Cthulhu Mythos deities

Writer H.P. Lovecraft created a number of fictional deities throughout the course of his literary career, including the "Great Old Ones" and the "Outer Gods", with sporadic references to other miscellaneous deities (e.g. Nodens). The Elder Gods are a later creation of writers such as August Derleth, who is credited with forming the Cthulhu Mythos.[1][2]

Contents

Great Old Ones

An ongoing theme in Lovecraft's work is the complete irrelevance of mankind in the face of the cosmic horrors that apparently exist in the universe, with Lovecraft constantly referring to the "Great Old Ones": a loose pantheon of ancient, powerful deities from space who once ruled the Earth and who have since fallen into a death-like sleep.[3]

Lovecraft named several of these deities, being Azathoth, Cthulhu, Ghatanothoa, Shub-Niggurath, Yog-Sothoth, Nyarlathotep and Yig respectively. With the exception of Cthulhu, the remainder of this loose pantheon apparently dwelled in deep space. Worshipped by deranged human cults, these beings are currently imprisoned (beneath the sea, inside the Earth, and in distant planetary systems) and apparently eagerly await the time of their release. Although Lovecraft did establish this premise in his 1928 novella The Call of Cthulhu with reference to the eponymous creature, it was Derleth who applied the notion to all of the Great Old Ones.

Table of Great Old Ones

This table is organized as follows:

