Tsathoggua (the Sleeper of N'kai) is a fictional supernatural entity in the Cthulhu Mythos shared fictional universe. He is the creation of Clark Ashton Smith and is part of his Hyperborean cycle. Look up Supernatural in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Cthulhu and Rlyeh Cthulhu Mythos is the term coined by the writer August Derleth to describe the shared elements, characters, settings, and themes in the works of H. P. Lovecraft and associated horror fiction writers. ... Clark Ashton Smith (January 13, 1893-August 14, 1961) was a poet, sculptor, painter and author of fantasy, horror and science fiction short stories. ... 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 (or Zhothaqquah) is described as an Old One, a godlike being from the pantheon. He was invented in Smith's short story "The Tale of Satampra Zeiros," written in 1929 and published in the November 1931 issue of Weird Tales.^[1] His first appearance in print, however, was in H.P. Lovecraft's story "The Whisperer in Darkness", written in 1930 and published in the August 1931 Weird Tales. A Great Old One is a type of fictional being in the Cthulhu Mythos based in the stories of HP Lovecraft. ... This article is in need of attention. ... The Tale of Satampra Zeiros is a short story written in 1929 by Clark Ashton Smith as part of his Hyperborean cycle, and first published in the November 1931 issue of Weird Tales. ... Year 1929 (MCMXXIX) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... This page is about the fantasy and horror fiction pulp magazine and its heirs. ... Howard Phillips Lovecraft (August 20, 1890 – March 15, 1937) was an American author of fantasy, horror and science fiction, noted for combining these three genres within single narratives. ... The Whisperer in Darkness is a short story by H.P. Lovecraft, written in 1930. ...

Description

The first description of Tsathoggua occurs in "The Tale of Satampra Zeiros", in which the protagonists encounter one of the entity's idols:

He was very squat and pot-bellied, his head was more like a monstrous toad than a deity, and his whole body was covered with an imitation of short fur, giving somehow a vague sensation of both the bat and the sloth. His sleepy lids were half-lowered over his globular eyes; and the tip of a queer tongue issued from his fat mouth.^[2]

Later, in Smith's "The Seven Geases" (1933), Tsathoggua is described again: “Chiroptera” redirects here. ... Families Megalonychidae Bradypodidae †Rathymotheriidae †Scelidotheriidae †Mylodontidae †Orophodontidae †Megatheriidae Sloths are medium-sized mammals that live in Central and South America belonging to the families Megalonychidae and Bradypodidae, part of the order Pilosa. ...

[In] that secret cave in the bowels of Voormithadreth . . . abides from eldermost eons the god Tsathoggua. You shall know Tsathoggua by his great girth and his batlike furriness and the look of a sleepy black toad which he has eternally. He will rise not from his place, even in the ravening of hunger, but will wait in divine slothfulness for the sacrifice.
—Clark Ashton Smith, "The Seven Geases" 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). ... Families At least 9, see article. ...

Robert M. Price notes that "Lovecraft's Tsathoggua and Smith's differ at practically every point." Lovecraft, dropping Smith's bat and sloth comparisons, refers to the entity in "The Whisperer in Darkness" as the "amorphous, toad-like god-creature mentioned in the Pnakotic Manuscripts and the Necronomicon and the Commoriom myth-cycle preserved by the Atlantean high-priest Klarkash-Ton"--the priest's name a tip of the hat to Tsathoggua's creator. Robert McNair Price was born July 7, 1954 in Mississippi and is a Professor of Theology and Scriptural Studies. ... 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). ... Picture of Platos description of Atlantis Atlantis (Greek: , Island of Atlas) is the name of a legendary island first mentioned in Platos dialogues Timaeus and Critias. ... The following fictitious biographies showcase the most important characters in the Cthulhu Mythos. ...

Later, in "The Horror in the Museum", a story ghost-written by Lovecraft, he writes, "Black Tsathoggua moulded itself from a toad-like gargoyle to a sinuous line with hundreds of rudimentary feet."

Dwelling

This was a squat, plain temple of basalt blocks without a single carving, and containing only a vacant onyx pedestal. . . It has been built in imitation of certain temples depicted in the vaults of Zin, to house a very terrible black toad-idol found in the red-litten world and called Tsathoggua in the Yothic manuscripts. It had been a potent and widely worshipped god, and after its adoption by the people of K'n-yan had lent its name to the city which was later to become dominant in that region. Yothic legend said that it had come from a mysterious inner realm beneath the red-litten world — a black realm of peculiar-sensed beings which had no light at all, but which had had great civilisations and mighty gods before ever the reptilian quadrupeds of Yoth had come into being.
—H. P. Lovecraft and Zealia Bishop, "The Mound" The underworld is a fictional location in the Dream Cycle of H.P. Lovecraft. ... Kn-yan (or Xinaián) is a fictional, subterranean land in the Cthulhu Mythos. ... Kn-yan (or Xinaián) is a fictional, subterranean land in the Cthulhu Mythos. ...

