Cthulhu and R'lyeh

The Cthulhu Mythos encompasses the shared elements, characters, settings, and themes in the works of H. P. Lovecraft and associated horror fiction writers. Together, they form the mythos that authors writing in the Lovecraftian milieu have used—and continue to use—to craft their stories.^[1] The term was coined by the writer August Derleth, although this legendarium is also sometimes called the Lovecraft Mythos, most notably by the Lovecraft scholar S. T. Joshi.^[2] It has long since moved beyond Lovecraft's original conception. Image File history File links Cthulhu_and_R'lyeh. ... Image File history File links Cthulhu_and_R'lyeh. ... Howard Phillips Lovecraft (August 20, 1890 – March 15, 1937) was an American author of fantasy, horror and science fiction. ... Horror fiction is, broadly, fiction in any medium intended to scare, unsettle, or horrify the reader. ... Lovecraftian horror is a sub-genre of horror which emphasizes the psychological horror of the unknown (in some cases, unknowable) over gore or other elements of shock, which may still be present. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Sunanda Tryambak Joshi (b. ...

Development

Robert M. Price, in his essay "H. P. Lovecraft and the Cthulhu Mythos", sees two stages in the development of the Cthulhu Mythos. The first stage, or "Cthulhu Mythos proper" as Price calls it, took shape during Lovecraft's lifetime and was subject to his guidance. The second stage occurred under August Derleth who attempted to categorize and expand the Mythos after Lovecraft's death.^[3] Robert McNair Price was born July 7, 1954 in Mississippi and is a Professor of Theology and Scriptural Studies. ...

First stage (the Mythos proper)

Main article: Lovecraft Mythos

During the latter part of Lovecraft's life, there was much borrowing of story elements among the authors of the "Lovecraft Circle", a clique of writers with whom Lovecraft corresponded. This group included Clark Ashton Smith, Robert E. Howard, Robert Bloch, Frank Belknap Long, Henry Kuttner, and others. The Lovecraft Mythos is the term coined by the scholar S. T. Joshi[1] to describe the pseudomythological backdrop, settings, and themes employed by the American weird fiction writer H. P. Lovecraft. ... Clark Ashton Smith (January 13, 1893-August 14, 1961) was a poet, sculptor, painter and author of fantasy, horror and science fiction short stories. ... Robert Ervin Howard (January 22, 1906 – June 11, 1936)[1] was a classic American pulp writer of fantasy, horror, historical adventure, boxing, western, and detective fiction. ... Robert Albert Bloch (April 5, 1917, Chicago-September 23, 1994, Los Angeles) was a prolific American writer. ... Frank Belknap Long (April 27, 1901 - January 3, 1994) was a prolific American writer of horror fiction, fantasy, science fiction, poetry, gothic romance, comic books, and non-fiction. ... Henry Kuttner (April 7, 1915 - February 4, 1958) was a science fiction author born in Los Angeles, California. ...

Lovecraft recognized that each writer had his own story-cycle and that an element from one cycle would not necessarily become part of another simply because a writer used it in one of his stories. For example, although Smith might mention "Kthulhut" (Cthulhu) or Iog-Sotôt (Yog-Sothoth) in one of his Hyperborean tales, this does not mean that Cthulhu is part of the Hyperborean cycle. A notable exception, however, is Smith's Tsathoggua, which Lovecraft appropriated for his revision of Zelia Bishop's "The Mound" (1940). Lovecraft effectively connected Smith's creation to his story-cycle by placing Tsathoggua alongside such entities as Tulu (Cthulhu), Yig, Shub-Niggurath, and Nug and Yeb in subterranean K'n-yan. Cthulhu and Rlyeh For other uses, see Cthulhu (disambiguation). ... Yog-Sothoth (The Lurker at the Threshold, The Key and the Gate, The Beyond One, Opener of the Way The All-in-One and the One-in-All) is a fictional character in the Cthulhu Mythos. ... The Hyperborean cycle is a series of short stories by Clark Ashton Smith that take place in the fictional land of Hyperborea (present-day Greenland). ... Tsathoggua (the Sleeper of Nkai) is a fictional supernatural entity in the Cthulhu Mythos shared fictional universe. ... See also: 1939 in literature, other events of 1940, 1941 in literature, list of years in literature. ... Cthulhu and Rlyeh For other uses, see Cthulhu (disambiguation). ... The following compendium includes the lesser known Great Old Ones of the Cthulhu mythos of H.P. Lovecraft. ... Artistic portrayal of Shub-Niggurath, along with her Thousand Young. Shub-Niggurath, often associated with the phrase The Black Goat of the Woods with a Thousand Young, is a fictional deity in the Cthulhu Mythos of H. P. Lovecraft. ... The following compendium includes the lesser known Great Old Ones of the Cthulhu mythos of H.P. Lovecraft. ... Kn-yan (or Xinaián) is a fictional, subterranean land in the Cthulhu Mythos. ...

