by Daniel Harms
[In the fragment which Derleth incorporated into “Lurker”, Lovecraft mentioned “Of Evill Sorceries” as being part of Thaumaturgical Prodigies in the New-English Canaan. Derleth removed this reference, separating the two works.]
See Hoadley, Abijah. (“The Lurker at the Threshold”, Derleth and Lovecraft (O); “Acute Spiritual Fear”, Price; “The Round Tower”, Price.)
O’KHYMER
Town in Oregon (Oklahoma, according to one source) near the South Umpqua River. It is home to the University of Nyingtove. Its buildings are incredibly dilapidated, and few people are visible on the streets.
(“The Deep-Lord Awakens”, Ambuehl; “Feast with a Few Strangers”, Berglund (O); “The Feaster from the Stars”, Berglund.)
OLATHOE
Capital city of Lomar. This town’s buildings were all of marble, and the images of men with beards adorned the peaks of pillars set throughout the city. Olathoë was a center for culture and learning, until the Inutos came from over the mountains and destroyed the people of Lomar.
See Lomar; Noton and Kadiphonek. (“Polaris”, Lovecraft (O).)
OLD ONES
Term often applied to the Great Old Ones, or the Elder Things. Some say that they are an entirely different type of being which contact humans through possession, but so little is known of them that making this distinction may be impossible.
[Lovecraft used the term “Old Ones” to mean, at different times, a group of beings associated with Yog-Sothoth, the people of K’n-yan, the Antarctic aliens known as the Elder Things, beings whose magic warded off the Deep Ones, and the Great Old Ones. The two definitions given above are the most popular ones.]
See Black Brotherhood; Book of Eibon; Broken Columns of Geph; Brotherhood of the Beast; Elder Gods; Elder Things; Great White Space; Nyarlathotep; Quy; Rhan-Tegoth; stars are right, the; Yaddith-Gho; Zkauba. (Keeper’s Compendium, Herber; “At the Mountains of Madness”, Lovecraft; “The Dunwich Horror”, Lovecraft (O); “The Horror in the Museum”, Lovecraft and Heald; “The Shadow over Innsmouth”, Lovecraft; “The Mound”, Lovecraft and Bishop.)
OLMSTEAD, ROBERT MARTIN (1906?–?)
College student from Toledo who was instrumental in bringing about the government raid on Innsmouth. Olmstead, a junior at Oberlin College, visited this town on July 15, 1927. Following a harrowing experience with the townsfolk, he fled the town and convinced the government to begin an investigation of the town. In 1930, Olmstead and a cousin who had been committed to an asylum both vanished, and it is believed that agents from Innsmouth spirited him away.
[Lovecraft never mentions the name “Olmstead” in his story, but it does turn up in his notes. Derleth used the name “Williamson” for this character, but “Williamson” was the maiden name of HPL’s character’s mother. The only time the name has appeared in fiction, to my knowledge, is in the Sargent story.]
See Allen, Zadok. (Delta Green, Detwiller, Glancy, and Tynes; “Discarded Draught: The Shadow over Innsmouth”, Lovecraft (O); “Live Bait”, Sargent.)
ON THE SENDING OUT OF THE SOUL
Pamphlet which appeared in Salem in 1783 and which circulates secretly through the occult community. The author’s name was never discovered, but this document was involved in a series of murders immediately after its publication. It is now so rare that very few booksellers will acknowledge that it exists at all.
On the Sending Out of the Soul is only eight pages long. The first seven contain only vague mystical language, but the eighth contains a formula for astral travel. One who uses this spell will be successful, but will also contact Hydra at the same time.
(“Hydra”, Kuttner (O).)
OORN
Great Old One who dwells in the ruins of Sarkomand. It is said to be the mate of the moon-god Mnomquah, who will come to earth to join Oorn when it breaks free of its lunar prison.
See Mnomquah; Sarkomand. (Mad Moon of Dreams, Lumley (O).)
OOTH-NARGAI
Valley in the Dreamlands in which King Kuranes constructed the timeless city of Celephaïs.
