Cthulhu Mythos Encyclopedia

by Harms, Daniel

  (“Out of the Aeons”, Lovecraft and Heald; “The End of the Story”, Smith (O); “A Rendezvous in Averoigne”, Smith.)

  CHAUGNAR FAUGN. Hyperdimensional creature slightly resembling an elephant-headed human with webbed ears and a large disk at the end of its trunk. It spends most of its time immobile in a cavern on the Plateau of Tsang, only shifting its bulk when feeding upon a sacrificial victim.

  When Chaugnar came to earth, the most advanced life forms on this planet were amphibians. Desiring to have a race of servitors, Chaugnar Faugn used amphibian tissue to create the Miri Nigri. Over the long eons, these beings continued to worship Chaugnar. The Miri Nigri consorted with the first humans to create a hybrid race, eventually giving rise to the abominable Tcho-tcho people.

  In Roman times, Chaugnar Faugn and his “brothers”, beings who bore a likeness to Chaugnar but were lesser in power, dwelt beneath the Pyrenees in northern Spain, near the town of Pompelo. The Miri Nigri who lived in the nearby hills would kidnap villagers to be sacrificed to their gods each year before Halloween. Eventually, the Roman governors sent out an expedition to put an end to the hill-dweller’s depredations. Though the Miri Nigri destroyed this force, Chaugnar knew that this would not put an end to the Roman threat. He might be able to destroy his foes himself, but his time had not yet come. Instead, he journeyed to the East to wait for the age of his greatness. When his Brothers balked at making the trip, Chaugnar cursed them and promised to devour them after his resurgence.

  Currently, Chaugnar Faugn is worshiped in a cavern on the Plateau of Tsang; diffusion of such rites may account for the curious physical similarities between Chaugnar and the Indian elephant-god Ganesha. Though he rarely awakens, his one-time high priest, Mu Sang, prophesied that one day the White Acolyte would come from the West and bear Chaugnar away to a new land. In this land, the elephant-god will awaken and feed until he devours the universe. Chaugnar was brought to the West and displayed in the Metropolitan Museum, but he was sent back into the past via a curious time-ray device.

  In his guise of Ganesha, Chaugnar is said to possess the body of the Sacred White Elephant of Jadhore in Malaysia. He is also claimed to be another name for Tsathoggua. More research is required to verify these claims.

  See brothers of Chaugnar Faugn; Magnum Innominandum; Pnakotic Manuscripts; Tcho-tchos; Tsang; Tsathoggua; White Acolyte. (“The Curse of Chaugnar Faugn”, Barton; “Death is an Elephant”, Bloch; “The Horror from the Hills”, Long (O); Selected Letters IV, Lovecraft; “The Very Old Folk”, Lovecraft.)

  CHESUNCOOK WITCH COVEN. See Cult of the Skull.

  CHHAYA RITUALS. Manuscript famous for its vagueness. Only the most knowledgeable occultists understand its allusions.

  [“Chhaya” is Blavatsky’s transliteration of a Sanskrit term meaning “shadow.” Kenneth Grant lists the “Chaaya” as an astral shadow that a mystic seeking to release the Chakra energy in their body must overcome.]

  (“Hydra”, Kuttner (O).)

  CHIAN. Language mentioned in the Green Book that the Little People sometimes speak. Other references to “Chian games” and a “Chian pentagram” have been found, but the significance is unknown.

  [Chian was originally a drink composed of garlic, leeks, cheese, oil, vinegar and dried herbs imbibed at the mysteries of Artemis at Ephesus, so it seems likely that the “Ephesian letters of good omen” mentioned by Athaenus are actually the Chian language. These Greek letters were supposed to form words representing the words for darkness, light, the earth, the sun, the year, and truth. They adorned the feet, girdle, and crown of the statue of Artemis at Ephesus. The possession of these letters made their possessor invincible at sports, but their use was illegal in such contests; one wrestler won three hundred bouts before the nature of his victories became known. King Croesus was said to have escaped being burned to death by saying the words over his pyre, and King Solomon himself was said to have used the Chian letters to exorcise demons. Certain cults may have passed down the mystical traditions of Chian down to present times.

  [It should be noted that at least one Machen scholar has objected to this interpretation, but I find it to be an interesting one nonetheless.]

  See Green Book. (“Something in the Moonlight”, Carter; “The White People”, Machen (O).)

  CHILDREN OF THE NIGHT. See Worms of the Earth.

  CHORAZIN. 1) Cthulhu’s will or id. This is Cthulhu’s most psychically accessible part and is responsible for most of his dream sendings. See Cthulhu. (“Dreams Dark and Deadly”, Szymanski (O).)

