Cthulhu Mythos Encyclopedia

by Harms, Daniel

  [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 spiralled 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 launched 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.

  See Allen, Zadok; Armitage, Henry; Blayne, Horvath; Book of Dagon; Dagon; deep ones; Delta Green; Devil’s Reef; Esoteric Order of Dagon; Falcon Point; Innsmouth look; Invocations to Dagon; Marsh, Obadiah; Marsh, Obed; Peaslee, Olmstead, Robert Martin; Von Denen Verdammten; Wingate; Waite, Asenath; Waite, Ephraim; Y’ha-nthlei. (“Memories”, Berglund; “The Black Island”, Derleth; Delta Green, Detwiller, Glancy and Tynes; “From Cabinet 34, Drawer 6”, Kiernan; “Deepnet”, Langford; “The Shadow over Innsmouth”, Lovecraft (O); Nightmare’s Disciple, Pulver; Escape from Innsmouth, Ross.)

  2) Coastal town in Cornwall. Its major landmark, Trevor Towers, was once the home of a distinguished line of nobles, but now it is the home of a noxious brewer. See Kuranes. (“Celephaïs”, Lovecraft.)

  [Innsmouth first appeared in Lovecraft’s “Celephaïs”, but in that story it was placed in England. Lovecraft later used it in “The Shadow over Innsmouth”, and later authors have set it there as well.]

  INNSMOUTH LOOK. Hereditary condition taking its name from Innsmouth, Massachusetts, where the majority of the population possessed this malady. An infected person seems normal at birth but undergoes a slow, debilitating metamorphosis later in life. These changes often begin between the subject’s twentieth birthday and middle age, though sometimes the disease’s effects may be noticed earlier or later.

  A person affected by the Innsmouth look is characterized by large, bulging eyes, scaly and peeling skin, flattened nose, abnormally small ears, partially webbed fingers, and a wattling around the neck. In the later stages, the bone structure of the skull and pelvis shifts, forcing the victim to adopt a slow, shambling gait. The most advanced cases may involve the development of what appear to be rudimentary gills in the subject. Usually strange dreams of underwater realms and a growing obsession with the ocean accompany these physiological mutations. Often, the person with the look drops out of sight after having the condition for many years; presumably, the sense of self-preservation is overridden by their desire for the water, and they drown themselves while answering this call.

  Sometimes, a person with the Innsmouth look will progress only through the early stages of the malady, remaining in this state for the rest of their lives. The exact cause of this is unknown. Also, proximity to the ocean or certain artifacts has been known to trigger the change in seemingly healthy individuals, though more research is needed before these factors can be predicted with any degree of certainty.

  See deep ones; Marsh, Obadiah. (“The Shadow over Innsmouth”, Lovecraft (O); Escape from Innsmouth, Ross.)

  INQUANOK. See Inganok.

  INSECTS FROM SHAGGAI. See shan.

  INUTOS. Yellow-skinned people who destroyed the mighty Arctic civilization of Lomar, and from whom today’s Eskimos descended.

  See Lomar; Noton and Kadiphonek; Olathoë. (“Polaris”, Lovecraft (O).)

  AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE MYTH-PATTERNS OF LATTER-DAY PRIMITIVES WITH ESPECIAL REFERENCE TO THE R’LYEH TEXT. Book written by Dr. Laban Shrewsbury before his disappearance. Miskatonic University Press published the book in 1913. (Another publication date given is 1936, but this might have been a different edition.) In this book, Professor Shrewsbury put forth his own conjectures regarding the rites and centers of the worldwide Cthulhu Cult.

  See R’lyeh Text; Shrewsbury, Laban. (“Zoth-Ommog”, Carter; “The House on Curwen Street”, Derleth (O); Ex Libris Miskatonici, Stanley.)

  INVOCATIONS TO DAGON. Manuscript written by Asaph Waite, who died in the Federal raid on Innsmouth. Evidence suggests that this manuscript was passed down in his family, though no outsider knows which member now possesses it. Miskatonic University also holds a few pages from this work. The Invocations are mainly rituals and prayers dedicated to Father Dagon.

  (“Zoth-Ommog”, Carter; “The Black Island”, Derleth (O).)

  IOD. Being which is partly animal, vegetable, and mineral. Iod came down to earth in the days of our world’s youth. He was worshiped in Mu as the Shining Hunter, and the Greeks and Etruscans knew him in the guise of Trophonius and Vediovis, their respective gods of the underworld. Beings beyond the farthest galaxies revere him as Iod the Source.

  Some wizards have been able to summon Iod to do their bidding. Such conjurations are perilous, as the entity may hunt the wizard in order to devour their soul if not properly contained. No known volume contains the complete ceremony for c
alling up Iod, however.

  See Book of Iod; Book of Karnak; Ixaxar. (“The Hunt”, Kuttner; “The Invaders”, Kuttner; “The Secret of Kralitz”, Kuttner (O).)

  IOD, BOOK OF. See Book of Iod.

  IOG-SOTOT. See Yog-Sothoth.

