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Post by Yahn'ikthorn on Mar 14, 2008 6:49:49 GMT -6
So here's a follow-up attempt to the Alien Races thread, in order to clarify things a bit further, at least for myself... everything's taken from cthulhufiles.com Let's start with the one we know best, DREAD CTHULHUAn alien being, said to be the priest of the Great Old Ones. Cthulhu preserved the Great Old Ones with spells, so they can survive until the stars are "right" again. Cthulhu is of vaguely anthropoid outline, with a scaly, rubbery-looking, green, sticky, bloated body. The head is octopus-like, the face covered with tentacles or feelers. There are prodigious claws on the hind and fore feet. Two long, thin, rudimentary wings rise behind. In a dream, Cthulhu appeared to be "miles high" and was later compared to a "mountain" in size. It is not clear whether Cthulhu resembles the other Great Old Ones, for "none might say whether the others were precisely like him". Deathless Chinamen and Naked SavagesThe Great Old Ones have the ability to communicate telepathically with humans, and in ancient times inspired a cult of human worshippers by revealing the location of various small carved idols that had been brought from the stars. But this communication ended when R'lyeh sank beneath the ocean, for thought cannot pass through the deep waters. The cult exists hidden in distant wastes and dark places all over the world. The cult has been observed among a singular tribe of Esquimaux on the West Greenland coast as well as among a mob of mix-blooded West Indians, mulattos and negros in a swamp south of New Orleans. There are undying leaders of the cult in the mountains of China. When the stars come right again, the secret priests of the cult will take Cthulhu from His tomb to revive His subjects and resume His rule of Earth. The most detailed account of the cult worship comes from Inspector Legrasse, who raided a ritual in a Louisiana swamp on November 1, 1907. Naked worshippers danced counterclockwise in a circle around a bonfire with a pillar surmounted by a small carving of Cthulhu. The cultists erected ten scaffolds where they hung victims head down; the victims were slain by Black Winged Ones from a haunted wood. The ritual may also have been witnessed by a monstrous white bulk with shining eyes in the distance. A Brief ResurgenceIn the spring of 1925, there was a brief period of increased psychic influence on the part of Cthulhu or the Great Old Ones generally: On the night of February 28 to March 1, 1925, an earthquake occurred in New England and the artist Henry Anthony Wilcox dreamed of Cthulhu. Starting on February 28, artists and poets began having bizarre and frightening dreams. Also on March 1, the schooner Emma was thrown off her course by a great "earthquake-born" storm in the South Pacific. It appears that this is the earthquake that threw a portion of the sunken city of R'lyeh to the surface. On March 23, the crew of the Emma landed on on previously unknown island, a portion of newly-risen R'lyeh. There, the hapless sailor Donovan seems to have been responsible for opening a great door that allowed Cthulhu to emerge. After killing some of the sailors, Cthulhu swam after their ship until they reversed direction and used the ship to ram Him. This did not kill Cthulhu, however, for He started to recombine afterward. Presumably as a result of Cthulhu's emergence from His lair, the psychic influence intensified on the night of March 22-23, when Wilcox lapsed into a delirium. During the night of March 22-23, New York police were mobbed by hysterical Levantines. During the period from March 23-April 2, even average people in society and business reported uneasy but formless nocturnal impressions. The psychic influence abated on April 2 when another storm occurred in the South Pacific and the dreamer Wilcox in New England recovered from his delirium. Poets, artists, and ordinary people stopped being troubled by the bizarre nocturnal visions. These events presumably mark the sinking of R'lyeh back to the ocean depths, and Cthulhu's return to entrapment. Among the events in this period, it is not at all clear why R'lyeh rose or sank again; whether through random geologic processes, or because the stars were nearly "right," or as a result of ritual activities on the part of the cultists. Also, given that R'lyeh sank again, it is not explained why Cthulhu went down with it, since he had already escaped from His lair and shown His ability to swim. Alien CultsAbdul Alhazred was a worshipper of both Cthulhu and Yog-Sothoth. Alhazred wrote that Cthulhu is a cousin of those "Old Ones" associated with Yog-Sothoth, but can spy them only dimly. The Necronomicon hints of the Cthulhu and Yog-Sothoth myth cycles, which antedate the coming of man to the earth Prehuman. Cthulhu seeped down from the stars when the earth was still half-formed. There seems to be a strong alliance between Cthulhu and the Deep Ones. Thus, while discussing the beliefs of the Esoteric Order of Dagon at Innsmouth, Zadok Allen quoted the invocation to Cthulhu: Ph'nglui mglw'nafh , etc. The Innsmouth narrator dreamed that the Deep Ones will someday rise again to give the tribute Cthulhu craves. As he contemplated his change into a Deep One, the Innsmouth narrator wrote praises to Cthulhu and R'lyeh. The Outer Ones were also linked to Cthulhu. Folklore researcher Henry Akeley wrote of Cthulhu in a letter to Wilmarth. Cthulhu was among the entities praised during a May-Eve ritual in a Vermont cave, performed by an Outer One and a human. The being impersonating Henry Akeley said that the Outer Ones arrived on Earth long before the fabulous epoch of Cthulhu was over, and remember R'lyeh when it was above the waters. This being also told Wilmarth from whence Cthulhu first came. The Children of TuluThe Old Ones of K'n-yan worshipped an octopoid being named Tulu; the Mound narrator identified this being with folklore of monstrous and unmentioned Cthulhu, who seeped down from the stars while the earth was still half-formed. Heaton referred to the Old Ones as the children of Tulu. Capt. George Lawton babbled of Great Tulu after visiting K'n-yan. Grey Eagle's protective talisman included a design of a kind of octopoid monster. Charging Buffalo said that the Old Ones worshipped Yig and Tulu. Inside the passageway leading to K'n-yan, Zamacona observed carvings of Yig and Tulu. Zamacona stumbled on a temple with a statue of an octopus-headed abnormality; the temples of Cthulhu were the most richly constructed objects in all K'n-yan. These temples were surrounded by embowering groves. Zamacona watched the subtle orgiastic rites at such temples with fascinated repulsion. The Old Ones of K'n-yan traditionally believed that Tulu first brought them to this planet, along with the Tulu metal. By Zamacona's time, the Old Ones were not sure of the historical truth of these legends, but still referenced Tulu for aesthetic reasons. Great Tulu was regarded as a spirit of universal harmony. The Old Ones believed that the wrath of space-devils had lead to the submergence of the gods, including Tulu. Zamacona's dreams of the abyss of N'kai shocked the leaders of Yig and Tulu worship. Zamacona observed statues to Yig and Tulu in a tunnel leading up to the outer world; later, the Mound narrator also viewed them. Other ConnectionsRogers Museum included a statue of many-tentacled Cthulhu. Stephen Jones fancied that the long facial tentacles of the Cthulhu statue seemed to sway. Marceline Bedard played a part in a frightful secret from the days of Cthulhu and the Elder Ones. The specimens of the crinoid Old Ones of Antarctica reminded Lake of folkloric things spoken of by Wilmarth, such as Cthulhu cult appendages. The city of the Old Ones reminded Dyer of primal myths such as the Cthulhu cult.
