Many
fictional works of arcane literature appear in
H. P. Lovecraft's cycle of interconnected works often known as the
Cthulhu Mythos
The Cthulhu Mythos is a mythopoeia and a shared fictional universe, originating in the works of American horror writer H. P. Lovecraft. The term was coined by August Derleth
August William Derleth (February 24, 1909 – July 4, 1971) was an ...
. The main literary purpose of these works is to explain how characters within the tales come by occult or esoterica (knowledge that is unknown to the general populace). However, in some cases the works themselves serve as an important plot device. Thus, in
Robert Bloch
Robert Albert Bloch (; April 5, 1917September 23, 1994) was an American fiction writer, primarily of crime, psychological horror and fantasy, much of which has been dramatized for radio, cinema and television. He also wrote a relatively small ...
's tale "
The Shambler from the Stars
"The Shambler from the Stars" is a horror short story by American writer Robert Bloch, first published in the September 1935 issue of'' Weird Tales''. It was later included as part of his first published book, ''The Opener of the Way'' (1945), a ...
", a weird fiction writer seals his doom by casting a spell from the arcane book ''
De Vermis Mysteriis
''De Vermis Mysteriis'', or ''Mysteries of the Worm'', is a fictional grimoire created by Robert Bloch and incorporated by H. P. Lovecraft into the lore of the Cthulhu Mythos.
Creation
Ludvig Prinn's ''Mysteries of the Worm'' first appeared in ...
''.
Another purpose of these tomes was to give members of the
Lovecraft Circle a means to pay homage to one another. Consequently,
Clark Ashton Smith
Clark Ashton Smith (January 13, 1893 – August 14, 1961) was an American writer and artist. He achieved early local recognition, largely through the enthusiasm of George Sterling, for traditional verse in the vein of Algernon Charles Swinburne ...
used Lovecraft's ''
Necronomicon
The ', also referred to as the ''Book of the Dead'', or under a purported original Arabic title of ', is a fictional grimoire (textbook of magic) appearing in stories by the horror writer H. P. Lovecraft and his followers. It was first menti ...
'' (his most prominent creation) in Smith's tale "Ubbo-Sathla". Likewise, Lovecraft used
Robert E. Howard's ''
Nameless Cults'' in his tale "Out of the Aeons". Thereafter, these texts and others appear in the works of numerous other Mythos authors (some of whom have added their own
grimoire
A grimoire ( ) (also known as a "book of spells" or a "spellbook") is a textbook of magic, typically including instructions on how to create magical objects like talismans and amulets, how to perform magical spells, charms and divination, and ...
s to the literary arcana), including
August Derleth
August William Derleth (February 24, 1909 – July 4, 1971) was an American writer and anthologist. Though best remembered as the first book publisher of the writings of H. P. Lovecraft, and for his own contributions to the Cthulhu Mythos and the ...
,
Lin Carter
Linwood Vrooman Carter (June 9, 1930 – February 7, 1988) was an American author of science fiction and fantasy, as well as an editor, poet and critic. He usually wrote as Lin Carter; known pseudonyms include H. P. Lowcraft (for an H. P. L ...
,
Brian Lumley
Brian Lumley (born 2 December 1937) is an English author of horror fiction. He came to prominence in the 1970s writing in the Cthulhu Mythos created by American writer H. P. Lovecraft but featuring the new character Titus Crow, and went on to ...
,
Jonathan L. Howard
Jonathan L. Howard is a British writer and game designer, known mainly for his novels about Johannes Cabal the Necromancer. He lives with his wife and daughter near Bristol.
Work
Howard worked as scriptwriter and video game writer since the earl ...
, and
Ramsey Campbell
Ramsey Campbell (born 4 January 1946) is an English horror fiction writer, editor and critic who has been writing for well over fifty years. He is the author of over 30 novels and hundreds of short stories, many of them winners of literary awa ...
.
B
Book of Azathoth
He must meet the Black Man, and go with them all to the throne of Azathoth
Azathoth is a deity in the Cthulhu Mythos and Dream Cycle stories of writer H. P. Lovecraft and other authors. He is the ruler of the Outer Gods, and may be seen as a symbol for primordial chaos.
H. P. Lovecraft
Inspiration
The first reco ...
at the centre of ultimate Chaos. That was what she said. He must sign in his own blood the book of Azathoth and take a new secret name now that his independent delvings had gone so far.
—H. P. Lovecraft, "The Dreams in the Witch House
"The Dreams in the Witch House" is a horror short story by American writer H. P. Lovecraft, part of the Cthulhu Mythos cycle. It was written in January/February 1932 and first published in the July 1933 issue of ''Weird Tales''.
Plot
Walter G ...
"
The ''Book of
Azathoth
Azathoth is a deity in the Cthulhu Mythos and Dream Cycle stories of writer H. P. Lovecraft and other authors. He is the ruler of the Outer Gods, and may be seen as a symbol for primordial chaos.
H. P. Lovecraft
Inspiration
The first reco ...
'' is a creation of Lovecraft's. It is mentioned in "
The Dreams in the Witch House
"The Dreams in the Witch House" is a horror short story by American writer H. P. Lovecraft, part of the Cthulhu Mythos cycle. It was written in January/February 1932 and first published in the July 1933 issue of ''Weird Tales''.
Plot
Walter G ...
" as a book harbored by
Nyarlathotep
Nyarlathotep is a fictional character created by H. P. Lovecraft. The character is a malign deity in the Cthulhu Mythos, a shared universe. First appearing in Lovecraft's 1920 prose poem "Nyarlathotep", he was later mentioned in other works by ...
in the form of the Black Man (or
Satan
Satan,, ; grc, ὁ σατανᾶς or , ; ar, شيطانالخَنَّاس , also known as Devil in Christianity, the Devil, and sometimes also called Lucifer in Christianity, is an non-physical entity, entity in the Abrahamic religions ...
). The protagonist, Walter Gilman, is forced to sign the book in his blood, pledging his soul to the Other Gods. The idea of the book is likely based on classical descriptions of witch-cults,
Satanic rites, and the signing away of souls.
Other authors have expanded on the Book.
Michael Alan Nelson
Michael Alan Nelson (born June 6, 1971) is an American comic book writer and novelist. He is best known for the comic book and novel series ''Hexed'', ''Supergirl'' comics, and co-writing the " Day Men" comics series. Nelson has written over 30 g ...
writes (in his ''Fall of Cthulhu'' series for
Boom! Studios
Boom! Studios (styled BOOM! Studios) is an American comic book and graphic novel publisher, headquartered in Los Angeles, California, United States.
History
Origins
In the early 2000s, Ross Richie and Andrew Cosby had been working in Holly ...
) that the signer attracts the attention of the Other Gods by writing their name in the book. Glynn Owen Barrass states (in ''The Starry Wisdom Library'') that the book praises the Lovecraftian pantheon and renounces/mocks the Christian scripture.