They’ve been inside the earth, too — there are openings which human beings know nothing of — some of them are in these very Vermont hills — and great worlds of unknown life down there; blue-litten K’n-yan, red-litten Yoth, and black, lightless N'kai. It’s from N’kai that frightful Tsathoggua came — you know, the amorphous, toad-like god-creature mentioned in the Pnakotic Manuscripts and the Necronomicon and the Commoriom myth-cycle preserved by the Atlantean high-priest Klarkash-Ton.
—H. P. Lovecraft, "The Whisperer in Darkness" Kn-yan (or Xinaián) is a fictional, subterranean land 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). ... Picture of Platos description of Atlantis Atlantis (Greek: , Island of Atlas) is the name of a legendary island first mentioned in Platos dialogues Timaeus and Critias. ... The following fictitious biographies showcase the most important characters in the Cthulhu Mythos. ... The Whisperer in Darkness is a short story by H.P. Lovecraft, written in 1930. ...

Tsathoggua dwells deep beneath the earth in N'kai. Tsathoggua once dwelt inside Mount Voormithadreth in Hyberborea, but left after the continent iced over. Kn-yan (or Xinaián) is a fictional, subterranean land in the Cthulhu Mythos. ...

Servitors

Formless spawn

The basin ... was filled with a sort of viscous and semi-liquescent substance, quite opaque and of a sooty color.... [T]he center swelled as if with the action of some powerful yeast [and] an uncouth amorphous head with dull and bulging eyes arose gradually on an ever-lengthening neck ... Then two arms — if one could call them arms — likewise arose inch by inch, and we saw that the thing was not ... a creature immersed in the liquid, but that the liquid itself had put forth this hideous neck and head, and [it was now forming arms] that groped toward us with tentacle-like appendages in lieu of claws or hands! ... Then the whole mass of the dark fluid began to rise [and] poured over the rim of the basin like a torrent of black quicksilver, taking as it reached the floor an undulant ophidian form which immediately developed more than a dozen short legs.
—Clark Ashton Smith, "The Tale of Satampra Zeiros"

Tsathoggua's will is carried out by the formless spawn, polymorphic entities made of black goo. They are extremely resilient and very difficult to dispatch. Formless spawn can take any shape and can attack their targets in nearly every conceivable way. They are surprisingly flexible and plastic-like, and can quickly flow into a room through the tiniest of cracks. They attack by trampling their targets, biting them, or crushing them with their grasp. Formless spawn often rest in basins in Tsathoggua's temples and keep the sanctuary from being defiled by nonbelievers.

In his story At the Mountains of Madness, H. P. Lovecraft states that "[a] few daring mystics have hinted at a pre-Pleistocene origin for the fragmentary Pnakotic Manuscripts, and have suggested that the devotees of Tsathoggua were as alien to mankind as Tsathoggua itself." At the Mountains of Madness is a novella by horror writer H. P. Lovecraft. ... The Pleistocene epoch (IPA: ) is part of the geologic timescale. ... The Pnakotic Manuscripts (or Pnakotic Fragments) are fictional grimoires invented by H. P. Lovecraft in his works Cthulhu Mythos of science fiction / horror. ...

The formless spawn appear as adversaries in the video game Quake.^[3] Namcos Pac-Man was a hit, and became a universal phenomenon. ... Zombies attacking the player at the starting of Episode 1, Mission 3: The Necropolis. ...

Family tree

Smith literally wed Lovecraft's creations to his own gods, which seem to be molded more like the Greek pantheon than the cosmic group of Lovecraft's fiction.^[4] Indeed, he assigned outlandish familial relationships to his gods — for example, making the Saturnian being Hziulquoigmnzhah the "uncle" of Tsathoggua^[5] — and ascribed this bizarre family tree to the Parchments of Pnom, Hyperborea's leading "genealogist [and] noted prophet".^[6] The bust of Zeus found at Otricoli (Sala Rotonda, Museo Pio-Clementino, Vatican) Greek mythology is the body of stories belonging to the Ancient Greeks concerning their gods and heroes, the nature of the world and the origins and significance of their own cult and ritual practices. ... Many fictional works of arcane literature appear in the Cthulhu Mythos. ... Genealogy is the study and tracing of family pedigrees. ...