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Post by Yahn'ikthorn on Mar 14, 2008 6:57:42 GMT -6
NYARLATHOTEPFrom Fungi from Yuggoth: XXI. NyarlathotepAnd at the last from inner Egypt came The strange dark One to whom the fellahs bowed; Silent and lean and cryptically proud, And wrapped in fabrics red as sunset flame. Throngs pressed around, frantic for his commands, But leaving, could not tell what they had heard; While through the nations spread the awestruck word That wild beasts followed him and licked his hands.
Soon from the sea a noxious birth began; Forgotten lands with weedy spires of gold; The ground was cleft, and mad auroras rolled Down on the quaking citadels of man. Then, crushing what he chanced to mould in play, The idiot Chaos blew Earth's dust away.Nyarlathotep is known as the Crawling Chaos. He is a horror with infinite shapes. He is the soul and messenger of the Other Gods. Since the Other Gods are protectors of the Great Ones, Nyarlathotep often comes to the aid of the Great Ones at the crucial moment. Yet the nature of this "protection" seems far from benevolent; thus, when it suits him, Nyarlathotep abruptly snatches the Great Ones back from their revels in the sunset city, and taunts them insolently. The violet gas S'ngac told Kuranes terrible things of the crawling chaos Nyarlathotep. Egyptian ConnectionsRobert Blake wrote that Nyarlathotep took the form of man in antique and shadowy Khem (that is, Egypt). And Khephnes, an Egyptian of the 14th Dynasty, told Nathaniel Wingate Peaslee the hideous secret of Nyarlathotep. The name "Nyarlathotep" may be partly Egyptian in origin. The suffix "-hotep" was used in some Ancient Egyptian names and meant "is satisfied," as in "Amenhotep," meaning "Amen is satisfied." If "Nyarlathotep" follows a similar pattern, then perhaps "Nyarlat" is the name of some deity of whom Nyarlathotep was taken to be an avatar. I have found no references to Egyptian deities with names like "Nyarlat"; it may be of non-human origin, or perhaps its shocking implications led later dynasties to efface the name from all Egyptian records and monuments. Further Egyptian elements are discussed under Prophecies, below. Black Man of the Witch Cult After one of his dreams of Brown Jenkin, Walter Gilman remembers that it had mentioned the name Nyarlathotep. Walter Gilman and Frank Elwood compare the Black Man of the witch cult with the Nyarlathotep of the Necronomicon , as each signifies the deputy or messenger of hidden and terrible powers. Haunter of the DarkRobert Blake identifies the Haunter of the Dark as an avatar of Nyarlathotep. DevoteesNyarlathotep is one of the deities revered by the Other Ones. Thus, During a May-Eve rite in a Vermont cave, an Outer One and a human recite a liturgy with references to Nyarlathotep, who is referred to as the Mighty Messenger, Great Messenger, Father of the Million Favored Ones, and fragmentarily as "Stalker among..." The complete phrase is given elsewhere as Stalker Among the Stars. Nyarlathotep is referred to as "bringer of strange joy to Yuggoth through the void," a phrase which confirms the alliance between Nyarlathotep and the Outer Ones, who had colonized Yuggoth. An Outer One, masquerading as Henry Akeley, speaks of Nyarlathotep and other primal deities. The Outer Ones refer briefly to Nyarlathotep again while discussing plans in Akeley's house. Capt. George Lawton mentions Nyarlathotep in his ravings after visiting K'n-yan. This seems to imply that the Old Ones of K'n-yan are devotees of Nyarlathotep. The gugs make strange sacrifices to the Other Gods and the crawling chaos Nyarlathotep. The high priest not to be described prays to the Other Gods and Nyarlathotep. It is Nyarlathotep that the fungous moon-beasts serve. Nemesis of Randolph CarterNyarlathotep arranges for Randolph Carter's capture and transport to the moon's dark side; and following Carter's rescue by the cats, fruitlessly waits in a black cave on a far unhallowed summit of the moon-mountains. Later, Carter is kidnapped again and taken to the monastery of the high priest not to be described in Leng, for the purpose of some dread rendezvous with monstrous Nyarlathotep. When Carter reaches Kadath, he feels that his visit had been expected, and wonders how close a watch had all along been kept upon him by the crawling chaos Nyarlathotep. Nyarlathotep tells Carter that it is not lawful for men to see the Great Ones. He says that the Great Ones had left Kadath to live in the fabulous sunset-city of Carter's dreams. Nyarlathotep asks Carter to go to the sunset city and pursuade the Great Ones to return. But this is all a ruse, for the shantak provided by Nyarlathotep takes Carter instead toward infinity's center where dwells the mindless daemon-sultan Azathoth. In this incident, Nyarlathotep appears as a suave, flattering and devious trickster. Strangely, he also provides Randolph Carter with a nugget of true insight, by revealing that Carter's dream city is the sum of New England scenes that Carter had seen and loved in his youth. Rivals and Dissenters The night-gaunts own not Nyarlathotep but hoary Nodens as their lord, and the ghouls have no masters. Yet the Other Gods can control the ghouls and night-gaunts when they must. Nodens himself may be beyond the power of Nyarlathotep. After Nyarlathotep tries to send Carter to his doom in the chaos of Azathoth, Nodens bellows guidance to Carter, and raises a howl of triumph when Carter escapes. PropheciesThe liturgy overheard by Akeley in Vermon includes a prophecy that Nyarlathotep will come down to our world and put on "the semblance of men, the waxen mask and the robe that hides". The sonnet Nyarlathotep and the prose poem Nyarlathotep both read like a prophecies or visions of Nyarlathotep's future coming to Earth. The sonnet Nyarlathotep begins "And at last from inner Egypt came / The strange dark One to whom the fellahs bowed". In this context, fellahs appears to be a reference to the native population of Egypt (as opposed to the later Islamic Arab conquerors). The phrase "inner Egypt" is probably also a racial reference rather than a geographic one. Similarly, the prose poem Nyarlathotep says "And it was then that Nyarlathotep came out of Egypt. Who he was, none could tell, but he was of the old native blood and looked like a Pharoah". Similarly, in Randolph Carter's dream-quest, Nyarlathotep appeared in form of a tall, slim figure with dark skin and the youthful face of an antique Pharoah. He sports colorful garb; the sonnet has him "wrapped in fabrics red as sunset flame" while to Carter he appears "gay with prismatic robes and crown with a golden pshent that glowed with inherent light".The pshent was the double crown that symbolized the unity of Upper and Lower Egypt in ancient times. After establishing Nyarlathotep's Egyptian origin, the sonnet and prose poem diverge somewhat, though they could be referring to different portions of the same sequence of events. In the prose poem, Nyarlathotep gives science lectures and electrical displays which send the spectators away speechless. Thereafter, the people are haunted by nightmares. Audience members feel compelled to march in columns to various underground destinations, and the narrator is overwhelmed by the sound of drumming and flutes that accompany the ultimate gods—"the blind, voiceless, mindless gargoyles whose soul is Nyarlathotep". In the sonnet, Nyarlathotep also becomes famous and develops a cult-like following: "Throngs pressed around, frantic for his commands, / But leaving, could not tell what they had heard." There is no reference to the science demonstrations or the nightmares. Nyarlathotep's advent is soon followed by the uplifting of lost cities from the sea (perhaps R'lyeh?) and "mad auroras" that destroy mankind's cities. At last, Earth itself is destroyed: "Then, crushing what he chanced to mould in play, The idiot Chaos blew Earth's dust away". Note that the phrase "idiot Chaos" is probably not a reference to Nyarlathotep; for, although known as the Crawling Chaos, he is never portrayed as an idiot. Rather, the phrase is likely a reference to the mindless daemon-sultan, Azathoth, and the mindless Other Gods of whom Nyarlathotep is the soul and messenger. LocationAccording to the liturgy overheard by Akeley, Nyarlathotep will come from the world of Seven Suns. Delapore refers to "those grinning caverns of the earth's centre where Nyarlathotep, the mad faceless god, howls blindly in the darkness to the piping of two amorphous idiot flute players". This is an odd passage, which seems to assign Nyarlathotep the qualities otherwise attributed to Azathoth, but locates him at the earth's core rather than the center of Ultimate Chaos where Azathoth dwells. The prose poem Nyarlathotep also associates him with subterranean places, for one of the columns of hypnotized people files into a subway entrance, and another descends into a gulf in a snowy landscape where the narrator has his epiphany of Nyarlathotep. It is possible that underground places are significant only because they are dark, since Nyarlathotep's avatar the Haunter of the Dark could manifest only in darkness. In Leng's northward reaches are certain white hemispherical buildings on curious knolls, which folklore associates with the Other Gods and Nyarlathotep.
