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 In physics and mathematics, the dimension of a Space (mathematics), mathematical space (or object) is informally defined as the minimum number of coordinates needed to specify any Point (geometry), point within it. Thus, a Line (geometry), lin ...

that can only be entered via dreams.

Geography

The Dreamlands are divided into four regions: * The West contains the ''Steps of Deeper Slumber'' (descended via the "Cavern of Flame") and the Enchanted Woods, by which many enter the Dreamlands. Other points of interest include the port of Dylath-Leen, one of the Dreamlands' largest cities; the town 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 ...

, "where no man may kill a cat"; the coastal jungle city of Hlanith; and the desert trading capital Illarnek. Here lies the fabled ''Land of Mnar'', whose gray stones are etched with signs and where rise the ruins of the great

Sarnath Sarnath (Hindustani pronunciation: aːɾnaːtʰ also referred to as Sarangnath, Isipatana, Rishipattana, Migadaya, or Mrigadava) is a place located northeast of Varanasi, near the confluence of the Ganges and the Varuna rivers in Uttar Pr ...

. * The South, home of the isle of Oriab and the areas known as the Fantastic Realms (described in "The White Ship"). * The East, home of

Celephaïs "Celephaïs" () is a fantasy story by American horror fiction writer H. P. Lovecraft, written in early November 1920 and first published in the May 1922 issue of the ''Rainbow''. The title refers to a fictional city that later appears in Lovecr ...

, a city dreamt into being by its monarch Kuranes, greatest of all recorded dreamers, and the dangerous Forbidden Lands. * The North, location of the feared

Plateau of Leng ''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 Begun probably in the autumn of 1926, the draft was completed on January 22, 1927 and it remained unrevised and unpublished in his lifetime.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 ...

, home of man-eating spiders and the

satyr In Greek mythology, a satyr ( grc-gre, :wikt:σάτυρος, σάτυρος, sátyros, ), also known as a silenus or ''silenos'' ( grc-gre, :wikt:Σειληνός, σειληνός ), is a male List of nature deities, nature spirit with ears ...

-like "Men of Leng". Other locales include the Underworld, a subterranean region underneath the Dreamlands inhabited by various monsters; the

Moon The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It is the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System and the largest and most massive relative to its parent planet, with a diameter about one-quarter that of Earth (comparable to the width of ...

, accessible via a ship and inhabited by toad-like "moon-beasts" allied with

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 ...

; and Kadath, a huge castle atop a mountain and the domain of the "Great Ones", the gods of Earth's Dreamland. Evidently all dreamers see the Dreamlands slightly differently, as Atal, High Priest of Ulthar, mentions that everyone has their own dreamland. In the same sentence he says the Dreamlands that many know is a "general land of vision".

Bibliography

* ''The Dream Cycle of H. P. Lovecraft: Dreams of Terror and Death''. Del Rey, 1985. :Contents: :* "

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 ...

" (1918) :*" The White Ship" (1919) :* "

The Doom That Came to Sarnath "The Doom That Came to Sarnath" (1920) is a fantasy short story by American writer H. P. Lovecraft. It is written in a mythic/fantasy style and is associated with his Dream Cycle. It was first published in ''The Scot'', a Scottish amateur ficti ...

" (1919) :* "

The Cats 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 ...

" (1920) :* "

" (1920) :*"

Ex Oblivione "Ex Oblivione" is a prose poem by American horror fiction writer H. P. Lovecraft, written in late 1920 or early 1921 and first published in ''The United Amateur'' in March 1921, under the pseudonym Ward Phillips. Inspiration ''An H. P. Lovecra ...

" (1920) :*"

" (1920) :* "

The Quest of Iranon "The Quest of Iranon" is a fantasy short story by American writer H. P. Lovecraft. It was written on February 28, 1921, and was first published in the July/August 1935 issue of the magazine ''Galleon''. It was later reprinted in ''Weird Tales'' ...

" (1921) :*"

The Nameless City "The Nameless City" is a short horror story written by American writer H. P. Lovecraft in January 1921 and first published in the November 1921 issue of the amateur press journal ''The Wolverine''. It is often considered the first story set in ...