Most of the elements of Lovecraft's Mythos were not a cross-pollination of the various story-cycles of the Lovecraft Circle, but were instead deliberately created by each writer to become part of the Mythos — the most notable example being the various arcane grimoires of forbidden lore. So, for example, Robert E. Howard has his character Friedrich Von Junzt reading Lovecraft's Necronomicon in "The Children of the Night" (1931), and Lovecraft in turn mentions Howard's Unaussprechlichen Kulten in both "Out of the Aeons" (1935) and "The Shadow Out of Time (1936).^[4] Howard frequently corresponded with H. P. Lovecraft, and the two would sometimes insert references or elements of each others' settings in their works. Later editors reworked many of the original Conan stories by Howard; thus, diluting this connection. Nevertheless, many of Howard's unedited Conan stories are arguably part of the Cthulhu Mythos.^[5] The following fictitious biographies showcase the most important characters in the Cthulhu Mythos. ... A prop designed to look like the Necronomicon. ... See also: 1930 in literature, other events of 1931, 1932 in literature, list of years in literature. ... Unaussprechlichen Kulten (the name was supposed to mean nameless cults in German, but really translates as unspeakable/unutterable cults) is a fictitious book, said to be written by Friedrich von Junzt. ... See also: 1934 in literature, other events of 1935, 1936 in literature, list of years in literature. ... See also: 1935 in literature, other events of 1936, 1937 in literature, list of years in literature. ... Howard Phillips Lovecraft (August 20, 1890 – March 15, 1937) was an American author of fantasy, horror and science fiction. ...

The Mythos as a background element

According to David E. Schultz, Lovecraft never meant to create a canonical Mythos but rather intended his imaginary pantheon to serve merely as a background element. Thus, Lovecraft's "pseudomythology" — a term used by Lovecraft himself and others to describe the beings appearing in his stories — is the backdrop for his tales but is not the primary focus. Indeed, the cornerstone of his stories seems to be the town of Arkham and not beings like Cthulhu.^[6][7] Arkham is a fictional city in Massachusetts, part of the Lovecraft Country setting created by H. P. Lovecraft and is featured in many of his stories, as well as those of other Cthulhu Mythos writers. ...

Furthermore, Lovecraft may not have been serious when he spoke of developing a "myth-cycle" and probably would have had no need to give it a name anyway. Since he used his Mythos simply as background material, he probably had this in mind when he allowed other writers to use it in their own stories. Moreover, it could be said that Lovecraft's Mythos was a kind of elaborate inside joke, propagating among the writers of his circle and wearing thin upon his death. Derleth seems to have not understood this and believed that Lovecraft wanted other authors to actively write about the myth-cycle rather than to simply allude to it in their stories.^[8]

Second stage (the "Derleth Mythos")

The second stage began with August Derleth^[9] who added to the mythos and developed the elemental system, associating the pantheon with the four elements of air, earth, fire, and water. To understand the changes that Derleth made to Lovecraft's Mythos, it is important to distinguish among Lovecraft's stories. Price says that Lovecraft's writings can be divided into three separate groups: the Dunsanian, Arkham, and Cthulhu cycles.^[10] The Dunsanian stories are those that are written in the vein of Lord Dunsany (and may include Lovecraft's so-called Dream Cycle tales), the Arkham stories include those that take place in Lovecraft's non-pseudo-legendary New England setting, and the Cthulhu cycle stories are those that utilize Lovecraft's cosmic story-cycle (the Lovecraft Mythos). This does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Best known as Lord Dunsany, Edward John Moreton Drax Plunkett, 18th Baron of Dunsany (July 24, 1878–October 25, 1957) was an Irish writer and dramatist notable for his work in fantasy and horror. ... H.P. Lovecrafts Dream-Cycle, although often overlooked for his Cthulhu Mythos, is a huge entity in a good number of this master of the macabres fictional works. ...