Great Old Ones
Name Epithet(s),
other name(s)
Description References
Ammutseba Devourer of Stars A dark, cloudy mass with tentacles which absorbs falling stars. LO, SK
Aphoom-Zhah The Cold Flame,
Lord of the Pole
Appears much like Cthugha but grey, and cold. AF, HG, LP
Arwassa The Silent Shouter on the Hill A humanoid torso with tentacles instead of limbs, and a short neck ending in a toothless, featureless mouth. rpg
Atlach-Nacha The Spider God,
Spinner in Darkness
A giant spider with a human-like face. PS, AT,SG
Baoht Z'uqqa-Mogg The Bringer of Pestilence A huge, flying, scorpion with an ant-like head. rpg[4]
Basatan Master of the Crabs Not described, probably a crab humanoid or a gigantic crab. MC
B’gnu-Thun The Soul-Chilling Ice-God Appears as a cyanotic humanoid followed by an eerie blizzard. CC2, SS2
Bokrug The Great Water Lizard,
The Doom of Sarnath
Appears as a gigantic water lizard. DC, SC
Bugg-Shash[5] The Black One,
The Filler of Space,
He Who Comes in the Dark
Appears as a black, slimy mass covered in eyes and mouths, much like a Shoggoth. DI, EL, KB, RS
Byatis The Berkeley Toad,
Serpent-Bearded Byatis
Appears as a gigantic, multicoloured toad with one eye, a proboscis, crab-like claws, and tentacles below the mouth. BY, RC, SF
Chaugnar Faugn Horror from the Hills,
The Feeder,
Caug-Narfagn
A bipedal elephant with a mouth on the end of its trunk. HF, HM, FO, RH
Cthugha The Living Flame,
The Burning One
Appears as a living conflagration. DD, EL, HC, LM
Cthylla Secret Daughter of Cthulhu Appears as a huge, winged, octopus-like creature with six eyes. ID, TC
Cyäegha The Destroying Eye,
The Waiting Dark
Appears as a gigantic black mass of tentacles with a single green eye at the centre. DM
Cynothoglys The Mortician God, She Whose Hand Embalms Appears as a formless mound with one arm-like appendage. PR
The Dweller in the Gulf Eidolon of the Blind Appears as a huge, eyeless, black, soft-shelled tortoise with a triangular head and two whip-like tails, and suckers on the end of each tail. WL
Dygra The Stone-Thing A jewel-facetted, semi-crystalline entity, with geodic tentacles. CC2, SS2
Dythalla Lord of Lizards Not described, probably a gigantic saurian creature. SS2
Eihort The Pale Beast,
God of the Labyrinth
Appears as a huge, pallid, gelatinous oval with a myriad legs and multiple eyes. BS, FP
Ei'lor The Star-Seed A plant-like, parasitic horror dwelling on a jungle planet revolving around the green star Yifne and the dead star known as Baalblo (perhaps a white dwarf, a neutron star or another kind of stellar remnant). CC2, EO, SS4, SS8
Etepsed Egnis[6]
A formless monstrosity with a huge, arm-like appendage. EE, CtC, GS2
Ghadamon A Seed of Azathoth A bluish-brown, slimy monstrosity riddled with holes, and an occasional malformed head. rpg
Ghisguth The Sound of the Deep Waters A titanic mass of jelly material. PN, OO
Glaaki The Inhabitant of the Lake,
Lord of Dead Dreams
Appears as a giant three-eyed slug with metallic spines, and tiny, pyramid-like feet underneath. GL, IB, IL
Gi-Hoveg The Aether-Anemone A spiky, globular mass with myriads of eyes. CC2, SS2
Gloon The Corrupter of Flesh,
Master of the Temple, Glhuun
Usually manifests through a Dionysian sculpture, but its true form is that of a gigantic wattled slug-thing. rpg, TE
God of the Red Flux
Vaporous red entity. MW
Gog-Hoor Eater on the Insane A giant entity dwelling in some reverse dimension, resembling a huge bullet with a long proboscis AO
Gol-goroth Golgoroth,
Gol-Goroth,
The Forgotten Old One,
God of the Black Stone
Appears as a gigantic, black, toad-like creature with an impossibly malevolent glare, or a tentacled, scaled, bat-winged entity. FO, FR, GB
The Green God
A sentient plant-entity dwells in subterranean caverns where it is always served by mutant rabbit-like worshipers. HW2
Groth-Golka The Demon Bird-God A monstrous bird-like fiend with sharp teeth, dwelling beneath Antarctica, vaguely resembling an extinct Pterosaur FO
Gzxtyos[7]
The consort of Othuyeg, very similar to his bridegroom. CtC
Haiogh-Yai The Outsider A monstrous, amorphous, whirling thing living on a wandering black hole named Vix’ni-Aldru, which also hosts a monstrous city made of titanic blocks at its center. CC2, SS2
Han The Dark One A being made of cold, howling mist, bound to Yig's worship SF
Hastalÿk The Contagion A microbial entity, responsible of plagues rpg
Hastur The Unspeakable,
He Who is Not to be Named,
Lord of Interstellar Spaces,
The King in Yellow
FA, HS, LT, RH, SS, WD, YS
