by Daniel Harms
(“Out of the Ages”, Carter (O); “Fischbuchs”, Ross; Ex Libris Miskatonici, Stanley.
POLYPOUS RACE
See flying polyps.
PONAPE FIGURINE
Nineteen-inch jade figurine representing the god Zoth-Ommog. Although the use of jade suggested a Chinese origin, its style was completely alien to that culture. A diver found this statuette in the waters off Ponape in 1909 and it later came into the possession of the archaeologist Harold Hadley Copeland. It was passed on to the Sanbourne Institute after his death. The press was quick to blame the bouts of insanity among its caretakers upon a “curse”. The statuette vanished following a break-in at the Institute in 1929 and has not been seen since. Those seeking further information on the figurine’s religious significance should consult Copeland’s The Ponape Figurine (1910).
See Hodgkins, Arthur. (“Out of the Ages”, Carter (O); Ex Libris Miskatonici, Stanley.)
THE PONAPE SCRIPTURE
Manuscript researched or discovered by Captain Abner Ezekiel Hoag in the Caroline Islands circa 1734. During his travels, Hoag discovered a book written on parchment made from palm leaves and bound in the wood of a long-extinct cycad. According to legend, the high priest of Ghatanothoa, Imash-Mo, and his successors wrote this book in the hieratic Naacal tongue. Not knowing the language himself, Hoag received help from his servant Yogash in translating the volume’s contents. (Some have stated that Hoag wrote the book himself based on his conversations with natives of Ponape, but the existence of the original argues otherwise.) When he attempted to have the volume published, he met with condemnation from the religious leaders of the time, who were especially concerned with the references to Dagon found in the Scripture.
The book did not see print until after Hoag’s death, but by that time had been surreptitiously circulated in occult circles for quite some time. Hoag’s granddaughter Beverly Hoag Adams published the Ponape Scripture in an abridged and error-ridden edition. The original can still be found at the Kester Library in Salem. Harold Hadley Copeland was probably the most knowledgeable scholar on the Ponape Scripture; his book The Prehistoric Pacific in Light of the ‘Ponape Scripture’ (1911) cites it in some detail, and Miskatonic University Press published his annotated translation of the Scripture in 1907.
The Scripture seems to have been written by a Cthulhu cultist seeking to convert the natives of the region to his service. It tells of the lost continent of Mu and the mighty wizard-priest Zanthu. The Ponape Scripture is known to have influenced the practices of the Esoteric Order of Dagon.
See Copeland, Harold Hadley; Idh-yaa; Naacal; Zanthu. (“The Dweller in the Tomb”, Carter; “The Fishers from Outside”, Carter; “Introduction” to Dreams from R’lyeh, Carter; “Out of the Ages”, Carter (O); Keeper’s Compendium, Herber; Miskatonic University Graduate Kit, Petersen et. al.; Kingsport, Ross; Ex Libris Miskatonici, Stanley.)
POSEIDONIS
Last isle of Atlantis to sink beneath the ocean, and the home of such mighty wizards as Malygris. Its high temple is supposedly seen by lost ships sailing in the Atlantic.
[To the best of my knowledge, this name originally appeared in the works of Madame Blavatsky, founder of the Theosophical Movement. According to her, the isle sank around twelve thousand years ago. Poseidonios, a Stoic philosopher who suggested that Plato’s Atlantis might not be a myth, may have been the inspiration for this name.]
See Atlantis, Rituals of Yhe. (“The Strange High House in the Mist”, Lovecraft (O); “The Death of Malygris”, Smith (O).)
POTT, JOHANNES HENRICUS
Author of an untitled Latin manuscript which the publishers in the German city of Jena rejected. Scholars who have read his book speculate that he might have read The Revelations of Glaaki and the Book of Iod. Handwritten copies of his book have circulated secretly among certain cults. Ultimate Press at one time considered publishing this volume, but whether they actually followed through is unknown.
This book is said to contain some sort of “immortality” formula (which may not be complete enough to be performed with the information in the book alone) and a powerful exorcism, as well as the rather curious notion that deformed entities reside in all darkened places.
