Great Old One compendium

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is a compendium of the lesser known Great Old Ones of the Cthulhu Mythos of H. P. Lovecraft.

Contents: A B C D E M N O Q R S T V W Y Z
References—Notes—External links

[edit] A

[edit] Aphoom-Zhah

See Lin Carter deities.

[edit] Atlach-Nacha

See Clark Ashton Smith deities.

[edit] B

[edit] Basatan

See Clark Ashton Smith deities.

[edit] Bokrug

Bokrug (The Great Water Lizard) first appeared in Lovecraft's short story "The Doom That Came to Sarnath" (1920). The being is also part of Lovecraft's Dream Cycle.

Bokrug is the god of the semi-amphibian Thuum'ha of Ib in the land of Mnar. The deity slept beneath the calm waters of a lake that bordered Ib and the city of Sarnath. When the humans of Sarnath cruelly slaughtered the populace of Ib and stole the god's idol, the deity was awakened. Each year thereafter, strange ripples disturbed the otherwise placid lake. On the one-thousandth anniversary of Ib's destruction, Bokrug rose up and destroyed Sarnath (so utterly that not even ruins remained). Afterwards, the Thuum'ha recolonised Ib and thenceforth lived undisturbed.

[edit] C

[edit] Chaugnar Faugn

Chaugnar Faugn
Chaugnar Faugn

Some were the figures of well-known myth — gorgons, chimaeras, dragons, cyclops, and all their shuddersome congeners. Others were drawn from darker and more furtively whispered cycles of subterranean legend — black, formless Tsathoggua, many-tentacled Cthulhu, proboscidian Chaugnar Faugn, and other rumoured blasphemies from forbidden books like the Necronomicon, the Book of Eibon, or the Unaussprechlichen Kulten of von Junzt.
—H. P. Lovecraft, "The Horror in the Museum" (emphasis added)

Chaugnar Faugn (The Elephant God, The Horror from the Hills) was created by Frank Belknap Long and first appeared in his novel The Horror from the Hills (1931).

Chaugnar Faugn (or Chaugnar Faughn) appears as a horribly grotesque idol, made of an unknown element, combining the worst aspects of octopus, elephant, and human being. When Chaugnar Faugn hungers, it can move incredibly quickly for its size and use its lamprey-like "trunk" to drain the blood from any organism it encounters.

Chaugnar Faugn came to the Earth from another dimension eons ago, possibly in a form other than the one it later assumed. Upon arriving, he found the dominant lifeform to be only simple amphibians. From these creatures, he created the Miri Nigri to be his servitors. The Miri Nigri would later mate with early humans to produce hybrids that would eventually evolve into the horrid Tcho-Tcho people.

[edit] Cthugha

See Cthugha.

[edit] Cynothoglys

Cynothoglys (The Mortician God) first appeared in Thomas Ligotti's short story "The Prodigy of Dreams" (1994). The being appears as a shapeless, multiform entity with a single arm used for catching those who summoned it and bringing them painless, ecstatic death. In ancient times, it held a small cult in Italy, which paid it homage rather than worshipping it, since actual worship would be the same as summoning the god. They considered it to be no mere Cloacina, but the mortician of all creatures, even the gods themselves.

[edit] D

[edit] Dweller in the Gulf

See Clark Ashton Smith deities.

[edit] E

[edit] Eihort

See Ramsey Campbell deities.

[edit] M

[edit] Mnomquah

See Brian Lumley deities.

[edit] N

[edit] Nug and Yeb

Nug and Yeb, the Twin Blasphemies, are the spawn of Shub-Niggurath and Yog-Sothoth. Nug is the parent of Cthulhu and the parent of Kthanid via the influence of Yog-Sothoth. Nug is a god among ghouls, while Yeb is the leader of Abhoth's alien cult.[1] Both Nug and Yeb closely resemble Shub-Niggurath.

The names Nug and Yeb are similar to the names of the Egyptian sibling gods Nut and Geb, members of the Heliopolitan Ennead.

[edit] Nyogtha

See Henry Kuttner deities.