" (reference only) (1921) :* "

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 ...

" (1921) :*"

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 ...

" (1922) :*"

The Hound "The Hound" is a short story written by H. P. Lovecraft in September 1922 and published in the February 1924 issue of ''Weird Tales''. It contains the first mention of Lovecraft's fictional text the ''Necronomicon.'' Plot The story opens with ...

" (reference only) (1922) :* "

Hypnos In Greek mythology, Hypnos (; Ancient Greek: means 'sleep') also spelled Hypnus is the personification of sleep; the Roman equivalent is known as Somnus. His name is the origin of the word hypnosis. Pausanias wrote that Hypnos was a dearest fr ...

" (1922) :*"

What the Moon Brings "What the Moon Brings" is a prose poem by American horror fiction writer H. P. Lovecraft, written on June 5, 1922. This story was first published in ''the National Amateur'' in May 1923. It's shorter than most of Lovecraft's other short stories, ...

" (1922) :* " The Outsider" (1926) :* "

The Silver Key "The Silver Key" is a fantasy short story by American writer H. P. Lovecraft. Written in 1926, it is considered part of his Dreamlands series. It was first published in the January 1929 issue of ''Weird Tales''. It is a continuation of "The Drea ...

" (1926) :* "

The Strange High House in the Mist "The Strange High House in the Mist" is a short story by H. P. Lovecraft. Written on November 9, 1926, it was first published in the October 1931 issue of ''Weird Tales''. It concerns a character traveling to the titular house which is perched o ...

" (1926) :* ''

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 ...

'' (1927) :*''

The Case of Charles Dexter Ward ''The Case of Charles Dexter Ward'' is a short horror novel (51,500 words) by American writer H. P. Lovecraft, written in early 1927, but not published during the author's lifetime. Set in Lovecraft's hometown of Providence, Rhode Island, it w ...

'' (reference only) (1927) :*"

The Thing in the Moonlight "The Thing in the Moonlight" is a short story by J. Chapman Miske. The story is based on a letter dated November 24, 1927 from H. P. Lovecraft to Donald WandreifroBerkley/ref> describing one of Lovecraft's dreams. The story was prepared for publica ...

" (Based on a letter written to

Donald Wandrei Donald Albert Wandrei (20 April 1908 – 15 October 1987)Minnesota Death Certificates Index
. ...

. Written by J. Chapman Miske) (1927. Published 1941) :* ''

At the Mountains of Madness ''At the Mountains of Madness'' is a science fiction-horror novella by American author H. P. Lovecraft, written in February/March 1931 and rejected that year by ''Weird Tales'' editor Farnsworth Wright on the grounds of its length. It was ori ...

'' (reference only) (1931) :*"

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 ...

" (roughly connected) (1932) :* "

Through the Gates of the Silver Key "Through the Gates of the Silver Key" is a short story co-written by American writers H. P. Lovecraft and E. Hoffmann Price between October 1932 and April 1933. A sequel to Lovecraft's "The Silver Key", and part of a sequence of stories focusin ...

" (with E. Hoffmann Price) (1932)

Other

* Myers, Gary (1975). ''House of the Worm''. Sauk City, WI: Arkham House. . *

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 ...

wrote books set in Lovecraft's Dreamlands as well, beginning with "Hero of Dreams" in 1989. * *

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 early ...

(2011). ''Johannes Cabal: The Fear Institute''. Headline Publishing Group. . * *Myers, Gary (2013). ''The Country of the Worm: Excursions Beyond the Wall of Sleep''. CreateSpace. . *Multiple Authors (2016). ''Kill Those Damn Cats - Cats of Ulthar Lovecraftian Anthology''. First United Church of Cthulhu. . * The Dream Quest of Vellit Boe by Kij Johnson, 2016, Tor, ISBN 978-0765391414

References

External links

* * * * * * * * {{H. P. Lovecraft Book series introduced in 1918 Works by H. P. Lovecraft Fantasy books by series Dreams in fiction Parallel universes in fiction