by Daniel Harms
(“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
* * *
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.
The Parchments give the lineage of Tsathoggua, instructions for making a triple circle of protection, and many exorcisms, both minor and powerful, intended especially for use against the spirits of the cold north. Some parts of it hint that humanity’s origin was more unpleasant than we would like to think. It also states that invisible creatures cast a shadow by the light of the moon.
See Nug and Yeb; Tsathoggua; Zylac. (“Dreams of the Black Lotus”, Carter; “The Madness out of Time”, Carter; The Life of Eibon according to Cyron of Varaad, Carter; “The Demon of the Ring”, Cornford; “The Face from Below”, Cornford; “The Ritual of the Outer Void”, Pulver; “The Coming of the White Worm”, Smith (O); “The Family Tree of the Gods”, Smith.)
PARG, FOREST OF
Forest of the Dreamlands. The people here are known for their ivory carvings, though more often the people themselves are captured and sold to the merchants on the black galleys at Dylath-Leen. Parg is the home of the monstrous fireworms and many other magical, dangerous creatures.
(“The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath”, Lovecraft (O); S. Petersen’s Field Guide to Creatures of the Dreamlands, Petersen et. al.)
PARTRIDGEVILLE
Town in the Hudson River Valley, near Brewster, and the site of numerous paranormal happenings. Despite its locale, Patridgeville appears much as a small New England town, with its Congregational church and village green. In this century, the Patridgeville Chemical Laboratories have become the town’s major industry.
Patridgeville was the home of Halpin Chalmers (and was the site of his 1928 murder) and Fred Carstairs. Some claim that a horror from outer space was nearly destroyed in a fire in nearby Mulligan Wood.
[Despite the other states in which authors have placed Patridgeville, Long’s description makes it clear that it is in New York state.]
See Morton, James. (“The Wild Hunt”, Ballon; “The Hounds of Tindalos”, Long; “The Space-Eaters”, Long (O).)
PEASLEE, NATHANIEL WINGATE (1871–1940?)
One-time professor of political economics, and later psychology, at Miskatonic University. Peaslee was born in Haverhill, Massachusetts and became a professor of political economics at Miskatonic in 1895. He married Alice Keezar in the following year, and they had three children.
In 1908, Professor Peaslee underwent a mysterious seizure followed by a bout of amnesia and a severe change in personality. For the next five years, the professor embarked upon a study of history, anthropology, and mythology, undertaking voyages to all parts of the world to consult esoteric information in an apparent attempt to regain his memory. During this period, his wife divorced him, and all of his children, save for his son Wingate, refused to have anything to do with him. Many psychologists studied him, but confessed that his condition baffled them. This state of affairs concluded in 1913, when Peaslee inexplicably returned to health. At this time Wingate was returned to his custody.
Peaslee seemed completely normal at first, though he found he had an inexplicable knowledge of both Aklo and Classical Greek. Soon after his return, however, he was plagued by nightmares of alien creatures and tremendous stone cities. These visions forced him to abandon the professorship that the University had returned to him, and he spent the next few years attempting to discover the roots of his affliction. While searching through many other cases like his own, Peaslee found many striking parallels between his own condition and those of others in the past. These findings were published in several academic journals, and in 1922, the University awarded him a professorship in Miskatonic’s psychology department in recognition of his achievements.
Along with his son Wingate, and Professors Dyer, Freeborn, and Tyler, Nathaniel Peaslee traveled to Australia in 1935 to aid in excavations of a supposed ruined city in the desert. A month and a half later, he left the diggings, following an attempt to cease excavations in a certain area.
See Emeritus Alcove; Peaslee, Wingate; Wilmarth, Albert. (Delta Green: Denied to the Enemy, Detwiller; “The Shadow Out of Time”, Lovecraft (O); The Burrowers Beneath, Lumley; S. Petersen’s Field Guide to Cthulhu Monsters, Petersen; “Pnomus”, Winninger.)
PEASLEE, WINGATE (1900–1980)
Son of Nathaniel Peaslee and psychology professor at Miskatonic University.
Wingate was only eight when his father underwent his mysterious change in personality. Though the rest of his family was repulsed by the change, the young boy remained faithful to his father, and was returned to the elder Peaslee’s custody when his father’s condition reversed itself. His father’s affliction encouraged Wingate to study psychology, and after he had completed his graduate work, the young man gained a professorship at Miskatonic University.
Wingate accompanied his father upon the Australian expedition of 1935. Despite his father’s request, he and his colleagues continued their excavations of a seemingly prehuman city. Fortunately, nothing went amiss, and the team returned to Miskatonic unscathed by the horrors Nathaniel vowed he had seen. Following the expedition, Wingate had his conclusions about his matter published as The Shadow Out of Time by Golden Goblin Press of Philadelphia in 1936.
Peaslee served in
the Army during World War II. In 1943, he is believed to have made another trip back to Australia to visit the ruins of the city. What Peaslee found there remains classified to this day.
Following a celebrated post-war career as an instructor at Miskatonic, Peaslee took up the post of director of Miskatonic’s Wilmarth Foundation, a group dedicated to fighting the forces of the Mythos. Although he and his men had great success initially, in the end Peaslee died while engaged in a bombing operation in the waters off Innsmouth, Massachusetts.