  2) Ruined city in Israel. This city was condemned by Jesus in the Bible (Matthew 11:21, Luke 10:13). Evil sorcerers often make a “Black Pilgrimage” to Chorazin in hope of gaining great power. Both Abdul Alhazred and Ludwig Prinn are said to have made such a pilgrimage and lived among the city’s ruins for some time. See Alhazred, Abdul. (“Count Magnus”, James; “Lord of the Worms”, Lumley; “The Transition of Abdul Alhazred”, Price (O).)

  3) Town in upstate New York near both Attica and the ancestral Van der Heyl mansion visited by Alonso Typer. Most of the people here belong to a loathsome cult that meets on a hill near the old mansion. (“The Diary of Alonzo Typer”, Lovecraft and Lumley (O).)

  CHORAZOS CULT. Sect of Yog-Sothoth worshipers established in the mountains of Rumania in the late 16th century. Its leader was a man named Chorazos, who was supposedly of Gypsy extraction. The members of the cult came from such diverse places as Hungary, Africa, Arabia, and China. In 1594, the cult was exiled from its former Continental site to England, where a temple was established in Finchley. Though at first popular with Queen Elizabeth, the cult was hounded out of London in late 1595 due to an investigation by their former patron on the advice of Doctor John Dee. They moved their base of operations to a house known as the Oaks.

  Though the Chorazos Cult spent only a year in the Oaks, it became infamous throughout the area. When Parson Goodly of the local church asked Chorazos about the cult’s worship, Chorazos cursed the surrounding land, which to this day remains poor and deserted. Finally, the countrymen banded together and burned down the Oaks. Chorazos and a few other members escaped to Scotland.

  Chorazos’s cult received land in the Pentland Hills due to its supposed acts of healing. Before any official action took place, the people living nearby rose up following a series of disappearances, destroying the sect once and for all.

  See Yog-Sothoth. (“The House of the Temple”, Lumley (O); “The Running Man”, Lumley.)

  THE CHRONICLES OF NATH (originally CHRONIKE VON NATH). Volume written by Rudolf Yergler, a German mystic who finished it in 1653, shortly before he became completely blind. When the first edition was published in 1655, the authorities in Berlin sent Yergler to a madhouse, where he died under mysterious circumstances. In 1781, James Sheffield made an expurgated English translation of the Chronike. A copy of the latter might be found at the Croydon University Library.

  The tome deals with the history of Nath, Land of the Three Suns. In addition, it contains certain musical compositions said to bring star-spawned monstrosities into our dimension, mathematical formulae that can be used to view other dimensions, and information on the mystical traditions of Hermes Trismegistus. It warns would-be wizards that they must have good character and copy magical characters carefully if they seek to command the powers of this world.

  See Nath. (“The Tree on the Hill”, Lovecraft and Rimel (O); “Chief White Cloud”, Rimel; “The Hampdon Horror”, Rimel; “The Hills beyond Hampdon”, Rimel; “Music of the Stars”, Rimel; “The Mythos Collector”, Sammons.)

  CHRONICLES OF THRANG. Volume originating with the ‘Ithra, an alien species who came to earth from Betelgeuse three billion years ago. They set themselves up in Antarctica, which they referred to as Thrang. Later, another species called the Dhraion Throl found the book and added their own material, as did an Australian civilization started by humans from the rogue planet Wu’unaya. The magicians of the land of Ngarathoe in Asia Minor amended it between the las
t Ice Age and the rise of Sumer. An occultist named Algernon Braithwaite, a member of the mysterious Society of Paighon, rendered a partial and often inaccurate translation into English before being murdered. Seven copies of the Ngarathan translation exist.

  The Chronicles deals in some detail with Yidhra and ‘Ymnar, and it includes a technique to contact Ngyr-Khorath.

  (“The Barrett Horror”, DeBill; “From the Sea”, DeBill (O); “Where Yidhra Walks”, DeBill.)

  CHRONIKE VON NATH. See Chronicles of Nath.

  CHTHONIANS. See cthonians.

  CHTHONIC REVELATIONS. Laotian or ancient Thai book by Thanang Phram. Only three copies of the original have survived. Graf von Könnenberg, author of Uralte Schrecken, translated it into German and added notes of his own. This edition was in turn translated into English later.

  The Revelations includes discussions on Yidhra and disembodied entities called the Dark Ghosts, as well as a variation on the infamous elemental theory.

  (“Twilight of the Elder Gods”, Clore; “The Changeling”, DeBill; “What Lurks Among the Dunes”, DeBill (O); “Where Yidhra Walks”, DeBill; Call of Cthulhu Rulebook, Petersen and Willis.)