See Aran; Celephaïs; Serranian. (“Celephaïs”, Lovecraft (O).)
ORDER OF THE SWORD OF SAINT JEROME (also BROTHERS OF SAINT JEROME?)
Organized created by the Catholic Church to battle supernatural threats, including the Cthulhu Mythos.
Pope Clement V founded the Order in 1303, at the request of the French king who required help in revealing the corruption of the Knights Templar. It might be that this was the consolidation of a previously-existing organization of the same name, but the records are not clear on this topic. The order received its name because of its chief asset: a collection of books left to the Vatican Library by Saint Jerome, a fourth-century scholar and Biblical commentator. The Order was successful in discrediting the Templars, obtaining a number of the knights’ books for their library. After the Order’s head, Renaldo Sinibaldo, went insane and was executed in 1315, the group restricted access to these books save in extreme cases.
The Order had a few other modest successes, including the capture and execution of Ludwig Prinn, and many of their number joined the Inquisition without that body’s knowledge of their other affiliation. The Order was disbanded at the orders of Pope Leo XIII, but it works on in secret from a monastery in the Alps, with other regional headquarters in cities such as Arkham. Its members are recruited from within the Church, often becoming wandering priests, dedicated to fighting Darkness wherever it may be found.
(“The Truth Shall Set You Free”, Ballon; Keeper’s Compendium, Herber (O); “The Enchanting of Lila Woods”, Lustig; Nightmare’s Disciple, Pulver.)
ORIAB
Large isle in the Dreamlands’ Southern Sea. Its landmarks include the city of Baharna, Mount Ngranek, and the Lake of Yath, on the far side of which sits the city of Queen Tyrrhia.
See Baharna; Ngranek; Southern Sea; vooniths. (“The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath”, Lovecraft (O); “A-Mazed in Oriab”, Lumley.)
ORIGINAL NOTES ON THE NECRONOMICON
The first printing of Joachim Feery’s Notes on the Necronomicon, which appeared in 1901. It contains much material expurgated from the later version, and is considered by a few to be more complete than the Al Azif itself because of this.
See Feery, Joachim; Notes on the Necronomicon. (Keeper’s Compendium, Herber; “Name and Number”, Lumley (O); “Soul of the Devil-Bought”, Price; Ex Libris Miskatonici, Stanley.)
ORNE, JEDEDIAH
See Orne, Simon.
ORNE, SIMON
Scientist and reputed wizard of Salem, Massachusetts. At least one person at the witch-trials testified that she had seen Orne at a Sabbat, but he seems to have escaped punishment nonetheless. He was a chemist and scientist of some note, conducting extensive correspondence with his fellow researchers Joseph Curwen and Edward Hutchinson. He earned himself a permanent place in history by giving the first lecture at Salem Academy, the school that later became Miskatonic University. Orne continued to live in Salem until 1720, when his ageless appearance began to excite comment. In that year, he donated his books to Miskatonic University Library and sailed for Europe.
Thirty years later, Simon’s son Jedediah returned to Salem with documents that allowed him to take possession of his father’s estate. Jedediah, who looked exactly like his father, vanished in 1771 during an action coordinated by some of the colony’s most prominent men. Some say that Jedediah was actually Simon, and many are also convinced that he lived on in Altstadt, Prague under the name Josef Nadek for some time. If so, he might have been slain with the destruction of his house in 1928.
[According to Stanley, Simon left America in 1700, but I have chosen to use Lovecraft’s chronology here.]
See Curwen, Joseph; Hutchinson, Edward. (“The Case of Charles Dexter Ward”, Lovecraft (O); Miskatonic University Graduate Kit, Petersen et. al.; Ex Libris Miskatonici, Stanley.)
OSSADAGOWAH (also ZVILPOGGUA)
Being conceived in the mating of Tsathoggua and Shathak on the world of Yaksh.
Ossadagowah appears as a great toad-like creature with bat-wings, webbed feet, and tentacles in place of a face, or a misty shape with a tentacled face. He dwells on the world of Yrautrom (or Abbith) near Algol, and can only come to earth if thirteen wizards summon it when Algol is in the sky.