H’chtelegoth The Great Tentacled God A towering greenish trunk with a crown of tentacles, a row of multiple eyes and a couple of additional, lateral grasping appendages. HL
Hydra The Thousand-Faced Moon A vampiric entity living by absorbing the heads and brains of intelligent species. It dwells within an alien dimension outside conventional time and space. This entity is not to be confused with Mother Hydra, which is a Great Deep One servitor. HY
Hziulquoigmnzhah Ziulquag-Manzah Has spheroid body, elongated arms, short legs, and a pendulum-like head dangling underneath. DS, PN, TA
Ialdagorth[8] The Dark Devourer Cousin and servant of Azathoth, appears as black, shapeless, malevolent cloudy thing. It could be treated as an Outer God, since Azathoth's cousin. SS20
Idh-yaa Cthulhu's Mate, Xothic Matriarch OA
Iod The Shining Hunter A levitating, sinuous, glowing creature. HU, IN, SZ
Istasha Mistress of Darkness A feline deity similar to Bastet. Her sister is the sylvan Lythalia. SS2, SS4
Ithaqua The Wind Walker,
The Wendigo,
God of the Cold White Silence
A gigantic, corpse-like human with webbed feet and glowing red eyes. BW, CD, IM, IQ, SW, TW, WE
Juk-Shabb God of Yekub Appears as a great shining ball of energy. CF
Kaalut
Likely a gigantic, larva-like horror. It dwells on the distant ammonia planet of K'gil'mnon. GI, HG3
Kag'Naru of the Air[9]
Mentioned in American comics "Challengers of the Unknown" (1977). Comics
Kassogtha Bride of Cthulhu, The Leviathan of Diseased A huge mass of coiled, writhing tentacles. She is Cthulhu's sister and mate, who bore him two twin daughters (Nctosa and Nctolhu) NH
Kurpannga The Devil-dingo A giant hairless dingo-like fiend living in Dreamland (or the Dreamtime of Aboriginal myths) DL
Lu-Kthu Birth-womb of the Great Old Ones A titanic, planet-sized mass of entrails and internal organs. On closer examination it appears a wet, warty globe, covered with countless ovoid pustules and spider-webbed with a network of long, narrow tunnels. Each pustule bears the larva of a Great Old One. CC2
Lythalia The Forest-Goddess SS2
M'Nagalah[10] The Devourer A mass of entrails and eyes, or a massive blob-thing. TU
Mnomquah Lord of the Black Lake, The Monster in the Moon A very large and eyeless lizard-creature with a "crown" of feelers. MD, MQ, SB
Mordiggian The Charnel God,
The Great Ghoul,
Lord of Zul-Bha-Sair
A shapeshifting cloud of shadow. CG, IC, RE
Mormo[11] The Thousand-Faced Moon Mormo appears in many forms, but three are most common: as a mocking vampiric maiden, as a tentacle-haired gorgon, or as a hunched toad-like albino with a mass of feelers instead of a face. This last is the form of her servitors, the Moon-beasts. HR2, TR5
Narrathoth The Forgotten DC2, NF2
Nctosa & Nctolhu The Twin Spawn of Cthulhu Twin daughters of Cthulhu, imprisoned on Jupiter. They appear as huge shell-endowed beings, with eight segmented limbs and six long arms ending with claws, vaguely resembling their "step-sister" Cthylla. NH
Ngirrth’lu The Wolf-Thing, The Stalker in the Snows, He Who Hunts, Na-girt-a-lu A ferocious and towering wolf-like humanoid with bat wings. He is served by werewolf servants known as the Lupine Ones. SS2
Nug and Yeb The Twin Blasphemies Somewhat like Shub-Niggurath. BF, EH, LA, OA, TO
Nyaghogghua
A blurry, dark, kraken-like entity mentioned in the Song of Yste. AB
Nyogtha The Thing which Should Not Be,
Haunter of the Red Abyss
Appears as an inky shadow. AF, HG, SH, SR
Oorn Mnomquah's Mate Appears as a huge, tentacled mollusc. MD, HW10
Othuum The Oceanic Horror A twisting, ropy-tentacled mass with a single alien face somewhere in the center of the slimy squirming mass. RS, OT
Othuyeg The Doom-Walker Appears as a great, tentacled eye (similar to Cyäegha). DF, VC, SP
Pharol Pharol the Black A black, fanged, cycloptic demon with arms like swaying serpents.[12] The entity normally dwells in another dimension—a "seething and sub-dimensional chaos" beyond the mundane universe.[13] The wizard Eibon of Hyperborea sometimes summoned Pharol to query him for arcane information.[14] AF
Quachil Uttaus Treader of the Dust Appears as a miniature, wrinkled mummy with stiff, outstretched claws. KU, RU
Quyagen[15] He Who Dwells Beneath Our Feet Worshiped as deity in a lost continent located in southern Atlantic Ocean. TT5
Q'yth-az The Crystalloid Intellect A towering mass of crystals, residing on the lightless planet Mthura. EF
Raandaii-B'nk
A shark-like humanoid native to the Bermuda Triangle, possibly similar to Cthulhu's avatar the Father of All Sharks. FD
Ragnalla Seeker in the Skies A titanic raptorial fiend. CC2, SS2
