large, shapeless beast lurking in the sewers of [[Commoriom]]. || '''WQ'''
|-
| [[Xathagorra]] || ? || Vile, multiform creature with a vast wingspan. || '''CH'''
|-
| [[Xexanoth]] || ''Bane of Aforgomon'' || ? || '''CM'''
|-
| [[Xiurhn]] || ''Guardian of the Dark Jewel'' || A slothlike, winged thing with a terrible face. || '''XI'''
|-
| [[Yegg-Ha]] || ''Lord of Nightgaunts'' || A huge, faceless humanoid with tiny wings. || '''IE''', TC, WI
|-
| [[Y'hkmaat]] || ''Queen of One Thousand Eyes'' || ? || ?
|-
| [[Zyhumé]] || ? || A gigantic, spectral elk. || ?
|-
|}

====Non-human species of the mythos====

=====Table-a (A–F)=====
{|class="wikitable"
|+ '''Non-human species A–F'''
|-
!Name
!Description
![[Cthulhu mythos reference codes and bibliography|References]]
|-
| [[Adumbrali]] || [[wikt:extradimensional|Extradimensional]] beings that appear as orbs of darkness. || '''AB'''
|-
| [[Aihais]] || Humanoids from [[Mars (planet)|Mars]]. || '''VU'''
|-
| [[Antehumans]] || Slender, tall, gaunt proto-humans of great intelligence. || SG
|-
| [[Being of Xiclotl|Beings of Xiclotl]] || Horrifying, oddly plant-like, carnivorous giants, native to the planet Xiclotl, and the slaves of the Insects from Shaggai (the Shan). || '''IS'''
|-
| [[Dhole (Cthulhu mythos)|Bhole]]s || Gigantic, worm-like creatures that inhabit the earth's Dreamlands. || DL, '''[[The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath|DQ]]'''
|-
| [[Blupe]]s || Translucent, bluish, oval-shaped creatures that can float through the air. || DL
|-
| [[Brothers of Chaugnar Faugn]] || Beings that resemble smaller versions of [[Chaugnar Faugn]]. || '''HF'''
|-
| [[Byakhee]] || Resemble bat-like, hornet-like human corpses. || '''FE''', GS, HC, WS
|-
| [[Cat from Saturn|Cats from Saturn]] || Cat-like beings from the Dreamlands with abstract, multi-hued bodies. || DL, '''[[The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath|DQ]]'''
|-
| [[Cat from Uranus|Cats from Uranus]] || Like those from Saturn, but far more terrible. || DL
|-
| [[Chatoka]] || ? || ?
|-
| [[Children of the Sphinx]] || Sub-cult of the [[Brotherhood of the Black Pharaoh]]. || ''n/a''{{Ref|DiTillio-a}}
|-
| [[Chthonian]]s (''The Burrowers Beneath'') || Gigantic, squid-like worms. || BU, '''CS'''
|-
| [[Colour out of Space]] || Appears as a shapeless, plastic entity glowing with the colors of an unknown [[Optical spectrum|spectrum]]. || '''CO''', CT
|-
| [[Crawling One]]s (''The Worms that Walk'') || Appear as human-sized worms. || '''FE'''
|-
| [[Dark Young of Shub-Niggurath]] || Appear as ropy, black tentacles on a pair of stumpy, hooved legs. || MK, '''NF'''
|-
| [[Deep One (Cthulhu mythos)|Deep One]]s || Ocean-dwelling humanoids that appear to be half-frog and half-fish. || BU, DO, GS, HC, [[The Horror in the Gallery|HG]], RD, SA, '''[[The Shadow Over Innsmouth|SI]]'''
|-
| [[Dhole (Cthulhu mythos)|Dhole]]s || Gigantic, worm-like creatures. || DR, TG, '''WP'''
|-
| [[Dimensional Shambler]]s || [[Dimension]]-hopping humanoids with rough, leathery bodies and huge claws. || '''HM'''
|-
| [[Doel]]s || Tiny, extradimensional, flesh-eating creatures. || '''HN'''
|-
| [[Elder Things]] (''Old Ones'') || Appear as five-sided, oval-shaped barrels with starfish-like appendages at each end. || '''[[At the Mountains of Madness|AM]]''', IV, PW
|-
| rowspan=2 | [[Fire vampires]]
| 1. (Flame Creatures of Cthugha) Appear as tiny points of light that ingite everything they touch. || '''DD'''
|-
| 2. (Fire Vampires of Fthaggua) Appear as bursts of crimson lightning that set fire to sentient beings. || '''FV''', [[The Horror in the Gallery|HG]]
|-
| [[Fishers from Outside]] || Enigmatic, prehistoric, flying race associated with [[Gol-Goroth]] and the Shantaks. || '''FO'''
|-
| [[Flying polyp]]s || Appear as floating, semi-visible, polypous horrors capable of controlling great winds. || PW, '''ST''', SY, WF
|-
| [[Formless spawn]] of Tsathoggua and Knygathin Zhaum || Appear as gelatinous, shape-shifting, black goo. || MO, '''TS'''
|}

