Cthulhu Mythos Encyclopedia

by Daniel Harms

  After their victory over the polyps, the Great Race set about building their cities of buildings thousands of feet tall, creating their nuclear-powered vehicles and flying machines, and engaging in historical research. It was in the latter field that they made use of their extraordinary mental time-travel powers. To study the past, certain scientists would project their minds backward in time using a method much like astral projection. The Race was unable to physically interact with the past.

  The Race used a different technique to journey to the future. Usually, one of the exceptional members of the Race sent its mind into the future, selecting a body there from which it could study that time. When it found an individual, usually a scholar of exceptional ability, it exchanged minds with him or her, displacing the host’s mind into the Yithian’s former body. The exchange lasted around five years, during which time the Yithian grasped the basics of life in its new society, afterward embarking on an exploration of the history, sociology, and mythology of the culture. Meanwhile, the host’s mind wrote a history of its own time for the Great Race and, if cooperative, was allowed to make excursions outside the cities, consult the Great Race’s libraries, and speak with other visitors from different worlds and times.

  After the Yithian learned all it could about the period it was visiting, it constructed a device that sent its mind back to the original body. The alien mind was hypnotized to forget the experience, and returned to its own time. One flaw in this procedure was that the alien would have dreams of its imprisonment, and might even recall information about their world that they had learned from the Yithians. The Great Race considered these lapses to be annoyances and often dealt with them by another possession or through their operatives in that period, but did not cease their research because of them.

  The Great Race also started a cult or cults known as the Motion which helped Great Race visitors in assimilating into the new period and silencing those formerly-possessed minds who remembered too much of their captivity. These cults have on occasion set the stage for broader infiltration into a particular period. The Tower of Babel, for instance, is said to have been a massive beacon allowing a physical gateway to form between their age and ancient Mesopotamia. Another experiment in modern times involved cloning new bodies for the visitors, but this is believed to have failed.

  Around fifty million years ago, the flying polyps imprisoned by the Yithians rose up and defeated their ancient foes. The Great Race sent the minds of their brightest scientists through time, ensuring the species’ survival. They spent some time on Jupiter and then a dark star near Taurus (where they inhabited forms very similar to those they used on earth), and from there will travel to earth again, taking up the bodies of a coleopterous hive-mind fifty million years in the future. After that cycle comes to a close, they will inhabit the vegetables of Mercury, and continue their civilization in this manner. Some say that the remnants of the Great Race, incapable of possessing bodies, will return to this world someday, becoming known as the Dlyrion Tharkos or Dark Ghosts.

  [A previous entry in this section maintained that the cult of the Yellow Sign that pursued the mi-go also chased members of the Great Race. I was mistaken about this, but it nonetheless served as the inspiration for a series of adventures for the game Dungeons and Dragons published by Green Ronin. Green Ronin was aware that the entry was inaccurate but found the plot compelling enough to continue.]

  See Alhazred, Abdul; Brothers of the Yellow Sign; Corsi, Bartolomeo; Eltdown Shards; flying polyps; Lemuria; Nug-Soth; Pnakotic Manuscripts; Pnakotus; Woodville, James; Yekub; Yith. (“False Containment”, Conyers; “The Changeling”, DeBill; “The Dark Brotherhood”, Derleth and Lovecraft; “The Horror from Yith”, DeBill; Delta Green: Denied to the Enemy, Detwiller; “The Shadow out of Space”, Derleth and Lovecraft; “The Shadow from Yith”, Gullette; “The Dreamer”, Herber; “The Shadow Out of Time”, Lovecraft (O); Necronomicon, Tyson.)

  GREAT TREES

  Sentient, telepathic plants thousands of feet tall. The Great Trees once lived on a world whose climate was becoming too cold for them to survive. The wizard Ardatha Ell bore away the life-leaves, or “seeds”, of the last three trees and planted them, one in Elysia, one in the hinterlands of Thalarion, and one in an undisclosed location. The trees are very empathic, but are often unable to defend themselves from attacks.

  (Elysia, Lumley; Hero of Dreams, Lumley (O).)