He was worshiped in Hyperborea, and a complex spell involving powdered opals and hippogriff’s tears was occasionally cast to bring him to earth. The Native American tribes of Massachusetts once knew how to call down Ossadagowah, but most of these did not use this knowledge, considering it an evil act. When called, Ossadogowah cannot be banished and must leave of its own volition. Creatures called “Eye Killers” attend him.
See Misquamacus; Sfatlicllp; Shathak; Tsathoggua. (“The Feaster from the Stars”, Carter; “Strange Manuscript found in the Vermont Woods”, Carter; “The Lurker at the Threshold”, Derleth and Lovecraft (O); The Return of the Manitou, Masterton.)
OTHER GODS
Group of beings that protect the lesser gods of Earth in the Dreamlands. Their only known member is Nyarlathotep. They may be identical to the Outer Gods, or they may include other entities unknown to us.
See Azathoth; Gloon; gods of Earth; gugs; Kadath; Nyarlathotep; Outer Gods; seed of Azathoth. (“The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath”, Lovecraft; “The Other Gods”, Lovecraft (O).)
OTHUUM
Mythos “demon” which appears as a black monster with two pairs of legs and a fat face with one eye. He often paralyzes his victims and can only be destroyed by fire.
Othuum’s true nature is uncertain. In some references, he seems to be one of the servants of Great Cthulhu, and dwells beneath the waves striving for his master’s return. In others, Othuum is the “Great Master of Those-Who-Wait-Without”, and has been influencing sensitive individuals for millennia so that he might be freed from an alternate dimension. He is served by beings called the “Grinners at the Gate”.
See Othuum Omnicia. (“Rising with Surtsey”, Lumley (O); “Othuum”, Lumley et. al.)
OTHUUM OMNICIA
Book in Latin which details the proper worship of the being Othuum, and provides a powerful exorcism. The locations of only two copies are known: one located in the British Museum and is the other kept in a private collection somewhere in Hungary.
See Othuum. (“The Second Wish”, Lumley; “Othuum”, Lumley et. al. (O).)
OTHUYEG
Great Old One known as the “Doom-Walker”. It resembles an eye surrounded by innumerable tentacles, a form which bears much resemblance to Cyäegha and which may suggest a link between the two. Othuyeg and his spawn, which were created in their parent’s image, dwell beneath the ground within the fabled Seven Cities of Gold in the fabled land of Cakatomia, awaiting the time when they may issue forth to reconquer the surface world.
The Black Book of the Skull and the Necronomicon mention Othuyeg, but no other references in Mythos books have been found. Othuyeg desires to open a gate so Zathog and the Zarrians may invade this planet, but how the Great Old One hopes to achieve this is unknown.
See Zarr; Zathog. (“Demon in the Flesh”, Burnham (O); “The Seven Cities of Gold”, Burnham; “Solar Pons and the Cthulhu Mythos” DeBill and Berglund.)
OUKRAMO
See Oukranos.
OUKRANOS (also OUKRAMO)
Dreamlands river that bypasses the Enchanted Wood and runs past Kiran and Thran into the Cerenerian Sea. The lands by the river are garden-like, and a stealthy traveler may see the shy buopoths who live nearby.
See Hlanith; Ilek-Vad; Kiran; Kled; Thran. (“The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath”, Lovecraft; “The Silver Key”, Lovecraft (O).)
OUTER GODS (possibly OTHER GODS)
Group of beings who are differentiated from the Great Old Ones. Usually the Outer Gods are thought of as personifications of cosmic forces, while the Great Old Ones are immensely powerful, yet limited, alien beings.
Not all scholars recognize this distinction, and it is not always clear where an entity should be placed. Some entities who are generally categorized with the Outer Gods are Azathoth, Yog-Sothoth, Shub-Niggurath, and Nyarlathotep. Others who may be included in their number are Tulzscha, Daoloth, and Abhoth.