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Post by Yahn'ikthorn on Mar 14, 2008 7:03:41 GMT -6
The gate, the key... YOG-SOTHOTHAll-in-One and One-in-AllIn Randolph Carter's transdimensional journeys by means of the silver key, he encountered a being that may have been Yog-Sothoth; Carter experienced it as "an All-in-One and One-in-All of limitless being and self—not merely a thing of one space-time continuum, but allied to the ultimate animating essence of existence's whole unbounded sweep—the last, utter sweep which has no confines and which outreaches fancy and mathematics alike." Carter learned that this entity is one of a number of archetypes that exist outside of space, each of which has many phases that manifest in our world as a variety of seemingly separate individuals. Among these archetypes, the "All-in-One" who spoke to Carter is the supreme archetype, and the archetype of all great wizards, thinkers, and artists, including Carter himself. Guardian of the Gate The Necronomicon also describes Yog-Sothoth in mystically effusive terms, as the "key to the gate, whereby the spheres meet." He transcends time: "Past, present, future, all are one in Yog-Sothoth." He knows where the Old Ones broke through to our world of old, and where they shall break through again. Since he is the "key and guardian of the gate," it seems that Yog-Sothoth can enable the Old Ones to break through to our world again. The Necronomicon quote does not state that Yog-Sothoth is actually one of the Old Ones himself; but this later becomes clear, because in the course of The Dunwich Horror, Yog-Sothoth is shown to have the other attributes that Alhazred attributes to the Old Ones: invisible, foul-smelling, and given to begetting offspring on humanity. His two offspring spawned on Lavinia Whateley were the twins, Wilbur Whateley and his unnamed older brother. According to Randolph Carter, Yog-Sothoth's worshippers include secret cults of earth, as well as the Outer Ones ("crustaceans of Yuggoth") and the vaporous brains of the spiral nebulae. Henry Akeley referred to the Yog-Sothoth cycle as an example of myths antedating the coming of man to the earth, which are hinted at in the Necronomicon. Alhazred worshipped Yog-Sothoth. Old Whateley and his family held ceremonies around the table-like rock, presumably serving as a sacrificial altar, on Sentinel Hill. The invocation was done in the light of huge bonfires with Old Whateley reciting from a large book. The ceremonies were probably performed nude, as Silas Bishop once saw an unclothed Lavinia and Wilbur running up Sentinel Hill on Hallowe'en. Other ceremonies to Yog-Sothoth or similar entities seem to have been held amid the circles of stone pillars that crown most of the hills around Dunwich, for Earl Sawyer noticed a smell on Old Whateley and at the Whateley place similar to one he had smelled near the Indian circles on the hills. Zebulon Whateley suggested that rites ought to be performed in the stone circles, apparently for defense against the Dunwich Horror (Wilbur's older brother). The ceremonial days of European paganism seem to be of great significance to the followers of Yog-Sothoth. Henry Armitage referred to Wilbur's father as a "Roodmas horror" and surmised that Wilbur was conceived on May-Eve (Roodmas). Wilbur was born on Candlemas. Old Whateley died on Lammas Night. The Whateley family held major ceremonies on Sentinel Hill on May Eve and Hallowe'en. Wilbur saw entities resembling his brother on May Eve on the hill. Wilbur seems to have sacrificed his own mother Lavinia on Hallowe'en. Old Whateley advised Wilbur to open up the gates to Yog-Sothoth with the long chant on page 751 of the complete edition of the Necronomicon. Wilbur copied this formulate from the Latin version at Miskatonic Library. As Wilbur died, he muttered the cryptic phrase "N'gai, n'gha'ghaa, bugg-shoggog, y'hah: Yog-Sothoth, Yog-Sothoth". Similarly, as Wilbur's brother was finally vanquished by a spell, he cried out "FATHER! FATHER! YOG-SOTHOTH!". Like the Old Ones, Wilbur's brother was invisible, but Wilbur could see it a little when he made the Voorish sign or blew the poweder of Ibn Ghazi at it. Dr. Armitage learned how to make the powder. Yog-Sothoth's form can perhaps be inferred from the brief glimpse that Curtis Whateley got of Wilbur's brother, when it was revealed by the Professors' sprayer: shaped somewhat like a hen's egg, and jelly-like, lacking solidity; seemingly composed of many seperate wriggling ropes pushed close together; grey with blue or purple rings; bulging eyes scattered all over; and ten or twenty trunks with mouths opening and closing; "an octopus, centipede, spider kind o' thing". Henry Armitage commented that the thing looked more like the father than Wilbur did. On the other hand, at Rogers' Museum, the statue of Yog-Sothoth looked like a congeries of iridescent globes. This could have been a symbolic image meant to convey Yog-Sothoth's role as the "key to the gate, whereby the spheres meet." According to Wilbur's diary, the plan for the return of the Old Ones and Yog-Sothoth called for the "clearing off" of all earth beings from earth. In Dr. Armitage's delerium, he raved of a plan for certain Elder Things to extirpate all earth life and drag the earth "from the solar system and cosmos of matter into some other plane or phase of entity from which it had once fallen, vigintillions of aeons ago". Raiser of the DeadJoseph Curwen summoned "Yogge-Sothothe," who revealed to Curwen how to create a spell that would cause a descendant to resurrect him. Yog-Sothoth was also invoked by Charles Dexter Ward to resurrect Curwen. Simon Orne closed a letter to Curwen with the cryptic phrase "Yogg-Sothoth Neblod Zin," which perhaps implied that Curwen and his friends were devotees of Yog-Sothoth. After Curwen's revival in modern times, he wrote a note indicating that he had raised Yog-Sothoth thrice. Dr. Willett found the spells invoking Yog-Sothoth to resurrect the dead from their salts, or to return them back to their salts, and later used the second spell to destory Curwen. Regarding the goals of Curwen, Orne, and their cohort Edward Hutchinson, Willett concluded that "They were robbing the tombs of all the ages, including those of the world's wisest and greatest men. . . . from what was extorted from this centuried dust there was anticipated a power and wisdom beyond anything which the cosmos had ever seen concentrated in one man or group". If Willett was correct, the conspirator's goal was far different—more personal and limited—than the Whateleys plan to bring the wholesale return of the Old Ones. Allies and EnemiesRobert Blake wrote "Yog-Sothoth save me" when he saw the approach of that avatar of Nyarlathotep known as the Haunter of the Dark. The implication seems to be that a human could look to Yog-Sothoth as a protective entity, at least under certain conditions. Perhaps there is also an implication of some enmity between Yog-Sothoth and Nyarlathotep? Danforth mentioned Yog-Sothoth when speaking of his glimpse of what lay beyond the antarctic mountains of madness. Since the crinoid Old Ones of Antarctica lived in dread fear of those mountains, this raises the possibility that Yog-Sothoth was somehow the cause of that fear.