Book of Eibon
. . . ''The Book of Eibon'', that strangest and rarest of occult forgotten volumes ... is said to have come down through a series of manifold translations from a prehistoric original written in the lost language of Hyperborea
In Greek mythology, the Hyperboreans ( grc, Ὑπερβόρε(ι)οι, ; la, Hyperborei) were a mythical people who lived in the far northern part of the known world. Their name appears to derive from the Greek , "beyond Boreas" (the God of ...
.
—Clark Ashton Smith, "Ubbo-Sathla"
The ''Book of Eibon'', or ''Liber Ivonis'' or ''Livre d'Eibon'', is attributed to
Clark Ashton Smith
Clark Ashton Smith (January 13, 1893 – August 14, 1961) was an American writer and artist. He achieved early local recognition, largely through the enthusiasm of George Sterling, for traditional verse in the vein of Algernon Charles Swinburne ...
and can be said to be his equivalent of Lovecraft's ''Necronomicon''.
It appears in a number of Lovecraft's stories, such as "
The Haunter of the Dark
"The Haunter of the Dark" is a horror short story by American author H. P. Lovecraft, written between 5–9 November 1935 and published in the December 1936 edition of ''Weird Tales'' (Vol. 28, No. 5, p. 538–53). It was the last written ...
" (''Liber Ivonis''), "
The Dreams in the Witch House
"The Dreams in the Witch House" is a horror short story by American writer H. P. Lovecraft, part of the Cthulhu Mythos cycle. It was written in January/February 1932 and first published in the July 1933 issue of ''Weird Tales''.
Plot
Walter G ...
" (''Book of Eibon''), "
The Horror in the Museum
"The Horror in the Museum" is a short story ghostwritten by H. P. Lovecraft for Somerville, MA writer Hazel Heald in October 1932, published in 1933. It is one of five stories Lovecraft revised for Heald. The story has been reprinted in several c ...
" (''Book of Eibon''), "
The Shadow Out of Time
''The Shadow Out of Time'' is a novella by American
horror fiction writer H. P. Lovecraft. Written between November 1934 and February 1935, it was first published in the June 1936 issue of ''Astounding Stories''. The story describes time and ...
" (''Book of Eibon'') and "The Man of Stone", a collaboration with
Hazel Heald
Hazel Heald (April 6, 1896February 4, 1961) was a pulp fiction writer, who lived in Somerville, Massachusetts. She is perhaps best known for collaborating with American horror fiction writer H. P. Lovecraft.
Biography
Heald was born the daughter ...
(''Book of Eibon'').
The book is supposed to have been written by
Eibon
The Hyperborean cycle is a series of short stories by Clark Ashton Smith that take place in the fictional prehistoric setting of Hyperborea. Smith's cycle takes cues from his friends, H. P. Lovecraft and Robert E. Howard and their works. Lovecra ...
, a
wizard in the land of Hyperborea. It was an immense text of arcane knowledge that contained, among other things, a detailed account of Eibon's exploits, including his journeys to the Vale of Pnath and the planet Shaggai, his veneration rituals of
Zhothaqquah
Tsathoggua (the ''Sleeper of N'kai'', also known as Zhothaqquah) is a supernatural entity in the Cthulhu Mythos shared fictional universe. He is the creation of American writer Clark Ashton Smith and is part of his Hyperborean cycle.
Tsathoggua/Z ...
(Eibon's patron deity), and his magical formulae—such as for the slaying of certain otherworldly horrors. Unfortunately, only one complete fragment of the original is known to exist, scattered in different places of our world, though there are translations in
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
,
French, and
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
—''Liber Ivonis'' is the title of the Latin translation.
Smith presents his short story "The Coming of the White Worm" as Chapter IX of the ''Book of Eibon''.
Lin Carter
Linwood Vrooman Carter (June 9, 1930 – February 7, 1988) was an American author of science fiction and fantasy, as well as an editor, poet and critic. He usually wrote as Lin Carter; known pseudonyms include H. P. Lowcraft (for an H. P. L ...
wrote numerous 'completions' or imitations of Clark Ashton Smith stories which purported to be various sections of the ''Book of Eibon.''
Outside of Smith's and Lovecraft's mythoses, the book notably appears in
Lucio Fulci
Lucio Fulci (; 17 June 1927 – 13 March 1996) was an Italian film director, screenwriter, and actor. Although he worked in a wide array of genres through a career spanning nearly five decades, including comedies and Spaghetti Westerns, he garn ...
's
supernatural horror film
Supernatural horror film is a film genre that combines aspects of horror film and supernatural film. Supernatural occurrences in such films often include ghosts and demons, and many supernatural horror films have elements of religion. Common them ...
''
The Beyond'' (1981), where inappropriate use of it opened up one of the seven gates of Hell, allowing its zombie-like denizens to cross over.
Book of Iod
The ''Book of Iod'' was created by
Henry Kuttner
Henry Kuttner (April 7, 1915 – February 3, 1958) was an American author of science fiction, fantasy and horror.
Early life
Henry Kuttner was born in Los Angeles, California in 1915. Kuttner (1829–1903) and Amelia Bush (c. 1834–1911), the ...
and first appeared in his short story "Bells of Horror" (as Keith Hammond;
1939
This year also marks the start of the Second World War, the largest and deadliest conflict in human history.
Events
Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix.
January
* January 1
** Third Reich
*** Jews are forbidden to ...
). The original ''Book of Iod'', of which only one copy exists, is written in the "Ancient Tongue," possibly a combination of
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
and
Coptic
Coptic may refer to:
Afro-Asia
* Copts, an ethnoreligious group mainly in the area of modern Egypt but also in Sudan and Libya
* Coptic language, a Northern Afro-Asiatic language spoken in Egypt until at least the 17th century
* Coptic alphabet ...
. Although its origin is unknown, the book may have been written by the mysterious author "Khut-Nah," which sounds remarkably like Kuttner. The ''Book of Iod'' contains details about Iod, the Shining Hunter, Vorvados, and
Zuchequon. The
Huntington Library
The Huntington Library, Art Museum and Botanical Gardens, known as The Huntington, is a collections-based educational and research institution established by Henry E. Huntington (1850–1927) and Arabella Huntington (c.1851–1924) in San Mar ...
of
San Marino, California
San Marino is a residential city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. It was incorporated on April 25, 1913. At the 2010 census the population was 13,147. The city is one of the wealthiest places in the nation in terms of househol ...
is said to hold an expurgated translation, possibly in
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
, by Johann Negus.
