Ghatanothoa is a fictional character in the Cthulhu mythos of H.P. Lovecraft. The being first appeared in the short story "Out Of The Aeons" (1935) by Lovecraft and Hazel Heald. 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. ... 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. ... This article is in need of attention. ... See also: 1934 in literature, other events of 1935, 1936 in literature, list of years in literature. ...

Ghatanothoa in the mythos

Ghatanothoa is a Great Old One and is so hideous that anyone who gazes upon it (or even a perfect replica) is petrified into a living mummy. The victim is permanently immobilized, the body taking on the consistency of leather and the internal organs and brain preserved indefinitely, yet fully aware. Only the destruction of the subject's brain can free it from its hellish prison, though the unfortunate is likely to be incurably insane long before the welcomed release. The Great Old Ones are a group of fictional deities in the Cthulhu mythos of H.P. Lovecraft. ... In geology, petrifaction or petrification is the process by which organic material is converted into stone or a similar substance. ... A mummy is a corpse whose skin and flesh have been preserved by deliberate or accidental exposure to chemicals, extreme cold or dryness, or airlessness. ... Modern leather-working tools Leather is a material created through the tanning of hides, pelts and skins of animals, primarily cows. ...

Ghatanothoa is currently trapped beneath Mount Yaddith-Gho in sunken Mu. He was brought to Earth from the planet Yuggoth (Pluto in Lovecraft's fiction) by an ancient, alien race, possibly the Mi-go[1]. Ghatanothoa was worshipped by the ancient Muvians, who both feared and respected him because of his ability to turn any humans that beheld him into living, thinking statuary. Mu is a fictional continent in the Cthulhu mythos of H.P. Lovecraft. ... Mu is a fictional continent in the Cthulhu mythos of H.P. Lovecraft. ... Yuggoth, in the Cthulhu Mythos, is the name by which the extraterrestrial Mi-go know the planet Pluto, where they are believed to have established a colony. ... Atmospheric characteristics Atmospheric pressure 0. ... The Mi-Go are fictional characters of the Cthulhu mythos, a race of alien beings created by Howard Phillips Lovecraft. ...

Many attempted in vain to defeat Ghatanothoa; most notably T'yog, the High Priest of Shub-Niggurath, whose story is recounted in Friedrich von Junzt's grimoire Von unaussprechlichen Kulten (most often wrongly spelled: Unaussprechlichen Kulten) or Nameless Cults (Robert E. Howard's answer to Lovecraft's Necronomicon). T'yog created a scroll which was supposed to protect him from the petrifying effect of gazing upon Ghatanothoa. But T'yog was defeated after Ghatanothoa's priests stole the scroll and replaced it with a fake one. This occured in the Year of the Red Moon, which is B.C. 173,148 according to von Juntz. Shub-Niggurath (The Black Goat of the Woods with a Thousand Young) is a fictional deity in the Cthulhu mythos of H. P. Lovecraft. ... Friedrich von Junzt is a fictional character in the works of Robert E. Howard and later incorporated in his own work by H. P. Lovecraft. ... 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. ... Robert Ervin Howard (January 22, 1906 – June 11, 1936) was a writer of fantasy and historical adventure pulp stories, published primarily in Weird Tales magazine in the 1930s. ... The Necronomicon is the title of a fictional book created by H.P. Lovecraft and often featured in stories based on the Cthulhu mythos inspired by his works. ...

Other connections to the mythos

In Lin Carter's Xothic legend cycle, Ghatanothoa is said to be the first born of Cthulhu; his siblings, in order of birth, are Ythogtha, Zoth-Ommog, and Cthylla[2]. Colin Wilson connected Ghatanothoa to the alien, reptilian race of energy beings—the Lloigor—as the deity's servants. Even though Ghatanothoa is widely regarded as a water elemental because he is called Cthulhu's son, he nonetheless holds distinction as the Lord of the Volcanoes. 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. ... The Great Old One Cthulhu (alternate spellings: Tulu, Cthulu, Ktulu, and many others) is a fictional character in the Cthulhu mythos of H.P. Lovecraft. ... In H. P. Lovecrafts Cthulhu Mythos, Ythogtha is the second son of Cthulhu. ... Zoth-Ommog (the Dweller In The Deep) is a fictional character in the Cthulhu mythos of H. P. Lovecraft. ... Cthylla (nickname: the Secret Daughter of Cthulhu) is a fictional character, a Great Old One from the pantheon of H. P. Lovecrafts Cthulhu Mythos. ... Colin Henry Wilson (born June 26, British writer. ... The Lloigor are fictional beings in the Cthulhu mythos of H.P. Lovecraft. ... In mysticism, mythology and alchemy, an elemental is a creature (usually a spirit) that is attuned with, or composed of, one of the classical elements: air, earth, fire and water. ...

References

• Carter, Lin. "The Thing in the Pit" (1980) in The Xothic Legend Cycle, Robert M. Price (ed), 1997. Chaosium, Inc. ISBN 1-56882-078-X.

• Harms, Daniel. "Ghatanothoa" in The Encyclopedia Cthulhiana (2nd ed.), pp. 115-16. Chaosium, Inc., 1998. ISBN 1-56882-119-0.

• Joshi, S. T., "Lovecraft's Other Planets" in Selected Papers on Lovecraft, 1st printing, West Warwick, RI: Necronomicon Press, 1989. ISBN 0-940-88423-2.

• Lovecraft, Howard P. and Hazel Heald. "Out of the Aeons" (1935).

• Tierney, Richard L. The House of the Toad (1993).

• Wilson, Colin. "The Return of the Lloigor" (1969).

Notes

1. ^ Though the aliens in question are presumed to be the Mi-go (Harms, The Encyclopedia Cthulhiana pp. 115), S. T. Joshi does not hold this view. In his essay "Lovecraft's Other Planets", Joshi argues that these beings are an older and perhaps indigenous race of Yuggoth. Citing Lovecraft's "The Whisperer in Darkness" (1931), Joshi notes that the structures on Yuggoth were "built by some elder race extinct and forgotten" before the Mi-go arrived. It is Joshi's conclusion, therefore, that these elder beings—and not the fungi from Yuggoth— are "the alien spawn of the dark planet Yuggoth" (as quoted from "Out of the Aeons") that brought Ghatanothoa to Earth and built the stone fortress on Yaddith-Gho. (Joshi, "Lovecraft's Other Planets", Selected Papers on Lovecraft, pp. 39.)
2. ^ This theory is a subject of debate among fans of Lovecraftian fiction, because neither Heald or Lovecraft confirmed this. Also, Ghatanothoa's form and behaviour are much more like that of a particularily powerful and monstrous Lloigor than the sea creature-like qualities of other spawn of Cthulhu.

Sunanda Tryambak Joshi (b. ...

External link

• "Out of the Aeons" by H.P. Lovecraft and Hazel Heald.