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Post by Yahn'ikthorn on Mar 14, 2008 7:09:02 GMT -6
The fishy one who brings gold... DAGONFather god of the Deep Ones. The narrator of Dagon witnessed a scene of apparent worship by a giant man/fish, perhaps one of the Deep Ones. The thing clasped a carved monolith and gave vent to certain measured sounds. Later, the narrator amused an ethnologist with questions about the ancient Philistine legend of Dagon, the Fish-God. Three passages in the Bible mention Dagon: - The Philistines prepared to sacrifice Samson to their god Dagon, but were destroyed when Samson toppled the temple (Judges 16:23). - The Philistines captured the Ark of God and brought it to the temple of Dagon at Ashdod, and set it beside Dagon himself. The next morning, the idol of Dagon was found toppled on its face. The priests replaced it, and the next day found that the head and arms of the deity were broken off. Following further divinely-ordained misfortunes, the people of Ashdod decided to send the Ark away (1 Samuel 5:1-8). - The Philistines nailed up the skull of Saul in the temple of Dagon (1 Chronicles 10:10). The cult of commerce between humans and the Deep Ones at Innsmouth was called the Esoteric Order of Dagon (q.v.). Zadok Allen, speaking of the practices of that cult, mentioned Dagon along with other pagan gods and demons.The Esoteric Order of Dagon preached that the children of human/Deep One liaisons would never die, but go back to Mother Hydra and Father Dagon, whom we all came from once. The people of Innsmouth all had to take the Oath of Dagon, and there were second and third Oaths of Dagon for those who were willing to commit more deeply, and receive greater benefits. Zadok Allen said he would rather die than take the third oath. High Priest of Dagon
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Post by Yahn'ikthorn on Mar 14, 2008 7:15:19 GMT -6
NODENSA being of great antiquity, described variously as hoary, immemorial, archaic, and primal. Nodens visited the Strange High House in the Mist, traveling in a great sea shell on dolphins' backs, in company with Neptune, nereids, and tritons. Nodens himself is described as of "grey and awful form" with wizened hand. Nodens might be dangerous to consort with too closely, for after he took Olney and his host for a ride, it was said that Olney was never the same and seemed to have lost his spirit. In the dreamworld, Nodens is the lord of the night-gaunts, who own not Nyarlathotep but hoary Nodens as their lord. This is noteworthy since Nyarlathatotep appears in other respects to be the most powerful being in the dreamworld, as the soul and messenger of the Other Gods, who "protect" the meek gods of Earth. Thus Nodens may be a being of power comparable to Nyarlathotep, but not associated with the Other Gods. Nodens might even be more powerful than the Other Gods, for "even were unexpected things to come from the Other Gods, who are prone to oversee the affairs of earth's milder gods, the night-gaunts need not fear; for the outer hells are indifferent matters to such silent and slippery flyers as own not Nyarlathotep for their master, but bow only to potent and archaic Nodens". When Randolph Carter narrowly escapes being transported to the realm of Azathoth, "archaic Nodens was bellowing his guidance from unhinted deeps". It is not clear why Nodens was interested in Carter's fate, but it is noteworthy that He did not offer active assistance, only (seemingly rather belated) guidance. In his title Lord of the Great Abyss, Nodens seems a bit reminiscent of Azathoth who dwells outside the ordered universe. Unlike Azathoth, however, Nodens is not described as mindless, and it seems that he might aid or befriend humans on some occasions. It is possible that Noden's influence is limited to dream realms, since (1) it is there that his night-gaunts are active, and (2) it seems that he took Olney's soul to some transcendent, dreamlike realm. On this theory, the Strange High House would have to be regarded as a rare gateway between our realm and that of Nodens. In Celtic mythology, Nodens (or Nodons) was a god of healing. Accounts of Noden's shrine at Lydney in Gloucesterhire may have inspired Arthur Machen to include Nodens in the inscription at the end of his story "The Great God Pan." (See "The Great God Nodens" at www.cafes.net/ditch/nodens.htm ). In that story, Nodens/Pan's mating with a mortal woman leads to the birth of a daughter of strongly evil powers.
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Post by Yahn'ikthorn on Mar 14, 2008 7:20:05 GMT -6
The mindless idiot AZATHOTHFrom the Fungi from Yuggoth: XXII. AzathothOut in the mindless void the daemon bore me, Past the bright clusters of dimensioned space, Till neither time nor matter stretched before me, But only Chaos, without form or place. Here the vast Lord of All in darkness muttered Things he had dreamed but could not understand, While near him shapeless bat-things flopped and fluttered In idiot vortices that ray-streams fanned.