  IREM (also IRAM or UBAR) Lost city somewhere in the depths of the Arabian desert. Irem is the City of a Thousand Pillars, and is called “many-columned” in the Koran. That text states that it was destroyed because of the sins of its inhabitants.

  Various myths have been told about this city’s origins. One tells of Iram being built by creatures of great size and colossal strength. With our knowledge of the creatures of the Mythos, this should not be lightly dismissed.

  Another tells of Shaddad and Shaddid, two brothers and the joint rulers of the great city of Ad. After they had ruled Ad for a time, Shaddid died. Following this tragedy, Shaddad became more egotistical, deciding to create an imitation of the celestial paradise on earth. He gave orders to build a great city and garden in the desert of Aden, and named this new paradise Iram, after his great-grandfather Aram. When the garden was completed, Shaddad traveled with his entire entourage to view his new creation. A day’s journey from the site, a “noise from heaven” destroyed him and all his courtiers.

  This is hardly the only tale of the city’s destruction. Some tell of creatures from the sky, who remain in the city to this day, killed or drove out all of the garden’s inhabitants. Some have said that Irem was actually built by minions of Shudde-M’ell, who had the city destroyed due to its inhabitants ignoring his commands. Still others believe that the men from Irem journeyed beneath to fight the creatures from the Nameless City who ate their inhabitants.

  Abdul Alhazred opened up the first gate to allow the Great Old Ones’ minions into this world in the ruins of Irem. Ludwig Prinn placed the beginnings of the cult of the worm-wizards in these ruins, and some suggest that an inhuman “Supreme One” who dwells here sends out orders to the cults of Cthulhu around the world. Travellers lost in the deserts of Arabia have been known to stumble upon this city, later bearing their delirious tales back to civilization.

  Over the gateway to Irem, a tremendous hand is carved, which is said to reach for the artifact known as the Silver Key. A myth much like this is connected with the Alhambra in Granada. When a carved hand above a doorway in that palace grasps a long-lost key again, the palace will be instantly destroyed. This might have derived from an older myth relating to Irem. Seekers after wisdom on this and other points might seek the witch I’thakuah in the caverns beneath, provided she does not strangle them first.

  [The actual ruins of the city of Iram, or Ubar, were found in 1992, though some scholars dispute this identification. Those who hope for a thousand-pillared city will be disappointed, as it seems to have been only a small fortress surrounded by tents.]

  See Abdul Alhazred; Black Litanies of Nug and Yeb; Cthulhu; De Vermis Mysteriis; Lamp of Alhazred; Nameless City; Nephren-Ka; Nug and Yeb; Saracenic Rituals; Silver Key. (“The Lamp of Alhazred”, Derleth and Lovecraft; “The Lurker at the Threshold”, Derleth and Lovecraft; “The Call of Cthulhu”, Lovecraft; “The Nameless City”, Lovecraft (O); “Through the Gates of the Silver Key”, Lovecraft and Price; “Lord of the Worms”, Lumley; “What Goes Around, Comes Around”, Moeller; “The Lord of Illusion”, Price; Necronomicon, Tyson; “Those Who Wait”, Wade.)

  ISHAKSHAR. See Ixaxar.

  ISHNIGARRAB. See Shub-Niggurath.

  ISINWYLL, L. N. Associate professor of medieval metaphysics (M.A., Oral Roberts U., Ph.D., University of North Dakota) at Miskatonic University. His works include Yog-Sothoth in the Eastern Pacific (1975, University of California Press) and The Shadow in the Wood (1987, Oxford U. Press). Professor Isinwyll currently heads the Miskatonic University Pacific Basin Studies Group in Fiji.

  [See E. C. Fallworth.]

  (“Miskatonic University Graduate Kit”, Petersen and Willis (O); S. Petersen’s Field Guide to Creatures of the Dreamlands, Petersen et. al.; S. Petersen’s Field Guide to Cthulhu Monsters, Petersen et. al.)

  ITHAQUA (also WIND-WALKER, DEATH-WALKER, and WENDIGO). Great Old One whose domain includes most of the northern regions of Earth. Ithaqua appears as a tremendous anthropomorphic shape with glowing red eyes and webbed feet that walk through the air as if on solid ground, or as a cloud of mist or snow with eyes. The Wendigo often emits eerie howling noises, but seeing the creature is worse; any that gaze upon Ithaqua are doomed to be taken by him.

  Like many of his fellow Great Old Ones, Ithaqua seems to be limited or imprisoned in a certain area. It originally rested beneath a plateau on the world of Borea, until it was able to escape. (Much of its lifeforce may still be held in the Temple of the Winds at the North Pole, which only appears on the night of the winter solstice.) On our own planet, Ithaqua is unable to leave the area between North Manitoba and the North Pole, though in certain circumstances the Wind-Walker may travel further into temperate climates. Whether Ithaqua may also manifest itself in the Antarctic is uncertain, as few humans have spent much time in that region. Ithaqua is not confined to our own world, however; it possesses the ability to fly through space, and is known to travel often to the world of Borea. The Great Old One returns from its journeys elsewhere to earth for one year in every five, when his cult experiences a stunning revival among the peoples of the north. Those in warmer latitudes who consider themselves safe from the Wind-Walker’s wrath should beware, however; the Arctic boundaries do not constrain the servitor winds and other minions of Ithaqua, who may be sent anywhere in the world at their master’s command.