''
The Book of Iod'' was also the title of a short-story collection published by
Chaosium
Chaosium Inc. is a publisher of tabletop role-playing games established by Greg Stafford in 1975. Chaosium's major titles include '' Call of Cthulhu'', based on the horror fiction stories of H. P. Lovecraft'', RuneQuest Glorantha'', ''Pendragon'' ...
in 1995, containing 10 Cthulhu Mythos stories by Henry Kuttner, along with three related stories by Kuttner,
Robert Bloch
Robert Albert Bloch (; April 5, 1917September 23, 1994) was an American fiction writer, primarily of crime, psychological horror and fantasy, much of which has been dramatized for radio, cinema and television. He also wrote a relatively small ...
,
Lin Carter
Linwood Vrooman Carter (June 9, 1930 – February 7, 1988) was an American author of science fiction and fantasy, as well as an editor, poet and critic. He usually wrote as Lin Carter; known pseudonyms include H. P. Lowcraft (for an H. P. L ...
, and
Robert M. Price
Robert McNair Price (born July 7, 1954) is an American New Testament scholar. His most notable stance is arguing in favor of the Christ myth theorythe claim that a historical Jesus did not exist. Price is the author of a number of books on bi ...
.
C
Celaeno Fragments
The Celaeno Fragments is credited to August Derleth. In his
novel
A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itsel ...
''The Trail of Cthulhu'', "Celaeno" refers to a distant planet that contains a huge library of alien literature. Professor
Laban Shrewsbury and his companions traveled to Celaeno several times to escape Cthulhu's minions. Shrewsbury later wrote the Celaeno Fragments, a transcript of what he remembered of his translations of the books in the Great Library of Celaeno. He submitted the transcript, which consisted of about 50 pages, to the Miskatonic University's library in 1915.
Cthäat Aquadingen
The ''Cthäat Aquadingen'', possibly meaning ''Things of the Water'' (As Aquadingen can be translated from Dutch into Water/Aqua things), was created by
Brian Lumley
Brian Lumley (born 2 December 1937) is an English author of horror fiction. He came to prominence in the 1970s writing in the Cthulhu Mythos created by American writer H. P. Lovecraft but featuring the new character Titus Crow, and went on to ...
for his short story "The Cyprus Shell" (
1968
The year was highlighted by protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide.
Events January–February
* January 5 – "Prague Spring": Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia.
* Januar ...
). This text, by an unknown author, deals with
Cthulhu
Cthulhu is a fictional cosmic entity created by writer H. P. Lovecraft. It was first introduced in his short story "The Call of Cthulhu", published by the American pulp magazine ''Weird Tales'' in 1928. Considered a Great Old One within the pan ...
and other sea-horrors, such as
Inpesca. It also contains many so-called ''Sathlattae'', rituals and spells related to
Ubbo-Sathla. It is first mentioned as appearing in northern
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
around 400 AD. A
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
version was apparently written between the 11th and 12th century, as was an English translation that appeared sometime in the 14th century.
Cultes des Goules
''Cultes des Goules'', or ''Cults of Ghouls'', was created by
Robert Bloch
Robert Albert Bloch (; April 5, 1917September 23, 1994) was an American fiction writer, primarily of crime, psychological horror and fantasy, much of which has been dramatized for radio, cinema and television. He also wrote a relatively small ...
(August Derleth claimed to have invented the fictional text, but this was denied by both Lovecraft and Bloch himself). The work is often misattributed to August Derleth because the fictional author is the "Comte d'Erlette". It is a book on
black magic
Black magic, also known as dark magic, has traditionally referred to the use of supernatural powers or magic for evil and selfish purposes, specifically the seven magical arts prohibited by canon law, as expounded by Johannes Hartlieb in 145 ...
and the uses of the dead written by Francois-Honore Balfour (
Comte d'Erlette) in 1702. It was first published in
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
and later denounced by the church. Only a handful of copies are in existence. One of the known copies was kept for 91 years in an arcane library of the
Church of Starry Wisdom in
Providence, Rhode Island
Providence is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. One of the oldest cities in New England, it was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a Reformed Baptist theologian and religious exile from the Massachusetts Bay ...
. After
Robert Blake Robert Blake may refer to:
Sportspeople
* Bob Blake (American football) (1885–1962), American football player
* Robbie Blake (born 1976), English footballer
* Bob Blake (ice hockey) (1914–2008), American ice hockey player
* Rob Blake (born 19 ...
’s mysterious death in 1935,
Doctor Dexter removed the grimoire and added it to his library.
''Cultes des Goules'' is mentioned numerous times in the works of
Caitlin R. Kiernan
Caitlin () is a female given name of Irish origin. Historically, the Irish name Caitlín was anglicized as Cathleen or Kathleen. In the 1970s, however, non-Irish speakers began pronouncing the name according to English spelling rules as , which ...
and plays an especially important role in her
2003
File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A des ...
novel ''Low Red Moon''. The text is also prominently mentioned in her short story "Spindleshanks (New Orleans, 1956)" — collected in ''
To Charles Fort, With Love'' (
2005
File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...
).
The book ''Cultes des Goules'' is also mentioned in passing as being part of a collection that was discovered in the titular castle in the 1981 novel ''
The Keep'', but does not appear in the
1983 movie based on the book.
D
De Vermis Mysteriis
''De Vermis Mysteriis'', or ''Mysteries of the Worm'', is a
grimoire
A grimoire ( ) (also known as a "book of spells" or a "spellbook") is a textbook of magic, typically including instructions on how to create magical objects like talismans and amulets, how to perform magical spells, charms and divination, and ...
created by
Robert Bloch
Robert Albert Bloch (; April 5, 1917September 23, 1994) was an American fiction writer, primarily of crime, psychological horror and fantasy, much of which has been dramatized for radio, cinema and television. He also wrote a relatively small ...
, first appearing in Bloch's
short story
A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the oldest ...
'The Secret in the Tomb" (''Weird Tales,'' May 1935) and featured extensively in Bloch's "The Shambler from the Stars" (
1935
Events
January
* January 7 – Italian premier Benito Mussolini and French Foreign Minister Pierre Laval conclude Franco-Italian Agreement of 1935, an agreement, in which each power agrees not to oppose the other's colonial claims.
* ...
). It also was used by
Stephen King
Stephen Edwin King (born September 21, 1947) is an American author of horror, supernatural fiction, suspense, crime, science-fiction, and fantasy novels. Described as the "King of Horror", a play on his surname and a reference to his high s ...
in his short story "
Jerusalem's Lot
"Jerusalem's Lot" is a short story by Stephen King, first published in King's 1978 collection '' Night Shift''. The story was also printed in the illustrated 2005 edition of King's 1975 novel Salem's Lot''.
Setting and style
"Jerusalem's Lo ...
" and novel ''
Revival''.
Dhol Chants
The ''Dhol Chants'' was first mentioned in the short story "The Horror In The Museum" (
1932
Events January
* January 4 – The British authorities in India arrest and intern Mahatma Gandhi and Vallabhbhai Patel.
* January 9 – Sakuradamon Incident (1932), Sakuradamon Incident: Korean nationalist Lee Bong-chang fails in his effort ...