They danced insanely to the high, thin whining Of a cracked flute clutched in a monstrous paw, Whence flow the aimless waves whose chance combining Gives each frail cosmos its eternal law. "I am His Messenger," the daemon said, As in contempt he struck his Master's head.A mindless but possibly all-powerful entity who lives outside the ordered universe, in the void at the center of all infinity. There he dwells in inconceivable, unlighted chambers beyond time, where no dreams can reach. He is known as the boundless daemon-sultan Azathoth, whose name no lips dare speak aloud. He blasphemes and bubbles amidst the beating of drums and the whine of accursed flutes. To this music dance awkwardly the mindless Other Gods, with their soul and messenger Nyarlathotep. Nasht and Kaman-Thah warned Randolph Carter of the peril posed by Azathoth to any dreamers who try to venture from our dreamworld to one of the dreamworlds surrounding another planet. The violet gas S'ngac warned Kuranes never to approach the central void where Azathoth gnaws hungrily in the dark. Robert Blake thought of "the ancient legends of Ultimate Chaos, at whose centre sprawls the blind idiot god Azathoth, Lord of All Things, encircled by his flopping horde of mindless and amorphous dancers, and lulled by the thin monotonous piping of a daemoniac flute held in nameless paws". The phrase "Lord of All Things" suggests Azathoth's supremacy among all deities. The impression is reinforced in the sonnet Azathoth , which refers to him as Lord of All. The sonnet also refers to "a cracked flute clutched in a monstrous paw, / Whence flow the aimless waves whose chance combining / Gives each frail cosmos its eternal law." It is not clear who is playing the flute; in conjunction with Blake's statement that Azathoth is "lulled" by a flute, it seems possible that some other entity plays the flute, and so influences Azathoth's dreams; thus "Here the Lord of All in darkness muttered / Things he had dreamed but could not understand." Azathoth's dreams perhaps then give rise to the various universes. On this theory, Nyarlathotep could be the puppet master who is really running the show, since he shows contempt for Azathoth: "'I am His Messenger,' the daemon said, / As in contempt he struck his Master's head." Another interpretation would be that Azathoth dreams while playing the flute himself, and the flute causes his dreams to come to life in the form of various universes. In that case, Nyarlathotep is in the typical position of an underling who regards his boss as a moron. Despite Azathoth's mindlessness, which you think would make him a futile object for prayer or worship, the daemon-sultan has his devotees. Keziah Mason tried to get Walter Gilman to meet the Black Man and go with them to the throne of Azathoth at the center of ultimate Chaos. Gilman, she said, must sign in his own blood the book of Azathoth and take a new secret name. Gilman refused because "he had seen the name 'Azathoth' in the Necronomicon , and knew it stood for a primal evil too horrible for description". Later Gilman apparently signed the book and was taken to Azathoth, for he dimly recalled the drumming, flutes, and leaping shadows (presumably of the dancing Other Gods). Attempting to return from one of his transdimensional journeys, Gilman feared accidentally landing "in the spiral black vortices of that ultimate void of Chaos wherein reigns the mindless daemon-sultan Azathoth". Henry Wentworth Akeley mentioned Azathoth in a letter to Prof. Albert Wilmarth. Akeley's recording of a conversation between a human and an Outer One outside a Vermont cave, on May Eve, mentioned "(tri)butes to Him in the Gulf, Azathoth, He of Whom Thou hast taught us marv(els)". The phrase seems to be part of a liturgy, suggesting that the Outer Ones are worshippers of Azathoth, along with other primal beings. The Outer One masquerading as Akeley told Wilmarth of "the monstrous nuclear chaos beyond angled space which the Necronomicon had mercifully cloaked under the name of Azathoth". Perhaps this suggests that "Azathoth" is a pseudonym, rather than the actual "name no lips dare speak aloud." Capt. Lawton mentioned Azathoth in his ravings after visiting a mound near Binger, Oklahoma. This suggests that the Old Ones of K'n-yan were aware of Azathoth, and perhaps also devotees of his. While awaiting in fear for the Haunter of the Dark, Robert Blake prayed "Azathoth have mercy!". George Rogers insulted Stephen Jones by calling him "Son of the dogs that howl in the maelstrom of Azathoth!". "Dogs" are not elsewhere mentioned in connection with Azathoth. One wonders if this could be a reference to the Hounds of Tindalos, but since Azathoth dwells beyond angled space, it seems there would be a deficiency of angles for the Hounds to move through. Edward Pickman Derby wrote a collection of nightmare-lyrics called Azathoth and Other Horrors. Azathoth is the title of one of HPL's short fragments, but Azathoth is not referenced in the text
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Post by Yahn'ikthorn on Mar 14, 2008 7:29:19 GMT -6
The one with a thousand young... SHUB-NIGGURATHA deity worshipped by an ecstatic fertility cult, and often revered together with other eldritch deities. While traveling in K'n-yan, Zamacona encountered a shrine of Shub-Niggurath, the All-Mother and wife of the Not-to-Be-Named One. The Mound narrator compares Shub-Niggurath to a "sophisticated Astarte." Astarte was an ancient Semitic goddess; the comparison suggests a cult of fertility, which is consistent with the epithet "All-Mother." Zamacona, a pious Catholic, found the rites of Shub-Niggurath to be repulsive, most especially the emotional sounds uttered by the celebrants. According to Von Junzt's Nameless Cults , Shub-Niggurath was worshipped in ancient Mu as the Mother Goddess and the Goat with a Thousand Young. A copper temple was dedicated to her. T'yog, the High Priest of Shub-Niggurath, regarded her as one of the gods friendly to humanity, and felt inspired by her to try to vanquish the malignant cult of Ghatanathoa. Shub-Niggurath also counted on the help of Shub-Niggurath's sons; these might perhaps be the deities Nug and Yeb, whom T'yog also regarded as friendly to man. During a May-Eve ritual recorded outside a Vermont cave, a human and an Outer One voiced praises to several deities, including Cthulhu, Tsathoggua, Nyarlathotep, and Shub-Niggurath. The fragmentary text includes references to Shub-Niggurath as the Black Goat of the Woods and the Goat with a Thousand Young. There are also references to the Lord of the Woods; the reference to Woods might imply that the Lord of the Woods is a male aspect or paramour of Shub-Niggurath. On Walpurgis-Eve, Alonzo Typer saw worshippers within a cromlech chanting "Iä! Shub-Niggurath! The Goat with a Thousand Young!". Devotees of arcane cults tend to call out to Shub-Niggurath whenever they get excited. There is a startling lack of continuity to these interjections, which often pop up in conversations or writings that otherwise seem unrelated to Shub-Niggurath. It is almost as if the phrase implies devotion and awe for all the elder deities, rather than merely Shub-Niggurath. Thus, in the midst of a Necronomicon passage describing Yog-Sothoth and the Old Ones, Alhazred wrote "Iä! Shub-Niggurath!". In his diary, Daniel Morris wrote the exclamation "Iä! Shub-Niggurath!". Morris had a copy of the Book of Eibon , so perhaps he had read of Shub-Niggurath in that book. While mourning the death of Marceline Bedard, the Zulu witch-woman Sophonisba shouted the name of Shub-Niggurath. She also appealed to Cthulhu, which suggests that one can be devoted to both deities. While speaking of Rhan-Tegoth, George Rogers blurted "Iä! Shub-Niggurath! The Goat with a Thousand Young!". Later, when promising a sacrifice to Rhan-Tegoth, Rogers called out the same phrase. Dr. Alfred Clarendon burst out "Iä! Shub-Niggurath!" while arguing with Surama. In one of his interdimensional dream travels, Walter Gilman heard or exclaimed the phrase "Iä! Shub-Niggurath! The Goat with a Thousand Young!". Even the victims of the eldritch cults sometimes blurt out the same invocation, as if expressing fear or awe, or perhaps unconsciously verbalizing things they had witnessed and could not forget: While speaking of his trip to the pit of the shoggoths, Edward Pickman Derby exclaimed "Iä! Shub-Niggurath!" Again when he felt that Asenath Waite trying to pull his soul from his body, he called the name and epithet of Shub-Niggurath. Heaton exclaimed "Iä! Shub-Niggurath!" in his ravings after returning from K'n-yan.