It is unknown whether there is any connection between the Great Old Ones and the Outer Gods. There are close links between Shub-Niggurath and Hastur (an Outer God and a Great Old One, respectively), and Nyarlathotep has acted in the interests of the Great Old Ones at least twice. It was once proposed that the Great Old Ones were larval Outer Gods, but few hold this view.
[Though some authors have made a distinction between these beings and the Great Old Ones, the term “Outer Gods” has only recently appeared outside of the Call of Cthulhu game.]
See Azathoth; Book of Azathoth; Ghroth; Great Old Ones; Iä; Leng; Nyarlathotep; Other Gods; Shub-Niggurath. (Call of Cthulhu Rulebook, Petersen and Willis (O); S. Petersen’s Field Guide to Creatures of the Dreamlands, Petersen et. al.)
OUTER ONES
See mi-go.
P
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PABODIE EXPEDITION
Scientific journey to Antarctica financed by Miskatonic University and headed by Professor William Dyer of the Department of Geology. The primary purpose of this expedition was to collect fossils from Antarctic rock. To this end, Professor Frank Pabodie of the Department of Engineering invented a drill capable of boring deep underground to extract specimens.
After a period of largely unremarkable drilling, a biology professor named Lake set off on a side expedition to a site northwest of the main camp. There he hoped to find an explanation for certain strange impressions that the previous drilling had uncovered. According to reports made to the outside world, the expedition exceeded the team’s expectations; they discovered a range of mountains taller than the Himalayas, as well as the fossilized remains of creatures which seemed to be part animal and part plant.
At this point, reports to the outside world ceased. Apparently, an epidemic of madness overtook the scientists camped near the mountains, and all of them save one were killed by one another. Following this tragedy, the rest of the expedition’s members gathered what little data they had already discovered and returned to Miskatonic. Many were later diagnosed with dementia Antarctica and were confined to institutions for a brief while.
Shortly after his return, Professor Dyer published his account of the “true” occurrences of the Pabodie expedition with hopes of discouraging further scientific visits to Antarctica. The scientific community held this manuscript in low esteem, and its impact on Antarctic exploration has been minimal.
See Danforth; Dyer, William; Elder Things; Leng; Miskatonic University; Starkweather-Moore Expedition. (Alone Against the Dark, Costello; “At the Mountains of Madness”, Lovecraft (O).)
PALLID MASK (also known as the PHANTOM OF TRUTH)
Entity connected with the King in Yellow. In the play of the same name, the Pallid Mask acts as Hastur’s messenger to the city of Yhtill. The Pallid Mask comes to cities filled with decadence and depression to decide whether they should be incorporated into Carcosa. Other references cite the Pallid Mask as the semblance the King in Yellow puts on when dealing with mortals.
See Carcosa; King in Yellow; Yhtill. (“The Yellow Sign”, Chambers (O); Delta Green: Countdown, Detwiller et. al.; “Tatterdemalion”, Love, Ross, and Watts.)
PAPYRUS OF THE DARK WISDOM
The third section of the Book of Eibon. In this portion of his magnum opus, the Hyperborean wizard gives the history of the many different alien beings that came to earth before the coming of humanity. Von Junzt later paraphrased this material in his Unaussprechlichen Kulten.
See Book of Eibon; Unaussprechlichen Kulten; Von Junzt, Friedrich. (“Something in the Moonlight”, Carter (O); “Papyrus of the Dark Wisdom”, Carter and Smith.)
PARANORMAL INTELLIGENCE SECTION FOR COUNTER-INTELLIGENCE, ESPIONAGE, AND SABOTAGE
See PISCES.
PARCHMENTS OF PNOM
Volume written by Pnom, Hyperborea’s
leading genealogist and seer, in his homeland’s “Elder Script”. Pnom of Mnardis was a great archivist and magician, and Eibon credits him with saving the town of Urcheeth from an invisible monster. One section of Eibon’s Book suggests that his mentor Zylac left the only known copy of Pnom’s work in the astral realm’s City Misery Ruined.