=====Table-b (G–M)=====
{|class="wikitable"
|+ '''Non-human species G–M'''
|-
!Name
!Description
![[Cthulhu mythos reference codes and bibliography|References]]
|-
| [[Underworld (Dreamlands)#Ghasts|Ghasts]] || Fearsome, underground-dwelling humanoids with kangaroo-like legs that inhabit the earth's Dreamlands. || '''[[The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath|DQ]]'''
|-
| [[Ghoul]]s || Corpse-eating, [[wikt:canine|canine]]-like humanoids. || DQ, IC, '''PM'''
|-
| rowspan=2 | [[Gnophkeh]]
| 1. Six-legged, furry, [[rhinocerous]]-like creatures with an affinity for cold climes. || '''HM''', LT, SM
|-
| 2. Hairy cannibals that once dwelt in Lomar. || '''PO'''
|-
| [[Gnorri]] || Resemble [[Merman|mermen]] with possibly one or two additional arms. || '''SK'''
|-
| [[Shub-Niggurath|Gof'nn hupadgh Shub-Niggurath]] || [[wikt:transmogrified|Transmogrified]], once-human cultists of Shub-Niggurath. || '''ML'''
|-
| [[Great Race of Yith]] || Resemble tall, rugose cones with four appendages: two claws, a trumpet-like limb, and a yellow, globe-like organ. || CF, PW, SO, '''ST''', SY
|-
| [[Underworld (Dreamlands)#Gugs|Gugs]] || Horrifying, furry giants of the Dreamlands with a mouth that opens sideways. || '''DQ'''
|-
| [[Gyaa-Yothn]] || Quasi-human, rhinocerous-like [[wikt:quadruped|quadrupeds]] used as [[wikt:beast of burden|beasts of burden]] by the denizens of K'n-yan. || '''MO'''
|-
| [[Haemophores]] || Small, vampiric creatures with webbed hands and feet. || DL
|-
| [[Hounds of Tindalos]] || Extradimensional horrors that can enter our universe through any three-dimensional corner. || EL, '''HN''', MT, TC
|-
| [[Hunters from Beyond]] || ? || ?
|-
| [[Hunting Horrors]] || Resemble huge, immaterial serpents with bat wings. || '''DQ''', LT
|-
| [[Hyperboreans (Cthulhu mythos)|Hyperboreans]] || A race of early pre-humans. || DS, SG, '''TS''', UB
|-
| [[K'n-yan|K'n-yan, Natives of]] || Technologically and psychically advanced humanoids who dwell underground. || OE, '''MO'''
|-
| [[Kyresh]] || Vicious, wolven creatures of the Dreamlands. || '''YG'''
|-
| [[Larvae of the Outer Gods]] || [[Proteus|Protean]] beings spawned by the Outer Gods. || DQ
|-
| [[Lamp-Eft]]s || Resemble small, flying [[iguana]]s. || DL
|-
| [[Leeches of Yoh-Vombis]] || Parasitic Martian creatures. || ?
|-
| [[Cthulhu mythos celestial bodies#L'gy'hx|L'gy'hx, Natives of]] || Cube-shaped, multi-legged, metallic beings that inhabit the planet L'gy'hx (Uranus). || '''IS'''
|-
| [[Lloigor (Cthulhu mythos)|Lloigor]] || Beings that may alternately appear as vortices of energy or dragon-like dinosaurs (Ghatanothoa may be a particularly powerful one). || IU, '''RL'''
|-
| [[Men of Leng]] || [[Satyr]]-like beings that inhabit the Plateau of Leng. || DQ
|-
| [[Mi-go]] (''Fungi from Yuggoth'', ''Outer Ones'') || Resemble human-sized, winged [[crustacean]]s with globular heads covered with [[cilia]]. || DT, OW, '''WD'''
|-
| [[Miri Nigri]] || Amphibious humanoids created by Chaugnar Faugn. || '''HF'''
|-
| [[Moon-beasts]] || Plump, toad-like humanoids. || '''DQ''', MD
|}