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Post by Yahn'ikthorn on Mar 14, 2008 8:32:59 GMT -6
TSATHOGGUAAn amorphous and toad-like god-creature. He is said to be great in girth, very squat and pot-bellied. He has a huge, toad-shaped head. His sleepy lids are half-lowered over his globular eyes, from which trickle a phosphor-like glow. The tip of a queer tongue protrudes from his fat mouth. His whole body is covered with short, dark, fine fur, giving the impression of a bat or sloth. However, Tsathoggua can apparently change his form, for he is known as "plastic" and "amorphous". Tsathoggua is sluggish by nature. Even when ravenously hungry, he will not arise from his place, but waits in divine slothfulness for the sacrifice. He seems to drink the blood of his victims rather than eating their flesh; for Ezdagor sent someone to Tsathoggua as a "blood-offering", and the previous victim appeared to be a "lean husk", which is suggestive of something that was drained, rather than eaten whole. Origin and Oldest CultsTsathoggua came down from Saturn soon after the Earth's creation. It appears that Tsathoggua is one of the entites worshipped by the Outer Ones. Thus, Tsathoggua was mentioned in a litany recited in a Vermont cave on May-Eve by an Outer One and a human. A few daring mystics have suggested that the devotees of Tsathoggua were as alien to mankind as Tshathoggua itself. On viewing the Antarctic city of the Old Ones, Prof. Dyer was reminded of the Hyperborean legends of Tsathoggua and the "worse than formless" star-spawn associated with that semi-entity. Yog-Sothoth told Randolph Carter that entities from the double planet Kythanil flew to earth and worshipped Tsathoggua. These are probably the same as the "star-spawn" mentioned by Dyer. Albert Wilmarth said that Tsathoggua's home was black, lightless N'kai. The Outer One masquerading as Henry Akeley said that Tsathoggua came from black, lightless N'kai: the deepest level of a system of caverns beneath Oklahoma. This probably just means that N'kai was Tsathoggua's oldest habitation on this planet. The worshippers of Tsathoggua in N'kai were peculiar-sensed beings which had no light at all, but which had great civilisations. In form, they seem to have been amorphous lumps of viscous black slime that took temporary shapes for various purposes. Most likely these slime-beings are also the same as the formless star-spawn from Kythanil. The cult of Tsathoggua later become popular among the Old Ones of K'n-yan, and almost rivalled the ancient cults of Yig and Tulu. The city of Tsath was named after Tsathoggua. However, the people of K'n-yan abandoned the worship of Tsathoggua after an expedition to N'kai found some of the black slime creatures. One of Tsathoggua's temples was later turned into a shrine of Shub-Niggurath. During Zamacona's visit, Gll'-Hthaa-Ynn detoured to avoid an ancient, deserted temple of Tsathoggua. One branch of the Old Ones of K'n-yan carried the cult to the outer world, where one of the images found its way to a shrine in Olathoe, in the Arctic land of Lomar. God of the HyperboreansOne of the mysteries of Tsathoggua is that he is associated equally with N'kai and with the ancient arctic realm of Hyperborea (now Greenland). Perhaps he changed location, or perhaps he manifests in both places. 200,000 years ago, lost Hyperborea knew the nameless worship of black amorphous Tsathoggua. Originally, this worship was probably rendered by the beings from Kythanil, since Yog-Sothoth told Carter that those beings worshipped Tsathoggua in primal Hyperborea. Later, the worship in Hyperborea was apparently taken up by the primate forbears of humanity; for, among the minds held captive by the Great Race were three from the furry "pre-human" Hyperborean worshippers of Tsathoggua. During the human era, the people of Hyperborea also worshipped Tsathoggua, who was fabled to reside below Mt. Voormithadreth. During worship at his black altars, the devotees always faced in the direction of Voormithadreth. At that time, the sorceror Ezdagor sent Ralibar Vooz to Tsathoggua as a sacrifice. Tsathoggua decided not to feast on Ralibar Vooz, but instead sent him onward as an offering to Atlach-Nacha. Later in Hyperborean history, the thief Satampra Zeiros visited a shrine of Tsathoggua in the suburbs of ruined Commoriom, the former capital of Hyperborea. By the time of Satampra Zeiros, the people of Hyperborea had ceased to worship Tsathoggua; but it was rumored that jungle beasts visited his abandoned temples and uttered inarticulate prayers to him. The temple visited by Zeiros had a basin filled with a foetid black slime. This slime turned out to be a living being that could change shape at will, and which pursued Zeiros and his associate. This being was probably one of the slime-creatures from Kythanil. Cult SurvivalsTsathoggua is mentioned in the Pnakotic Manuscripts, the Necronomicon, and the Commoriom myth-cycle preserved by the Atlantean high-priest Klarkash-Ton. In medieval France, Brother Ambrose witnessed a manifestation of Sodagui (Tsathoggua) that was raised by Azedarac, Archbishop of Averoigne. Prof. John Kirowan admitted the former existence of the Tsathoggua cult, but doubted that it survives today. According to the Rajah of Jadhore, Ganesha was worshipped as Tsathoggua long ago. However, the differing appearance of the two deities (elephant-headed versus toadlike) makes this identification doubtful. Tsathoggua as an Earth GodDavid, nephew of Asa Sandwin, recalled reading of Tsathoggua and Yog-Sothoth as leaders of the elemental earth powers. According to Horvath Blayne, Tsathoggua was a god of earth, and one of the Ancient Ones who rebelled against the Elder Gods. Tsathoggua's association with underground sites (N'kai and under Voormithadreth) may have inspired this interpretation of Tsathoggua as an earth elemental. However, there is a more plausible explanation for Tsathoggua's dark dwelling places; as a being who previously lived on distant Saturn, Tsathoggua may simply be averse to light. According to books such as the Sussex Manuscript, Celaeno Fragments, and Cultes des Ghoules, Tsathoggua is waiting in N'kai. Passages from the Necronimicon mention Tsathoggua; according to some such passages, Tsathoggua shall come again from the black-litten caverns of N'kai within the earth. The Indian wise man Misquamacus said that Ossadagowah was a child of Sadogowah (Tsathoggua). Modern Scholars and EncountersAfter wreaking vengeance on a rival, Daniel Morris wrote "Praise the Lord Tsathoggua!" Morris may have learned of Tsathoggua from the Book of Eibon. Rogers' Museum had a figure of black, formless Tsathoggua. Stephen Jones imagined the figure of Tsathoggua elongating itself from a toad-like gargoyle to a long, sinuous line with hundreds of rudimentary feet. A letter from Henry Akeley mentioned Tsathoggua. Tony Alwyn read of Tsathoggua in the forbidden texts at Miskatonic University library. A dictaphone recording made at Rick's Lake, Wisconsin, recorded a voice neither human nor bestial, which uttered praise to many elder beings, including Tsathoggua. The late Amos Tuttle's papers included references to Tsathoggua. While pondering an invocation to the Warder of Knowledge in the Eltdown Shards, Gordon Whitney recalled references from other works to the unspeakable practices of the Tsathoggua cult. The late Elmer Harrod called the name of Tsathoggua as part of an invocation on a cassette tape. A tiny man told Dr. Wycherly that the Book reveals whence obscure and loathsome Tsathoqquah came, and why.