Rhan-Tegoth Terror of the Hominids, He of the Ivory Throne A three-eyed, gilled, proboscidian monster with a globular torso, six long, sinuous limbs ending in black paws with crab-like claws, and covered in what appears to be hair, but is actually tiny tentacles. HM, AF, LT, RR, PD
Rhogog The Bearer of the Cup of the Blood of the Ancients A dead-black leafless oak tree, hot to the touch, with a single red eye at the centre. RG
Rh'Thulla of the Wind[16]
Mentioned in American comics "Challengers of the Unknown" (1977). Probably similar to M'Nagalah the Eternal Comics
Rlim Shaikorth The White Worm A gigantic, whitish worm with a huge maw and eyes made of dripping globules of blood. CW, HG, LP
Ruhtra Dyoll The Fire God CC2, SS2
Saa'itii The Hog A gigantic, ghostly hog. H5
Sebek The Crocodile God A crocodile-headed reptilian humanoid, equal to the Ancient Egyptian god Sobek. EK
Sfatlicllp
PN
Shathak Mistress of the Abyssmal Slime, Death Reborn - PN
Shudde M'ell The Burrower Beneath,
The Great Chthonian
Appears as a colossal worm with tentacles for a head. BU, BT3, CS, TC, WU
Shuy-Nihl The Devourer in the Earth A dark blob of darkness endowed with tentacles. CC2, SS2
Summanus Monarch of Night,
The Terror that Walketh in Darkness
A mouthless, grotesque human with pale tentacles protruding from underneath a dark robe. FH, WG
Tharapithia The Shadow in the Crimson Light Slavic and Ugric God-like creature, photophobic and burrowing fiend awed in Middle Ages. It cannot endure the light of the sun and eludes it by tunnelling deep under the roots of the oaks. CL2
Tsathoggua The Sleeper of N'kai,
The Toad-God,
Zhothaqqua, Sadagowah
Appears as a huge, furry, almost humanoid toad, or a bat-like sloth. BC, DS, PN, IU, OL, RT, SG, TZ
Ut'Ulls-Hr'Her The Great Horned Mother A huge faceless creature with various appendages sprouting from its head, a beard of oozing horns, and many reddish teats and fish-like fins sprouting from an egg-shaped body. NH
Uvhash The Blood-Mad God of the Void A colossal, vampiric, red mass of tentacles and eyes, rumoured to have been one of mad emperor Caligola's eldritch sponsors. AD
Vhuzompha Mother and Father to All Marine Life, The Hermaphroditic God An amorphous monster of prodigious size, covered in a multitude of eyes, mouths, projections and both male and female genitalia. CC2, SS2
Vibur The Thing from Beyond A huge furry and rapidly shifting entity casting radioactive stones. rpg
Volgna-Gath Keeper of the Secrets Not described. SS2
Vulthoom The Sleeper of Ravermos,
Gsarthotegga
May appear as a huge, unearthly plant. VU
The Worm that Gnaws in the Night Doom of Shaggai A massive, worm-like fiend, similar to a Graboid from Tremors. AG
Xalafu The Dread One A titanic, globular mass of various dark colours, endowed with a huge, single eye in the middle of the alien bulk. ZS
Xa'ligha Demon of Dissonance, Master of Twisted Sound A haunting sound leading to madness and self-destruction. Perhaps similar to Tru'Nembra. CC2
Ycnagnnisssz Lord of Realms Unknown A black, festering amorphous mass. rpg
Yegg-Ha The Faceless One A 10 foot-tall winged being. IE
Y'golonac The Defiler Appears as a naked, obese, headless human with a mouth in the palm of each hand; other features are nebulous. CP
Yhashtur[17] The Worm-God of the Lords of Thule A worm-like monster. SS20
Yhoundeh The Elk Goddess DS, LE
Yig Father of Serpents A giant snake with human arms covered in scales. CY, SJ, VY
Y'lla Master of the Seas A monstrous, barrel-shaped sea worm with tentacles and lamprey-like mouth. CC2
Ythogtha The Thing in the Pit, Shaurash-Ho[18] Appears as a colossal Deep One, with tentacles surrounding its one eye. OA, PD, TC, TP
Zathog The Black Lord of Whirling Vortices A festering, bubbling mass that constantly churns and whirls, putting forth vestigial appendages and reabsorbing them. Bubbles burst on its surface to reveal hate-filled eyes, and slobbering mouths form and close randomly about his horrible body. FB, WZ
Zhar and Lloigor The Twin Obscenities Both appear as a colossal mass of tentacles. SA, LS, TP, SX
Zoth-Ommog Dweller in the Depths A gigantic entity with a cone-shaped body, a reptilian head, a beard of tentacles, and starfish-like arms. HG, OA, TC
Zstylzhemghi Matriarch of Swarms,
Zystulzhemgni
PN, TA
Zushakon Dark Silent One,
Old Night,
Zul-Che-Quon,
Zuchequon
Appears as a swirling, black vortex. BH, KD
Zvilpogghua Feaster from the Stars,
The Sky-Devil,
Ossadagowah
A bat-winged, armless toad with tentacles instead of a face. LT, RM, SV