) by Lovecraft and Hazel Heald. They are alluded to in passing as a semi-mythical collection of chants attributed to the almost-human people of
Leng. The chants themselves are never described, nor do they appear in any other of Lovecraft's works. August Derleth later used the chants in his stories "The Gable Window" (
1957
1957 ( MCMLVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1957th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 957th year of the 2nd millennium, the 57th year of the 20th century, and the 8th y ...
), ''
The Lurker at the Threshold
''The Lurker at the Threshold'' is a horror novel by American writer August Derleth, based on short fragments written by H. P. Lovecraft, who died in 1937, and published as a collaboration between the two authors. According to S. T. Joshi, of t ...
'' (
1945
1945 marked the end of World War II and the fall of Nazi Germany and the Empire of Japan. It is also the only year in which nuclear weapons have been used in combat.
Events
Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix.
Januar ...
), and "The Shadow Out of Space" (1957).
Miskatonic University's library is said to hold a copy of the ''Dhol Chants''.
E
Eltdown Shards
Richard F. Searight invented The Eltdown Shards in a head-note (which purported to be a quotation from this text) to his story "The Sealed Casket" (Weird Tales, March 1935). The story was actually published in that issue without the headnote. Lovecraft later quoted the unpublished headnote in a letter to Clark Ashton Smith, "leading some to believe that he wrote it". He cited the book in ''
The Shadow Out of Time
''The Shadow Out of Time'' is a novella by American
horror fiction writer H. P. Lovecraft. Written between November 1934 and February 1935, it was first published in the June 1936 issue of ''Astounding Stories''. The story describes time and ...
'' and ''
The Challenge from Beyond
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
''.
The Eltdown Shards are mentioned in numerous mythos stories. They are mysterious pottery fragments found in 1882 and named after the place where they were discovered, Eltdown in southern
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
. The shards date to the
Triassic
The Triassic ( ) is a geologic period and system which spans 50.6 million years from the end of the Permian Period 251.902 million years ago ( Mya), to the beginning of the Jurassic Period 201.36 Mya. The Triassic is the first and shortest period ...
period and are covered with strange symbols thought to be untranslatable. Nonetheless, several authors have penned their own interpretations of the markings, including Gordon Whitney and his ''The Eltdown Shards: A Partial Translation''. Many of these works, as well as a number of non-academic versions, have circulated among secretive cults.
Whitney's translation is remarkably similar to the
Pnakotic Manuscripts, a text produced by the
Great Race of Yith
The Cthulhu Mythos is a mythopoeia and a shared fictional universe, originating in the works of American horror writer H. P. Lovecraft. The term was coined by August Derleth, a contemporary correspondent and protégé of Lovecraft, to identify ...
. The translation describes Yith, the planet from which the Great Race came, and the Great Race's fateful encounter with the Yekubians. A magical formula from the 19th shard is for the summoning of the "Warder of Knowledge"; unfortunately, the dismissal portion of the ritual is garbled, so the summoning of this being could prove calamitous. Despite its connections to the Great Race, the Eltdown Shards were most likely inscribed by the
Elder Thing
The Elder Things (also known as the Old Ones and Elder Ones) are fictional extraterrestrials in the Cthulhu Mythos. The beings first appeared in H. P. Lovecraft's novella, ''At the Mountains of Madness'' (published in 1936, but written in 19 ...
s, who probably buried the ceramics in England when it was part of the great supercontinent
Pangaea
Pangaea or Pangea () was a supercontinent that existed during the late Paleozoic and early Mesozoic eras. It assembled from the earlier continental units of Gondwana, Euramerica and Siberia during the Carboniferous approximately 335 million y ...
.
G
G'harne Fragments
The G'harne Fragments first appeared in the works of
Brian Lumley
Brian Lumley (born 2 December 1937) is an English author of horror fiction. He came to prominence in the 1970s writing in the Cthulhu Mythos created by American writer H. P. Lovecraft but featuring the new character Titus Crow, and went on to ...
. They are described as a set of miraculously preserved shards of
obsidian
Obsidian () is a naturally occurring volcanic glass formed when lava extrusive rock, extruded from a volcano cools rapidly with minimal crystal growth. It is an igneous rock.
Obsidian is produced from felsic lava, rich in the lighter elements s ...
or some other black stone that record the history of the pre-human
Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
n city of G'harne. The lost city is located somewhere in the southern
Sahara Desert
, photo = Sahara real color.jpg
, photo_caption = The Sahara taken by Apollo 17 astronauts, 1972
, map =
, map_image =
, location =
, country =
, country1 =
, ...
, and is currently a frequent haunt of the
chthonians.
The two primary translators of the fragments are
Sir Amery Wendy-Smith and Gordon Walmsley. Both of these scholars died in Lumley's works: Sir Amery in "Cement Surroundings" (
1969
This year is notable for Apollo 11's first landing on the moon.
Events January
* January 4 – The Government of Spain hands over Ifni to Morocco.
* January 5
**Ariana Afghan Airlines Flight 701 crashes into a house on its approach to ...
) and Walmsley in "In the Vaults Beneath" (
1971 *
The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses ( February 25, July 22 and August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 10, and August 6).
The world population increased by 2.1% this year, the highest increase in history.
Events
Ja ...
).
K
The King in Yellow
A creation of
Robert W. Chambers
Robert William Chambers (May 26, 1865 – December 16, 1933) was an American artist and fiction writer, best known for his book of short stories titled '' The King in Yellow'', published in 1895.
Life
Chambers was born in Brooklyn, New York, t ...
, ''The King in Yellow'' is a
play
Play most commonly refers to:
* Play (activity), an activity done for enjoyment
* Play (theatre), a work of drama
Play may refer also to:
Computers and technology
* Google Play, a digital content service
* Play Framework, a Java framework
* Pla ...
featured in a collection of short stories also named ''The King in Yellow'', published in
1895
Events
January–March
* January 5 – Dreyfus affair: French officer Alfred Dreyfus is stripped of his army rank, and sentenced to life imprisonment on Devil's Island.
* January 12 – The National Trust for Places of Histor ...
.
According to the stories, the play was widely censored. The author is unknown, and is believed to have committed
suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and s ...
after publishing it in 1889. The play is named after a mysterious supernatural figure featured in it, who is connected to a peculiar alien symbol, usually wrought in gold, called the
Yellow Sign. Though the first act is said to be "innocent", all who read the play's second act either go mad or suffer another terrible fate. Its setting and events include mysterious places and entities such as
Carcosa
Carcosa is a fictional city in Ambrose Bierce's short story "An Inhabitant of Carcosa" (1886). The ancient and mysterious city is barely described and is viewed only in hindsight (after its destruction) by a character who once lived there.
Americ ...
,
Hastur
Hastur (The Unspeakable One, The King in Yellow, Him Who Is Not to be Named, Assatur, Xastur, H'aaztre, or Kaiwan) is an entity of cosmic horror.