=====Table-c (N–Z)=====
{|class="wikitable"
|+ '''Non-human species N–Z'''
|-
!Name
!Description
![[Cthulhu mythos reference codes and bibliography|References]]
|-
| [[Cyäegha|Nagäae]] || Toadish servants of Cyäegha. || '''DM'''
|-
| [[The Nameless City|Nameless City, Denizens of]] || Alligator-like, seal-like humanoids. || '''NC'''
|-
| [[Great Race of Yith|New Great Race of Yith]] (''Coleopterous Race'') || Resemble human-sized beetles. || '''ST'''
|-
| [[Nightgaunt]]s || Faceless, bat-like humanoids. || '''DQ''', HE, OK, WI
|-
| rowspan=2 | [[Nioth-Korghai]]
| 1. Extraterrestrial, carnivorous monster held in captivity by king Ossaru in Zothique. || '''TB'''
|-
| 2. Extraterrestrial, aquatic creatures that feed on the life-force of human beings. || '''PS'''
|-
| [[Ny'ghaan-grii]] || ? || ?
|-
| [[Rat-Thing]]s || Tiny, rat-like creatures with human-like faces. || '''DW'''
|-
| [[Sand-dweller]]s || Appear as sand-encrusted, skeleton-like humanoids with large claws. || '''GW'''
|-
| [[Serpent people]] || Serpent-like humanoids. || [[The Horror in the Gallery|HG]], '''HK''', IU, OW, SG,
|-
| [[Servant of Glaaki|Servants of Glaaki]] || Undead [[zombie]]s that serve the being Glaaki. || '''IL'''
|-
| [[Servitors of the Outer Gods]] || Beings of varied form that dance mindlessly about Azathoth's throne at the center of the universe. || '''AZ'''
|-
| [[S'glhuo|S'glhuo, Denizens of]] || Tall, bluish humanoids with blank eyes and boneless fingers; actually entities made of living sound. || '''PL'''
|-
| The [[Shan]] (''Insects from Shaggai'') || Resemble large insects. || '''IS''', QU
|-
| [[Shantaks]] || Elephantine, reptilian birds of the Dreamlands. || '''DQ''', FO, RY
|-
| [[Shoggoth]] || Resemble gigantic amoebae with numerous floating eyes. || '''[[At the Mountains of Madness|AM]]''', GC, NE, PG, [[The Shadow Over Innsmouth|SI]], TC
|-
| The [[Space-Eaters]] || ? || '''PE'''
|-
| [[Spawn of Ubbo-Sathla]] || Large, formless, black [[wikt:protean|protean]] beings. || ?
|-
| [[Spiders of Leng]] || Giant purple spiders that inhabit the Plateau of Leng. || DL
|-
| Star-spawn of Cthulhu (''Cthulhi'') || Resemble smaller versions of Cthulhu himself. || '''AM''', PW, TC
|-
| [[Star vampire]] (''Shambler from the Stars'') || Invisible, levitating, vampiric horror with a myriad of suckers and two huge claws. || '''SF'''
|-
| [[Tcho-Tcho]] || Mutated humanoids descended from the Miri-Nigri. || BK, EH, '''LS''', MH
|-
| [[Terrors from Beyond]] || ? || ?
|-
| [[Thuum'ha]] (''Beings of Ib'') || Green, toad-like humanoids with gelatinous bodies and emerald eyes || BM, '''DC''', NL
|-
| [[Tree Men of M'Bwa]] || ? || '''TR'''
|-
| [[Voonith]] || Huge lizards of the Dreamlands. || DL
|-
| [[Voor]] || Degenerate wormlike creatures; survivors of a now-fallen civilisation in Hyperborea. || ?
|-
| [[Voormis]] || Yeti-like bipeds that inhabit Mount Voormithadreth in Hyperborea. || AF, SG, SM, '''TM'''
|-
| [[Xo Tl'mi-go]] || Pale, eyeless, leech-mouthed, and sterile [[hominid]]s. || '''CK'''
|-
| [[Cthulhu mythos celestial bodies#Yaddith|Yaddith, Natives of]] || Humanoid inhabitants of the planet Yaddith that resemble a cross between mammals and reptiles. || DR, [[The Horror in the Gallery|HG]], '''TG''', VI
|-
| [[Cthulhu mythos celestial bodies#Yekub|Yekubians]] || Technologically-advanced, centipede-like beings that inhabit the planet Yekub. || '''CF'''
|-
| rowspan=2 | [[Yuggya]]
| 1. (Yuggs or Yuggya) Beings that resemble white, [[planarian]]-like flatworms. || '''OA''', WI
|-
| 2. (Yuggya) The offspring of a mating between a Yugg and a Deep One hybrid. || PI, WF
|-
| [[Zoogs]] || Creatures of the Dreamlands that resemble small, [[elf]]in rodents. || '''DQ''', HE
|}

===Cults in the mythos===

{|class="wikitable"
|+ '''Cults'''
|-
!Name
![[Cthulhu mythos reference codes and bibliography|References]]
|-
| [[Cthulhu mythos cults#Black Brotherhood|Black Brotherhood]] || '''SE'''
|-
| [[Cthulhu mythos cults#Brotherhood of the Beast|Brotherhood of the Beast]] || ''n/a''{{Ref|Herber-FY}}
|-
| [[Cthulhu mythos cults#Brotherhood of the Black Pharaoh|Brotherhood of the Black Pharaoh]] || ''n/a''{{Ref|DiTillio-b}}
|-
| [[Cthulhu mythos cults#Brothers of the Yellow Sign|Brothers of the Yellow Sign]] (Cult of the Yellow Sign) || IU, '''WD'''
|-
| [[Cthulhu mythos cults#Chesuncook Witch Coven|Chesuncook Witch Coven]] (Cult of the Skull) || DK, '''TN'''
|-
| [[Cthulhu mythos cults#Chorazos Cult|Chorazos Cult]] || '''UT''', RN
|-
| [[Cthulhu mythos cults#Church of Starry Wisdom|Church of Starry Wisdom]] || GA, '''HD''', HI, SD, SE, DE
|-
| [[Cthulhu|Cult of Cthulhu]] || '''CC'''
|-
| [[Cult of Bubastis]] || ?
|-
| [[Cthulhu mythos cults#Cult of the Bloody Tongue|Cult of the Bloody Tongue]] || ''n/a''{{Ref|DiTillio-c}}
|-
| [[Esoteric Order of Dagon]] || '''SI'''
|}

