Rat-Thing - Revision history

Ywhateley: Categorization.

2022-06-30T20:30:08Z

Categorization.

← Older revision		Revision as of 20:30, 30 June 2022
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	[[Category:Races]]		[[Category:Races]]
			[[Category:LovecraftMythos]]

Ywhateley: Wiki Links.

2022-06-30T04:03:51Z

Wiki Links.

← Older revision		Revision as of 04:03, 30 June 2022
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	===Reference works===		===Reference works===
	* [[Daniel Harms]] - ''[[The Encyclopedia Cthulhiana]]'' (1998)		* [[Daniel Harms]] - ''[[The Encyclopedia Cthulhiana]]'' (1998)
			* sourcebook: ''[[Malleus Monstrorum]]''


	===Role-playing games===		===Role-playing games===

Winstonp: /* Role-playing games */

2021-05-12T20:58:40Z

Role-playing games

← Older revision		Revision as of 20:58, 12 May 2021
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	===Role-playing games===		===Role-playing games===
	* [[Keith Herber]] - ''[[The Keeper's Companion, Vol. 1]]''		* [[Keith Herber]] - ''[[The Keeper's Companion, Vol. 1]]''
			* [[Chris Huth]] - "Rat-Things and Other Worse Horrors", [[Arkham Gazette 3]]
	* [[:Category:CoC:Rat-Thing scenarios\|Rat-Thing Scenarios]]		* [[:Category:CoC:Rat-Thing scenarios\|Rat-Thing Scenarios]]

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

Travern: Expanded Rat-Thing article; moving Tilberi to its own entry

2020-06-16T15:43:59Z

Expanded Rat-Thing article; moving Tilberi to its own entry

← Older revision		Revision as of 15:43, 16 June 2020
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	[[File:Evilclergyman 1987short.jpg\|thumb\|200px\|right\|Brown Jenkin attacks in "Evil Clergyman (1987 short)~~"...~~]]		[[File:Evilclergyman 1987short.jpg\|thumb\|200px\|right\|Brown Jenkin attacks in "The Evil Clergyman" (1987 short)]]

	~~Familiar (~~Rat-Thing~~, Tilberi or Snakkur, Homunculus, Imp,~~ [[~~Aeiirii~~\|~~Tulpa~~]]~~); common names include Brown Jenkin (rat), Greymalkin (cat), Paddock (frog)~~		A '''Rat-Thing''' as portrayed in H. P. Lovecraft's story "[[The Dreams in the Witch House (fiction)\|The Dreams in the Witch House]]" is a rodent-like creature with a face and hands resembling a human's. It is a Mythos entity similar to the traditional [[Witch\|witch's]] familiar. The concept was later generalised to a whole type or race of beings.

	A familiar spirit or creature is created as a servant by a witch, usually in some twisted, shriveled, and monstrous parody of the life of ~~a victim~~ it was created from, perhaps a cultist or victim ~~sacrificed by the witch~~. ~~A prototypical~~ example from weird fiction ~~would be~~ Brown ~~Jenkins~~, the "Rat-Thing" familiar ~~from a Lovecraft story, but such spirits can take other forms~~.		==Description==
			[[File:MatthewHopkinsWitchfinderGenerall.png\|thumb\|200px\|right\|Witches identifying their familiar spirits, from ''The Discovery of Witches'' (1647)]]
			A familiar is a spirit or creature created as a servant by a witch, usually in some twisted, shriveled, and monstrous parody of the life of the person it was created from, perhaps a cultist or sacrificial victim. These entities can traditionally take other forms, such as bats, birds, cats, dogs, ferrets, frogs, hares, and toads. Examples of familiars names include Greymalkin and Vinegar Tom (cats), Jarmara (dog), Paddock (frog), and Sacke & Sugar (hare). The archetypal example from weird fiction is Brown Jenkin, the "Rat-Thing" familiar of the witch [[Keziah Mason]].