[Johannes Heinrichus Pott was a real-life professor of law at the University of Jena. His Specimen Juridicum de Nefando Lamiarum cum Diabolo Coitu, a book dealing with demonic births and pacts with the devil, was published in that city by Oerlinghaus in 1689. I have not been able to find rumors of any other manuscript he wrote.]
(“The Star-Seed”, Ambuehl; “Cold Print”, Campbell; “The Mine of Yuggoth” (O), Campbell; “A Word from the Author”, Campbell.)
POWDER OF IBN-GHAZI
Magical dust that allows the user to see the invisible for the space of ten heartbeats.
(“The Dunwich Horror”, Lovecraft (O).)
PRAESIDIA FINIUM
See Frontier Garrison.
PREHISTORIC PACIFIC IN LIGHT OF THE “PONAPE SCRIPTURE”, THE
Book by Harold Hadley Copeland published in 1911 by Harold Hadley Copeland, based on his readings of the Ponape Scripture at the Kester Library in Salem and his archival delvings at Harvard and Miskatonic. Though Copeland was able to draw a number of parallels between the Scripture and the mythology and archaeology of the Pacific isles, this book destroyed Copeland’s reputation among scholars.
The book discusses the links between archaeological sites and the infamous lost continent of Mu. It also discusses the cults of Cthulhu and the deep ones that may be found today in the region.
(“The Dweller in the Tomb”, Carter (O); “The Fishers from Outside”, Carter; “Zoth-Ommog”, Carter; Ex Libris Miskatonici, Stanley.)
PREHISTORY IN THE PACIFIC: A PRELIMINARY INVESTIGATION
Harold Hadley Copeland’s first book, published in 1902. Refraining from the speculating that characterized his later works, it remains a classic in its field. It contains little of interest to the Mythos scholar.
(“The Dweller in the Tomb”, Carter (O); “Out of the Ages”, Carter.)
PRINN, ABIGAIL (?–December 14, 1690)
Reputed witch from Salem and descendant of Ludwig Prinn. Abbie Prinn often boasted of her service as high priest to a strange god, a statement that led to her mysterious death just before the witch-trials began. Prinn is believed to have cursed Salem before she died; perhaps to avert her anger, the colonists buried her with a stake through her chest.
(“The Salem Horror”, Kuttner (O); “Wilbur Whateley Waiting”, Price.)
PRINN, LUDWIG (also LUDVIG) (?–1542)
Sorcerer whose most famous work is the book De Vermis Mysteriis.
Prinn is said to have been the child of Flemish trading delegates visiting Constantinople. He later declared that he had lived for centuries and was the sole survivor of the Ninth Crusade; though it is true that there is an entry for a Ludwig Prinn among the records of that Crusade, this claim is probably unfounded. Even if his tales of his past exploits were untrue, Prinn did make many trips throughout the world of his time. He spent much time as a captive of Syrian warlocks in the Jebel Ansariye, learning from their dealings with the djinn. He also made trips to Alexandria, spoke with the priests of the Black Pharaoh Nephren-Ka, and dwelt for a time in the ruins of the city Chorazin on the Sea of Galilee.
At the end of his career, Prinn returned to his homeland of the Flemish countryside, taking up residence first in Bruges, next in Ghent, and finally in a pre-Roman tomb in a forest near Brussels. In the nearby towns, many said that the eccentric hermit had dealings with invisible familiars. In 1540, the Inquisition imprisoned Prinn on charges of sorcery; whether this was due to the rumors or to his sympathy with Islam is debatable.
While imprisoned, Prinn wrote the book De Vermis Mysteriis. Somehow, in the dead of night, he managed to smuggle the volume past his guards to be published. Shortly thereafter, he was executed. Legend has it that he escaped, with his last reputed location being New York City.
See Byatis; Chorazin
; De Vermis Mysteriis; Deep Ones; Irem; Jerusalem’s Lot; Liao; Necrolatry; Nyarlathotep; Order of the Sword of Saint Jerome; Pnakotic Pentagon; Prinn, Abigail; Saracenic Rituals; Shub-Niggurath. (“Darkness, My Name Is”, Bertin; “The Shambler from the Stars”, Bloch (O); Keeper’s Compendium, Herber; “Lord of the Worms”, Lumley; Ex Libris Miskatonici, Stanley; “The Heart of the Matter”, Webb.)