Rather than distinguish among Lovecraft's various cycles, Derleth combined them, ignoring individual distinctions, to create a large, singular story-cycle. So, for example, Derleth appropriated Nodens from the Dunsanian cycle and leagued him with the Elder Gods against the Old Ones. Derleth also introduced a good versus evil dichotomy into the Mythos that was contrary to the dark, nihilistic vision of Lovecraft and his immediate circle. Nodens (Lord of the Great Abyss, Nuada of the Silver Hand) is a fictional character in the Cthulhu mythos of H. P. Lovecraft. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

Derleth further ignored any distinction between the story-cycles of Lovecraft and those of other writers. If Lovecraft referenced a name from another author, Derleth took that as justification to include the other author's story-cycle in the Cthulhu Mythos. For example, he developed Hastur into a Great Old One represented as an avatar by the King in Yellow of Robert W. Chambers from a passing reference linking Hastur and the Yellow Sign in Lovecraft's The Whisperer in Darkness. Hastur (The Unspeakable One, Him Who Is Not to be Named, Assatur, Xastur, or Kaiwan) is a fictional character in the Cthulhu Mythos. ... A Great Old One is a type of fictional being in the Cthulhu Mythos based in the stories of HP Lovecraft. ... The King in Yellow by Robert W. Chambers is a 1895 collection of short horror stories loosely connected by their shared references to a fictional play of the same name. ... Robert William Chambers (May 26, 1865 – December 16, 1933) was an American artist and writer. ... The Yellow Sign is a fictional symbol or glyph, first described in Robert Chambers book of horror short stories entitled The King in Yellow (1895). ... The Whisperer in Darkness is a short story by H.P. Lovecraft, written in 1930. ...

Finally, Derleth apparently classified any story that mentioned a mythos element as belonging to the Cthulhu Mythos — consequently, any other element in the story also became part of the mythos. Hence, since Lovecraft made passing reference to Clark Ashton Smith's Book of Eibon, Derleth added Smith's Ubbo-Sathla to the mythos. Because of Derleth's broad canon, the Mythos would indeed grow enormously.^[11] Many fictional works of arcane literature appear in the Cthulhu Mythos. ... An Outer God is a fictional deity in the Cthulhu Mythos of H.P. Lovecraft. ...

Third Stage

Further removing the Cthulhu Mythos from its source were stories written by such authors as Lin Carter, Colin Wilson, and Brian Lumley. Carter was especially influential in setting out detailed lists of gods, their ancestry, and their servitors through his Mythos tales, attempting to codify the elements of the Mythos as much as possible. Through this process, more gods, books, and places were created and interlinked with each other. Linwood Vrooman Carter (June 9, 1930 - February 7, 1988) was an American author of science fiction and fantasy, as well as an editor and critic. ... Colin Henry Wilson (born June 26, 1931) is a prolific British writer. ... Brian Lumley (born December 12, 1937) is a writer of horror fiction. ...

Another influence has been the Call of Cthulhu RPG published by Chaosium in 1981. Largely developed by Sandy Petersen, this version of the Mythos broke Lovecraft's entities down into further sub-groupings: Outer Gods, Great Old Ones, and the nebulously-termed Other Gods. Material from these sources has slowly crept back into mainstream Mythos fiction, as Chaosium published fiction related to, or written by players of, the game. Call of Cthulhu is a horror fiction role-playing game based on the story of the same name written by H.P. Lovecraft and the so-called Cthulhu Mythos the story inspired. ... Chaosium is one of the longer lived publishers of role_playing games still in existence. ... Sandy Petersen Carl Sanford Joslyn Petersen (born September 16, 1955) is a game designer. ... An Outer God is a fictional deity in the Cthulhu Mythos of H.P. Lovecraft. ... The Great Old Ones (also Old Ones or Cthulhu Cycle Deities) are a group of fictional deities in the Cthulhu mythos of H.P. Lovecraft. ...