	==~~Rat-Thing~~==		Rat-Things and other familiars often have some knowledge of magic, either as an extension of their natural abilities or through instruction from the witches and cultists that create them.

			==Quote==
	<blockquote>		<blockquote>
	''Witnesses said it had long hair and the shape of a rat, but that its sharp-toothed, bearded face was evilly human while its paws were like tiny human hands. It took messages betwixt old Keziah and the devil, and was nursed on the witch’s blood—which it sucked like a vampire. Its voice was a kind of loathsome titter, and it could speak all languages... The bones of the tiny paws, it is rumoured, imply prehensile characteristics more typical of a diminutive monkey than of a rat; while the small skull with its savage yellow fangs is of the utmost anomalousness, appearing from certain angles like a miniature, monstrously degraded parody of a human skull.''
	~~<br>- H.P. Lovecraft, "[[The Dreams in the Witch-House (fiction)]]"~~
	~~</blockquote>~~

	~~A Rat~~-~~Thing is a ratlike creature with a~~ human ~~face and~~ hands. ~~First presented in "[[The Dreams in the Witch House (fiction)]]" as~~ the ~~familiar Brown Jenkin~~, the ~~idea~~ was ~~later generalised to~~ a ~~whole type or race~~ of ~~beings~~.		"Witnesses said it had long hair and the shape of a rat, but that its sharp-toothed, bearded face was evilly human while its paws were like tiny human hands. It took messages betwixt old Keziah and the devil, and was nursed on the witch’s blood—which it sucked like a vampire. Its voice was a kind of loathsome titter, and it could speak all languages."

	~~Rat~~-~~Things are created through magic, perhaps transforming~~ the ~~bodies of humans (typically cultists) into hosts for astral beings to act as servants; as such, Rat-Things are a remarkably physical~~ and ~~stable form of [[Aeiirii#Tulpa\|Tulpa]], which are more typically formed from~~ the ~~vitality~~, ~~essence~~, ~~and attention of their creator~~, ~~upon which normal Tulpa become dependent for existence~~. ~~Rat-Things~~, ~~in contrast~~, ~~may seek~~ more ~~physical sustenance for survival~~, ~~often~~ in the ~~form of consuming human flesh~~ and ~~blood~~.		"The horror would appear to pop out of the rat-hole in the corner and patter toward him over the sagging, wide-planked floor with evil expectancy in its tiny, bearded human face—but mercifully, this dream always melted away before the object got close enough to nuzzle him. It had hellishly long, sharp, canine teeth. […] Its shrill loathsome tittering stuck more and more in Gilman’s head, and he could remember in the morning how it had pronounced the words “Azathoth” and “Nyarlathotep”."

	~~Rat-Things and other familiar spirits often have some knowledge~~ of ~~magic~~, ~~either as an extension~~ of ~~their natural abilities as [[Aeiirii\|Elemental spirit]]s~~, ~~or through instruction~~ from the [[Witch~~]]es and cultists that create them.~~		"The bones of the tiny paws, it is rumoured, imply prehensile characteristics more typical of a diminutive monkey than of a rat; while the small skull with its savage yellow fangs is of the utmost anomalousness, appearing from certain angles like a miniature, monstrously degraded parody of a human skull."
			<br>- H.P. Lovecraft, "The Dreams in the Witch House"
			</blockquote>
	~~===In ''Call of Cthulhu''===~~
	~~See [[:Category:CoC:Rat-Thing scenarios\|Rat-Thing Scenarios]]~~

			==Heresies and Controversies==
			Alternatively, Rat-Things may be portrayed as the transformed bodies of humans (typically cultists) hosting [[Aeiirii\|Elemental spirit]]s, which act as servants for witches and wizards. They may also be presented as a physical and stable form of [[Aeiirii#Tulpa\|Tulpa]]s, which are more typically formed from the vitality, essence, and attention of their creator, upon which normal Tulpa become dependent for existence. See also the Scandinavian häxan's [[Tilberi\|Tilberi or Snakkur]].