Hastur first appeared in Ambrose Bierce's short story "Haïta the Shepherd" ( 1893) as a benign ...
, and the
Lake of Hali
Carcosa is a fictional city in Ambrose Bierce's short story " An Inhabitant of Carcosa" (1886). The ancient and mysterious city is barely described and is viewed only in hindsight (after its destruction) by a character who once lived there.
Ameri ...
, names that Chambers borrowed from the writings of
Ambrose Bierce
Ambrose Gwinnett Bierce (June 24, 1842 – ) was an American short story writer, journalist, poet, and American Civil War veteran. His book ''The Devil's Dictionary'' was named as one of "The 100 Greatest Masterpieces of American Literature" by t ...
.
Lovecraft was a fan of the book and included references to the Lake of Hali and the Yellow Sign in his short story "
The Whisperer in Darkness
''The Whisperer in Darkness'' is a 26,000-word novella by American writer H. P. Lovecraft. Written February–September 1930, it was first published in ''Weird Tales'', August 1931. Similar to ''The Colour Out of Space'' (1927), it is a blend ...
" (
1930
Events
January
* January 15 – The Moon moves into its nearest point to Earth, called perigee, at the same time as its fullest phase of the Lunar Cycle. This is the closest moon distance at in recent history, and the next one will be ...
). August Derleth later expanded on this connection in his own stories, rendering Hastur as an evil deity related to Cthulhu and the King In Yellow as one of his
incarnation
Incarnation literally means ''embodied in flesh'' or ''taking on flesh''. It refers to the conception and the embodiment of a deity or spirit in some earthly form or the appearance of a god as a human. If capitalized, it is the union of divinit ...
s.
Karl Edward Wagner
Karl Edward Wagner (12 December 1945 – 14 October 1994) was an American writer, poet, editor, and publisher of horror, science fiction, and heroic fantasy, who was born in Knoxville, Tennessee and originally trained as a psychiatrist. He w ...
and
Joseph S. Pulver
Joseph S. Pulver Sr. (July 5, 1955 – April 24, 2020) was an author and poet, much of whose work falls within the horror fiction, noir fiction / hardboiled, and dark fantasy genres. He lived in Germany, and died from COPD and other issues in a ...
returned Chambers creations to their original cosmic horror roots. Both are great advocates of Chambers' work and have written many stories that utilize Chambers creations. Pulver also edited an anthology of Chambers inspired stories called ''A Season in Carcosa''.
L
Liber Ivonis
See ''Book of Eibon''.
The Haunter of the Dark
"The Haunter of the Dark" is a horror short story by American author H. P. Lovecraft, written between 5–9 November 1935 and published in the December 1936 edition of ''Weird Tales'' (Vol. 28, No. 5, p. 538–53). It was the last written ...
N
Necronomicon
The ''
Necronomicon
The ', also referred to as the ''Book of the Dead'', or under a purported original Arabic title of ', is a fictional grimoire (textbook of magic) appearing in stories by the horror writer H. P. Lovecraft and his followers. It was first menti ...
'' is arguably the most famous (or infamous) of Lovecraft's grimoires. It appears in a number of Lovecraft's stories, as well as in the writings of other authors.
O
On the Sending Out of the Soul
''On the Sending Out of the Soul'' appears in
Henry Kuttner
Henry Kuttner (April 7, 1915 – February 3, 1958) was an American author of science fiction, fantasy and horror.
Early life
Henry Kuttner was born in Los Angeles, California in 1915. Kuttner (1829–1903) and Amelia Bush (c. 1834–1911), the ...
's short story "Hydra" (
1939
This year also marks the start of the Second World War, the largest and deadliest conflict in human history.
Events
Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix.
January
* January 1
** Third Reich
*** Jews are forbidden to ...
). It is an eight-page pamphlet on
astral projection
Astral projection (also known as astral travel) is a term used in esotericism to describe an intentional out-of-body experience (OBE) that assumes the existence of a subtle body called an " astral body" through which consciousness can functio ...
. The pamphlet appeared in
Salem, Massachusetts
Salem ( ) is a historic coastal city in Essex County, Massachusetts, located on the North Shore of Greater Boston. Continuous settlement by Europeans began in 1626 with English colonists. Salem would become one of the most significant seaports tr ...
in 1783 and circulated among
occult
The occult, in the broadest sense, is a category of esoteric supernatural beliefs and practices which generally fall outside the scope of religion and science, encompassing phenomena involving otherworldly agency, such as magic and mysticism a ...
groups. Most copies were destroyed in the wake of a series of grisly murders.
The first seven pages of the pamphlet contain vague mystic writing; however, the eighth page details a formula for effecting astral travel. Among the required ingredients are a brazier and the drug ''
Cannabis indica
''Cannabis indica'' is an annual plant species in the family Cannabaceae which produces large amounts of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and is cultivated for purposes including hashish in India. The high concentrations of THC provide euphoric effec ...
''. The formula is always successful but has an unforeseen side effect: it invokes the horrid
Outer God the Hydra.
P
Parchments of Pnom
The Parchments of Pnom is a manuscript written by
Hyperborea
In Greek mythology, the Hyperboreans ( grc, Ὑπερβόρε(ι)οι, ; la, Hyperborei) were a mythical people who lived in the far northern part of the known world. Their name appears to derive from the Greek , "beyond Boreas" (the God of ...
's leading
genealogist
Genealogy () is the study of families, family history, and the tracing of their lineages. Genealogists use oral interviews, historical records, genetic analysis, and other records to obtain information about a family and to demonstrate kinsh ...
and soothsayer. It is written in the "Elder Script" of that land and contains a detailed account of the lineage of the Hyperborean gods, most notably
Tsathoggua
Tsathoggua (the ''Sleeper of N'kai'', also known as Zhothaqquah) is a supernatural entity in the Cthulhu Mythos shared fictional universe. He is the creation of American writer Clark Ashton Smith and is part of his Hyperborean cycle.
Tsathoggua/Z ...
.
Pnakotic Manuscripts
The Pnakotic Manuscripts were created by
H. P. Lovecraft and first appeared in his
short story
A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the oldest ...
"
Polaris
Polaris is a star in the northern circumpolar constellation of Ursa Minor. It is designated α Ursae Minoris ( Latinized to ''Alpha Ursae Minoris'') and is commonly called the North Star or Pole Star. With an apparent magnitude that ...
". They are noteworthy for being the first of Lovecraft's
fictional arcane books. They were named after the place where it was kept, the city of Pnakotus, a primordial metropolis built by the
Great Race of Yith
The Cthulhu Mythos is a mythopoeia and a shared fictional universe, originating in the works of American horror writer H. P. Lovecraft. The term was coined by August Derleth, a contemporary correspondent and protégé of Lovecraft, to identify ...
