Cthulhu Mythos Encyclopedia

by Daniel Harms

  Period between the destruction of Atlantis and the rise of civilization in Sumeria. This age is named for the Hyborian people, who fled to the north from Atlantis and later came south, sweeping all before them and founding such kingdoms as Hyperborea and Aquilonia. The Hyborians were later conquered by the Picts and annihilated. Ironically, the most famous hero of this age was neither Pict nor Hyborian, but a Cimmerian named Conan.

  [I have not provided an article on every country of the Hyborian Age, but only those which turn up regularly in other authors’ Mythos stories.]

  See Acheron; Atlantis; Book of Eibon; Book of Skelos; Cimmeria; Conan; Hastur; Koth; Kuthchemes; Lemuria; Quy; Set; Stygia; Unaussprechlichen Kulten. (“The Hyborian Age”, Howard (O).)

  HYDRA (also MOTHER HYDRA)

  1) Tremendous deep one who is the mate of Dagon, as well as one of the deep ones’ gods. She has much the same form as Dagon, and is reverenced by many of the same cults that worship her husband, as well as one sect of ghouls. See Dagon; deep ones; elemental theory; Lesser Old Ones; Pth’thya-L’yi; Revelations of Glaaki. (Low Red Moon, Kiernan; “The Shadow over Innsmouth”, Lovecraft (O).)

  2) Being that appears as an endless sea of grey slime dotted with the heads of its victims. The Hydra lives in an alternate dimension, and can only interact with our own when a person travels astrally through its territory. The Hydra may follow this person to their destination and capture another person (but not the original traveler) in the material world. It bears the person’s head, and with it their consciousness, back to its astral form. See On the Sending Out of the Soul (“Hydra”, Kuttner (O).)

  HYDROPHINNAE

  Book on aquatic life by a Mr. Gantley. It appears in both Latin and English, though no publication date for either edition is known. This book details a wide variety of aquatic organisms, including a species of fish-like bipedal beings.

  [The hydrophiinæ are a subfamily of venomous snakes.]

  (“The Aquarium”, Jacobi (O); “Fischbuchs”, Ross.)

  HYPERBOREA

  1) Fabled northern civilization that came to power during the Miocene Period between nineteen and twenty-five million years ago. A long-eared, fair-haired people from the south originally populated Hyperborea. These settlers first traded with, and later exterminated, the sub-human voormis who had inhabited the area before them.

  At this time in history, the northern lands were warm and fertile. Vast jungles, filled with exotic life from saber-toothed tigers to the last remaining dinosaurs, covered much of the continent. The people of Hyperborea were cultured and learned in the arts of science and magic. Their capital, first at Commoriom and later Uzuldaroum, was a marvel to behold.

  For many years after their arrival in Hyperborea, the people of this region worshiped the toad-god Tsathoggua, as the voormis had before them. Later, the worship of this deity fell out of practice as the populace turned to more urbane deities. Soon, the worship of Tsathoggua was so uncommon that when the priests of the elk-god Yhoundeh declared an inquisition to deal with the Tsathogguan infidels, they were not opposed. Many among the black god’s congregation were killed, and others fled the persecution to the southern colony of Krannoria. Though they were initially successful, Yhoundeh’s clerics soon lost favor with the populace. The worship of Tsathoggua began a short resurgence before the end of the Hyperborean civilization.

  Of the many sorcerers who dwelt in Hyperborea, two are of especial note. The first, Zon Mezzamalech, who lived upon the northern peninsula of Mhu Thulan, is barely mentioned by the ancient texts despite his great feats. The second, Eibon, gained himself more renown. Though his exploits and astral journeys of this wizard are matters of legend, he is better known for penning the Book of Eibon. Sadly, Yhoundeh’s inquisitors cut short Eibon’s career, discovering that the sorcerer had made a pact with Tsathoggua. Though he was able to escape his would-be captors by magical means, Eibon was never again seen in Hyperborea.

  Near the end of the Miocene Period, glaciers rolled over the northern portions of Hyperborea. Many of the land’s lords and wizards fought to save their land from the cold, but their efforts were to no avail. After many centuries, the ice covered all of Hyperborea. The lore of the lost continent was not forgotten, however. The Atlantean high priest Klarkash-Ton recorded the myths of Tsathoggua and the rest of the Commoriom myth-cycle, and the Greeks believed that a race known as the Hyperboreans lived in a warm paradise far to the north.