	==~~Tilberi~~ and ~~Troll~~-~~Cats==~~		==Appearances==
			===Fiction===
			* [[August Derleth]] and [[H. P. Lovecraft]] - ''[[The Lurker at the Threshold]]''
			* [[Fritz Leiber]] - "[[Through Hyperspace With Brown Jenkin]]"
			* H. P. Lovecraft - "[[The Dreams in the Witch House]]"
			* [[Graham Masterton]] - ''[[Prey]]''

	~~A Tilberi ("carrier" or Snakkur "spindle") is a familiar creature from~~ ''[[~~Mythic Iceland~~]]'', created by witch-women from a large straight bone from a freshly-dead human corpse wrapped in wool by the light of a full moon, warmed between her breasts for three weeks during which the witch feeds it mead or wine that has been blessed by a Pagan or Christian priest by spitting the alcohol on the Tilberi. By the second week, the Tilberi begins to move (~~which can attract attention if the witch is not careful~~)~~, and by the third week it comes to life, after which it must be suckled on blood from it~~'~~s creator~~'~~s witch~~'s ~~teat (a mole or cut, usually on~~ the ~~witch~~'~~s thigh~~)~~. The Tilberi resembles a woolly creature with two heads, one at each end~~ of the ~~bundle, and sharp teeth in tiny and monstrous faces resembling that~~ of ~~the corpse. When at home, the Tilberi clings to the witch~~'~~s teat and drinks the witch~~'~~s blood.~~ The Tilberi can speak in languages known to the corpse and/or witch in a thin, childish voice, and can be instructed to go forth into the night to run simple errands for the witch, usually involving acts of petty theft (~~milk, wool, small objects such as coins or jewelry), delivering messages, spying on others, or committing other minor acts~~ of ~~mischief and mayhem. If~~ the ~~Tilberi~~'s mistress dies before it returns from its mission, the Tilberi might go insane, feeding on the blood, hair, and wool of any farm animals or people it encounters, rolling in sheered or ripped-out hair and wool to form a ball and growing to prodigious size, until it is big enough to begin consuming corpses and killing victims for food. The Tilberi, in drinking her blood, drains the witch a little more every day until she eventually dies, unless the Tilberi is killed; the only ways to kill a Tilberi is for its mistress to order it to undertake a very difficult task that it will work itself to death to complete (such as eating all the droppings in a large sheep pasture)~~, or to burn the witch and Tilberi together at the stake.~~		===Film===
			* ''[[Curse of the Crimson Altar]]'' (1968)
			* ''[[H. P. Lovecraft's Dreams in the Witch-House]]'' (2005) (part of the ''Masters of Horror'' series by [[Stuart Gordon]]
			* ''[[Evil_Clergyman_(1987_short)\|The Evil Clergyman]]'' (part of the 1987 anthology film ''Pulse Pounders'')

	~~A similar creature is the "Troll Cat" or "Dust Bunny", a familiar which usually appears in the form of a large ball of wool, hair, wood shavings, and/or finger/toe~~-~~nail parings, or sometimes in the form of a woolen cat or rabbit, shaped by the witch and animated with witch~~'~~s blood, which otherwise behaves similarly to a Tilberi.~~		===Reference works===
			* [[Daniel Harms]] - ''[[The Encyclopedia Cthulhiana]]'' (1998)

	~~The Tilberi is a creature originally from Icelandic folklore, and appears in the~~ ''[[~~Mythic Iceland~~]]'' ~~scenario "~~[[~~Cthulhu Dark Ages Scenario~~]]".		===Role-playing games===
			* [[Keith Herber]] - ''[[The Keeper's Companion, Vol. 1]]''
			* [[:Category:CoC:Rat-Thing scenarios\|Rat-Thing Scenarios]]

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

Ywhateley: Details, typo corrections, and clarifications.