===Arcane literature and other media===

{|border=0 width=100%
|+'''Arcane media'''
|valign=top width=48%|
{|class="wikitable"
|-
!Name
![[Cthulhu mythos reference codes and bibliography|Ref.]]*
|-
|[[Book of Azathoth]]
!DW
|-
|[[Book of Dzyan]] (the Stanzas of Dzyan)
!S4
|-
|[[Book of Eibon]] (Liber Ivonis, Livre d'Eibon)
!UB
|-
|[[The Book of Iod]]
!BH
|-
|[[Celaeno Fragments]]
!HC
|-
|[[Cthaat Aquadingen]] (possibly Things of the Water)
!YE
|-
|[[Cultes des Goules]] (Cults of the Ghouls)
!SU
|-
|[[De Vermis Mysteriis]] (Mysteries of the Worm)
!SF
|-
|[[Dwellers in the Depths]]
!AQ
|-
|[[Eltdown Shards]]
!EC
|-
|[[The Ford Translation]] of the [[Voynich Manuscript]]
!RL (?)
|-
|[[G'harne Fragments]]
!CS
|-
|[[The King in Yellow]]
!YS
|}
|valign=top width=48%|
{|class="wikitable"
|-
!Name
!Ref.
|-
|[[Massa Di Requiem per Shuggay]] ("Requiem for Shaggai")
!''n/a''{{Ref|Aniolowski-MM}}
|-
|The [[Necronomicon]] ("An Image [or Picture ''sic''] of the Law of the Dead")
!HO
|-
|[[Kitab Al-Azif]] (equivalent to the Necronomicon)
!LA
|-
|[[The Pnakotic Manuscripts]] (Pnakotic Fragments)
!PO
|-
|[[Ponape Scripture]]
!OA
|-
|[[Revelations of Glaaki]]
!IL
|-
|[[The R'lyeh Text]]
!RH
|-
|[[Saracenic Rituals]] (infamous chapter from ''De Vermis Mysteriis'')
!SF
|-
|[[The Testament of Carnamagos]]
!XE
|-
|[[Unaussprechlichen Kulten]] (interpreted as "Unspeakable Cults", also: Black Book, Nameless Cults)
!CN
|-
|[[Zanthu Tablets]]
!DT
|}
|}
* Reference to first appearance.