  CHTHONIOI. See Great Old Ones.

  CHURCH OF STARRY WISDOM. See Starry Wisdom cult.

  CIMMERIA. Land of northwestern Hyperborea to which descendants of the Atlanteans fled after their continent’s destruction. Its inhabitants in turn gave rise to the Gaelic people of Ireland and Scotland. It is this country from which the famous warrior Conan originally came. Today, most of Hyboria lies beneath the ocean. Only the portions that are now north-eastern England and southern Scandinavia lie above the waters.

  [A group called the Cimmerians dwelt in Anatolia around the eighth century B.C., and it is likely Howard appropriated their names and used them in his fiction.]

  See Conan; Crom-Ya; Lh-Yib; Testament of Carnamagos. (“The Hyborian Age”, Howard; “The Phoenix on the Sword”, Howard (O); Beneath the Moors, Lumley.)

  CIRCLES OF THAOL. Diagram consisting of three concentric circles. It can be drawn on the ground or turned into an amulet and held aloft. When used in conjunction with the star-stones of Mnar, the Circles can be used to imprison a summoned creature. The Vach-Viraj incantation can add further strength to the binding.

  See star-stone of Mnar. (“Nothing To Fear but Dust”, Henderson; “Andalous and the Chimera”, Hjort (O).)

  CITY OF THE SINGING FLAME. See Ydmos.

  CLITHANUS. See Confessions of the Mad Monk Clithanus.

  CLOTTON. Village located on the Ton River, a tributary of the Severn. Clotton has declined greatly since its heyday and cannot be found on most maps. Following events in 1931 of which the townspeople are disinclined to speak, the people of Clotton tore down many of the riverfront buildings and erected a huge concrete pillar on the Ton’s bank.

  (“The Horror from the Bridge”, Campbell (O).)

  COBRA CROWN. Artifact made by the serpent people. A conical golden piece wrought in the shape of a serpent and encrusted with diamonds, the Crown became the chief agent of the serpents’ conquests. According to legend, the Crown allowed its user to read the thoughts of anyone nearby and to control the minds of men and animals. The Crown’s power varied with that of the one who used it; one of weak will might control one man, while a mighty magician could command thousands with it.

  After the fall of the serpent people’s kingdom, the survivors concealed the Crown in a shrine on an Atlantic isle. During the Hyborian Age, a pirate bore it away, and for a short time it came into the possession of Thoth-Amon. Before he could use it to build his own empire, it was wrested from him and drained of its power. The Crown has not been seen since.

  (Conan the Buccaneer, Carter and de Camp (O).)

  CODEX DAGONENSIS. Book which bears a striking resemblance to the Codex Maleficium (now at the Vatican), the Codex Spitalsk (Uppsala, Sweden), and the Cthaat Aquadingen. All of these were first seen in the towns of northern Germany around the year 400, and each of them contains similar material, such as the Nyhargo Dirge, a set of Tsathogguan rituals, and information on the Elder Sign. The original compilers, and their reasons for creating these books, are unknown.

  The Codex Dagonensis came into the possession of Obed Marsh, who used it in the rituals of the Esoteric Order of Dagon. Following the disbanding of the cult in 1928, the volume was granted to Miskatonic University, where members of the Order still consult it occasionally.

  Aside from the material mentioned above, the Codex also contains magical protections against summonings, along with the Third and Eight Sathlattae.

  See Codex Maleficium, Codex Spitalski, Cthaat Aquadingen. (Ex Libris Miskatonici, Stanley (O).)

  CODEX MALEFICIUM. Volume very similar in content to the Codex Dagonensis, the Cthaat Aquadingen, and the Codex Spitalski. The only known copy is kept at the Vatican, which does not allow access to it. It contains a copy of the First Sathlatta.

  See Codex Dagonensis; Codex Spitalski; Cthaat Aquadingen. (Ex Libris Miskatonici, Stanley (O).)

  CODEX SPITALSKI (“Leprous”). Volume very similar in content to the Codex Dagonensis, the Cthaat Aquadingen, and the Codex Maleficium. It is believed to be the oldest of these codices. It is kept somewhere in Uppsala, Sweden (most likely in the library of the University of Uppsala) and contains the Second Sathlatta.

  See Codex Dagonensis; Codex Maleficium; Cthaat Aquadingen. (Ex Libris Miskatonici, Stanley (O).)

  COLD WASTE. Region to the north of the Dreamlands in which the mountain of Kadath may be found. Kenneth Grant has connected this with the other side of the Kaballistic Tree of Life where the qlipoth, or the remnants of a former destroyed creation, may be found.