  See Abhoth; Aphoom Zhah; Atlach-Nacha; Black Gods of R’lyeh; Book of Eibon; Book of Night; Commoriom; Eibon; Ghadamon; Hagarg Ryonis; Haon-Dor; Karakal; Klarkash-Ton; Knygathin Zhaum; Kythamil; Lemuria; Lobon; Mhu Thulan; Mu; Naacal; Nug and Yeb; Parchments of Pnom; Pnakotic Manuscripts; Ptetholites; Rlim Shaikorth; Satampra Zeiros; Sfatlicllp; Shub-Niggurath; Silver Key; Tamash; Testament of Carnamagos; Tsath-yo; Tsathoggua; Ubbo-Sathla; Uzuldaroum; voormis; Voormithadreth; Yhoundeh; Zo-Kalar; Zylac. (Return to Dunwich, Herber; “The Trail of Tsathogghua (sic)”, Herber; Selected Letters III, Lovecraft; “The Whisperer in Darkness”, Lovecraft; “The Door to Saturn”, Smith; “The Ice-Demon”, Smith; “The Last Incantation”, Smith; “The Seven Geases”, Smith; “The Tale of Satampra Zeiros”, Smith (O); “Ubbo-Sathla”, Smith.)

  2) Two thousand years after Atlantis sunk, another kingdom named Hyperborea occupied the area around the present-day Gulf of Finland. A group of nomadic Hyborian tribesmen, who settled down there to build their great stone cities, became the founders of this new Hyperborea. (“The Hyborian Age”, Howard (O).)

  [In Greek myth, Hyperborea was a land to the north whose people lived in a mild clime and worshiped Apollo, god of the sun and music. Madame Blavatsky later placed Hyperborea in a previous age of earth before Atlantis and Lemuria, a model picked up by the early Mythos writers. In his letters Lovecraft sometimes drew parallels between Smith’s Hyperborea and his own Lomar, and at other times recorded them as existing at different times.]

  HYPNOS

  Greek god of sleep, and the brother of Thanatos (“Death”). Hypnos dwells in the Corona Borealis and concerns himself little with mortals. If a person does attract his attention in some unguessable way, Hypnos sends down a beam of red-gold light from his starry home to that person. The beam pulls the victim back to Hypnos, who may leave some token of this visitation behind. The god may only be hurt by objects and individuals who are dreaming.

  [Lin Carter stated that he was unable to find any Greek god named Hypnos, but one exists all the same. Hypnos lived in a cave near the river Lethe and could put both gods and humans to sleep effortlessly. The other material above is Lovecraft’s invention.]

  See Byatis; Crystallizer of Dreams. (“Hypnos”, Lovecraft.)

  HZIULQUOIGMNZHAH (also ZIULQUAZ-MANZAH)

  Son of Cxaxukluth and the paternal uncle of Tsathoggua. He resembles his nephew to some degree, save for his head being at the lower end of his body. After a brief sojourn on Yuggoth, Hziulquoigmnzhah left for Yaksh, where he was annoyed by the religious worship practiced by that world’s curious inhabitants. A short while later, he journeyed to Saturn, where he now lives in a cavern, emerging to drink at a nearby lake and warn off passerby.

  See Cxaxukluth; Cykranosh; Ghisguth. (“The Door to Saturn”, Smith (O); “The Family Tree of the Gods”, Smith; “The Contemplative God”, Tierney; “The Throne of Achamoth”, Tierney and Price.)

  I

  * * *

  IÄ

  Word often used in rituals to the Great Old Ones and Outer Gods. It literally means, “I hunger!” in the original Aklo, and may be linked to the cry of “IAO!” made by the worshipers of Dionysus.

  (“No Pain, No Gain”, Adams, Isinwyll, and Manui; “The Last Test”, Lovecraft (O).)

  IAGSAT

  Lesser avatar of Yog-Sothoth, known primarily for an exorcism for him in the Book of Eibon.

  (Selected Letters IV, Lovecraft (O); “The Exorcism of Iagsat”, Pulver.)

  IAK SAKKAK

  See Yog-Sothoth.