===Fictional locations===

{|border=0 width=100%
|+'''Locations'''
|valign=top width=48%|
{|class="wikitable"
!Name
!What or where
![[Cthulhu mythos reference codes and bibliography|Ref.*]]
|-
|[[Arkham]]
|A city in [[Massachusetts]].
!PH
|-
|[[Brichester]]
|A town in [[England]].
!UH
|-
|[[Carcosa]]
|On the shores of [[Lake Hali]], on a [[planet]] in the [[Hyades (star cluster)|Hyades]].
!IH
|-
|[[Celephaïs]]
|A city in the Dreamlands.
!CE
|-
|[[Commoriom]]
|The capital of Hyperborea.
!TS
|-
|The [[Court of Azathoth]]
|At the center of the universe.
!AZ
|-
|[[Cykranosh]]
|The planet [[Saturn (planet)|Saturn]].
!DS
|-
|The [[Dreamlands]]
|In another [[dimension]].
!CE
|-
|The mountain [[Cyäegha|Dunkelhügel]]
|Near [[Cyäegha|Freihausgarten]], [[Germany]].
!DM
|-
|[[Dunwich (H. P. Lovecraft)|Dunwich]]
|A village in Massachusetts.
!DH
|-
|[[Elysia]]
|The homeland of the Elder Gods.
!TC
|-
|[[G'harne]]
|A primeval city in Africa.
!CS
|-
|[[Cthulhu mythos celestial bodies#Glyu-Uho|Glyu-Uho]]
|The star [[Betelgeuse]].
!S4
|-
|[[Hyperborea (Cthulhu mythos)|Hyperborea]]
|A now-vanished kingdom in [[Greenland]].
!TS
|-
|[[Ib]]
|A pre-human settlement in Mnar.
!DC
|-
|[[Innsmouth]]
|A coastal town in Massachusetts.
!SI
|-
|[[Kadath]]
|The home of the Great Ones.
!OG
|-
|[[Kingsport (fictional town)|Kingsport]]
|A coastal town in Massachusetts.
!FE
|-
|[[K'n-yan]]
|Blue-litten realm beneath [[Oklahoma]].
!MO
|-
|[[Cthulhu mythos celestial bodies#Ktynga|Ktynga]]
|A large comet near [[Arcturus]].
!FV
|-
|[[Cthulhu mythos celestial bodies#Kythanil|Kythanil]]
|A double planet.
!TG
|-
|The [[Plateau of Leng]]
|A cold, arid [[plateau]].
!HO
|-
|[[Lomar]]
|An ancient region.
!PO
|-
|[[Cthulhu mythos celestial bodies#L'gy'hx|L'gy'hx]]
|The planet [[Uranus (planet)|Uranus]].
!IS
|-
|[[Miskatonic University]]
|In Arkham, Massachusetts.
!WR
|-
|[[Mnar]]
|Probably in the Dreamlands.
!DC
|-
|[[Mu (Cthulhu mythos)|Mu]]
|A sunken continent.
!OE
|-
|[[Naat (fictional)|Naat]]
|?
!?
|-
|[[The Nameless City]]
|A buried city.
!NC
|-
|[[N'kai]]
|A lightless cavern beneath Yoth (or possibly underneath Mt. Voormithadreth).
!MO
|-
|[[Olathoë]]
|A city in Lomar.
!PO
|-
|[[Pnakotus]]
|A [[wikt:primeval|primeval]] city in the [[Great Sandy Desert]] in [[Australia]].
!ST
|}
|valign=top width=48%|
{|class="wikitable"
!Name
!What or where
!Ref.
|-
|[[Vale of Pnath]]
|In the [[Underworld (Dreamlands)|Underworld]].
!EM
|-
|[[R'lyeh]]
|The sunken island/city where Cthulhu is entombed.
!CC
|-
|[[The Doom that Came to Sarnath|Sarnath]]
|A destroyed city in Mnar.
!DC
|-
|[[Cthulhu mythos celestial bodies#Shaggai|Shaggai]]
|A planet orbiting twin emerald suns.
!HD
|-
|[[Gulf of S'glhuo|S'glhuo, Gulf of]]
|An alternate dimension.
!PL
|-
|The [[Zhar (Great Old One)#Alaozar|Plateau of Sung]] (or "Tsang"?)
|Possibly a region of Leng.
!HF
|-
|[[Cthulhu mythos celestial bodies#Thuggon|Thuggon]]
|A planet.
!IS
|-
|[[Cthulhu mythos celestial bodies#Thyoph|Thyoph]]
|A planet.
!IS
|-
|[[Ulthar]]
|A cat-laden town in the Dreamlands.
!CU
|-
|[[Uzuldaroum]]
|A city in Hyperborea.
!TS
|-
|[[Valley of Do-Hna]]
|In Xinaián (K'n-yan).
!MO
|-
|[[Valusia]]
|The ancient land of the Serpent people.
!HK
|-
|[[Mount Voormithadreth]]
|Four-coned extinct volcano in Hyperborea; contains the Cavern of Archetypes and the Web of [[Atlach-Nacha]].
!SG
|-
|[[Xiccarph]]
|?
!?
|-
|[[Cthulhu mythos celestial bodies#Xiclotl|Xiclotl]]
|The sister planet to Shaggai.
!IS
|-
|[[Xinaián]], or K'n-yan
|Composed roughly of the kingdom of [[Tsath]].
!MO
|-
|[[Cthulhu mythos celestial bodies#Xoth|Xoth]]
|A [[binary star]].
!FT
|-
|[[Yaanek]] / Yarak
|Legendary mountain/[[volcano]] at the [[North Pole]].
!UL
|-
|[[Cthulhu mythos celestial bodies#Yaddith|Yaddith]]
|A planet.
!TG
|-
|[[Mount Yaddith-Gho]]
|Dwelling place of [[Ghatanothoa]] in Mu.
!OE
|-
|[[Cthulhu mythos celestial bodies#Yaksh|Yaksh]]
|The planet [[Neptune (planet)|Neptune]].
!FT
|-
|[[Cthulhu mythos celestial bodies#Yekub|Yekub]]
|A planet in a distant [[galaxy]].
!CF
|-
|[[Plateau of Leng|'Ygiroth]]
|In the Dreamlands.
!YG
|-
|[[Y'ha-nthlei]]
|An undersea city.
!SI
|-
|[[Abyss of Yhe]]
|In a Muvian province.
!HC?
|-
|[[Yian-Ho]], or Yian
|A deserted city.
!TG
|-
|[[Cthulhu mythos celestial bodies#Ylidiomph|Ylidiomph]]
|The planet [[Jupiter (planet)|Jupiter]].
!UA
|-
|[[Yoth]]
|Red-litten cavern beneath K'n-yan.
!MO
|-
|[[Hyperborea (Cthulhu mythos)|Y'quaa]]
|A gray-litten cavern, the dwelling place of [[Abhoth]].
!HG
|-
|[[Cthulhu mythos celestial bodies#Yuggoth|Yuggoth]]
|The planet [[Pluto (planet)|Pluto]](?).
!FY
|-
|[[Vaults of Zin]]
|In N'kai.
!EM
|-
|[[Zothique]]
|A continent in the distant future.
!EN
|}
|}
* Reference to first appearance.