  GREAT WHITE SPACE

  Extradimensional belt that connects positions trillions of miles apart. The Old Ones used it to journey through the universe, and hold it in reverence. The Earthly entrance to this place lies somewhere in the mountains of China or Mongolia, where a door five hundred feet high leads to a vast underground cavern with the Space at its far end. The minions of the Old Ones protect the Great White Space, so any journey there is inadvisable.

  See Ethics of Ygor; Trone Tables. (The Great White Space, Copper (O).)

  GREEN BOOK

  Diary of an unnamed young girl, in which she tells of her many unwitting experiments in sorcery. Only one copy exists, but its contents have proved invaluable to those investigating the Mythos.

  See Aklo; Alala; Chian; Deep Dendo; Mao; Voor. (“The White People”, Machen (O).)

  GREEN DECAY

  1) Incantation from the Book of Eibon that may convert its victim into a greenish pile of mold. The spell involves the creation of a bronze statue of the victim, which is buried, and the speaking of curses. The spell is slow-acting and degenerative, and many wizards dislike it due to the mess it creates. See Book of Eibon. (“The Man of Stone”, Lovecraft and Heald (O); “The Green Decay”, Price; “The Green Decay”, Sennitt.)

  2) Affliction from which the undead servants of Glaaki suffer after they have served their master for sixty years or more. If one of these servants is exposed to direct sunlight, rapid putrefaction sets in, quickly destroying the servitor.

  According to some, an extract made from those killed by the Green Decay is used in creating the zombies of Haiti. See Glaaki. (“The Inhabitant of the Lake”, Campbell (O).)

  GREEN MAN

  See Nyarlathotep (Green Man).

  GREY RITE OF AZATHOTH

  Spell from the Book of Eibon that, if performed by nine adepts, is said to force Azathoth to do one’s bidding, an operation of questionable efficacy. A lesser version of the rite might be used to provide some manner of protection. (Selected Letters IV, Lovecraft (O); “The Grey Rite of Azathoth”, Pulver.)

  GRIMLAN, JOHN (March 10, 1630?–March 10, 1930)

  Occultist. Grimlan’s date of birth is uncertain, and the assertion that he lived three hundred years is probably a misinterpretation of the data. (One scholar, a Von Boehnk, insists that he saw Grimlan in Vienna around 1880 and that he had not aged since, but this is most likely due to his faulty memory.) Whatever his origins, Grimlan was known as a knowledgeable scholar on the subjects of voodoo and Shintoism, though his unpleasant demeanor kept most potential students away. His travels took him as far away as Mongolia, but he spent the last twenty years of his life in a small town just outside San Francisco. After his death, his body was lost in a house fire, and his library was distributed among the bookstores of the nearby city.

  [See note to Zarnak.]

  (“Dig Me No Grave”, Howard (O); “Dope War of the Black Tong”, Price.)

  GROTH-GOLKA

  Creature once worshiped on the isle of Bal-Sagoth. It resembles a tremendous bird with one foot and one eye, and dwells under the mountain Antarktos, somewhere near the South Pole. Shantaks revere and serve Groth-Golka.

  Certain inscriptions within the ruins of Zimbabwe, supposedly built by the Fishers from Outside, bear the name of this god as well.

  [See note for Gol-Goroth.]

  (“The Fishers from Outside”, Carter; “The Gods of Bal-Sagoth”, Howard (O).)

  GUGS

  Huge black-furred beings native to the Dreamlands. A gug’s arms are split at the elbow, with each of their four forearms ending in a tre
mendous paw. The most hideous characteristic of a gug, though, is its face, with a pink eye on each side and its fang-lined mouth running vertically down its head. Despite their monumental stone architecture, the gugs seem unintelligent and make little use of tools, weaponry, or fire. Gugs worship the Other Gods, and give especial service to the “Nameless Mist”.

  The gugs once dwelt upon the surface of the earth, where their great monoliths still remain. The gods of Earth, however, grew frightened of the gugs’ worship of Nyarlathotep and the Other Gods. Upon hearing one night of a great blasphemy these creatures had performed, the Great Ones banished the gugs to caverns below the earth’s surface. The gugs now live in a tremendous stone city near the vaults of Zin in the Dreamlands’ Underworld.

  See ghasts; Koth; Koth, Sign of; Nameless Mist; Zin. (“The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath”, Lovecraft (O); The Complete Dreamlands, Williams and Petersen.)

