by Robert Bloch
For instance in “The Faceless God” (Weird Tales, May 1936) he goes all out. I could fill a paragraph with nothing else but the various new titles of Nyarlathotep which that story adds to the Mythos. In fact, I will: The Demon Messenger, the Secret One, Black Messenger of Karneter (the Egyptian hell), the Stalker among the Stars, Lord of the Desert, the Dark One, the Faceless God, the Dark Demon, God of the Desert. See what I mean?
Bloch’s “failure” to develop any of his own invented gods beyond a mere mention or two may, after all, have been deliberate. He had this trick of tossing into his Mythos stories otherwise unexplained and never followed-up-on, fragments of lore. These fascinate a student of the Mythos such as I am—I wish to Karneter I knew what they mean! References to fragments of lore like the Feast of Ulder, the thirteenth covenant, the Moon of Yiggurath, the Soul Chant of Sebek, the Legend of the Elder Saboth, demon-haunted Nis, and the secret parable of Byagoona the Faceless One. I’d love to know what those things were supposed to mean . . .
Table of Contents
Back Cover
More Titles from Chaosium
Titlepage
Copyright
Dedication
De Vermis Mysteriis: A Preface (Robert M. Price)
MYSTERIES OF THE WORM
The Secret in the Tomb
The Suicide in the Study
The Shambler from the Stars
The Faceless God
The Grinning Ghoul
The Opener of the Way
The Dark Demon
The Brood of Bubastis
The Mannikin
The Creeper in the Crypt
The Secret of Sebek
Fane of the Black Pharaoh
The Eyes of the Mummy
The Sorcerer’s Jewel
Black Bargain
The Unspeakable Betrothal
The Shadow from the Steeple
Notebook Found in a Deserted House
Terror in Cut-Throat Cove
Philtre Tip
After Word (Mr. Bloch)
Demon-Dreaded Lore (Lin Carter)
