A shoggoth (or shaggoth^[1]) is a fictional monster in the Cthulhu Mythos. The being first appeared in H. P. Lovecraft's novella At the Mountains of Madness (1936). Cthulhu and Rlyeh The Cthulhu Mythos encompasses the shared elements, characters, settings, and themes in the works of H. P. Lovecraft and associated horror fiction writers. ... This article is about the author. ... A novella is a narrative work of prose fiction somewhat longer than a short story but shorter than a novel. ... For the Simpsons episode, see Mountain of Madness. ... See also: 1935 in literature, other events of 1936, 1937 in literature, list of years in literature. ...

A Shoggoth as seen in the game Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth

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Description

The definitive description of shoggoths comes from the above-quoted story. In it, Lovecraft writes them as massive amoeba-like creatures looking like they're made out of tar, with multiple eyes "floating" on the surface. They are described as "protoplasmic", lacking any default body shape and instead being able to form limbs and organs at will. The size of an average shoggoth measured 15 feet across when a sphere, though the story mentions ones of much greater size. For other uses, see Amoeba (disambiguation). ... Tar can be produced from corn stalks by heating in a microwave. ... For other uses, see Sphere (disambiguation). ...

Although intelligent to some degree, media* based on the Mythos often shows them as dealing with problems mainly using brute force, since their great size and strength allows them to do so with ease. As an example, in Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth, a shoggoth stopped a large cargo elevator going up, and quickly caused enough damage to plummet it to its doom.

The shoggoths are considered* one of the more terrible things present in the Mythos. The character of the Mad Arab, Abdul Alhazred, found the mere idea of their existence on Earth terrifying. Abdul Alhazred is a fictional character created by American horror writer H. P. Lovecraft. ...

Origin and history

The shoggoths were created* by the Elder Things as living bioengineered construction equipment. Being amorphous, they could take on any shape needed, making them very versatile within their aquatic environment. Though able to "understand" the Elder Things' language, they had no real consciousness and were controlled through hypnotic suggestion. Elder Things are fictional characters in the Cthulhu mythos of H. P. Lovecraft. ... Biological engineering (also biosystems engineering and bioengineering) deals with engineering biological processes in general. ... For the novel by Lucas Hyde, see Hypnosis (novel). ...

The shoggoths build the underwater cities of their masters. Over millions of years of existence, some shoggoths mutated and gained independent minds. Some time after this, they rebelled. Eventually, the Elder Things succeeded in quelling the insurrection*, but thereafter watched them more carefully. By this point, exterminating them was not an option as the Elder Things were fully dependent on them for labor and could not replace them. It was during this time that, despite their masters' wishes, they demonstrated an ability to survive on land*. For linguistic mutation, see Apophony. ...

Within the Mythos, the existence of the shoggoths possibly* led to the accidental creation of Ubbo-Sathla, a god-like entity supposedly responsible for the origin of all life on Earth, though At The Mountains of Madness brings up the possibility of the Elder Things being the creators, having made early life as discarded experiments in bioengineering. An Outer God is a fictional deity in the Cthulhu Mythos of H.P. Lovecraft. ...

(* Clarification and source is required here on almost everything - especially when dealing with a subject as nebulous as this: which books/authors/games/films/comics describe the material in Origin and History section? There is no point writing about a fictional entity as though factual and citing evidence only on the Talk page - every property that is described should be ascribed to a particular author and story.)

Other connections

When the Elder Things retreated to the oceans*, they brought the shoggoths with them and eventually let them develop the ability to exist on land out of desperation. In contrast to their failing society, the shoggoths began to imitate their' art and voices*, taking over the cavern city underneath Antarctica and creating a twisted imitation of the society of their masters.

Aside from their main appearance in the Mountains of Madness story, shoggoths also appear in other Mythos stories, often as servitors or captives to powerful cults and entities. They are known to endlessly repeat "Tekeli-li",^[2] a cry that their old masters used.

Other appearances

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• Shoggoths are mentioned in the Lovecraft short stories "The Shadow Over Innsmouth" (1936) and "The Thing on the Doorstep" (1933).

• Shoggoths appear in both the Chaosium and the Wizards of the Coast Call of Cthulhu role-playing game supplements.

• Shoggoths are featured in Charles Stross's A Colder War, in which they are used as weapons of mass destruction.

• A shoggoth appears in Grant Morrison's The Invisibles.

• Shoggoths are prominently featured in the parody CD of The HP Lovecraft Historical Society: the Lovecraftian Broadway musical A Shoggoth on the Roof.

• A Shoggoth is a key boss in the multi-platform video game Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth.