Many of the newer generation of Mythos authors (especially those published in Chaosium compendiums) take their cue from this more clinical, continuity-focused brand of the Mythos instead of Lovecraft's more mysterious version.

Structure

The Mythos usually takes place in fictional New England towns and is centered on the Great Old Ones, a fearsome assortment of ancient, powerful deities who came from outer space and once ruled the Earth. They are presently quiescent, having fallen into a death-like sleep at some time in the distant past.^[12] The most well-known of these beings is Cthulhu, who currently lies "dead [but] dreaming" in the submerged city of R'lyeh somewhere in the Southeast Pacific Ocean. One day, "when the stars are right", R'lyeh will rise from beneath the sea, and Cthulhu will awaken and wreak havoc on the earth.^[13] Look up deity in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Rlyeh is in the middle of one of the biggest patches of empty ocean on Earth. ...

Despite his notoriety, Cthulhu is not the most powerful of the deities, nor is he the theological center of the mythos.^[14] Instead, this position is held by the demon-god Azathoth, an Outer God, ruling from his cosmically centered court. Nonetheless, Nyarlathotep, who fulfills Azathoth's random urges, has intervened more frequently and more directly in human affairs than any other Outer god. He has also displayed more blatant contempt for humanity, especially his own worshippers, than almost any other Lovecraftian deity. Theology finds its scholars pursuing the understanding of and providing reasoned discourse of religion, spirituality and God or the gods. ... Azathoth is a fictional deity in the Cthulhu Mythos stories of H.P. Lovecraft and other authors. ... An Outer God is a fictional deity in the Cthulhu Mythos of H.P. Lovecraft. ... Nyarlathotep (the Crawling Chaos) is a fictional character in the Cthulhu Mythos. ...

Theme

The essence in the Mythos is that the human world and our role in it are an illusion. Humanity is simply living in a fragile bubble, unaware of what lies behind the curtains or even of the curtains themselves, and our seeming dominance over the world is illusory and ephemeral. We are blessed in that we do not realize what lies dormant in the unknown lurking places on Earth and beyond. As Lovecraft famously begins his short story, The Call of Cthulhu, "The most merciful thing in the world, I think, is the inability of the human mind to correlate all its contents."

Now and then, individuals can, by accident or carelessness, catch a glimpse of, or even confront the ancient extraterrestrial entities which the mythology centres around, usually with fatal consequences. Other times, they are represented by their non-human worshippers, whose existence shatters the worldview of those who stumble across them. Human followers exist as well. Because of the limitations of the human mind, these deities appear as so overwhelming that they can often drive a person insane. They are neither good or evil, as these are concepts invented by our species as a way to explain inexplicable intentions and actions.

The Call of Cthulhu was the premiere story in which Lovecraft realized and made full use of these themes, which is why his mythology would later be named after the creature in this story, as it defined a new direction in both his authorship and in the horror fiction genre. This is also the first and only story by Lovecraft where humans and one of the cosmic entities called the Great Old Ones comes face to face.

In his final years, Lovecraft used fewer supernatural elements to represent the dangers which threaten humanity. Instead, he gradually replaced them with non-supernatural cosmic beings and phenomena, based on principles outside the laws of nature in our own space-time continuum. This sci-fi trend particularly becomes clear in works such as At the Mountains of Madness.

Derleth's involvement

Derleth had his own take on the mythos and tried to make it conform to his own Roman Catholic values and dualism. Instead of a universe of meaninglessness and chaos, Derleth's mythos is a struggle of good versus evil.^[15] Derleth once wrote: The Roman Catholic Church, most often spoken of simply as the Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with over one billion members. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

As Lovecraft conceived the deities or forces of his mythos, there were, initially, the Elder Gods... [T]hese Elder Gods were benign deities, representing the forces of good, and existed peacefully at or near Betelgeuze in the constellation Orion, very rarely stirring forth to intervene in the unceasing struggle between the powers of evil and the races of Earth. These powers of evil were variously known as the Great Old Ones or the Ancient Ones...
—August Derleth, "The Cthulhu Mythos"^[16] Betelgeuse (Alpha (α) Orionis) is a semiregular variable star located 427 light-years away [1]. It is the second brightest star in the constellation Orion, and the ninth brightest star in the night sky. ... Orion (IPA: ), a constellation often referred to as The Hunter, is a prominent constellation, one of the largest and perhaps the best-known and most conspicuous in the sky. ... Many fantasy stories and worlds call their main sapient humanoid species races rather than species. ...