. The Great Race is credited with authoring the Manuscripts, though other scribes would add to it over the ages. According to Lovecraft's story "
The Other Gods
"The Other Gods" is a fantasy short story written by American author H. P. Lovecraft, on August 14, 1921. It was first published in the November 1933 issue of ''The Fantasy Fan''.
Plot
Barzai the Wise, a high priest and prophet greatly learned ...
," the Pnakotic Manuscripts originated in "frozen Lomar", a region in the
Dreamlands
The Dream Cycle is a series of short stories and novellas by author H. P. Lovecraft (1890–1937). Written between 1918 and 1932, they are about the "Dreamlands", a vast alternate dimension that can only be entered via dreams.
Geography
The D ...
.
F. Paul Wilson
Francis Paul Wilson (born May 17, 1946, in Jersey City, New Jersey) is an American medical doctor and author of horror, adventure, medical thrillers, science fiction, and other genres of literary fiction. His books include the Repairman Jack n ...
is among the authors who have referred to this collection in their own work; a collated version of the Manuscripts appears in Wilson's novel ''
The Keep''.
Poakotic Fragments
Also known as Puahotic Fragments mentioned in H. P. Lovecraft's ghost writing "
The Horror in the Museum
"The Horror in the Museum" is a short story ghostwritten by H. P. Lovecraft for Somerville, MA writer Hazel Heald in October 1932, published in 1933. It is one of five stories Lovecraft revised for Heald. The story has been reprinted in several c ...
".
Ponape Scripture
The ''Ponape Scripture'' first appeared in
Lin Carter
Linwood Vrooman Carter (June 9, 1930 – February 7, 1988) was an American author of science fiction and fantasy, as well as an editor, poet and critic. He usually wrote as Lin Carter; known pseudonyms include H. P. Lowcraft (for an H. P. L ...
's short story "Out of the Ages" (
1975
It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe.
Events
January
* January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...
). The ''Scripture'' is a
manuscript
A manuscript (abbreviated MS for singular and MSS for plural) was, traditionally, any document written by hand – or, once practical typewriters became available, typewritten – as opposed to mechanically printing, printed or repr ...
found in the
Caroline Islands
The Caroline Islands (or the Carolines) are a widely scattered archipelago of tiny islands in the western Pacific Ocean, to the north of New Guinea. Politically, they are divided between the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) in the centra ...
by Captain
Abner Exekiel Hoag sometime around 1734. The book showed signs of great age—its pages were made of palm leaves and its binding was of an ancient, now-extinct
cycad
Cycads are seed plants that typically have a stout and woody (ligneous) trunk (botany), trunk with a crown (botany), crown of large, hard, stiff, evergreen and (usually) pinnate leaves. The species are dioecious, that is, individual plants o ...
ean wood. It was written in
Naacal
Naacal is the name of an ancient people and civilization first claimed to have existed by British-American archaeologist Augustus Le Plongeon and subsequently by British Occult, occult writer James Churchward.
Augustus Le Plongeon's description ...
(the language of
Mu) and appears to have been authored by Imash-Mo, high priest of
Ghatanothoa
The Xothic legend cycle is a series of short stories by American writer Lin Carter that are based on the Cthulhu Mythos of H. P. Lovecraft, primarily on Lovecraft's stories "The Call of Cthulhu" and "Out of the Aeons".
The cycle is centered on a ...
, and his successors. The book contains details of Mu and of
Zanthu, high priest of
Ythogtha. With the help of his servant Yogash (hinted to be a
Deep One
The Deep Ones are creatures in the Cthulhu Mythos of H. P. Lovecraft. The beings first appeared in Lovecraft's novella ''The Shadow over Innsmouth'' (1931), but were already hinted at in the early short story "Dagon". The Deep Ones are a race o ...
hybrid), Hoag managed to write a translation of the manuscript. But when he tried to have it published, his efforts were thwarted by religious leaders who strongly objected to the book's references to
Dagon
Dagon ( he, דָּגוֹן, ''Dāgōn'') or Dagan ( sux, 2= dda-gan, ; phn, 𐤃𐤂𐤍, Dāgān) was a god worshipped in ancient Syria across the middle of the Euphrates, with primary temples located in Tuttul and Terqa, though many attes ...
. Nonetheless, copies of the ''Scripture'' have circulated among secretive
cults
In modern English, ''cult'' is usually a pejorative term for a social group that is defined by its unusual religious, spiritual, or philosophical beliefs and rituals, or its common interest in a particular personality, object, or goal. This ...
(such as the
Esoteric Order of Dagon
The Deep Ones are creatures in the Cthulhu Mythos of H. P. Lovecraft. The beings first appeared in Lovecraft's novella ''The Shadow over Innsmouth'' (1931), but were already hinted at in the early short story " Dagon". The Deep Ones are a race ...
) and other
occult
The occult, in the broadest sense, is a category of esoteric supernatural beliefs and practices which generally fall outside the scope of religion and science, encompassing phenomena involving otherworldly agency, such as magic and mysticism a ...
groups. After Hoag's death, his granddaughter, Beverly Hoag Adams, published an expurgated version of the book.
In contemporary times, other versions of the ''Ponape Scripture'' have seen print.
Harold Hadley Copeland, a leading authority on the ''Scripture'', produced a translation of the book, published in
1907
Events
January
* January 14 – 1907 Kingston earthquake: A 6.5 Mw earthquake in Kingston, Jamaica, kills between 800 and 1,000.
February
* February 11 – The French warship ''Jean Bart'' sinks off the coast of Morocco. ...
by
Miskatonic University
Miskatonic University is a fictional university located in Arkham, a fictional town in Essex County, Massachusetts. It is named after the Miskatonic River (also fictional). After first appearing in H. P. Lovecraft's 1922 story "Herbert West–Rea ...
Press. Copeland also cited the book in his work ''The Prehistoric Pacific in Light of the 'Ponape Scripture'' (
1911
A notable ongoing event was the Comparison of the Amundsen and Scott Expeditions, race for the South Pole.
Events January
* January 1 – A decade after federation, the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory ...
). The original version of the manuscript remains at the
Kester Library in
Salem, Massachusetts
Salem ( ) is a historic coastal city in Essex County, Massachusetts, located on the North Shore of Greater Boston. Continuous settlement by Europeans began in 1626 with English colonists. Salem would become one of the most significant seaports tr ...
.
R
Las Reglas de Ruina
''Las Reglas de Ruina'' (literally "the Rules of Ruin") first appeared in
Joseph S. Pulver
Joseph S. Pulver Sr. (July 5, 1955 – April 24, 2020) was an author and poet, much of whose work falls within the horror fiction, noir fiction / hardboiled, and dark fantasy genres. He lived in Germany, and died from COPD and other issues in a ...
's
novel
A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itsel ...