  IB

&n
bsp; City of grey stone which once stood within the land of Mnar by the lake of Thune. Ib’s people were strange frog-like beings known as the Thuum-ha. In this city, which had existed for centuries before discovered by humans, these beings from the moon propitiated Bokrug the water-lizard with curious rituals. The humans living in the nearby city of Sarnath felt uneasy about their neighbors and blamed the disappearance of their children upon them. In the end, Sarnath rose up and slaughtered the amphibians, bringing about their own doom centuries later. Some claim that the Sumerians used magical gates to travel back in time to this city.

  See Bokrug; Brick Cylinders of Kadatheron; Ilarnek Papyri; Lh-Yib; Mnar; Sarnath; Thuum’ha. (“The Book of Dismissals”, Carter; “The Doom that Came to Sarnath”, Lovecraft (O); Prey, Masterton.)

  IBIGIB

  Title of a book supposedly containing references to the invocation of supernatural forces. The British Museum once held a copy of this book.

  (“The Caller of the Black”, Lumley (O).)

  IBN GHAZI

  Arabian wizard credited with inventing the Powder of Ibn Ghazi. Alhazred mentions that Ibn Ghazi once perceived the end of humanity, but the gods denied him any knowledge of what he saw. For his daring, his mouth was sewn shut, his tongue severed, his head cut off, and he was turned over to the shoggoths of the Vaults of Zin as a slave.

  (The R’lyeh Text, Turner, ed. (O).)

  IBN SCHACABAO

  Heretical Arab scholar, sheik, and author of two books — Reflections, and another with no known title — which Alhazred quotes in his Necronomicon.

  Ibn Schacabao claimed to have obtained a great deal of esoteric knowledge from his conversations with the djinn. His critics referred to him as the “Boaster,” for his outlandish claims regarding the symbols on the tomb of Cthulhu and a mysterious “wisdom seat” in the Garden of Eden. He is believed to have been one of the teachers of Abdul Alhazred. Legend has it that he died with a prayer to the Old Ones on his lips.

  Like Alhazred, Ibn Schacabao’s name has no meaning in Arabic and is likely a corruption made by non-Arabic scribes. Possible derivations include Ibn Muschacab (“Son of the Dweller”), Ibn Shayk Abol (“Son of the Sheik Abol”), or a derivative of the word shakhabh (“bestiality”, signifying his unnatural origin).

  See Reflections. (“The Plain of Sound”, Campbell; The Necronomicon, Culp; “The Festival”, Lovecraft (O); The Burrowers Beneath, Lumley; “A Critical Commentary on the Necronomicon”, Price; Necronomicon, Tyson.)

  IDH-YAA

  Monstrosity from the double star Xoth who is referred to in the Ponape Scripture as Cthulhu’s mate. The Great Old Ones Zoth-Ommog, Ghatanothoa, and Ythogtha came from the mating of Idh-yaa and Cthulhu. The ancient texts do not tell whether Idh-yaa came to earth with its “husband.”

  See Cthulhu; Cthylla; Ghatanothoa; Xoth; Ythogtha. (“Out of the Ages”, Carter.)

  ILARNEK

  Dreamlands city on the river Ai in the land of Mnar. Ilarnek is near to the former site of Sarnath, and its high temple holds the statue of Bokrug that was found after Sarnath’s destruction.

  See Bokrug; Ilarnek Papyri; Mnar. (“The Doom that Came to Sarnath”, Lovecraft (O).)

  ILARNEK PAPYRI

  Manuscript found only at the British Museum that originates from Ilarnek in the land of Mnar. It tells the history of the two cities, Ib and Sarnath, and also mentions that humanity originated in the far north.

  See Ilarnek. (“The Book of Dismissals”, Carter (O); “The Doom that Came to Sarnath”, Lovecraft (O); Beneath the Moors, Lumley.)

  ILEK-VAD

  City of the Dreamlands. Ilek-Vad stands on glass cliffs above a sea in which the Gnorri live. Its many high turrets and domes beneath a red star are famous throughout the lands of dream. Ilek-Vad’s king, who sits upon an opal throne, travels once a year to a temple in Kiran on the river Oukranos to pay respects to the gods of his youth. The dreamer Randolph Carter may have become the king of this city following his disappearance.

  See Carter, Randolph; Gnorri; Kiran; Marigny, Etienne-Laurent. (“The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath”, Lovecraft; “The Silver Key”, Lovecraft (O); “Through the Gates of the Silver Key”, Lovecraft and Price.)