Lovecraft was an atheist,^[17] and claimed that Kant's ethical system "is a joke."^{[citation needed]} Because of this, Derleth's theories about the Cthulhu Mythos are inconsistent with Lovecraft's design. The Mythos was never intended to be a cohesive, singular entity; instead, it should be regarded as simply a collection of ideas that can be used in separate works to provoke the same emotions.^[18] For information about the band, see Atheist (band). ... “Kant” redirects here. ...

Another difference with Derleth's mythos is that the Elder Gods never appear in Lovecraft's writings, except for one or two who appear as "Other Gods" such as Nodens in Lovecraft's "The Strange High House in the Mist" (though perhaps this is an example of how "very rarely [they stir] forth"; i.e., usually never). Furthermore, the Great Old Ones, or Ancient Ones, have no unified pantheon. Indeed, the term "Ancient Ones" appears in only one Lovecraft story, "Through the Gates of the Silver Key" (moreover, the story is actually a collaboration between Lovecraft and his friend and correspondent E. Hoffmann Price). The Strange High House in the Mist is a short story by H. P. Lovecraft. ... A pantheon (from Greek Πάνθειον, temple of all gods, from πᾶν, all + θεός, god) is a set of all the gods of a particular religion or mythology, such as the gods of Hinduism, Norse, Egyptian, Shintoism, Greek, vodun, Yoruba Mythology and Roman mythology. ... Through the Gates of the Silver Key is a short story co-written by H. P. Lovecraft and E. Hoffmann Price between October 1932 and April 1933. ... Edgar Hoffmann Trooper Price, (1898-1988), (July 3, 1898, Fowler, California – June 18, 1988, Redwood City, California) was a writer of popular fiction for the pulp magazine marketplace. ...

Elemental theory

Derleth also connected the deities of the Mythos to the four elements of air, earth, fire, and water. This system left gaps which Derleth filled in by creating the beings Ithaqua, representing air, and Cthugha, representing fire.^[19] However, the system has a few problems. For example, Derleth classified Cthulhu as a water elemental, but if this were so, how could he be trapped beneath the ocean and how could his psychic emanations be blocked by water? Another problem arises when applying the elemental theory to beings that function on a cosmic scale (such as Yog-Sothoth)—some authors have tried to get around this by creating a separate category of aethyr elementals for Azathoth, Shub-Niggurath, Nyarlathotep, and Yog-Sothoth. Finally, Derleth matched the earth beings against the fire beings and the air beings against the water beings, which is not consistent with the traditional elemental dichotomy (namely, that air opposes earth and fire opposes water).^[20] Ithaqua (the Wind-Walker or the Wendigo) is a fictional character in the Cthulhu Mythos of H.P. Lovecraft. ... The following compendium includes the lesser known Great Old Ones of the Cthulhu mythos of H.P. Lovecraft. ... Telepathy, from the Greek τῆλε, tele, remote; and πάθεια, patheia, to be effected by, describes the hypothetical transfer of information on thoughts or feelings between individuals by means other than the five classical senses. ... Yog-Sothoth (The Lurker at the Threshold, The Key and the Gate, The Beyond One, Opener of the Way The All-in-One and the One-in-All) is a fictional character in the Cthulhu Mythos. ...