  GULF OF S’GLHUO

  See S’glhuo, Gulf of.

  GUSTAU, THELRED (?–1972)

  Accomplished scientist who lost much of his standing in the scientific community due to his supposed translation of the Legends of the Olden Runes. After nine years of work with the manuscript, Gustau vanished after a mysterious explosion at his house in Woolwich.

  See Legends of the Olden Runes. (“The House of Cthulhu”, Lumley (O); “Introduction” to The House of Cthulhu, Lumley.)

  GYAA-YOTHN

  Animals resembling humans save for their size, bestial appearance, and horned head. The people of K’n-yan bred these from certain quadrupeds native to the caverns of Yoth and the remnants of conquered peoples. They use beasts for carrying burdens and as mounts. They do possess a rudimentary intelligence that proves useful to their masters. Some have speculated that the ghasts of the Vaults of Zin beneath Yoth and the gyaa-yothn are related in some way.

  See K’n-yan. (“The Mound”, Lovecraft and Bishop (O); S. Petersen’s Guide to Cthulhu Monsters, Petersen et. al.)

  H

  * * *

  HADDATH (also HADDOTH or possibly URAKHU)

  World that was at one time the home of Shudde-M’ell. This fiery world is still the home of many cthonians. The star it circles may be the eye of the constellation Hydra.

  (“The Color from Beyond”, Cabos (O); “The Shadow from the Stars”, Carter; “The Worm of Urakhu”, Tierney.)

  HADOTH

  Sealed valley by the Nile amidst the hills of Neb, possibly just east of the Pharaoh Akhenaten’s city of Tel el-Amarna. This vale holds the catacombs of Nephren-Ka, also known as the Labyrinth of Kish. Abdul Alhazred dwelt in Hadoth during his apprenticeship to the wizard Yakthoob.

  (Cairo Guidebook, Anderson; “The Doom of Yakthoob”, Carter; “The Thing under Memphis”, Carter; “The Outsider”, Lovecraft (O).)

  HAGARG RYONIS.

  Great One of the Dreamlands. Hagarg Ryonis usually appears as a huge reptilian monster with black scales, six irregularly spaced eyes, and obsidian claws and teeth. In Hyperborea, Hagarg Ryonis was considered the guard of tombs and houses who extracted justice upon the unjust. She is still worshiped in the Dreamlands, but has lost her beneficial traits and is sent out to kill when the Great Ones have been offended.

  (“Wizards of Hyperborea”, Fultz and Burns; H. P. Lovecraft’s Dreamlands, Petersen et. al. (O).)

  HALI (or HALEY)

  Place or person often linked with the King in Yellow and Hastur. Three possible interpretations exist for this name.

  1) Lake whose cloud-waves wash the shores of the alien city of Carcosa. Though some have suggested that this lake has dried up and its basin become the Gobi Desert, those who have seen it assert otherwise. The Lake is the dwelling of Hastur the Unspeakable One, and beneath its waters live tentacled horrors whose faces are terrible beyond words. Hastur or his minions visit those who gaze upon the Lake soon thereafter. See Carcosa; Great Old Ones; Hastur; King in Yellow. (“The Yellow Sign”, Chambers (O); “The Gable Window”, Derleth and Lovecraft; “The Ring of the Hyades”, Glasby; “Tatterdemalion”, Love, Ross, and Watts, The Illuminatus! Trilogy, Shea and Wilson.)

  2) According to Marion Zimmer Bradley, Hali is also the Arabic name for the constellation Taurus, in which Aldebaran and the Hyades lie. Since these constellations are said to be the home of Hastur and the King, this explanation is also possible.

  3) Hali might also be a necromancer who lived in the Immemorial City on the planet of Carcosa. This Hali may be the one whose name has been given to the lake of Hali. See Revelations of Hali; Thale; Uoht; Yellow Sign. (“Carcosa Story about Hali” (fragment), Carter.)

  [Two individuals have come to be known by the name “Hali” or “Haley”. The first of these, as Marco Frenschkowski points out, is Khalid ibn Yazid ibn Mu’awiyah (668–704/709?), a potential heir to the caliphate who gave up his claim for the life of a scholar. Though there is nothing in the historical record to suggest it, he later became known as an alchemist, and many medieval treatises on the subject were attributed to him.

