The Elder Things (also known as the Old Ones) are fictional characters in the Cthulhu mythos of H. P. Lovecraft. The beings first appeared in Lovecraft's novella At the Mountains of Madness. Additional references to the Elder Things appear in Lovecraft's short stories "Dreams in the Witch-House" and "The Shadow Out of Time". The Old Ones is also the title of a Lovecraft-inspired filk by Zander Nyrond. A fictional character is any person who appears in a work of fiction. ... Cthulhu in Rlyeh Cthulhu mythos is the term coined by the writer August Derleth to describe the shared themes, characters, and elements in the works of H.P. Lovecraft, his protegés, and writers influenced by him. ... H. P. Lovecraft Howard Phillips Lovecraft (August 20, 1890 – March 15, 1937) was an American author of fantasy and horror fiction, noted for giving horror stories a science fiction framework. ... A novella is a short, narrative, prose fiction work. ... At the Mountains of Madness is a novella-length story by horror writer H. P. Lovecraft that is considered by Lovecraft scholar S. T. Joshi to represent the decisive demythology of the Cthulhu Mythos. ... This article is in need of attention. ... Filk is a form of music created from within fandom, and performed generally late at night at science fiction conventions. ...

The Elder Things in the mythos

Six feet end to end, three and five-tenths feet central diameter, tapering to one foot at each end. Like a barrel with five bulging ridges in place of staves. Lateral breakages, as of thinnish stalks, are at equator in middle of these ridges. In furrows between ridges are curious growths – combs or wings that fold up and spread out like fans. . . which gives almost seven-foot wing spread. Arrangement reminds one of certain monsters of primal myth, especially fabled Elder Things in [the] Necronomicon.
—H.P. Lovecraft, At the Mountains of Madness The Necronomicon (Greek: Νεκρονομικόν) relating to a fictional book of magic, invented by H. P. Lovecraft and frequently featured in his Cthulhu mythos tales. ...

The Elder Things were the first alien species to come to the Earth, colonizing the planet during the Cambrian age. They stood roughly eight feet tall and had the appearance of a huge, oval-shaped barrel with starfish-like appendages at both ends. The top appendage was a head adorned with five eyes, five eating tubes, and a set of cilia for "seeing" without light. The bottom appendage was five-limbed and was used for walking and other forms of locomotion. The beings also had five leathery, retractable wings and five sets of tentacles that sprouted from their torsos. Both their tentacles and the slits housing their folded wings were spaced at regular intervals about their bodies. The existence of extraterrestrial life remains hypothetical though human beings continue to search Extraterrestrial life is life that may exist and originate outside our planet Earth. ... Earth, also known as the Earth, Terra, and (mostly in the 19th century) Tellus, is the third planet outward from the Sun. ... A planet in common parlance is a large object in orbit around a star that is not a star itself. ... The Cambrian is a major division of the geologic timescale that begins about 542 million years before the present (BP) at the end of the Proterozoic eon and ended about 490 million years BP with the beginning of the Ordovician period. ... NON TECHNICAL AND OF LOW INTELLIGENCE COMPUTER USER CALLING TECH SUPPORT. SEE S.E.C.S. ALSO This page is a candidate for speedy deletion. ... cross-section of two cilia, showing 9+2 structure A cilium (plural cilia) is a fine projection from a eukaryotic cell that constantly beats in one direction. ... Modern leather-making tools Leather is a material created through the tanning of hides, pelts and skins of animals, primarily cows. ...

The Elder Things were vegetable-like in shape, having radial symmetry instead of the bilateral symmetry of bipeds. They also differed in that they had a five-lobed brain. In terms of nutrition and reproduction, the Elder Things exhibited vegetal as well as animal characteristics. Though they could make use of both organic and inorganic substances, the Elder Things were preferably carnivorous. They were also amphibious. In biology, radial symmetry is a property of some multicellular organisms. ... In biology, bilateral symmetry is a characteristic of multicellular organisms, particularly animals. ... A biped is an animal that travels across surfaces supported by two legs. ... In the anatomy of animals, the brain, or encephalon, is the supervisory center of the nervous system. ...