*Deity created by Derleth.
**Deity incorporated by Derleth. Hastur (The Unspeakable One, Him Who Is Not to be Named, Assatur, Xastur, or Kaiwan) is a fictional character in the Cthulhu Mythos. ... Ithaqua (the Wind-Walker or the Wendigo) is a fictional character in the Cthulhu Mythos of H.P. Lovecraft. ... Zhar (The Twin Obscenities) is a fictional deity in the Cthulhu mythos of H.P. Lovecraft. ... Azathoth is a fictional deity in the Cthulhu Mythos stories of H.P. Lovecraft and other authors. ... Cyäegha is a fictional deity in the Cthulhu Mythos of H.P. Lovecraft. ... Nyarlathotep (the Crawling Chaos) is a fictional character in the Cthulhu Mythos. ... The following compendium includes the lesser known Great Old Ones of the Cthulhu mythos of H.P. Lovecraft. ... Artistic portrayal of Shub-Niggurath, along with her Thousand Young. Shub-Niggurath, often associated with the phrase The Black Goat of the Woods with a Thousand Young, is a fictional deity in the Cthulhu Mythos of H. P. Lovecraft. ... Tsathoggua (the Sleeper of Nkai) is a fictional supernatural entity in the Cthulhu Mythos shared fictional universe. ... Yog-Sothoth (The Lurker at the Threshold, The Key and the Gate, The Beyond One, Opener of the Way The All-in-One and the One-in-All) is a fictional character in the Cthulhu Mythos. ... The following compendium includes the lesser known Great Old Ones of the Cthulhu mythos of H.P. Lovecraft. ... Cthugha is a fictional deity in the Cthulhu mythos of H.P. Lovecraft. ... Cthulhu and Rlyeh For other uses, see Cthulhu (disambiguation). ... The Deep One is a fictional creature in the Cthulhu Mythos of H.P. Lovecraft. ... Ghatanothoa is a fictional character in the Cthulhu mythos of H.P. Lovecraft. ... The Deep One is a fictional creature in the Cthulhu Mythos of H.P. Lovecraft. ... The Xothic legend cycle is a series of short stories by Lin Carter that are based on the Cthulhu mythos of H.P. Lovecraft. ...

Conclusion

Derleth became a publisher of Lovecraft's stories after his death.^[21] Lovecraft himself was very critical of his own writings and was often easily discouraged, especially when faced with any rejection of his work.^[22] Were it not for Derleth, Lovecraft's writings and the Cthulhu Mythos might have remained largely unknown.

Fundament

As stated above, there has been constantly added new elements to the mythology after Lovecraft's death, this include works by others as well as stories by Lovecraft himself that were not originally included in the mythos. Other short stories written by Lovecraft are included because of the references to such elements as necromonicon, cosmic terror and non-human species without actually containing direct encounters with any of these. The basic origin of what Derleth would name the Cthulhu Mythos can be traced back to a collection of seven stories with great impact who forms the main fundament of Lovecraft's final and major fictional work:

The Call of Cthulhu (February, 1928)
The Dunwich Horror (April, 1929)
The Whisperer in Darkness (August, 1931)
At the Mountains of Madness (March-April, 1936)
The Shadow Over Innsmouth (April, 1936)
The Shadow Out of Time (June, 1936)
The Haunter of the Dark (December, 1936) Cthulhu with the insane city Rlyeh in the background. ... The Dunwich Horror is a short story by H. P. Lovecraft. ... The Whisperer in Darkness is a short story by H.P. Lovecraft, written in 1930. ... At the Mountains of Madness is a novella by horror writer H. P. Lovecraft. ... The Shadow Over Innsmouth is a novella by H.P. Lovecraft, written in 1931. ... The Shadow Out of Time (1936) is a short story by H.P. Lovecraft. ... The Haunter of the Dark is a horror story by H.P. Lovecraft. ...

Of these seven, The Whisperer in Darkness, At the Mountains of Madness and The Shadow Out of Time are closest to science fiction, containing Lovecraft's typical atmosphere of horror and reflecting his materialistic atheism and the direction he was heading at the end of his life. The Shadow Over Innsmouth stands more or less alone as the origin of the threats, which in this case can be traced to the hostile depths of the ocean rather than the darkness between the stars, but shows otherwise the classical elements and pattern; while the three remaining tales can best be described as dark fantasy. Combined, they cover all of Lovecraft's universe of mind numbing horror, cosmic beings, outer gods and hidden dangers.