===Non-fictional elements of the mythos ===

The Cthulhu mythos incorporates many historical, astronomical, and mythological elements from the real world.

* [[Aldebaran]], a star
* [[Bast_(goddess)|Bast]], cat goddess of ancient [[Egypt]]
* [[Book of Dzyan]]
* [[Celaeno]], a star in the [[Pleiades (star cluster)|Pleiades]]
* [[Dagon]], the [[Mesopotamia]]n fish god of vegetation and fertility
* [[John Dee]], a historical person
* [[Fomalhaut]], a star
* [[H. P. Lovecraft]], as himself
* [[Hypnos]], the god of [[sleep]] in [[Greek mythology]]
* [[Irem of the Pillars|Irem]], City of Pillars, a legendary buried city from [[Islamic mythology]] (possibly the lost city of [[Ubar]])
*[[Lemuria (continent)|Lemuria]], a fabled land bridge, but a lost continent in the mythos
* [[Nodens]], the Hunter, a [[Celtic mythology|Celtic]] deity worshiped in [[Britain]]
* [[Olaus Wormius]], Danish antiquary cited as translator of the Necronomicon
* [[Pluto (planet)|Pluto]], identified by Lovecraft as Yuggoth
* [[Ponape]], an island
* The [[Severn Valley]], in England
* [[Tunguska]], in [[Siberia]]
* The [[Voynich Manuscript]]
* [[Wendigo]], borrowed from [[Native American mythology]]

==See also==

* Elements of the Cthulhu mythos have become part of [[popular culture]]. See [[References to the Cthulhu mythos]] for a list.

* For a list of characters, see [[Cthulhu mythos biographies]].

==References==

===Books===

*Bloch, Robert. "Heritage of Horror" (1982) in ''The Best of H.P. Lovecraft: Bloodcurdling Tales of Horror and the Macabre'' (1st ed.), Ballantine Books, 1982. ISBN 0-345-35080-4.

*Derleth, August. "The Cthulhu Mythos" in ''Tales of the Cthulhu Mythos'', Sauk City, WI: Arkham House, 1969.

*DiTillio, Larry and Lynn Willis. ''Masks of Nyarlathotep'', Oakland, CA: Chaosium, 1996. ISBN 1-568-82069-0.

*Harms, Daniel. ''The Encyclopedia Cthulhiana'' (2nd ed.), Chaosium, Inc., 1998. ISBN 1-56882-119-0.

*Joshi, S.T.
**''H. P. Lovecraft'' (1st ed.), Mercer Island, WA: Starmont House, 1982. ISBN 0-916-73236-3 / ISBN 0-916-73235-5 (paper).
**(ed.) ''H. P. Lovecraft: Four Decades of Criticism'', Athens, OH: Ohio University Press, 1980. ISBN 0-821-40442-3 (cloth) / ISBN 0-821-40577-2 (paper).
:—and David E. Schultz. ''An H.P. Lovecraft Encyclopedia'', Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 2001. ISBN 0-313-31578-7.

*Mosig, Yozan Dirk W. ''Mosig at Last: A Psychologist Looks at H. P. Lovecraft'', 1st printing, West Warwick, RI: Necronomicon Press, 1997. ISBN 0-940-88490-9.

*Price, Robert M.
**(ed.) ''Black Forbidden Things: Cryptical Secrets from the "Crypt of Cthulhu"'', San Bernardino, CA: The Borgo Press, 1992. ISBN 1-557-42248-6 / ISBN 1-557-42249-4.
**"Introduction" in ''The New Lovecraft Circle'', Robert M. Price (ed.), New York, N.Y.: Random House, Inc., 1996. ISBN 0-345-44406-X.
**"Lovecraft's 'Artificial Mythology'" in ''An Epicure in the Terrible: a centennial anthology of essays in honor of H.P. Lovecraft'', David E. Schultz and S.T. Joshi (ed.), Rutherford, NJ: Fairleigh Dickinson University Press; Cranbury, NJ: Associated University Presses, 1991. ISBN 0-838-63415-X.

*Shreffler, Phillip A. ''The H. P. Lovecraft Companion'', Westport, CT / London, England: Greenwood Press, 1977. ISBN 0-837-19482-2.

*Turner, James. "Iä! Iä! Cthulhu Fhtagn!" in ''Tales of the Cthulhu Mythos'' (1st ed.), Random House, 1998. ISBN 0-345-42204-X.