  ILYTH’LA

  Female being created by Cthulhu and Nyarlathotep who founded their cults among humans. Many cultists, according to the Sussex Manuscript, consider themselves to be her children, and she is often equated with the Hebrew demon Lilith.

  See Virklyu. (A Guide to the Cthulhu Cult, Pelton; The Sussex Manuscript, Pelton (O).)

  IN PRESSURED PLACES

  Hartrack’s book of undersea horror.

  (“De Marigny’s Clock”, Lumley (O).)

  INCENSE OF ZKAUBA

  See Zkauba.

  INGANOK (or INQUANOK)

  Onyx city on the northern shore of the Dreamlands’ Cerenerian Sea. This city trades mostly in onyx mined in quarries further inland. On a hill in the city’s center stands the Temple of the Elder Ones, which only the temple’s priests and the Veiled King of Inganok himself are permitted to enter. Inganok is a very pleasant city, but its proximity to the Plateau of Leng keeps most travelers away.

  [The name “Inquanok” is the result of August Derleth’s mistaken reading of Lovecraft’s manuscript to “Dream-Quest”.]

  See Cerenerian Sea; nightgaunts; Quumyagga. (“The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath,” Lovecraft (O).)

  INNER CITY AT THE MAGNETIC POLES

  Location that may be seen by using the Dho formula. It may be possible to reach it by using the Dho-Hna formula. It will be even more accessible when the earth is cleared off in anticipation of the Great Old Ones’ return. The city is the spawning-ground for hideous monsters, and one scholar has said that it is identical with the lost city of Yian-Ho.

  See Dho-Hna formula; Yian-Ho. (“Rigid Air”, Anderson and Anderson; “The Dunwich Horror”, Lovecraft (O); “The Strange Fate of Alonzo Typer”, Price.)

  INNSMOUTH

  1) Massachusetts town at the mouth of the Manuxet River. At one time the town was a thriving seaport, but today it is almost deserted.

  Innsmouth was founded in 1643, quickly becoming a major center of commerce upon the Atlantic due to its large harbor. Ships from this town sailed all over the world, bringing back goods from many ports of call.

  During the war of 1812, the captains of Innsmouth turned privateer and attacked the British fleet. Half of Innsmouth’s sailors perished during skirmishes with the enemy, marking the end of the town’s prosperity.

  After the war, Innsmouth’s revenue came mainly from the mills built on the banks of the Manuxet and Captain Obed Marsh’s successful trading ventures in the Indies. Around 1840, Marsh lost a source of the gold upon which he had depended, and the town’s economy spiraled downward. It was around this time that Marsh began the Esoteric Order of Dagon, a cult based on a combination of Scripture and the beliefs of the Polynesian islanders Obed Marsh had visited. Some whispered that Marsh’s Order worshiped darker gods, and the Order’s nocturnal trips to Devil’s Reef are legendary.

  1846 was the year of the Innsmouth plague. The exact disease responsible has never been identified, though it might have been a malady brought to the town on one of the remaining traders. What precisely happened during the plague remains a mystery, though evidently rioting and looting were widespread. When visitors from neighboring villages arrived, they found half of the town’s people dead and Obed Marsh and his Order in firm control of the town.

  Despite Innsmouth’s curious newfound wealth in fishing and gold refining, the town’s fortunes continued to decline. Also, degenerative traits began to turn up in the resident’s children, most likely the aftereffects of the plague. During the Civil War, the town was unable to meet its quota of draftees due to these widespread deformities. Innsmouth remained under the Marsh family’s rule for many years, and over time became shunned by the people of the surrounding countryside.

  This state of affairs continued until 1927, when the government launche
d an investigation into supposed bootlegging taking place in the town. This inquiry culminated in a raid in mid-February, 1928 (though one source places it in early summer), in which Federal Agents dynamited many of the town’s abandoned buildings, disbanded the Esoteric Order of Dagon, and removed the bulk of Innsmouth’s population to military prisons. Rumors persist that a submarine fired torpedoes off of Devil’s Reef at an unknown target. The Innsmouth residents remained at the camps until the Forties, but rumor has it that many are still kept at secret government facilities.

  Accounts of Innsmouth after this disaster have become muddled. It might have become a ghost town, the home of an innovative software company taking the industry by storm, an abandoned area under military quarantine, or a tourist trap filled with historical exhibits and ghastly museums.