See also

• Elements of the Cthulhu Mythos
• Cthulhu Mythos anthology

• Dreamlands
• Elder Gods
• Great Old Ones
• Outer Gods

• The Cthulhu Mythos has become part of popular culture. See Cthulhu Mythos in popular culture for a list.
• For a list of characters, see Cthulhu Mythos biographies.

The following tables and lists feature elements of the Cthulhu Mythos. ... A Cthulhu Mythos anthology is a type of short story collection that contains stories written in or related to the Cthulhu Mythos genre of horror fiction launched by H. P. Lovecraft. ... The Dreamlands is a fictional location in the Dream Cycle of H. P. Lovecraft. ... An Elder God is a fictional deity in the Cthulhu mythos of H.P. Lovecraft. ... A Great Old One is a type of fictional being in the Cthulhu Mythos based in the stories of HP Lovecraft. ... An Outer God is a fictional deity in the Cthulhu Mythos of H.P. Lovecraft. ... Popular culture, sometimes called pop culture, consists of widespread cultural elements in any given society. ... The following is a list of media featuring H.P. Lovecrafts Cthulhu Mythos in popular culture. ... The following fictitious biographies showcase the most important characters in the Cthulhu Mythos. ...

References

Books

• Bloch, Robert (1982). "Heritage of Horror", The Best of H. P. Lovecraft: Bloodcurdling Tales of Horror and the Macabre, 1st ed., Ballantine Books. ISBN 0-345-35080-4. 
• Derleth, August (1969). "The Cthulhu Mythos", Tales of the Cthulhu Mythos. Sauk City, WI: Arkham House. 
• Harms, Daniel (1998). The Encyclopedia Cthulhiana, 2nd ed., Chaosium, Inc.. ISBN 1-56882-119-0. 
• Joshi, S. T. (1982). H. P. Lovecraft, 1st ed., Mercer Island, WA: Starmont House. ISBN 0-916732-36-3; ISBN 0-916732-35-5 (paper). 
• Mosig, Yozan Dirk W. (1997). Mosig at Last: A Psychologist Looks at H. P. Lovecraft, 1st printing, West Warwick, RI: Necronomicon Press. ISBN 0-940884-90-9. 
• Murray, Will (January 1999). "In Search of Arkham Country I", in James Van Hise (ed.): The Fantastic Worlds of H. P. Lovecraft. Yucca Valley, CA: James Van Hise.  No ISBN.
• Schultz, David E. [1987] (2002). "Who Needs the Cthulhu Mythos?", in Scott Conners (ed.): A Century Less a Dream: Selected Criticism on H. P. Lovecraft, 1st ed., Holikong, PA: Wildside Press. ISBN 1-58715-215-0. 
• Schweitzer, Darrell (ed.) (2001). Discovering H. P. Lovecraft. Helicong, PA: Wildside Press. ISBN 1-58715-470-6 (trade paper); ISBN 1-58715-471-4 (hardcover). 
• Turner, James (1998). "Iä! Iä! Cthulhu Fhtagn!", Tales of the Cthulhu Mythos, 1st ed., Random House. ISBN 0-345-42204-X. 
• Jens, editor, Tina (1999). Cthulhu and the Coeds: Kids and Squids. Chicago, IL: Twilight Tales. 
• Thomas, Frank Walter (2005). Watchers of the Light,, 1st printing, Lake Forest Park, WA: Lake Forest Park Books. ISBN 0-9774464-0-9 (paperback). 

Robert Albert Bloch (April 5, 1917, Chicago-September 23, 1994, Los Angeles) was a prolific American writer. ...

Web sites

• Joshi, S. T. H. P. Lovecraft. The Scriptorium. Retrieved on July 20, 2005.

