Leng
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Leng (or Plateau of Leng) is a fictional cold arid plateau in the Cthulhu Mythos. The Plateau of Tsang, referenced by H.P. Lovecraft and other authors, is probably a region of Leng.
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[edit] Location
Lovecraft first described Leng in "The Hound" (1922) in which the dreaded Necronomicon places it in Central Asia and says it is inhabited by a corpse-eating cult. Nevertheless, Lovecraft was never consistent about its location and gave different sites for Leng from one story to the next. In At the Mountains of Madness (1936), for example, the Pabodie Expedition discovers a vast tableland in Antarctica and dubs it "the fabled nightmare plateau of Leng". However, it is never explicitly stated in the text — or in any of Lovecraft's later works — that this Antarctic city actually is Leng. In fact, it seems more likely that the city is simply an outpost of the Elder Things which came to Earth not to conquer but to live in isolation.
Lovecraft later removes Leng entirely from its terrestrial environs, placing it the Dreamlands — an alternate dimension — in The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath (1926). Here, it is - or was - occupied by a race of degenerate humans who are feared by all other men.
The mad Arab Abdul Alhazred describes it as a place where different realities converge, which might explain why it is difficult to pin down its precise location.
[edit] Appearances
In The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath, the Plateau of Leng is located in the north of the Dreamlands and is inhabited by the High Priest Not to Be Described, who dwells alone in a prehistoric monastery. In Walter C. DeBill's short story "In 'Ygiroth" (1975), the deserted city of the title is located in the mountains surrounding Leng.
In At the Mountains of Madness, an expedition from Miskatonic University explores a plateau in Antarctica and discovers an ancient and apparently abandoned city built by the Elder Things. One member of the expedition, who has encountered references to the Plateau of Leng in ancient texts, forms the hypothesis that the plateau they are exploring is Leng. In common with the High Priest's abode in The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath, the walls of the buildings atop the plateau are covered with detailed frescos that are disturbing to read.
In Stephen King's novel Needful Things, Mr. Gaunt gives Ace Merril some cocaine said to be fabricated in "the plains of Leng", though no other explanations are given. The novel also contains other references to Lovecraft's work.
[edit] Origin
The word leng (冷) means "cold" in Mandarin and Hokkien. It is unknown if Lovecraft knew this when he chose the name for his plateau.
[edit] References
- Harms, Daniel (1998). “Leng”, The Encyclopedia Cthulhiana, 2nd ed., Oakland, CA: Chaosium, pp. 179–80. ISBN 1-56882-119-0.