The bodies of the Elder Things were incredibly tough, capable of withstanding the pressures of the deepest ocean. Few died except by accident or violence. The beings were also capable of hibernating for vast epochs of time. Nonetheless, unlike other beings of the mythos, the Elder Things were made of normal, terrestrial matter. Fluid pressure is the pressure on an object submerged in a fluid. ... For the gospel rock band, see Ocean (band). ... Hibernation is a state of regulated hypothermia, lasting several days or weeks, that allows animals to conserve energy during the winter. ... ERA is an abbreviation for several different things, including: the Equal Rights Amendment, a proposed, but unratified, Constitutional amendment in United States Earned run average, a baseball statistic Engine Room Artificer Education Reform Act Engineering Research Associates, a pioneering computer firm from the 1950s Academy of European Law Trier Explosive...

History of the Elder Things

The Elder Things built huge cities, both underwater and on dry land. They may be responsible for the appearance of the first life-forms on Earth, including the entity known as Ubbo-Sathla (although sources differ in this regard). They bio-engineered the dreaded Shoggoths to be their all-purpose slave race. Eventually, however, the Shoggoths rebelled – an event that hastened the decadence and ultimate collapse of their civilization. This timeline outlines the major events in the development of life on planet Earth. ... Ubbo-Sathla (nickname: the Unbegotten Source) is a fictional character, one of the Outer Gods in the pantheon of H. P. Lovecrafts Cthulhu Mythos, described as a black formless mass resting in a grotto deep beneath the frozen earth. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Genetically modified organism. ... The Shoggoths (or Shaggoths) are fictional monsters in the Cthulhu mythos of H. P. Lovecraft. ... Many fantasy stories and worlds call their main sapient humanoid species races rather than species. ...

They are known to have warred against the Star-spawn of Cthulhu, the Great Race of Yith, and the Mi-go. Despite these conflicts, it was the gradual cooling of the planet during the last ice age that spelled their doom. Retreating to their undersea cities deep in the ocean, they would thereafter have no further dealings with the outer world. Their last surface city, located on a high plateau in the Antarctic, remains frozen in ice. The ruins of this city were discovered in 1931 by two members of an Antarctic expedition from Miskatonic University. (The Call of Cthulhu role-playing game features a scenario in which the Elder Thing city is rediscovered and subsequently explored by expeditions sent to "New Schwabia" by the National Socialist government of Germany during the late 1930s and 1940s.) In the fictional Cthulhu Mythos, the Star-spawn of Cthulhu are a race of beings that were determined to be the pre-human spawn to great Cthulhu. ... The Great Old One. ... Spoiler warning: In the fictional Cthulhu Mythos of H. P. Lovecraft the Great Race of Yith are aliens with enormous intellectual and psychic powers who escaped the destruction of their home planet by transferring their minds to the bodies of a species native to Earth in the far distant past. ... The Mi-Go are fictional characters of the Cthulhu Mythos, a race of alien beings created by Howard Phillips Lovecraft. ... Variations in CO2, temperature and dust from the Vostok ice core over the last 400 000 years For the animated movie, see Ice Age (movie). ... In geology and earth science, a plateau (alternatively spelt in a false French spelling plâteau, the real spelling in French being plateau) is an area of highland, usually consisting of relatively flat open country if the uplift was recent in geologic history. ... Greek ἀνταρκτικός, opposite the arctic) is a continent surrounding the Earths South Pole. ... 1931 is a common year starting on Thursday. ... Miskatonic University is a fictional university located in the equally fictional Arkham, Massachusetts. ... Call of Cthulhu 6th edition rulebook cover Call of Cthulhu is a horror 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. ... A role-playing game (RPG) is a type of game in which players assume the roles of fictional characters via role-playing. ... New Schwabia (Neuschwabenland) was an area in Antarctica which was claimed by National Socialist Germany in the late 1930s. ... The term National Socialism has been used in self-description by a number of different political groups and ideologies, some of which have no connection with the Nazis; see National socialism (disambiguation). ... // Events and trends The 1930s were spent struggling for a solution to the global depression. ... // Events and trends The 1940s were dominated by World War II, the most destructive armed conflict in history. ...

References

• Harms, Daniel. "Elder Things" in The Encyclopedia Cthulhiana (2nd ed.), pp. 99–100. Chaosium, Inc., 1998. ISBN 1-56882-119-0.

• Lovecraft, Howard P. At the Mountains of Madness (1931).

• Petersen, Sandy. Call of Cthulhu, (5th ed.), Chaosium, Inc. ISBN 1-56882-148-4.

External links

• At the Mountains of Madness by H.P. Lovecraft