  [The name “Hali” was also a corruption of Ali ibn-Ridwan, an Arabian doctor, philosopher, and astrologer of the eleventh century. He was one of the foremost medical authorities of his time and the author of over a hundred books, but at the end of his life he went insane after a servant-girl stole most of his money. This doctor was later mentioned in The Canterbury Tales.

  These Halis may be unconnected with the one mentioned in The King in Yellow, but it is likely that at least Bierce was aware of one of them when he used the name in his stories.]

  (“The Death of Halpin Frayser”, Bierce; “An Inhabitant of Carcosa”, Bierce (O); “The Repairer of Reputations”, Chambers.)

  HAN (also DARK HAN)

  Lesser deity of divination mentioned in De Vermis Mysteriis. It appears as a tall cloaked man with glowing eyes enshrouded in fog. Han provides insight into the future, but brings with him the risks of blindness and madness.

  Han is often spoken of along with Yig, and may in fact be Yig’s child. It is known that the serpent people once worshiped both of them. Upon the return of the Great Old Ones, Han will come forth from the frozen Plateau of Leng.

  [The Lakota of the Great Plains call their personification of darkness Han, but this is probably only a coincidence.]

  (Malleus Monstrorum, Aniolowski; “The Shambler from the Stars”, Bloch (O); “The Book of Preparations”, Carter; “The Utmost Abomination”, Carter and Smith; “Scales of Justice”, Mackey.)

  HAON-DOR

  Powerful prehuman sorcerer who lived in Hyperborea. He usually appears as a figure cloaked in a brown robe that keeps his face hidden, but he has also been known to manifest himself as a fifteen-foot rattlesnake.

  Haon-Dor is one of an obscure species driven from their homes on the isle of Ultima Thule by the “Voors”. Haon-Dor once had a glimpse of the tablets of Ubbo-Sathla, and this vision left him fearful of light and the sky for the rest of his life. To control his phobia, he took up residence beneath Mount Voormithadreth in Hyperborea, where he was accompanied by thousands of vampiric familiars. Later, Haon-Dor departed for the Hyperborean colony of Krannoria; when Abhoth attacked that colony, he used Eibon’s gateway to Saturn to escape. He now lives on in the Dreamlands, where he may be developing a way to reattain his former power in our world.

  As with many other sorcerers, Haon-Dor left behind his own grimoire known as the Testament of Haon-Dor. Little is known of its contents, save for the eleventh chapter dealing with reincarnation. No records of it have been found since the time of Hyperborea, however.

  See Atlach-Nacha; Mnomquah; Voormish Tablets. (“The Descent into the Abyss”, Carter and Smith; Return to Dunwich, Herber; “The Pits of Bendal-Dolum”, Lyons; “The House of Haon-Dor”, Smith; “The Seven Geases”, Smith (O); “The Letter”, Vance.)

  HARAG-KOLATH

  Underground city in southern Arabia to which Shub-Niggurath came when she left her former home on Yaddith. She waits here, served by her spawn, until Hastur is free to come to earth once aga
in. It has been said that “dreams” swarm here, though what this means is unknown.

  See Shub-Niggurath. (“Harag-Kolath”, Tierney (O); “The Seed of the Star-God”, Tierney; “The Soul of Kephri”, Tierney.)

  HASTUR (also known as THE UNSPEAKABLE ONE, HE WHO IS NOT TO BE NAMED, ASSATUR, XASTUR, or KAIWAN)

  Great Old One who lives or is imprisoned on a dark star near Aldebaran in the constellation of Taurus. He is related to Carcosa, the Yellow Sign, the Lake of Hali, and the King in Yellow, and is often associated with decadence, nihilism, and stagnancy. Paradoxically, the Unspeakable One also is sometimes referred to as the patron of shepherds.

  There is considerable confusion about Hastur’s appearance, with possibilities ranging from an invisible force that can only be sensed psychically, to a two-hundred-foot bipedal lizard covered with tentacles. He has at least one avatar, the Emerald Lama, an alien-looking monk in a green robe. In the rare cases of possession, the victim’s skin becomes scaly and their limbs seem boneless. The nature of Hastur’s true form (if he has a “true form”) is still a mystery.