In Joseph Pulver's novel Nightmare's Disciple several new Great Old Ones and Elder Gods are named. The novel mentions Ob'mbu the Shatterer; T'ith and Xu'bea, The Teeth of the Dark Plains of Mwaalba. Miivls and Vn'Vulot, are said to have fought each other in southern Gondwanaland during the Cretaceous period.[19]

Outer Gods

The Outer Gods are ruled by Azathoth, the "Blind Idiot God", who holds court at the center of the universe. A group of Outer Gods dance rhythmically around Azathoth, in cadence to the piping of a demonic flute. Among the Outer Gods present at Azathoth's court are Lesser Outer Gods, the entities called "Ultimate Gods" in The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath, and possibly Shub-Niggurath, the "Black Goat of the Woods". Yog-Sothoth, the "All-in-One", co-rules with Azathoth and exists at all places and in all times in the cosmos, yet is somehow locked outside the mundane universe. Nyarlathotep, the "Crawling Chaos", is the avatar and soul of the Outer Gods, and serves as an intermediary between the deities of the pantheon and their cults. The only Outer God to have a true personality, Nyarlathotep possesses a malign intellect and reveals a mocking contempt for his masters.[20]

List of Outer Gods

Abhoth

See Clark Ashton Smith deities.

The Blackness from the Stars

The Blackness from the Stars is an immobile blob of living, sentient darkness, torn from the primal fabric of the cosmos at the center of the universe. It is distinguishable in darkness only as vaguely shimmering oily pitch. Although intelligent, it speaks no known language and ignores attempts to communicate.

Ref 
 KC 

The Cloud-Thing

A man-eating, cloudy mass, unnamed Outer God at the court of Azathoth.

Ref 
 KC 

Cxaxukluth

Cxaxukluth (Androgynous Offspring of Azathoth) is one of the Seeds or Spawn of Azathoth, grown to adulthood and monstrous proportions and power. In appearance, Cxaxukluth resembles something of a cross between Azathoth and Ubbo-Sathla: an amorphous, writhing mass of bubbling, nuclear protoplasmic gel. It normally dwells alone in some unnamed place beyond time and space, unless disturbed or summoned away.

Ref 
 UG 

Daoloth

See Ramsey Campbell deities.


Ghroth

See Ramsey Campbell deities.


The Hydra

See Henry Kuttner deities.


Mh'ithrha

An invisible wolf-like fiend similar to Fenrir of Norse mythology (if not coincident). Mh'ithrha (Arch-Lord of Tindalos) is the lords of the Hounds of Tindalos and the most powerful. Although not an actual Outer God as such, its form and awesome powers defy standard classification. Mh'ithra's eternal battle with Yog-Sothoth is said to be legendary..

Ref 
 rpg 

Mother of Pus

A Lesser Outer God composed of slime, tentacles, eyes, and mouths. The Mother of Pus was spawned through an obscene mating between a human and Shub-Niggurath. When summoned to Earth, the Mother of Pus seeks refuge in pools of stagnant, foul water.

Ref 
 rpg 

The Nameless Mist

The Nameless Mist (Nyog' Sothep?) is a misty, shapeless thing, also it has no name.

Ref 
 AS, SF, HF, S2, WD 

Shabbith-Ka

Shabbith-Ka appears as a shapeless, roughly man-sized purplish aura, spitting and crackling with powerful electrical arcs. A sense of power, malignancy, and intelligence accompanies it and persons able to gaze at its form long enough can see a rudimentary face or faces within the glowing mass.

Ref 
 rpg 

Star Mother

The Star Mother appears as a chunk of yellow-green stone about the size of an infant. Its shape suggests a plump, huge-breasted, faceless female figure. From it extend dozens of pencil-thin root-like strands. It is one of the Larvae of the Other Gods and has no cult, although served by zombie slaves.

Ref 
 rpg 

Tru'nembra

Tru'nembra (The Angel of Music) is the name given in Malleus Monstrorum Call of Cthulhu roleplay game guide to the entity described in Howard Philips Lovecraft's novel "The Music of Eric Zahn". It has no shape, but manifests as a haunting music.