2018-04-29T16:30:33Z

Details, typo corrections, and clarifications.

← Older revision		Revision as of 16:30, 29 April 2018
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	A Rat-Thing is a ratlike creature with a human face and hands. First presented in "[[The Dreams in the Witch House (fiction)]]" as the familiar Brown Jenkin, the idea was later generalised to a whole type or race of beings.		A Rat-Thing is a ratlike creature with a human face and hands. First presented in "[[The Dreams in the Witch House (fiction)]]" as the familiar Brown Jenkin, the idea was later generalised to a whole type or race of beings.

	Rat-Things are created through magic, transforming humans (typically cultists) into servants. ~~They~~ often have some knowledge of magic.		Rat-Things are created through magic, perhaps transforming the bodies of humans (typically cultists) into hosts for astral beings to act as servants; as such, Rat-Things are a remarkably physical and stable form of [[Aeiirii#Tulpa\|Tulpa]], which are more typically formed from the vitality, essence, and attention of their creator, upon which normal Tulpa become dependent for existence. Rat-Things, in contrast, may seek more physical sustenance for survival, often in the form of consuming human flesh and blood.

			Rat-Things and other familiar spirits often have some knowledge of magic, either as an extension of their natural abilities as [[Aeiirii\|Elemental spirit]]s, or through instruction from the [[Witch]]es and cultists that create them.


	===In ''Call of Cthulhu''===		===In ''Call of Cthulhu''===

Ywhateley: Details, typo corrections, and clarifications.

2018-04-29T15:59:28Z

Details, typo corrections, and clarifications.

← Older revision		Revision as of 15:59, 29 April 2018
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	[[File:Evilclergyman 1987short.jpg\|thumb\|200px\|right\|Brown Jenkin attacks in "Evil Clergyman (1987 short)"...]]		[[File:Evilclergyman 1987short.jpg\|thumb\|200px\|right\|Brown Jenkin attacks in "Evil Clergyman (1987 short)"...]]

	Familiar (Rat-Thing, Tilberi or Snakkur, Homunculus, Imp); Brown Jenkin (rat), Greymalkin (cat), Paddock (frog)		Familiar (Rat-Thing, Tilberi or Snakkur, Homunculus, Imp, [[Aeiirii\|Tulpa]]); common names include Brown Jenkin (rat), Greymalkin (cat), Paddock (frog)

	A familiar spirit or creature is created as a servant by a witch, usually in some twisted, shriveled, and monstrous parody of the life of a victim it was created from, perhaps a cultist or victim sacrificed by the witch. A prototypical example from weird fiction would be Brown Jenkins, the "Rat-Thing" familiar from a Lovecraft story, but such spirits can take other forms.		A familiar spirit or creature is created as a servant by a witch, usually in some twisted, shriveled, and monstrous parody of the life of a victim it was created from, perhaps a cultist or victim sacrificed by the witch. A prototypical example from weird fiction would be Brown Jenkins, the "Rat-Thing" familiar from a Lovecraft story, but such spirits can take other forms.

Ywhateley: New details added.

2017-01-02T21:49:15Z

New details added.

← Older revision		Revision as of 21:49, 2 January 2017
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	[[File:Evilclergyman 1987short.jpg\|thumb\|200px\|right\|Brown Jenkin attacks in "Evil Clergyman (1987 short)"...]]		[[File:Evilclergyman 1987short.jpg\|thumb\|200px\|right\|Brown Jenkin attacks in "Evil Clergyman (1987 short)"...]]