[edit] O

[edit] Oorn

See Brian Lumley deities.

[edit] P

[edit] Pamael

A large deity. Shown as a man with a lion's head, also having many long tentacles from his back. Mortal enemy of the Elder Gods. About 35 feet tall. Uses black magic to command shadows. Could also manipulate his form to become nothing more than a shadow. Often shown in texts and the like as a cycle sitting within an inverted equilateral triangle with no top. Worshipped by a small Egyptian cult. His worship ended when Rome arrived in Egypt.

[edit] Q

[edit] Quachil Uttaus

See Clark Ashton Smith deities.

[edit] R

[edit] Rlim Shaikorth

See Clark Ashton Smith deities.

[edit] S

[edit] Shudde M'ell

See Brian Lumley deities.

[edit] Summanus

See Brian Lumley deities.

[edit] V

[edit] Vulthoom

See Clark Ashton Smith deities.

[edit] W

[edit] The Worm that Gnaws in the Night

See Lin Carter deities.

[edit] Y

[edit] Yibb-Tstll

See Brian Lumley deities.

[edit] Yig

Yig (the Father of Serpents) first appeared in the story The Curse of Yig which was created by Zealia Bishop and almost completely rewritten by H. P. Lovecraft. He is a deity that appears as a serpent man, serpent with bat like wings, or as a giant snake. Although Yig is easy to anger, he is easy to please as well. Yig often sends his serpent minions, the children of Yig, to destroy or transform his enemies.

To Native Americans, Yig is regarded as "bad medicine". He is also alluded to in western American folklore. He is identified with the Mesoamerican deity Quetzalcoatl, and may be a prototype for that god and other serpentine gods worldwide. Some authors identify him as the Stygian serpent god Set's father, and from Robert E. Howard's Conan stories, and also with the Great Serpent worshiped by the Serpent People of Valusia from Howard's Kull stories.

Yig is the subject of a song by the shock rock band GWAR entitled "Horror of Yig", which appears on their album Scumdogs of the Universe. The band The Darkest of the Hillside Thickets, famous for their Lovecraft references, also refers to Yig in a song titled "Yig Snake Daddy".

Yig is the name of a deity in the Arcanis Dungeons & Dragons campaign setting. Yig was once (and may still) be worshipped by the Ssethregorean Empire, a group dominated by various lizard and snake-like beings. Yig in this mythos is a female deity, but still strongly associated with serpents, suggesting the name is not a coincidence.

Despite being spoken of on only a few occasions in Lovecraft's work, Yig is one of the Ancient Ones included in the Arkham Horror boardgame, appearing alongside Ancients such as Cthulhu and Nyarlahotep, proving his popularity; a game where Yig is the villain will go very quickly.

[edit] Z

[edit] Zathog

Zathog appears in Richard Tierney's novel The Winds of Zarr (1971), as well as in his short story "From Beyond the Stars" (1975). After warring with the Elder Gods, Zathog, eager for revenge, entered into a compact with the brutal Zarr. The Zarr controlled most of the galaxy where they dwelt and desired to conquer the rest of the universe. In return for helping him free his brethren, Zathog promised to give the Zarr the ability to travel through time and space.

[edit] Zushakon

See Henry Kuttner deities.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  • Harms, Daniel (1998). The Encyclopedia Cthulhiana, 2nd ed., Oakland, CA: Chaosium. ISBN 1-56882-119-0. 
  • Long, Frank Belknap [1931] (1963). The Horror from the Hills. Sauk City, WI: Arkham House. ISBN 9997539699. 
  • Lovecraft, Howard P.; Hazel Heald [1933] (1989). "The Horror in the Museum", in S.T. Joshi (ed.): The Horror in the Museum and Other Revisions. Sauk City, WI: Arkham House. ISBN 0-87054-040-8. 
  • Price, Robert M. (ed.) (2002). The Book of Eibon, 1st ed., Oakland, CA: Chaosium. ISBN 1-56882-129-8. 

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Harms, "Nug and Yeb", Encyclopedia Cthulhiana, pp. 216–7.