Ref 
 MZ 

Tulzscha

A blazing green ball of flame, dancing with brethren Outer Gods at the court of Azathoth. Called to our world, it assumes a gaseous form, penetrates the planet to the core, then erupts from below as a pillar of flame. It cannot move from where it emerges.

Ref 
 FE 

Ubbo-Sathla

See Clark Ashton Smith deities.


Ycnàgnnisssz

Ycnàgnnisssz is a black, festering, amorphous mass that constantly blasts and erupts violently, spewing out bits of churning lava-like material. It spawned the Great Old One Zstylzhemgni by fission.

Ref 
 rpg 

Yibb-Tstll

A gigantic, bat-winged humanoid with detached eyes, wearing a green robe. This horrible deity sees all time and space as it slowly rotates in the centre of its clearing in the 'Jungle of Kled', in Earth‘s Dreamlands. Beneath its billowing cloak are a multitude of nightgaunts, suckling and clutching at her breasts. She has close connection to the Great Old One Bugg-Shash.

Ref 
 SC, OK, CB 

Yidhra

Yidhra (The Dream Witch) usually appears as a youthful, attractive, earthly female, though her shape may vary.

Yidhra has been on Earth since the first microorganisms appeared and is immortal. To survive in a changing environment, she gained the ability to take on the characteristics of any creature that she devoured. Over time, Yidhra split herself into different aspects, though each part shares her consciousness.

Yidhra is served by devoted cults found in such widely separated places as Burma, Chad, Laos, Sumer, New Mexico, and Texas. Members of Yidhra's cult can gain immortality by merging with her, though they become somewhat like Yidhra as a consequence. Those who serve her are also promised plentiful harvests and healthy livestock. She usually conceals her true form behind a powerful illusion, appearing as a comely young woman; only favored members of her cult can see her as she actually is.

One of her avatar is Madam Yi, appearing as a human female dressed in beautiful white and black robes which constantly billow on some unseen wind, on which she may hover or fly. Her beautiful face is like the painted face of a porcelain doll and her bloodred lips and closed almond-shaped black eyes are forever frozen on a smooth and bone-white face. Long black hair is braided into a single ponytail. The avatar’s hands both end in very long, razor-like black fingernails

Ref 
 WY, rpg 

Yomagn'tho

Yomagn’tho (The Feaster from the Stars, That Which Relentlessly Waits Outside) is a malevolent being who wishes nothing more than the destruction of mankind for unknown reasons. It waits in its home dimension of Pherkard until it is summoned to Earth. When first summoned, Yomagn’tho appears as a small ball of fire that quickly expands to a large circle of fire with three flaming inner petals.

Ref 
 FS 

Elder Gods

In post-Lovecraft stories, the Elder Gods oppose the Outer Gods and the Great Old Ones. Some consider them to be non-Lovecraftian because they employ a good versus evil dichotomy which is contrary to the cosmic indifference of Lovecraft's fiction. Derleth attempted to retroactively group the deity Nodens in this category (who acts as deus ex machina for the protagonists in both The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath and "The Strange High House in the Mist").

List

Bast

Bast (Goddess of Cats or Pasht) appears as a female human with a cat's head.

Ref 
 BR, MA, SU 

Kthanid

Ref 
 HP 

See Brian Lumley deities.


Nodens

Nodens (Lord of the Great Abyss) appears as a human male riding a huge seashell pulled by legendary beasts.

Ref 
 DQ, GM, HW , NE, PN2, HH 

Ulthar

Ulthar (or Uldar) is a deity sent to Earth to hold vigil over the Great Old Ones.

Ref 
 GC, SX 

Vorvadoss

Vorvadoss* (The Flaming One, Lord of the Universal Spaces, The Troubler of the Sands, Who Waiteth in the Outer Dark) appears as a cloaked, hooded being, enveloped in green flames, with fiery eyes.

Ref 
 EA, IN, AE, WH 

Yad-Thaddag

See Brian Lumley deities.


Great Ones

The Great Ones are the "weak gods of earth" that reign in the Dreamlands. They are protected by Nyarlathotep.