PRODIGIES IN THE NEW ENGLAND CANAAN
See Thaumaturgical Prodigies in the New-English Canaan.
PROTO-SHOGGOTHS
Material the Elder Things derived from Ubbo-Sathla to form their shoggoth servitors. Some of this material has survived to the present day, where it is used in scientific experiments of the mi-go and humans alike. Proto-shoggoth matter melds easily with other living matter, often enhancing its capabilities and making it hardier and more difficult to destroy.
(“At the Mountains of Madness”, Lovecraft (O); “The Asylum”, McCall; “Convergence”, Tynes.)
PTETHOLITES
Prehuman tribe that worshiped the Great Old Ones, especially Ithaqua, and who often called down demons upon their enemies. The legends of Hyperborea state that the Ptetholites sent their summonings against Edril Ghambiz of Esipish. Unfortunately, Edril sent the magic of the tribesmen back upon its callers, possibly causing the unknown doom that overtook these people in the end. The only records left behind by the Ptetholites were the Broken Columns of Geph, as well as the Sixth Sathlatta, which they invented.
See The Black; Broken Columns of Geph; Sixth Sathlatta. (“The Caller of the Black”, Lumley (O); “The Horror at Oakdeene”, Lumley; Spawn of the Winds, Lumley.)
PTH’THYA-L’YI
Female deep one and daughter of Mother Hydra who is almost three hundred thousand years old. For the last eighty thousand years, she has lived in the city of Y’ha-nthlei. She has mated with Father Dagon, a union which many believe will result in the birth of a new species of Cthulhu’s minions.
(“Casket of the Sea Queen”, Landwehr; “The Shadow over Innsmouth”, Lovecraft (O).)
Q
* * *
QUACHIL UTTAUS (also the TREADER OF THE DUST)
Great Old One (?) who usually appears as a shriveled human mummy, four feet tall, with stiff and immovable limbs. The Treader has some control over time, and its appearance is signaled by local temporal anomalies: everything within a limited area ages at an accelerated rate. After many “years” have passed within this space, Quachil Uttaus arrives, riding down from the sky on a beam of grey light. Any person it touches will turn into dust instantaneously. Sometimes Quachil Uttaus alights upon the person’s remains, leaving two tiny footprints in the dust. It is from this habit that Quachil Uttaus derives his title.
Quachil Uttaus is mentioned in no book save the Testament of Carnamagos, which is the only source of his summoning formula. This volume also contains a method by which a sorcerer may make a pact with the Treader by saying the words “Exklopios Quachil Uttaus.” Quachil will arrive and then twist the caster’s spine in exchange for making him or her immortal. If the Forbidden Words are said again near a bargainer, Quachil Uttaus will come and destroy his one-time servant.
A being very similar in appearance and nature to Quachil Uttaus was worshiped in Egypt under the title Ka-Reth, the Keeper of the Dust.
See Testament of Carnamagos. (“The Keeper of the Dust”, Brennan; “The Condemned”, Herber; “The Treader of the Dust”, Smith (O).)
QUAMIS
See Misquamacus.
QUEEN IN RED
Book by Martin Davies, a man who died in 1870. The work deals with a woman wearing red who has appeared many times in history and art, sowing destruction in her wake wherever she appears.
See Nyarlathotep (Queen in Red). (“Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence”, Pearlman (O); “The Queen in Red”, Ross.)
QUUMYAGGA
Sire of the shantaks, and the greatest of Groth-Golka’s servitors. At one time, this creature dwelt beneath Mount Voormithadreth. It may be Quumyagga who dwells within the innermost dome of the great palace of Inquanok and troubles the dreams of those who gaze too long upon that edifice.
See Groth-Golka; shantaks. (“The Fishers from Outside”, Carter; “Zoth-Ommog”, Carter (O); “The Descent into the Abyss”, Carter and Smith.)