	Familiar (Rat-Thing, Tilberi or Snakkur, Homunculus, Imp)		Familiar (Rat-Thing, Tilberi or Snakkur, Homunculus, Imp); Brown Jenkin (rat), Greymalkin (cat), Paddock (frog)

	A familiar spirit or creature is created as a servant by a witch, usually in some twisted, shriveled, and monstrous parody of the life of a victim it was created from, perhaps a cultist or victim sacrificed by the witch. A prototypical example from weird fiction would be Brown Jenkins, the "Rat-Thing" familiar from a Lovecraft story, but such spirits can take other forms.		A familiar spirit or creature is created as a servant by a witch, usually in some twisted, shriveled, and monstrous parody of the life of a victim it was created from, perhaps a cultist or victim sacrificed by the witch. A prototypical example from weird fiction would be Brown Jenkins, the "Rat-Thing" familiar from a Lovecraft story, but such spirits can take other forms.

Ywhateley at 21:40, 2 January 2017

2017-01-02T21:40:39Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 21:40, 2 January 2017
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	<blockquote>		<blockquote>
	''Witnesses said it had long hair and the shape of a rat, but that its sharp-toothed, bearded face was evilly human while its paws were like tiny human hands. It took messages betwixt old Keziah and the devil, and was nursed on the witch’s blood—which it sucked like a vampire. Its voice was a kind of loathsome titter, and it could speak all languages... The bones of the tiny paws, it is rumoured, imply prehensile characteristics more typical of a diminutive monkey than of a rat; while the small skull with its savage yellow fangs is of the utmost anomalousness, appearing from certain angles like a miniature, monstrously degraded parody of a human skull.''		''Witnesses said it had long hair and the shape of a rat, but that its sharp-toothed, bearded face was evilly human while its paws were like tiny human hands. It took messages betwixt old Keziah and the devil, and was nursed on the witch’s blood—which it sucked like a vampire. Its voice was a kind of loathsome titter, and it could speak all languages... The bones of the tiny paws, it is rumoured, imply prehensile characteristics more typical of a diminutive monkey than of a rat; while the small skull with its savage yellow fangs is of the utmost anomalousness, appearing from certain angles like a miniature, monstrously degraded parody of a human skull.''
	<br>- H.P. Lovecraft, "[[The Dreams in the Witch-House]]"		<br>- H.P. Lovecraft, "[[The Dreams in the Witch-House (fiction)]]"
	</blockquote>		</blockquote>

	A Rat-Thing is a ratlike creature with a human face and hands. First presented in "[[The Dreams in the Witch House]]" as the familiar Brown Jenkin, the idea was later generalised to a whole type or race of beings.		A Rat-Thing is a ratlike creature with a human face and hands. First presented in "[[The Dreams in the Witch House (fiction)]]" as the familiar Brown Jenkin, the idea was later generalised to a whole type or race of beings.

	Rat-Things are created through magic, transforming humans (typically cultists) into servants. They often have some knowledge of magic.		Rat-Things are created through magic, transforming humans (typically cultists) into servants. They often have some knowledge of magic.

Ywhateley: Page created.

2017-01-02T21:39:26Z

Page created.

← Older revision		Revision as of 21:39, 2 January 2017
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			[[File:Evilclergyman 1987short.jpg\|thumb\|200px\|right\|Brown Jenkin attacks in "Evil Clergyman (1987 short)"...]]

	Familiar (Rat-Thing, Tilberi or Snakkur, Homunculus, Imp)		Familiar (Rat-Thing, Tilberi or Snakkur, Homunculus, Imp)

Ywhateley: Many new details added.

2016-07-10T04:25:41Z

Many new details added.

← Older revision		Revision as of 04:25, 10 July 2016
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	Familiar (Rat-Thing, Tilberi or Snakkur, Homunculus, Imp)		Familiar (Rat-Thing, Tilberi or Snakkur, Homunculus, Imp)

			A familiar spirit or creature is created as a servant by a witch, usually in some twisted, shriveled, and monstrous parody of the life of a victim it was created from, perhaps a cultist or victim sacrificed by the witch. A prototypical example from weird fiction would be Brown Jenkins, the "Rat-Thing" familiar from a Lovecraft story, but such spirits can take other forms.

	==Rat-Thing==		==Rat-Thing==