  Ithaqua has been worshiped worldwide, with scholars drawing parallels between the Great Old One and the gods Quetzalcoatl, Thor, and Enlil. In the north where his true nature is known, Ithaqua is more widely feared than worshiped, and most of his cults died out in the early 19th century. Centers of this cult existed in the town of Stillwater, Manitoba, the inhabitants of which all vanished in the space of one night, and Cold Harbor, Alaska. In all instances, these cults involved human sacrifice and kidnapping of those opposed to their worship.

  The Wind-Walker is also responsible for a series of disappearances in Canada and the North. In most of these cases, a person vanishes and nothing is heard of them for months or even years. Later they are found encased in a shroud of downy snow with evidence of having fallen from a considerable height. Such victims may also be alive, babbling of the glories of Ithaqua, and have in some cases carried strange items that have plainly originated in widely-removed parts of the world. Those who have been in close physical proximity with the Wind-Walker are often able to endure the coldest temperatures without discomfort, or even transform into a creature physically resembling Ithaqua. None survive long after their return.

  Some say that Ithaqua serves the Great Old One Hastur, but there seems to be little hard evidence to support this.

  Ithaqua is probably one of a race of similar beings, as at least one encounter between Ithaqua and another wendigo has been reported. If this is true, Ithaqua is still the only wendigo to visit Earth regularly.

  [See the entry on wendigo for background information on the mythological basis for Ithaqua.]

  See Avaloth; Borea; Elder Sign; elemental theory; Gnoph-Keh; Great Old Ones; Hastur; Khrissa; Numinos; Ptetholites; Remnants of Lost Empires; Silberhutte, Hank; voormis; Wendigo. (“The Wendigo”, Blackwood; “H. P. Lovecraft: The Gods”, Carter; Walker in the Wastes, Crowe; “Ithaqua”, Derleth; “The Thing that Walked on the Wind”, Derleth (O); “Born of the Winds”, Lumley; Clock of Dreams, Lumley; In the Moons of Borea, Lumley; Spawn of the Winds, Lumley; Alone against the Wendigo, Rahman; Deities and Demigods Cyclopedia, Ward with Kuntz.)

  IUKKOTH. See Yuggoth.

  IXAXAR (also ISHAKSHAR, IXAXAAR, or SIXTYSTONE). Artifact mentioned by Pomponius Mela in his De Situ Orbis. According to this authority, the Ixaxar is a black stone with sixty characters in an unknown tongue inscribed upon it. Bestial people of Libya’s interior hold the Ix
axar sacred, and it is present at their sacrificial rites. Stones such as this, however, have shown up in Wales and other sites around the world. The stone’s inscription deals with Iod, the Hunter of Souls.

  The stone sounds similar to the “Black Stone” found in Roman Britian. Occultist Kenneth Grant says it is the same as the Stele of Revealing, an Egyptian tablet which inspired Aleister Crowley’s workings, but the description of the actual Sixtystone is vastly different.

  [De Situ Orbis is a real book, but no scholar has found the passage that appears in Machen.]

  See Black Seal; Black Stone; Zegrembi Seals. (Hecate’s Fountain, Grant; “The Hunt”, Kuttner; “The Novel of the Black Seal”, Machen (O).)

  J

  JADE HOUND. See Amulet of the Hound.

  JEELOS. Shy beings that lived in the wastes of Ultima Thule, an isle somewhere near Hyperborea.

  (“The Secret in the Parchment”, Carter; “The White People”, Machen (O).)

  JERMYN, (BARONET) ARTHUR (?-August 3, 1913). Ethnologist and poet. The Jermyns were a decayed line of English nobility, its most notable member being the explorer Lord Wade Jermyn. Arthur Jermyn’s mother was a music-hall singer, and his father Alfred left his family to join the circus when Arthur was still young. Arthur graduated with honors from Oxford, and set out to corroborate the research of his ancestor Sir Wade Jermyn. He travelled to Africa, where he was able to confirm some of Sir Wade’s findings, but then set himself on fire after receiving a mummy that a group of natives worshiped.

  (Delta Green: Denied to the Enemy, Detwiller; “Facts Concerning the Late Arthur Jermyn and his Family”, Lovecraft (O).)

  JERUSALEM’S LOT. Religious community founded on the coast of Massachusetts in 1710. Its people were a splinter group of Puritans led by James Boon, a young charismatic preacher around whose meeting house the small town was constructed. The doctrines taught by Boon were strange even by modern standards; his sermons were filled with talk of demons, and Boon asserted his right to take any woman in the community to himself whenever he desired to do so. As a result, Jerusalem’s Lot became a town filled with insanity and degeneration.