QUY
Lost continent that once existed in the South Atlantic, but now lies between the dimensions.
Quy was one of the two primal continents, along with R’lyeh, and was the home of the Great Old One Quyagen. The first species to dwell on Quy were the Y’nathogguans, which later human invaders drove away. These newcomers established the empire of Quy and the institutionalized worship of Quyagen. Until the cataclysm that destroyed Atlantis and Lemuria, Quy remained a weak power, lacking in technology and harried by Lemurian pirates.
The rise of the Hyborian Age saw the Empire of Quy gain power, conquering the continent of Cakatomia (modern North America) and made raids into Hyboria. Conan, King of Aquilonia, destroyed their armies when they attempted to take over the eastern continent, sending the Empire into a decline from which it never recovered.
Quy vanished when the curse of a mad prophet sent it into an alternate dimension. The prophecy states that only when the Old Ones return will Quy and its inhabitants return to our world.
(“The Thing in the Library”, Berglund and Burnham; “The Worm”, Burnham (O); “The Seven Cities of Gold”, Burnham.)
Q’YTH-AZ
Great Old One who takes the form of a colossal amalgamation of crystals. Q’yth-az dwells on the world of Mthura and can only travel from its home under very specific circumstances.
Q’yth-az has been known to broadcast its telepathic messages to those who are in close contact with crystals. If the person contacted agrees to aid the Great Old One, Q’yth-az may manifest itself on this world when Mthura may be seen in the sky. When it arrives, the crystalline entity grows and attempts to transform everything around it into mineral matter. If Mthura is hidden by clouds or travels below the horizon, however, Q’yth-az must return to its home world.
See Mthura. (“An Early Frost”, Aniolowski (O).)
R
* * *
RAM WITH A THOUSAND EWES
Being invoked in certain of Shub-Niggurath’s rituals. Most likely, it is merely Shub-Niggurath’s male incarnation.
See Shub-Niggurath. (The Transition of Titus Crow, Lumley; “The Holiness of Azedarac”, Smith (O).)
RASUL AL-AKBARIN, KITAB
Book written by Ibn el-Badawi around the year 900 which deals with the Great Old Ones. All that is known of it is that an English translation of the original has been made, and that it discusses the being Huitloxopetl.
(“Huitloxopetl IV: Vision of Madness”, Berglund (O); “Wings in the Night”, Berglund; Keeper’s Compendium, Herber.)
RAT-THINGS
Tiny beings that resemble rats with prehensile paws and human faces. Some are created through interbreeding between rats and a curious species of faeries visible only in alcohol, while others are created through magic cast on human corpses. Many witches use them as familiars, Brown Jenkin being the most famous example.
(“The Yorkshire Horror”, Barton; “The Little People”, Herber; “The Dreams in the Witch-House”, Lovecraft (O).)
REFLECTIONS
Book written by Ibn Schacabao and referred to in the Necronomicon. The only surviving copy is held at the British Museum.
This book includes the famous line, “Happy is the town where no wizard hath lain, and happy is the town at night whose wizards are all ashes.” The rest of our information about the Reflections is fragmentary, but it also contains a description of the beings of the Gulf of S’glhuo. This may also be the volume by Schacabao mentioned in the correspondence of Joseph Curwen that described the face of Yog-Sothoth.
[Lovecraft mentioned this book but never named it. Lumley provided the title.]
See Ibn Schacabao. (“The Plain of Sound”, Campbell; “The Case of Charles Dexter War
d”, Lovecraft; “The Festival”, Lovecraft (O); The Burrowers Beneath, Lumley.)
REMNANTS OF LOST EMPIRES
Volume written by Otto Dostmann and published in Berlin by Der Drachenhaus Press in 1809. Much of this book deals with the Greco-Roman ruins in Asia Minor, as well as the ancient stone structures of Asia and the islands of the Pacific. Dostmann also includes material on the Black Stone (which he states Attila’s troops erected to commemorate a victory over the Goths), the Fishers from Outside, the Muvian god Yamath, Ithaqua and Aphoom-Zhah, and a table of Aklo characters.