===Web sites===

* {{Web reference | author=Harms, Daniel | title=Part 2: Mythos Lore | work=The Official Cthulhu Mythos FAQ | url=http://www.necfiles.org/part2.htm | date=August 19 | year=2005 }}

* {{Web reference | author=Joshi, S. T | title=H. P. Lovecraft | work=The Scriptorium | url=http://www.themodernword.com/scriptorium/lovecraft.html | date=July 20 | year=2005 }}

* Tremlett, J. Edward. {{Web reference | title=A Color Out of Space, A Shadow Out of Time: H.P. Lovecraft & His Works | url=http://www.nocturnis.net/articles/genwod/printable/51/page1.html | date=October 14 | year=2005 }}

===Notes===
#{{Note|Harms-viii-a}}Harms, "A Brief History of the Cthulhu Mythos", ''The Encyclopedia Cthulhiana'', pp. viii–ix.
#{{Note|Joshi-31ff}}Joshi, "The Lovecraft Mythos", ''H. P. Lovecraft'', pp. 31ff.
#{{Note|Joshi-50}}Although Lovecraft sometimes mentioned the "Arkham cycle" in his correspondence, he never explained its meanings; it is possible that he was referring to his stories that take place in his mythical [[New England]] setting. (Joshi & Schultz, ''An H.P. Lovecraft Encyclopedia'', pp. 50.)
#{{Note|Joshi-51}}Lovecraft's flippant use of ''Yog-Sothothery''—a veiled reference to [[Yog-Sothoth]], one of the mythical beings in his tales—probably indicates that he never took his mythos very seriously. In a letter to [[Frank Belknap Long]] in early 1931, Lovecraft wrote "that 'Yog-Sothoth' is a basically immature conception [and] unfitted for really serious literature". (Joshi & Schultz, ''An H. P. Lovecraft Encyclopedia'', pp. 51.)

#{{Note|Joshi-32}}Joshi's characterizations are a followup to George T. Wetzel's assertion that Lovecraft's mythos stories can be thought of as chapters of a long novel (Joshi, "The Lovecraft Mythos", pp. 32). See also Wetzel's essay "The Cthulhu Mythos: A Study" (''H. P. Lovecraft: Four Decades of Criticism", pp. 79–95).
#{{Note|Price-247}}Price, "Lovecraft's 'Artificial Mythology'", ''An Epicure in the Terrible'', pp. 247.
#{{Note|Price-xviii}}Price, "Introduction", ''The New Lovecraft Circle'', pp. xviii–xix. Price writes: "One seeks forbidden knowledge, whether wittingly or, more likely, unwittingly, but one may not know till it is too late... The knowledge, once gained, is too great for the mind of man. It is [[Promethean]], [[Faustian]] knowledge. Knowledge that destroys in the moment of enlightenment, a [[Gnosis]] of damnation, not of salvation."
#{{Note|Price-249}}Price, "Lovecraft's 'Artificial Mythology'", pp. 249.
#{{Note|Tremlett-tum}}Tremlett, 'The Unknown Mind', "A Color Out of Space, A Shadow Out of Time: H.P. Lovecraft & His Works".
#{{Note|Joshi-31}}Joshi, "The Lovecraft Mythos", pp. 31.

#{{Note|Shreffler-156}}Shreffler, "The Hierarchy of Monsters", ''The H. P. Lovecraft Companion'', pp. 156–7.
#{{Note|Shreffler-157}}Nodens, the Lord of the Abyss, holds a singular place in Lovecraft's writings because he is the only god to intervene on behalf of human beings. (Shreffler, pp. 158.) Examples of this are found in ''[[The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath]]'' (1926) and "The Strange High House in the Mist" (1931).
#{{Note|Mosig-24}}This view of the "Elder Gods" conflicts with those held by Dirk W. Mosig. In his essay "H. P. Lovecraft: Myth-Maker", Mosig asserts that Lovecraft never intended the "Elder Gods" to be benign, protective deities; instead, they are actually ineffectual beings synonymous with Lovecraft's "weak gods of the earth". (Mosig, "H.P. Lovecraft: Myth-Maker", ''Mosig at Last'', pp. 24–5.)
#{{Note|Shreffler-158}}Shreffler, pp. 158–162.

#{{Note|Price-248}}Price, "Lovecraft's 'Artificial Mythology'", pp. 248–50.

#{{Note|Lauterbach-96ff}}Edward Lauterbach, "Some Notes on Cthulhuian Pseudobiblia", ''H. P. Lovecraft: Four Decades of Criticism'', pp. 96ff.
#{{Note|Lauterbach-96}}Ibid, pp. 96–97.

#{{Note|Harms-viii-b}}Harms, "A Brief History of the Cthulhu Mythos", pp. viii.
#{{Note|Lovecraft-tcoc}}Lovecraft, "The Call of Cthulhu" (1928).
#{{Note|Mosig-25}}Mosig argues that Cthulhu "is perhaps one of the weakest and least important of the main entities [in the mythos]—save for his immediacy". He also notes that in the Necronomicon passage in Lovecraft's "The Dunwich Horror" (1929), Cthulhu is demoted to "their cousin". (Mosig, "H.P. Lovecraft: Myth-Maker", ''Mosig at Last'', pp. 25.)