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Post by Yahn'ikthorn on Mar 14, 2008 8:37:05 GMT -6
YIGThe half-human father of serpents, shunned and feared in central Oklahoma. Yig was the snake-god of the central plains tribes, presumably the primal source of the more southerly Quetzalcoatl and Kukulcan. Yig is said to be half-anthropormorphic, appearing like a man unless viewed closely. His character is arbitrary and capricious. Though typically well-disposed to those who honor him and all serpents, he punishes those who harm snakes. After suitable tortures, Yig's victims are transformed into spotted snakes. In the autumn, Yig becomes unusually ravenous, and has to be driven away by means of suitable rites. Then the Indians conduct orgies in lonely places, with the ceaseless beating of tom-toms. When the corn harvest comes, the Indians give Yig some corn, and dance in proper regalia to the sound of whistle, rattle, and drum. They keep the drums beating to drive Yig away, and call down the aid of Tirawa, the father of humanity. Walker Davis first leaned of Yig beliefs at Okmulgee in Creek country. The Wichita have protective charms against Yig, which they taught to Davis. Audrey Davis dreamed of Yig appearing in the guise of Satan. When their house was infested with snakes on Halloween, she took it as a sign that the curse of Yig was at work, and found it significant that their house was invaded by snakes on Halloween. Following her traumatic encounter with the snakes, Audrey went insane. After nine months, she gave birth to three children with snake-like deformities. Yig was one of the principal deities worshipped among the Old Ones of K'n-yan, beneath the mound outside Binger, Oklahoma. Grey Eagle said that Yig, big father of snakes, is there at the mound outside Binger. Grey Eagle loaned the Mound narrator a talisman with a serpent design, perhaps related to Yig. The cylinder containing Zamacona's memoir had a carving of a semi-anthromorphic serpent, which the Mound narrator identified as a prototype of the Yig, Quetzalcoatal, and Kukulcan conceptions. Charging Buffalo said that the Old Ones of K'n-yan worshipped Yig. Inside the passageway leading to K'n-yan, Zamacona observed carvings of Yig. The Old Ones regarded Yig as the principle of life symbolized as the Father of all Serpents; their cryptic shrines to Yig were lavish and remarkable, surrounded by embowering groves. Among the Old Ones, days were of variable length, and said to be timed by the tail-beats of Yig. In their calendar, the year was measured by Yig's annual shedding of his skin. Among the Old Ones, the cult of Yig coexisted with worship of Tulu (Cthulhu), and was briefly rivaled also by the cult of Tsathoggua. The cult of Yig was still active when Zamacona was in K'n-yan. Zamacona's dreams of the abyss of N'kai shocked the leaders of Yig and Tulu worship. In a passage leading up to the surface, Zamacona saw nitre-encrusted images of Yig and Tulu; the Mound narrator later also viewed them. In ancient Mu, T'yog believed that Yig was among the gods friendly to man, who might take sides with us against Ghatanothoa. The being impersonating Henry Akeley told Albert Wilmarth the truth behind the legend of Yig.
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Post by Yahn'ikthorn on Mar 14, 2008 14:40:27 GMT -6
GHATANOTHOAA hellish god of the spawn of Yuggoth (the Outer Ones), left behind them in the crypts beneath the fortress on Mount Yaddith-Gho in prehistoric Mu. Ghatanathoa can never die. In appearance, Ghatanothoa is large, amorphous, and plastic, with tentacles, elephant-like trunk (proboscidian), and octopus eyes, and a surface both scaly and wrinkly. Anyone who sees Ghatanothoa is petrified, turned to stone and leather on the outside, while his brain remains perpetually alive. Von Junzt, in his Nameless Cults , wrote of the cult of Ghatanothoa. According to Von Junzt, the Ghatanothoa cult flourished chiefly in Pacific near the former location of Mu, but also reached to Atlantis, Leng, K'n-yan, Egypt, Chaldea, Persia, China, Africa, Mexico, Peru, and Europe. Western culture was never favorable to its growth, and stamped out many of its branches. The cult became secretive and always survived, chiefly in Far East and Pacific Islands; its teachings were absorbed into the lore of the Polynesian Areoi. In ancient Mu, Ghatanothoa's priests in the province of K'naa yearly sacrificed twelve young warriors and twelve maidens on flaming altars in marble temple near base of Yaddith-Gho. The 100 priests of Ghatanothoa had each a marble house, a chest of gold, two hundred slaves, a hundred concubines, immunity from civil law and power of life and death. When T'yog sought to save humanity from Ghatanothoa, the high priest Imash-Mo substituted the false scroll for the true scroll and thus sabotaged him. During 1931-1932, news of the mummy of T'yog at the Cabot Museum inspired outbursts of cult activity around the world; reports mentioned variants of Ghatanothoa's name such as G'tanta, Tanotah, Than-Tha, Gatan, and Ktan-Tah. Richard Johnson saw the image of Ghatanothoa in the eyes of the mummified T'yog.
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Post by Yahn'ikthorn on Mar 14, 2008 16:06:53 GMT -6
I'm not sure if this being is on the same level as the rest of the deities mentioned, but still... 'UMR AT-TAWIL(couldn't find a more specific picture) A being who lives in the First Gateway, at the extension of earth which is outside time, and serves as a Guide to the next, or Ultimate Gate. It is heavily cloaked, apparently shaped something like a man, but changeable in shape and half again as large; it moves by gliding or floating. The Necronomicon and the Book of Thoth warn of this being, who guides the rash beyond all the worlds into the Abyss of unnameable Devourers. He is known as 'Umr at-Tawil, the Most Ancient One, which the scribe rendereth THE PROLONGED OF LIFE. The Necronomicon teaches the obeisances which it is proper to render to 'Umr at-Tawil. He has been feared by the whole world since Lomar rose out of the sea and the Winged Ones came to earth to teach the Elder Lore to man. He knows all things, and He seemed to Randolph Carter to be surprisingly free of the malignity ascribed by Alhazred. 'Umr at-Tawil brandished a large sphere of iridescent metal and lead the Ancient Ones in a chanting ritual so that their dreams might open the Ultimate Gate for Carter. 'Umr at-Tawil's magic temporarily hid the revelation of transdimensional selves from Carter while the latter was in the First Gate, so that Carter would be able to use the Silver Key with precision to open the Ultimate Gate.