''Nightmare's Disciple''. It is a tome written by Philip of Navarre in 1520, a Spanish friar of the 16th century. The book has been translated in English by Professors Theodore Hayward Gates and Pascal Chevillion in 1714 and describes the Great Old One Kassogtha, sister and incestuous bride of
Cthulhu
Cthulhu is a fictional cosmic entity created by writer H. P. Lovecraft. It was first introduced in his short story "The Call of Cthulhu", published by the American pulp magazine ''Weird Tales'' in 1928. Considered a Great Old One within the pan ...
. The book also foretells of the coming of a messiah of destruction, who would be born in the western land of the red savage across the great ocean in Columbus' New World, a man that shall set the Great Old One free from her stellar prison.
Livia Llewellyn elaborated on this, describing the violent sexual acts committed by Kassogtha worshipers.
Revelations of Gla'aki
The ''Revelations of Gla'aki'' first appeared in
Ramsey Campbell
Ramsey Campbell (born 4 January 1946) is an English horror fiction writer, editor and critic who has been writing for well over fifty years. He is the author of over 30 novels and hundreds of short stories, many of them winners of literary awa ...
's short story "The Inhabitant of the Lake" (
1964
Events January
* January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved.
* January 5 - In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patriarch ...
). It was written by the
undead
The undead are beings in mythology, legend, or fiction that are deceased but behave as if alive. Most commonly the term refers to corporeal forms of formerly-alive humans, such as mummies, vampires, and zombies, who have been reanimated by super ...
cult worshipping the
Great Old One
American author H. P. Lovecraft (1890–1937) created a number of fictional deities throughout the course of his literary career. These entities are usually depicted as immensely powerful and utterly indifferent to humans who can barely begin to c ...
Gla'aki. Whenever Gla'aki slept, the members of his cult had periods of free will, and, since they were part of Gla'aki and shared his memories, they wrote down what they remembered of their master's thoughts. The cult's handwritten manuscripts later came to be known as the ''Revelations of Gla'aki''. The text originally contained 11 volumes, nine in the carefully abridged published edition, but it may have had more at different times in the past. Rumor has it that Mythos Scholar, Antonius Quine, once published a corrected edition of the Revelations of Gla'aki bound in a single volume.
S
Seven Cryptical Books of Hsan
The ''Seven Cryptical Books of Hsan'' is a collection of writings mentioned by Lovecraft in "The Other Gods" (1921) and "
The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath
''The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath'' is a novella by American writer H. P. Lovecraft. Begun probably in the autumn of 1926, the draft was completed on January 22, 1927 and it remained unrevised and unpublished in his lifetime. It is both the l ...
" (1926). In both stories, the books are mentioned in conjunction with the Pnakotic Manuscripts. They are kept in the temple of the
Elder Ones in the city of
Ulthar
"The Cats of Ulthar" is a short story written by American fantasy author H. P. Lovecraft in June 1920. In the tale, an unnamed narrator relates the story of how a law forbidding the killing of cats came to be in a town called Ulthar. As the nar ...
; no other existing copies are mentioned in Lovecraft's works.
Barzai the Wise studied the books before his journey to see the gods dancing on Mount Hatheg-Kla, while
Randolph Carter
Randolph Carter is a recurring fictional character in H. P. Lovecraft's fiction and is, presumably, an alter ego of Lovecraft himself. The character first appears in "The Statement of Randolph Carter", a short story Lovecraft wrote in 1919 bas ...
consulted them during his quest to reach
Kadath
The Dream Cycle is a series of short stories and novellas by author H. P. Lovecraft (1890–1937). Written between 1918 and 1932, they are about the "Dreamlands", a vast alternate dimension that can only be entered via dreams.
Geography
The D ...
. Other than that, little is known about them.
The collection can be considered to be an analogue to the ''
I Ching
The ''I Ching'' or ''Yi Jing'' (, ), usually translated ''Book of Changes'' or ''Classic of Changes'', is an ancient Chinese divination text that is among the oldest of the Chinese classics. Originally a divination manual in the Western Zho ...
'', a Chinese text of cosmology and divination.
T
Tarsioid Psalms
The Tarsioid Psalms are a collection of writings dating back the early
Cenozoic Era
The Cenozoic ( ; ) is Earth's current geological era, representing the last 66million years of Earth's history. It is characterised by the dominance of mammals, birds and flowering plants, a cooling and drying climate, and the current configura ...
, probably attributed to a primate-folk which lived in North America during
Paleocene
The Paleocene, ( ) or Palaeocene, is a geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 66 to 56 mya (unit), million years ago (mya). It is the first epoch of the Paleogene Period (geology), Period in the modern Cenozoic Era (geology), E ...
/
Eocene
The Eocene ( ) Epoch is a geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (mya). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period (geology), Period in the modern Cenozoic Era (geology), Era. The name ''Eocene' ...
times. They describe the evil destructive entity named ''Ngyr-Korath'' and its spawn, the Great Old One 'Ymnar.
Testaments of Carnamagos
Now, as he sat there in a state half terror, half stupor, his eyes were drawn to the wizard volume before him: the writings of that evil sage and seer, Carnamagos, which had been recovered a thousand years ago from some Graeco-Bactrian tomb, and transcribed by an apostate monk in the original Greek, in the blood of an incubus-begotten monster. In that volume were the chronicles of great sorcerers of old, and the histories of demons earthly and ultra-cosmic, and the veritable spells by which the demons could be called up and controlled and dismissed.
—Clark Ashton Smith, "The Treader of the Dust"
''The Testaments of Carnamagos'' was created by Clark Ashton Smith and first appeared in his short story "
Xeethra
"Xeethra" is a short story by American author Clark Ashton Smith as part of his Zothique cycle, and first published in the December 1934 issue of ''Weird Tales''.
Background
When editing the 1970 Smith collection ''Zothique'', Lin Carter placed " ...
" (
1934
Events
January–February
* January 1 – The International Telecommunication Union, a specialist agency of the League of Nations, is established.
* January 15 – The 8.0 1934 Nepal–Bihar earthquake, Nepal–Bihar earthquake strik ...
). The text is featured more prominently in Smith's "The Treader of the Dust" (
1935
Events
January
* January 7 – Italian premier Benito Mussolini and French Foreign Minister Pierre Laval conclude Franco-Italian Agreement of 1935, an agreement, in which each power agrees not to oppose the other's colonial claims.
* ...
). Confusedly, Xeethra is set in the far distant future on Zothique, Earth's last continent, whereas "The Treader of the Dust" is set in (Smith's) current times.
The book gives a description of the Great Old One
Quachil Uttaus, among others. Only two copies are known of, though one was destroyed during the
Spanish Inquisition
The Tribunal of the Holy Office of the Inquisition ( es, Tribunal del Santo Oficio de la Inquisición), commonly known as the Spanish Inquisition ( es, Inquisición española), was established in 1478 by the Catholic Monarchs, King Ferdinand ...
. The only remaining copy is bound in
shagreen
Shagreen is a type of rawhide consisting of rough untanned skin, historically from a horse's or onager's back, or from shark or ray.
