Behinder - Revision history

Ywhateley: Details added.

2020-03-30T20:38:38Z

Details added.

Ywhateley: Moving fan theories to "Discussion".

2020-02-09T23:34:56Z

Moving fan theories to "Discussion".

Ywhateley: Page created.

2018-10-05T08:36:31Z

Page created.

Ywhateley: Page created.

2018-10-05T08:30:32Z

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Ywhateley: Page created.

2018-10-05T07:52:45Z

Page created.

New page

'''Behinder'''

Origin: [[Manly Wade Wellman]]'s "[[The Desrick on Yandro (fiction)]]"

==Description==

<blockquote>
"And there's the Behinder." "And what," said Mr. Yandro, "might the Behinder look like?" "Can't rightly say, Mr. Yandro. For it's always behind the man or woman it wants to grab.... Only a gone gump would go up there."

And I saw what nobody's ever supposed to see. The Behinder flung itself on his shoulders. Then I knew why nobody's supposed to see one. I wish I hadn't. To this day I can see it, as plain as a fence at noon, and forever I will be able to see it. But talking about it's another matter. Thank you, I won't try.

<br>— [[Manly Wade Wellman]]'s "[[The Desrick on Yandro (fiction)]]"
</blockquote>

The "Behinder" is a secretive predator that hunts its prey through the mountain country, lurking unseen among the trees, until it chooses to leap from hiding from behind and grab the man or woman it wants to grab. Behinders are horrible in appearance: few people have ever seen a Behinder, but those who have seen one wish for the rest of their lives that they had never laid eyes upon the thing.

==Keeper Notes==


* I halfway imagine the Behinder as a humanoid creature, lean and gaunt and corpse-like, with bulging, staring eyes, descended from nominally human beings who wandered deep into the hills, got lost in every way a human being can get lost, mixed with entirely the wrong sort of not-quite-human folk of the mountains, and came out twisted and wrong; I think the Behinders live, after a fashion, almost like solitary people: in crude huts and caves in the hills, painted in awful cave-paintings of the Behinder's device, and filled with the stone-aged accouterments of things that at one time were mostly human, but have slid far from that form of body and mind in a direction that no humanoid thing ought to slide; perhaps some unfortunate victims of the Behinder have been dragged to these dark and horrible caves, and have seen the nightmare stories in the Behinder's unspeakable cave-art, and have known the things that only Behinders could or would reveal, as the last things those poor souls ever see before the Behinder returns for them to finish whatever it was it grabbed its victim from behind for.... (fan theory)

==Associated Mythos Elements==
* setting: [[Folk Mythos]]
* story: [[Manly Wade Wellman]]'s "[[The Desrick on Yandro (fiction)]]"

==References==
* Fiction: [[Manly Wade Wellman]]'s "[[The Desrick on Yandro (fiction)]]"

[[Category:Races]]
[[Category:FolkMythos]]

@@ Line 8: / Line 8: @@
 "And there's the Behinder."  "And what," said Mr. Yandro, "might the Behinder look like?"  "Can't rightly say, Mr. Yandro. For it's always behind the man or woman it wants to grab....  Only a gone gump would go up there."
-And I saw what nobody's ever supposed to see.  The Behinder flung itself on his shoulders. Then I knew why nobody's supposed to see one. I wish I hadn't. To this day I can see it, as plain as a fence at noon, and forever I will be able to see it. But talking about it's another matter. Thank you, I won't try.
+And I saw what nobody's ever supposed to see.  The Behinder flung itself on his shoulders. Then I knew why nobody's supposed to see one. I wish I hadn't. To this day I can see it, as plain as a fence at noon, and forever I will be able to see it, but talking about it's another matter: thank you, I won't try.
 <br>&mdash; [[Manly Wade Wellman]]'s "[[The Desrick on Yandro (fiction)]]"
 </blockquote>
-The "Behinder" is a secretive predator that hunts its prey through the mountain country, lurking unseen among the trees, until it chooses to leap from hiding from behind and grab the man or woman it wants to grab.  Behinders are horrible in appearance:  few people have ever seen a Behinder, but those who have seen one wish for the rest of their lives that they had never laid eyes upon the thing.
+The "Behinder", also known as a Hidebehind, is a secretive nocturnal predator from American folklore that hunts its prey through the mountain country, lurking unseen among the trees, until it chooses to leap from hiding from behind and grab the man or woman it wants to grab.
-The Behinder, also known as a Hidebehind, is a nocturnal fearsome critter from American folklore that preys upon humans that wander the woods, and was blamed for the disappearances of early loggers when they failed to return to camp, and tales of the Hidebehind may have helped explain strange noises in the forest at night. As its name suggests, the Hidebehind is noted for its ability to conceal itself:  when an observer attempts to look directly at it, the creature hides again behind an object or the observer, and therefore can't be directly seen. The Behinder uses this ability to stalk human prey without being observed and to attack without warning. Their victims, including lumberjacks who frequent the forests, are dragged back to the creature's lair to be devoured, as the creature subsists chiefly upon the intestines of its victim.  The Behinder has a severe aversion to alcohol, which is considered a sufficient repellent, and wise hill-folk will be certain to drink plenty of moonshine whiskey throughout the day to ensure that the Behinder is sufficiently repelled. Early accounts describe hidebehinds as large, powerful animals, despite the fact that no one was able to see them.
+A nocturnal fearsome critter that preys upon humans that wander the woods, the Behinder was often blamed for the disappearances of early loggers when they failed to return to camp, and tales of the Hidebehind may have helped explain strange noises in the forest at night. As its name suggests, the Hidebehind is noted for its ability to conceal itself:  when an observer attempts to look directly at it, the creature hides again behind an object or the observer, and therefore can't be directly seen. The Behinder uses this ability to stalk human prey without being observed and to attack without warning.