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Post by Yahn'ikthorn on Mar 14, 2008 16:13:03 GMT -6
CHAUGNAR FAUGNThe elephant-headed god of the desert plateau of Tsang. Its cave was guarded day and night by hideous yellow abnormalities: subhuman worshippers without faces. Its guardians often disappeared during the night, leaving only their clothes, with certain ghastly traces. DescriptionChaugnar has a chubby, anthropoid body and an elephant-like head. The ears are webbed and tentacled, and the trunk ends in a large flat disk. It sits upright with hands folded on its lap, exuding a Buddha-like calm together with the malignancy of a gorgon. It has stumpy legs and leaves phosphorescent tracks. From its stillness and stone-like material, it appears to be a statue, but it awakens to drink the blood of its devotees. Without blood to feast on, Chaugnar suffers torments that no man could endure. Chaugnar's Toad-MenThousands of years ago, when Chaugnar dwelt in a cave in the Pyrenees, he created a race of small, dark, human-like beings to serve him. Chaugnar sent its servants forth to collect youths and maidens, who were preserved in spices and stored in the cave until Chaugnar had need of them. Chaugnar's Brothers Chaugnar had brothers who also lived in the Pyrenees. Chaugnar and they conversed by means of thought-transference. After the arrival of the Roman legions, Chaugnar decided to move to Asia, but his brothers decided to remain. Then Chaugnar cursed his brothers, proclaiming that when the time frames are dissolved, he alone will arise to glory, and he will consume his brothers. In modern times, the high priest Chung Ga said that Chaugnar's brothers would destroy Clark Ulman if he attempted to dispose of the god. This makes it sounds like Chaugnar's brothers are still allied to him in some way. Roger Little speculated that Chaugnar and its brothers are incarnate manifestations of a single hyperdimensional entity or principal. The Prophecy of Mu SangAfter deciding to leave the Pyrenees, Chaugnar called for servants and had them carry him to the plateau of Tsang. He caused the prophet Mu Sang to be born from the womb of an ape. Mu Sang prophecied that someday Chaugnar would be carried forth into the world by the White Acoloyte, and that It would devour all things, even its own Brothers, and fill space with its Oneness. In modern times, Clark Ulman persuaded Chung Ga that he was the White Acolyte of the prophecy who would carry Chaugnar forth into the world. Chaugnar fed on Ulman's blood during the trip to America, causing Ulman to become terribly disfigured. After Ulman died, a loathsome greenish trunk on his face continued to wave about for hours. Escape from New YorkChaugnar was placed on display in the Manhattan Museum of Fine Arts. Chaugnar killed a museum guard named Cinney during the night, leaving him blackened and shrunken, with his face eaten off. Later, Chaugnar disappeared from the museum. Shortly after, several violent deaths were reported in midtown Manhattan. Then Chaugnar proceeded to the Jersey coast and perpetrated a massacre near Asbury Park. Roger Little, Henry Imbert, and Algernon Harris pursued Chaugnar along the Jersey shoreline and destroyed him with an entropy-reversing beam, which reduced Chaugnar to the slime from which he was originally formed. Thus the prophecy of Mu Sang was thwarted. Rampage in the PyreneesShortly after Chaugnar's arrival in New York, his brothers in the Pyrenees emerged and massacred fifteen peasants, leaving their bodies drained of blood. The Brooklyn Standard rushed out a sensational morning extra to report it. When Chaugnar perished, his brothers did also, leaving pools of black slime in the snow. NatureAccording to Chung Ga, Chaugnar is a great god, utterly cosmic and unanthropormophic, with no regard for our ideas of good and evil. "Before it incarnated itself in time, it contained within itself the past, the present, and the future." According to Roger Little, Chaugnar and its brothers are incarnate manifestations of a single hyperdimensional entity or principal. Little believed that Chaugnar is not truly a god, but a limited being, the spawn of remote worlds and unholy dimensions. Other ReferencesIn the poem When Chaugnar Wakes, Chaugnar Faugn is said to live on a planet beyond the edge of space, within a glowing cone. It drinks dark nurture through its ropy arms from lava-pools. Its face is marked by hate and fury. When Chaugnar wakes, it will venture forth to other stars and planets, including perhaps Earth. Possibly the poem is describing a scene from the distant past, before Chaugnar first came here. Rogers' Museum included a figure of proboscidian Chaugnar Faugn. According to the Rajah of Jadhore, Chaugnar Faugn is another name of the elephant-headed Hindu god Ganesha. Winfield Phillips read about Chaugnar Faugn, the vampiric feeder, in books and photostats of books from Miskatonic Library. Paul Tuttle told Haddon of Chaugnar Faugn. A little man told Doctor Wycherly that the Book includes information on ponderous and proboscidian Chaugnar Faugn.
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Post by Yahn'ikthorn on Mar 14, 2008 16:26:30 GMT -6
This should pretty much cover all the major deities in Lovecraft's writings.
If somebody wants to expand and do the same about whatever gods there appear the writings of August Derleth, Ramsey Campbell, Clark Ashton Smith, Henry Kuttner, Brian Lumley, Robert E. Howard, Lin Carter, Robert Bloch, David Conyers or whoever might be somehow connected to the HPL Mythos, please continue this thread in somewhat similar fashion, try to include images and always mention your sources...
And if you do, please mention the writer involved so things don't get too confusing. Keep in mind that this is the Lovecraft section of the forum and there's another area for general Great Old Ones stuff, too.
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Madguten
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Post by Madguten on Mar 14, 2008 18:16:48 GMT -6
I have no overview of the whole mythos. There is an endless amount of literature i have never even touched on that subject. I greatly appreciate you bringing this overview before us. Im just a little embarrassed that i cant be of any help. ;D
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Post by Shaz'rahjeem on Mar 14, 2008 18:37:31 GMT -6
by the power of grey skull, these are some sweet threads. I am printing them off, if you don't mind.
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Post by Yahn'ikthorn on Mar 14, 2008 18:52:17 GMT -6
Well thanks I guess. But I didn't write these, I just copied them from cthulhufiles, removed the reference marks and then googled for some images... Doing this has been equally helpful to me too since I didn't have a coherent picture of the Mythos either! (Even though I have read probably all of his stories, but that was many years ago.) I think they are mostly Lovecraft's own words taken from the actual stories, so the respect should go to him naturally. I'm just a humble scribe. ;D Of course you can print them down or do whatever thou wilt. I want to get the following book badly: Lovecraft Lexicon; A Reader's Guide to Persons, Places & Things in the Tales of H.P. Lovecraft by Anthony Pearsall 472 pages, softcover. New Falcon 2005 ISBN1-56184-129-3 For decades, H.P Lovecraft's horror stories -- such as The Dunwich Horror and The Call of Cthulhu -- have intrigued and horrified readers from all over the world. But Lovecraft's world is filled with a daunting array of bizarre and obscure characters, monsters, places and "things" which can be quite a task for anyone to sort out. Anthony Pearsall has done just that. From "Abbadon" (a demon in The Nameless City) to "Zuro" (a river in The Quest of Iranon), Pearsall has meticulously covered hundreds of the People, Places and Things-That-Go-Bump-In-The-Night in Lovecraft's writings. The Lexicon also includes quite a bit about Lovecraft himself, as well as many of the People, Places and Things which influenced his life and his writings. And if that weren't enough, a special Appendix highlites one of Lovecraft's recurrent themes: "Caves, Caverns, Wells & Abysses". A "must have" for all fans of Lovecraft's work.
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Post by Shaz'rahjeem on Mar 14, 2008 18:54:47 GMT -6
ahhh... i get it now, i was wondering how someone can type so fast and pump out such long posts in so short a time. makes me feel foolish
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Post by Shaz'rahjeem on Mar 16, 2008 19:34:00 GMT -6
damn you, ;D now i will obsess over that book, until i have it...
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Madguten
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Post by Madguten on Mar 17, 2008 10:09:28 GMT -6
Yeah, it seems very massive and covering.
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Post by Draelloathe on Mar 25, 2008 15:06:24 GMT -6
Fabulous post, major props to you. I had no idea of some of them, I had read only HPL's stuff, is some of the other old ones from other authors?
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Post by Yahn'ikthorn on Mar 27, 2008 13:56:49 GMT -6
I _tried_ to include only deities (and races) which have been mentioned in Lovecraft's stories. Some of them he might have borrowed from other writers in his circle of friends, as they included some of his in their stories.
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