Notes

1. ^ Harms, "A Brief History of the Cthulhu Mythos", The Encyclopedia Cthulhiana, pp. viii–ix.
2. ^ Joshi, "The Lovecraft Mythos", H. P. Lovecraft, p. 31ff.
3. ^ Price, "H. P. Lovecraft and the Cthulhu Mythos", Crypt of Cthulhu #35, p. 5.
4. ^ Ibid, pp. 6–7.
5. ^ Patrice Louinet. Hyborian Genesis: Part 1, page 436, The Coming of Conan the Cimmerian; 2003, Del Rey.
6. ^ Schultz, "Who Needs the Cthulhu Mythos?", A Century Less A Dream, pp. 46, 54.
7. ^ That Lovecraft gave more weight to his "Arkham cycle" locations than to his pseudomythology is perhaps demonstrated by his so-called revision stories. Will Murray points out that while Lovecraft often employed his fictional pantheon in the stories he ghostwrote for other authors, he reserved Arkham and its environs exclusively for those tales he wrote under his own name. (Murray, "In Search of Arkham Country I", pp. 105, 107.)
8. ^ Schultz, "Who Needs the Cthulhu Mythos?", pp. 46–7.
9. ^ The writer Richard L. Tierney coined the term "Derleth Mythos" to distinguish between August Derleth's version and Lovecraft's (Cf. Richard L. Tierney, "The Derleth Mythos", Discovering H. P. Lovecraft, p. 52). Dirk Mosig, however, goes further and recommends that the term Cthulhu Mythos be dropped altogether in favor of the Yog-Sothoth Cycle of Myth (Mosig, "H. P. Lovecraft: Myth-Maker", Mosig at Last, p. 28).
10. ^ Price, "H. P. Lovecraft and the Cthulhu Mythos", Crypt of Cthulhu #35, p. 9.
11. ^ Ibid, pp. 6–10.
12. ^ Harms, "A Brief History of the Cthulhu Mythos", p. viii.
13. ^ Lovecraft, "The Call of Cthulhu" (1928).
14. ^ Mosig says that Cthulhu "is perhaps one of the weakest and least important of the main entities [in the mythos]—save for his immediacy". He also notes that in the Necronomicon passage in Lovecraft's "The Dunwich Horror" (1929), Cthulhu is demoted to "their cousin". (Mosig, "H. P. Lovecraft: Myth-Maker", Mosig at Last, p. 25.)
15. ^ Bloch, "Heritage of Horror", p. 9.
16. ^ Derleth, "The Cthulhu Mythos", Tales of the Cthulhu Mythos, p. vii.
17. ^ Joshi, The Scriptorium, "H. P. Lovecraft", section II.
18. ^ Turner, "Iä! Iä! Cthulhu Fhtagn!", Tales of the Cthulhu Mythos, p. viii. Turner writes: "Lovecraft's imaginary cosmogony was never a static system but rather a sort of aesthetic construct that remained ever adaptable to its creator's developing personality and altering interests... [T]here was never a rigid system that might be posthumously appropriated by the pasticheur... [T]he essence of the mythos lies not in a pantheon of imaginary deities nor in a cobwebby collection of forgotten tomes, but rather in a certain convincing cosmic attitude."
19. ^ Derleth created Cthugha when a fan, Francis T. Laney, pointed out that he had neglected to include a fire elemental in his schema. Laney, the editor of The Acolyte, had categorized the Mythos in an essay that first appeared in the Winter 1942 issue of the magazine. Impressed by the glossary, Derleth asked Laney to rewrite it for publication in the Arkham House collection Beyond the Wall of Sleep (1943). (Robert M. Price, "Editorial Shards", Crypt of Cthulhu #32, p. 2.) Laney's essay ("The Cthulhu Mythos") was later republished in Crypt of Cthulhu #32 (1985).
20. ^ Harms, "Elemental Theory", p. 101.
21. ^ Bloch, "Heritage of Horror", p. 8.
22. ^ Joshi, The Scriptorium, "H. P. Lovecraft", section I.

See also: 1942 in literature, other events of 1943, 1944 in literature, list of years in literature. ...

External links

• The Cthulhu Mythos: A Guide; extensive information, including an annotated bibliography and index
• Cthuugle, the H. P. Lovecraft search engine
• The H. P. Lovecraft Archive
• Mythos Online, short stories relating to the Cthulhu Mythos
• Mythos Tomes, stories, articles, and reviews relating to the Cthulhu Mythos
• The Official Cthulhu Mythos FAQ, by Daniel Harms
• The City Of Arkham A tour of some of the past and present inhabitants of Arkham MA

Further reading

• Carter, Lin (1972). Lovecraft: A Look Behind the Cthulhu Mythos. New York, NY: Ballantine Books. ISBN 0-345-02427-3.