Great Ones
Name Description References
Hagarg Ryonis,
The Lier-in-Wait
Usually appears as a huge, reptilian monster. DL, WH
Karakal An elf-like humanoid. DL, WH
Lobon Appears as ivy-crowned youth bearing a spear. DC, DL, WH
Nath-Horthath Chief god of Celephaïs. CE, DL, DQ, KA
Oukranos River god DQ
Tamash Appears as a short, silver-skinned, ebon-haired, and bearded man. DC, DL, MG, WH
Zo-Kalar God of birth and death. DC, WH

See also

References

  1. ^ Bloch, "Heritage of Horror", p. 8.
  2. ^ Price, "H. P. Lovecraft and the Cthulhu Mythos", Crypt of Cthulhu #35, p. 5.
  3. ^ Harms, "A Brief History of the Cthulhu Mythos", p. viii.
  4. ^ Scott D. Aniolowski, "Mysterious Manuscripts" in The Unspeakable Oath #3, John Tynes (ed.), Seattle, WA: Pagan Publishing, August 1991. Periodical (role-playing game material). Baoht Z'uqqa-Mogg first appeared in this gaming supplement.
  5. ^ When Brian Lumley read David Sutton's short story "Demoniacal", he wrote a sequel entitled "The Kiss of Bugg-Shash". Lumley expanded Sutton's tale and gave his unnamed entity its name—Bugg-Shash—which effectively tied Sutton's creation to the mythos. (Price, "Introduction", The New Lovecraft Circle, pp. xx–xxi). The name "Bugg-Shash", however, appeared earlier in Lumley's short story "Rising with Surtsey" (Harms, "Bugg-Shash", Encyclopedia Cthulhiana, p. 41).
  6. ^ He is first mentioned in Dawid Lewis' short novel "Etepsed Egnis" and cited again in Cthulhu Cultus #11, in the novel A Core Unto Itself.
  7. ^ He is mentioned in the Cthulhu Cultus #9-11, in the novel People of the Monolith.
  8. ^ He is mentioned in the Cthulhu Cultus #10, in the novel Servants of the Coil.
  9. ^ Kag'Naru of the Air and Rh'Thulla of the Wind are mentioned in the comic book Challengers of the Unknown #83 (which also added "the Eternal" to M'Nagalah's name).
  10. ^ M'Nagalah first appeared in the comic book Swamp Thing #8 (1974) in a story by Len Wein and Bernie Wrightson (Harms, "M'nagalah", Encyclopedia Cthulhiana, p. 196). The being has since shown up in stories in Challengers of the Unknown, The Trenchcoat Brigade, and The All-New Atom. His siblings, Rh’Thulla of the Wind and Kag’Naru of the Air, debuted in Challengers of the Unknown #83 (which also added "the Eternal" to M'Nagalah's name).
  11. ^ Mormo is informally introduced in H.P. Lovecraft's "Horror at Red Hook". Kenneth Hite's "Trail of Cthulhu" RPG material lists her as a Great Old One and relates her to the Moon-beasts.
  12. ^ Carter, "Shaggai", The Book of Eibon, p. 206.
  13. ^ Carter, "Shaggai", The Book of Eibon, 207.
  14. ^ Harms, "Pharol", p. 238, The Encyclopedia Cthulhiana. Daniel Harms believes that Pharol was invented by C. L. Moore, Henry Kuttner's wife, since the being appears in many of her stories.
  15. ^ It is mentioned in Eldritch Tales issue #7, in Crispin Burnham's Temple of the Demon.
  16. ^ Kag'Naru of the Air and Rh'Thulla of the Wind are mentioned in the comic book Challengers of the Unknown #83 (which also added "the Eternal" to M'Nagalah's name).
  17. ^ He is mentioned in the Cthulhu Cultus #10, in the novel Servants of the Coil.
  18. ^ According to correspondence between Lovecraft and fellow author James F. Morton, Cthulhu's parent is the deity Nug, itself the offspring of Yog-Sothoth and Shub-Niggurath. Lovecraft includes a fanciful family tree in which he himself descends from Cthulhu via Shaurash-ho, Yogash the Ghoul, K'baa the Serpent, and Ghoth the Burrower.
  19. ^ Pulver, "Nightmare's Disciple"
  20. ^ Harms. The Encyclopedia Cthulhiana, "Azathoth", pp. 16; "Nyarlathotep", pp. 218; "Shub-Niggurath", pp. 275; "Tulzscha", pp. 304; Yog-Sothoth, p. 346.

Bibliography