@@ Line 6: / Line 6: @@
 <!--[[File:File.png|200px|thumb|right|alt text]]-->
 <blockquote>
-"And there's the Behinder."  "And what," said Mr. Yandro, "might the Behinder look like?"  "Can't rightly say, Mr. Yandro. For it's always behind the man or woman it wants to grab....  Only a gone gump would go up there."
+"And there's the Behinder."  "And what," said Mr. Yandro, "might the Behinder look like?"  "Can't rightly say, Mr. Yandro. For it's always behind the man or woman it wants to grab....  Only a gone gump would go up there...."
 And I saw what nobody's ever supposed to see.  The Behinder flung itself on his shoulders. Then I knew why nobody's supposed to see one. I wish I hadn't. To this day I can see it, as plain as a fence at noon, and forever I will be able to see it, but talking about it's another matter: thank you, I won't try.

@@ Line 23: / Line 23: @@
 <!-- Optional. Suggestions for using these creatures in the CoC RPG, and in fan-fiction. -->
 <!-- Optional.  This is a good place to include non-canon and controversial aspects of the creature's mythos.  Suggested Alternative Theories include:  Derleth's elemental scheme; pseudo-science interpretation; "fanon" interpretations; unofficial humorous or eccentric versions; identification with "Real Life" mythological, religious, folklore, natural, and historical phenomena; rumor and speculation contribute some flexibility and ambiguity to the mythos. -->
-* I halfway imagine the Behinder as a humanoid creature, lean and gaunt and corpse-like, with bulging, staring eyes, descended from nominally human beings who wandered deep into the hills, got lost in every way a human being can get lost, mixed with entirely the wrong sort of not-quite-human folk of the mountains, and came out twisted and wrong; I think the Behinders live, after a fashion, almost like solitary people:  in crude huts and caves in the hills, painted in awful cave-paintings of the Behinder's device, and filled with the stone-aged accouterments of things that at one time were mostly human, but have slid far from that form of body and mind in a direction that no humanoid thing ought to slide; perhaps some unfortunate victims of the Behinder have been dragged to these dark and horrible caves, and have seen the nightmare stories in the Behinder's unspeakable cave-art, and have known the things that only Behinders could or would reveal, as the last things those poor souls ever see before the Behinder returns for them to finish whatever it was it grabbed its victim from behind for....   (fan theory)
+* See the Discussion tab for fan theories and suggestions.

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-'''Behinder'''
+'''Behinder''', or '''Hidebehind''' (Hide-behind, hidebehinder, hide-behinder, etc.)
 Origin:  [[Manly Wade Wellman]]'s "[[The Desrick on Yandro (fiction)]]"
@@ Line 15: / Line 15: @@
 The "Behinder" is a secretive predator that hunts its prey through the mountain country, lurking unseen among the trees, until it chooses to leap from hiding from behind and grab the man or woman it wants to grab.  Behinders are horrible in appearance:  few people have ever seen a Behinder, but those who have seen one wish for the rest of their lives that they had never laid eyes upon the thing.