• Shoggoths appear in the PlayStation game Persona 2: Eternal Punishment as enemy creatures.

• Shoggoths appear as acidic recoil inflicting monsters in the online game Wyvern.

• Shoggoths with approximate radial symmetry are available as plush figures produced by Toy Vault.

• A Shoggoth is mentioned in the 'exit screen' (Being the text you receive when prompted to exit the game) in both Quake and Daikatana.

• In the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game system, the shoggoth is referred to as a gibbering mouther. The shoggoth also could be considered the basis of the ooze family of creatures, or more specifically the black pudding. Much like the shoggoth, the black pudding is tar-like in appearance as well as amorphous. The glossary entry for puddings in the computer game NetHack quotes and cites the eyewitness description of a shoggoth in Lovecraft's original story.

• Robert Anton Wilson asserts in his Schrödinger's Cat trilogy that it is not a "shaggy shoggoth story," a portmanteau of "Shaggy dog story" and "Shoggoth," playfully implying that the book is indeed a rambling series of nonsequiturs dealing with otherworldly concepts. The Shoggoth also plays its role in the The Illuminatus! Trilogy, in which it is linked to the law of 5 and the Necronomicon, and it is a Shoggoth that consumes crimeboss Robert Putney Drake, after he has betrayed the Illuminati.

• In the table top strategy game Warhammer Fantasy Battle, in the armies of Chaos, Dragon Ogre Shaggoths are ancient creatures of titanic proportions, being dragon ogres who have endured for centuries rejuvenating in lightning storms.

• In the board game Arkham Horror, the Shoggoth is one of the many foul monsters from Cthulhu and the Lovecraft books that roam the streets of Arkham.

• A Shoggoth appears in The Real Ghostbusters episode, The Collect Call of Cathulhu, In the episode, it is summoned by cultists to combat the Ghostbusters, however it is swiftly defeated by a spell from a Cthulhu historian.

• Shoggoth is also a name for a widely-used machine for restaurants.^{[citation needed]}

• Creatures matching the physical description of shoggoths, named with the alternative spelling of "shuggoths," appear toward the end of the novel Frek and The Elixir by Rudy Rucker.

• Shoggoths make an appearance in the novel "Move Under Ground" by Nick Mamatas, a spin-off of the Cthulhu mythos involving Jack Kerouac.

• Author Neil Gaiman has written several short stories, one of which takes place in the town of Innsmouth where a wandering American tourist is treated to several pints of "Shoggoth's Old Peculiar" ale.

• Shoggoths appear as major foes in the novel The Spiraling Worm by David Conyers and John Sunseri.

• A deity who bears striking resemblance to a Shoggoth appears in the novel De Hængte Mænds Hus - "The House of the Hung Men" by the Danish author Dennis Jürgensen.

• In The New Traveller's Almanac, Captain Nemo encounters a shoggoth while exploring the south pole.

• In Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Shoggoth is the name given a noted writer of Cardassian enigma tales.