Etymology
The word derives from the French ''chagrin'' and is related to Italian ''zigrino'' and Venetian '' ...
, and fastened with hasps of human bone.
U
Unaussprechlichen Kulten
''Unaussprechlichen Kulten'' was created by
Robert E. Howard, and was written by the fictional
Friedrich von Junzt. Howard originally called the book ''Nameless Cults'', but both Lovecraft and Derleth gave it the German title which can translate to either Unspeakable Cults or Unpronounceable Cults (both meaning of the word are in common usage).
The name is grammatically incorrect. In proper German it would be named either 'Unaussprechliche Kulte' or 'Von Unaussprechlichen Kulten' (Of Unspeakable Cults).
Z
Zanthu Tablets
The Zanthu Tablets first appeared in "The Dweller in the Tomb" (
1971 *
The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses ( February 25, July 22 and August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 10, and August 6).
The world population increased by 2.1% this year, the highest increase in history.
Events
Ja ...
), by Lin Carter. The centerpiece of the story is the discovery of the tablets, which are an important part of Carter's
Xothic legend cycle
The Xothic legend cycle is a series of short stories by American writer Lin Carter that are based on the Cthulhu Mythos of H. P. Lovecraft, primarily on Lovecraft's stories "The Call of Cthulhu" and "Out of the Aeons".
The cycle is centered on a ...
.
The tablets themselves are 12 engraved pieces of black
jade
Jade is a mineral used as jewellery or for ornaments. It is typically green, although may be yellow or white. Jade can refer to either of two different silicate minerals: nephrite (a silicate of calcium and magnesium in the amphibole group of ...
inscribed by Zanthu, a wizard and high priest of Ythogtha. They are written in a hieratic form of
Naacal
Naacal is the name of an ancient people and civilization first claimed to have existed by British-American archaeologist Augustus Le Plongeon and subsequently by British Occult, occult writer James Churchward.
Augustus Le Plongeon's description ...
, the language of the sunken continent of
Mu. The tablets reveal a partial history of Mu, describing Zanthu's struggle against the rising cult of
Ghatanothoa
The Xothic legend cycle is a series of short stories by American writer Lin Carter that are based on the Cthulhu Mythos of H. P. Lovecraft, primarily on Lovecraft's stories "The Call of Cthulhu" and "Out of the Aeons".
The cycle is centered on a ...
and his own religion's lamented decline. He also describes his failed attempt to release the god Ythogtha from its prison. Upon witnessing three black, beaked, slimy heads, "vaster than any mountain", rising from a gorge, he flees in terror when he realizes that they are merely the god's fingertips. According to Zanthu, he and some of his people escaped the destruction of Mu, which was sunk by the wrath of the Elder Gods.
In 1913, guided by the ''Ponape Script'', Harold Hadley Copeland led an expedition into
Indochina
Mainland Southeast Asia, also known as the Indochinese Peninsula or Indochina, is the continental portion of Southeast Asia. It lies east of the Indian subcontinent and south of Mainland China and is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the west an ...
to locate the plateau of Tsang and to find the tomb of Zanthu. After the other members of the expedition died or deserted him, Copeland pressed on, eventually reaching his goal. Opening the tomb, he was horrified to discover that the mummified face of Zanthu resembled his own. Later wandering into a Mongolian outpost, a starving and raving Copeland was the only survivor of the expedition.
Copeland published a brochure entitled ''The Zanthu Tablets: A Conjectural Translation'' in 1916. He made the rough translation using a key borrowed from the estate of Colonel Churchward, the last qualified translator of ancient
Naacal
Naacal is the name of an ancient people and civilization first claimed to have existed by British-American archaeologist Augustus Le Plongeon and subsequently by British Occult, occult writer James Churchward.
Augustus Le Plongeon's description ...
, and heavily edited it out of a concern for "public sanity". The controversial brochure was later denounced by the academic community and was suppressed by the authorities. Copeland's later manuscripts were never published. Ten years after the publication of the brochure, Copeland died in an asylum.
Carter's story "The Thing in the Pit" in his ''Lost Worlds'' purports to be a translation from the Zanthu Tablets.
Zhou Texts
An ancient manuscript found in Asia, written circa in 1100 BC during
Zhou dynasty
The Zhou dynasty ( ; Old Chinese ( B&S): *''tiw'') was a royal dynasty of China that followed the Shang dynasty. Having lasted 789 years, the Zhou dynasty was the longest dynastic regime in Chinese history. The military control of China by th ...
. It contains the rituals to summon the Great Old One Kassogtha.
Miscellaneous books
The following is a list of miscellaneous books—both real and fictitious—appearing in the
Cthulhu Mythos
The Cthulhu Mythos is a mythopoeia and a shared fictional universe, originating in the works of American horror writer H. P. Lovecraft. The term was coined by August Derleth
August William Derleth (February 24, 1909 – July 4, 1971) was an ...
. Along with the use of arcane literature, texts which innately possess supernatural powers or effects, there is also a strong tradition of
fictional works or fictionalizing real works in the Mythos. The main literary purpose of books in the Mythos is to explain how characters within the tales come by occult or esoteric knowledge that is unknown to the general populace. However, in some cases the works themselves serve as important plot devices or simply opportunities for members of the
Lovecraft Circle to pay homage to one another and other sources.
The following table
[Compiled from Lin Carter's "H. P. Lovecraft: The Books" (2001).] is organized as follows:
*''Title''. The title of the work as it appears in the Cthulhu Mythos.
*''Fict/Real''. Fictitious works are denoted by F; real-life works by R.
*''Author''. The person or character credited as the author of the work. Authors of nonfictional works are real people. If the author is fictitious, the name of the writer who created the work appears in parenthesis after the character's name. Surnames of Mythos writers are as follows:
**Derleth =
August Derleth
August William Derleth (February 24, 1909 – July 4, 1971) was an American writer and anthologist. Though best remembered as the first book publisher of the writings of H. P. Lovecraft, and for his own contributions to the Cthulhu Mythos and the ...
**Bloch =
Robert Bloch
Robert Albert Bloch (; April 5, 1917September 23, 1994) was an American fiction writer, primarily of crime, psychological horror and fantasy, much of which has been dramatized for radio, cinema and television. He also wrote a relatively small ...
**Howard =
Robert E. Howard
**Lovecraft =
H. P. Lovecraft
*''Notes''. A brief summary of the work.
A–D
G–P
R–Z
Notes
References
*
*
*
*
External links
Mythos Tomes a web site dedicated to the forbidden tomes of the Cthulhu Mythos
Everything You Never Wanted To Know About The Necronomicon (Al Azif) Of The Mad Arab Abdul Alhazred But Weren't Afraid Enough To Know Better Than To Ask!
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cthulhu Mythos books
Fictional books within the Cthulhu Mythos
Lists of fictional things