#{{Note|Bloch-9}}Bloch, "Heritage of Horror", pp. 9.
#{{Note|Derleth-vii}}Derleth, "The Cthulhu Mythos", ''Tales of the Cthulhu Mythos'', pp. vii.

#{{Note|Joshi-II}}Joshi, ''The Scriptorium'', "H. P. Lovecraft", section II.
#{{Note|Derleth-unknown}}This quote lacks a reference. You can improve this article by providing one.
# {{Note|Turner-x}}Turner, "Iä! Iä! Cthulhu Fhtagn!", ''Tales of the Cthulhu Mythos'', pp. viii. Turner writes: "Lovecraft's imaginary [[wikt:cosmogony|cosmogony]] was never a static system but rather a sort of [[wikt:aesthetic|aesthetic]] construct that remained ever adaptable to its creator's developing personality and altering interests... [T]here was never a rigid system that might be posthumously appropriated by the [[wikt:pasticheur|pasticheur]]... [T]he essence of the mythos lies not in a pantheon of imaginary deities nor in a cobwebby collection of forgotten tomes, but rather in a certain convincing cosmic attitude."

#{{Note|Tremlett-tbq}}Tremlett, 'The Big Question', "A Color Out of Space, A Shadow Out of Time: H.P. Lovecraft & His Works".
#{{Note|Harms-101}}Harms, "Elemental Theory", pp. 101.
#{{Note|Price-72}}Price, "August Derleth: Myth-Maker", ''Black Forbidden Things'', pp. 72.

#{{Note|Bloch-8}}Bloch, "Heritage of Horror", pp. 8.
#{{Note|Joshi-I}}Joshi, ''The Scriptorium'', "H. P. Lovecraft", section I.


#{{Note|Harms2-2.1-para4}}Harms, ''The Official Cthulhu Mythos FAQ'', "Part 2: Mythos Lore", section 2.1, "Outer Gods".

#{{Note|Harms2-2.1-para6}}Harms, "Part 2: Mythos Lore", section 2.1, "Elder Gods".

#{{Note|misc-eldergods}}Harms, Ibid. Harms writes: "Others consider their inclusion proper and fitting within their own interpretation of Lovecraft." Lovecraft views humanity as being insignificant in the universe; thus, the Elder Gods share little concern for humankind's fate.

#{{Note|Harms2-2.1-para7}}Harms, "Part 2: Mythos Lore", section 2.1, "Great Ones", "Other Gods".

# {{Note|DiTillio-a}}These beings appear in the [[role-playing game]] supplement ''Masks of Nyarlathotep'' (DiTillio & Willis).

#{{Note|Herber-FY}}Keith Herber, ''The Fungi from Yuggoth'' (1984). Role-playing game material.
# {{Note|DiTillio-b}}This cult appears in ''Masks of Nyarlathotep'' (DiTillio & Willis).
#{{Note|DiTillio-c}}Ibid.

#{{Note|Aniolowski-MM}}Scott D. Aniolowski, "Mysterious Manuscripts" in ''The Unspeakable Oath #3'', John Tynes (ed.), Seattle, WA: Pagan Publishing, August 1991. Periodical (role-playing game material).

==External links==

* [http://www.hplovecraft.com/ The H.P. Lovecraft Archive]
* [http://lovecraft.cjb.net The ULTIMATE Cthulhu Mythos Book List], listing of all mythos novels, anthologies, collections, comic books, and more
* [http://www.clare.ltd.new.net/cryptofcthulhu/ Crypt of Cthulhu], online version of the [[magazine]]
* [http://www.catb.org/~esr/jargon/html/C/cthulhic.html cthulhic], entry in the Jargon File
* [http://www.cthuugle.com/ Cthuugle], the H.P. Lovecraft search engine
* [http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/9879/lurker.htm The Lurker at the Threshold of Interpretation: Necronomicon Hoaxes and Paratextual Noise]
* [http://members.fortunecity.com/johnsilence/issue.htm Mythos Online], short stories relating to the Cthulhu mythos
* [http://www.necfiles.org/mythos.htm The Official Cthulhu Mythos FAQ], by Daniel Harms
* [http://www.epberglund.com/RGttCM/contents.htm Reader's Guide to the Cthulhu Mythos], maintained by E.P. Berglund
* [http://members.shaw.ca/csstrowbridge/Tulzscha/MainPage.htm Servants of Tulzscha], information about the gods and creatures of the Cthulhu mythos
* [http://www.shoggoth.net/ Shoggoth.net], a Cthulhu mythos [[blog]]
* [http://www.templeofdagon.com/ The Temple of Dagon], general Lovecraftian information and repository for Cthulhu mythos stories by modern writers
* [http://www.macguff.fr/goomi/unspeakable/home.html Unspeakable Vault (of Doom)], WebComic drawn by French artist Francois Launet

==Further reading==

* Carter, Lin. ''Lovecraft: A Look Behind the Cthulhu Mythos'', New York, NY: Ballantine Books, 1972. ISBN 0-345-25295-0-150.

[[Category:Cthulhu Mythos]]