  See Carter, Randolph; Dreamlands; Kadath; Leng; Yr-Nhhngr. (Nightside of Eden, Grant; “The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath”, Lovecraft; “The Other Gods”, Lovecraft (O).)

  COLOUR OUT OF SPACE. Being from outer space which appears to be a color of no known spectrum (though it may take on more material form after some time on earth). The Colour’s life cycle in space is unknown, as the only encounters with it so far have been made on earth. The Elder Things seem to revere these beings, while other species, including the mi-go and shan, fear them.

  The Colour’s embryonic stage is that of a small sphere three inches in diameter. When it enters a planet’s atmosphere, the sphere is broken and the Colour larva emerges. It then begins to exert a subtle influence over life in the surrounding area, feeding first on the lower levels of the food chain and working its way up to animals and humans. Affected lifeforms often grow to abnormal sizes and mutate, though soon after they crumble into dust. When the Colour has gained enough energy, it drains the surrounding area and flies off into space, leaving a blasted area devoid of all life behind it.

  The best-known Colour appearance was near Clark’s Corners, Massachusetts in 1882, on a site now covered by the new Arkham reservoir.

  See S’ngac. (“The Killer out of Space”, Barton; Hive, Curran; “The Colour out of Space”, Lovecraft (O); “A Little Color in Your Cheeks”, Minnis; The Color out of Time, Shea.)

  COLUM, NAYLAND. Author from London who became known for his novel The Watchers on the Other Side. Colum was planning to follow up this novel with another, but he vanished from a ship on his way home from a vacation in Arabia.

  (“The Keeper of the Key”, Derleth (O).)

  COMMORIOM. One-time capital city of Hyperborea. Some say that the White Sybil of Polarion prophesied that Commoriom would be destroyed. Upon hearing these words, the entire population of the doomed city fled, leaving Commoriom to the jungle, and set up the new capital of Uzuldaroum a day’s journey away. However, other accounts state that the city was deserted due to the depredations of a criminal whose execution proved especially troublesome.

  Klarkash-Ton of Atlantis preserved the myth-cycle of Commoriom, which included tales of Tsathoggua and other deities.

  See Satampra Zeiros. (“The Whisperer in Darkness”, Lovecraft; “The Tale of Satampra Zeiros”
, Smith (O); “The Testament of Athammaus”, Smith.)

  COMTE D’ERLETTE. See D’Erlette, Comte.

  CONAN OF CIMMERIA. The most famous hero of the Hyborian Age. Conan was born to a tribe in northwestern Cimmeria during a battle between his people and the Vanir to the north. By the time he reached young adulthood, Conan had distinguished himself in war many times. Soon thereafter, he set out for adventure, and traversed a great deal of the world working as a thief and mercenary.

  Around the age of forty, Conan seized the throne of Aquilonia, the most powerful kingdom in the Hyborian lands. What happened after this is only conjecture; some say he conquered a vast empire, while others hold that he placed his son on the throne and went west to battle a great evil.

  [Given the vast amount of contradictory material on Conan and his marginal use in the Mythos, I will leave a full account of his life for others to compile.]

  See Acheron; Cimmeria; Hyborian Age; Quy; Set; Stygia. (Letter from Robert E. Howard to P. S. Miller, March 10, 1936; “The Phoenix on the Sword”, Howard (O); The Illuminatus! Trilogy, Shea and Wilson.)

  CONFESSIONS OF THE MAD MONK CLITHANUS. Name bestowed upon an untitled volume written by Clithanus circa 400.

  Clithanus had read a great deal of the Necronomicon, and used this information to free a “follower of mad Cthulhu” which was imprisoned within the tunnels beneath an abbey at Lynwold, on England’s northeastern coast. After seeing what he had done, Clithanus became afraid and went to St. Augustine, the Bishop of Hippo, for assistance. (Why and how he consulted the bishop in Africa is not known.) Through the use of a star-shaped symbol, Augustine returned the monster to its prison. The saint then sent Clithanus, who had been driven out of his mind, to Rome.

  The Confessions was printed in a Latin edition in 1675, most likely in Milan. The British Museum, the Field Museum in Chicago, and Union Theological Seminary in Manhattan hold copies of this book.

  This book contains the formulas for calling a lesser being much like Cthulhu, another for sending the creature back on its original summoner, and the signs of protection needed to avert its wrath. One of the chants within may be the one required to enchant the star-stones of Mnar. Clithanus also tells of a time when a large number of Cthulhu-spawn were called out of the deeps, ravaged the land, and were imprisoned once again in a faraway land by priests from Central Europe.