Image File history File links Broom_icon. ... This article is in need of attention. ... The Shadow Over Innsmouth is a novella by H.P. Lovecraft. ... See also: 1935 in literature, other events of 1936, 1937 in literature, list of years in literature. ... The Thing on the Doorstep is a short story written by H. P. Lovecraft, part of the Cthulhu Mythos genre of horror fiction. ... See also: 1932 in literature, other events of 1933, 1934 in literature, list of years in literature. ... Chaosium is one of the longer lived publishers of role_playing games still in existence. ... Wizards of the Coast (often referred to as WotC or simply Wizards) is a publisher of games, primarily based on fantasy and science fiction themes. ... 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. ... This article is about games in which one plays the role of a character. ... Charles David George Charlie Stross (born Leeds, October 18, 1964) is a writer based in Edinburgh, Scotland. ... A Colder War is an alternate history novelette by Charles Stross. ... Grant Morrison (born January 31, 1960) is a Scottish comic book writer and artist. ... The Invisibles is an adult comic book series that was published by the Vertigo imprint of DC Comics from 1994 to 2000. ... For other uses of Broadway, see Broadway. ... The Black Crook (1866), considered by some historians to be the first musical[1] Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining music, songs, spoken dialogue and dance. ... A Shoggoth on the Roof is a parody musical of Fiddler on the Roof based on the works of H.P. Lovecraft. ... Flag Ship from the video game Gorf A boss is an enemy-based challenge in video games that, once encountered, stops the games progression until the player is able either to surmount the enemy or is thwarted by it. ... Computer and video games redirects here. ... The Sony PlayStation ) is a video game console of the 32/64-bit era, first produced by Sony Computer Entertainment in the mid-1990s. ... The elaborate patterns on the wings of butterflies are one example of biological symmetry. ... Zombies attacking the player at the starting of Episode 1, Mission 3: The Necropolis. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... D&D redirects here. ... In the Dungeons and Dragons fantasy role-playing game, a gibbering mouther is a horrible aberration seemingly drawn from a lunatics nightmares. ... This article is about the role-playing game. ... Robert Anton Wilson Robert Anton Wilson or RAW (January 18, 1932 – January 11, 2007) was a prolific American novelist, essayist, philosopher, psychologist, futurologist, anarchist, and conspiracy theory researcher. ... The Schrödingers Cat trilogy is a trilogy of novels by Robert Anton Wilson, chronicling events and characters in several parallel universes. ... A portmanteau (IPA: ) is a word or morpheme that fuses two or more words or word parts to give a combined or loaded meaning. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... “Illuminatus” redirects here. ... It has been suggested that Armies of warhammer be merged into this article or section. ... For other uses, see Chaos (disambiguation). ... Arkham Horror is an adventure board game designed by Richard Launius, most recently published in 2005 by Fantasy Flight Games. ... 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. ... The Real Ghostbusters was an American animated television series based on the hit 1984 film Ghostbusters. ... Rudy Rucker, Fall 2004, photo by Georgia Rucker. ... Move Under Ground is a horror novel by Nick Mamatas which combines the Beat style of Jack Kerouac with the cosmic horror of H. P. Lovecrafts Cthulhu Mythos. ... Nick Mamatas (born February 20, 1972) is an author of novels, short stories, and essays. ... Neil Richard Gaiman (IPA: ) (born November 10, 1960[2]) is an English author of science fiction and fantasy short stories and novels, graphic novels, comics, and films. ... The Spiraling Worm (hardcover 1-56882-217-0; softcover 1-56882-212-X) is a science fiction, Lovecraftian horror and spy thriller novel by authors David Conyers and John Sunseri, published in 2007. ... David Conyers (born Sydney, Australia, May 30, 1971) is a writer based in Adelaide, South Australia. ... John Sunseri (born Portland, Oregon, March 11, 1969) is a horror writer from Portland, Oregon in the United States. ... Dennis Jürgensen (born February 3, 1961) is one of the most popular Danish writer for kids and young adults. ... The New Travellers Almanac was a series of writings included in the back of all six issues of The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Volume II, covering the timeline and the world of The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. ... Captain Nemo is a fictional character featured in Jules Vernes novels Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea (1870) and The Mysterious Island (1874). ... Space station Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (ST:DS9 or STDS9 or DS9 for short) is a science fiction television series produced by Paramount and set in the Star Trek universe. ...

References

• Burleson, Donald R. (1983). H. P. Lovecraft, A Critical Study. Westport, CT / London, England: Greenwood Press. ISBN 0-313-23255-5. 

• Harms, Daniel (1998). "Shoggoths", The Encyclopedia Cthulhiana, 2nd ed., Oakland, CA: Chaosium, pp. 273–4. ISBN 1-56882-119-0. 

• Lovecraft, Howard P. [1931] (1985). "At the Mountains of Madness", in S. T. Joshi (ed.): At the Mountains of Madness and Other Novels, 7th corrected printing, Sauk City, WI: Arkham House. ISBN 0-87054-038-6.  Definitive version.

• Pearsall, Anthony B. (2005). The Lovecraft Lexicon, 1st ed., Tempe, AZ: New Falcon Pub. ISBN 1-56184-129-3. 

Notes

1. ^ This spelling appears in the original Arkham House printing for "The Thing on the Doorstep" (1937), though the definitive manuscripts show that the proper spelling is in fact "shoggoth". (Burleson, H.P. Lovecraft, A Critical Study, footnote #14, p. 195.)
2. ^ This cry is a reference to the Edgar Allan Poe novel The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket, which is cited in At the Mountains of Madness. (Pearsall, "Poe, Edgar Allan", The Lovecraft Lexicon, p. 332.)

Arkham House is a weird fiction specialty publishing house founded by August Derleth and Donald Wandrei. ... See also: 1936 in literature, other events of 1937, 1938 in literature, list of years in literature. ... Edgar Allan Poe (January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American poet, short story writer, playwright, editor, literary critic, essayist and one of the leaders of the American Romantic Movement. ... This article is about the literary concept. ... The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket is Edgar Allan Poes only complete novel, published in 1838. ...

Further reading

• Gaiman, Neil. "Shoggoth's Old Peculiar". A young American tourist on a walking tour of the British coastline stops for a meal at a pub in Innsmouth, weirdness ensues.