According to Pnom, Tsathoggua is the spawn of Ghisguth and Zystulzhemgni. He is the mate of Shathak and the parent of Zvilpogghua.

Cxaxukluth

Cxaxukluth (or Ksaksa-Kluth) is a Great Old One and is the "son" of Azathoth by spontaneous fission. His progeny are Hziulquoigmnzhah and Ghisguth. He is the grandfather of Tsathoggua. Azathoth is a fictional deity in the Cthulhu Mythos stories of H.P. Lovecraft and other authors. ...

Cxaxukluth dwells on Yuggoth. His immediate family lived with him for awhile, but soon left because of his cannibalistic appetites. 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. ...

Ghisguth

Ghisguth (or Ghizghuth or Ghisghuth) is the son of Cxaxukluth and the brother of Hziulquoigmnzhah. He is the mate of Zstylzhemghi and the father of Tsathoggua.

Hziulquoigmnzhah

Hziulquoigmnzhah (also Ziulquaz-Manzah) is the son of Cxaxukluth. He is also the brother to Ghisguth and the uncle of Tsathoggua.

His appearance is much like his nephew, but he has an elongated neck, very long forelimbs, and very short, multiple legs. He has had many homes including Xoth (possibly Sirius B), Yaksh (Neptune), and Cykranosh (Saturn), where he resides to this day. The following fictional celestial bodies figure prominently in the Cthulhu Mythos stories of H.P. Lovecraft and other writers. ... This article is about the star. ... The following fictional celestial bodies figure prominently in the Cthulhu Mythos stories of H.P. Lovecraft and other writers. ... Atmospheric characteristics Surface pressure ≫100 MPa Hydrogen - H2 80% ±3. ... In the Cthulhu Mythos, Cykranosh is the planet Saturn. ...

Knygathin Zhaum

Knygathin Zhaum is the child of Sfaticlip and a Voormi. 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). ...

He repopulated Hyperborea after humans deserted the cities of Uzuldaroum and Commoriom. Athammaus tried to execute him by beheading, but because of his preternatural heritage, such attempts proved unsuccessful and only served to aggravate him. As a descendant of Cxaxukluth, Knygathin Zhaum reproduced by fission and thus created an Azathothian strain among the Hyperborean Voormi. 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). ... 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). ... 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). ...

Sfatlicllp

Sfatlicllp is the daughter of Zvilpogghua. She is the wife of a Voormi and their offspring is Knygathin Zhaum. 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). ...

Sfatlicllp was likely born on Kythanil and may have procreated the formless spawn once on Earth. She probably dwells in N'kai with Tsathoggua. The following fictional celestial bodies figure prominently in the Cthulhu Mythos stories of H.P. Lovecraft and other writers. ... Kn-yan (or Xinaián) is a fictional, subterranean land in the Cthulhu Mythos. ...

Shathak

Shathak is the wife of Tsathoggua and the mother of Zvilpogghua.

Ycnágnnisssz

Ycnágnnisssz is the being from the dark star Xoth who spawned Zstylzhemghi by fission.

Zstylzhemghi

Zstylzhemghi (Matriarch of the Swarm) is the offspring of Ycnagnnisssz, the wife of Ghisguth, and the mother of Tsathoggua.

Zvilpogghua

Zvilpogghua (the Feaster from the Stars) is the son of Tsathoggua and Shathak, and is the father of Sfatlicllp. Zvilpogghua was conceived on the planet Yaksh (Neptune). The following fictional celestial bodies figure prominently in the Cthulhu Mythos stories of H.P. Lovecraft and other writers. ... Atmospheric characteristics Surface pressure ≫100 MPa Hydrogen - H2 80% ±3. ...

Zvilpogghua is known to the American Indians as Ossadagowah. He usually takes the form of an armless, winged, bipedal toad with a long, rubbery neck and a face completely covered in tentacles. He currently dwells on Yrautrom, a planet that orbits the star Algol. A Sioux in traditional dress including war bonnet, circa 1908. ... Algol (β Per / Beta Persei) is a bright star in the constellation Perseus. ...

Other appearances

In 1975, Tsathoggua made a cameo in The Golden Apple, book two of The Illuminatus! Trilogy, by Robert Shea and Robert Anton Wilson, where he was also referred to as Saint Toad. 23 The Illuminatus! Trilogy is a series of three novels written by Robert Shea and Robert Anton Wilson. ... The Illuminatus! Trilogy is a series of three novels written by Robert Shea and Robert Anton Wilson primarily between 1969 and 1971. ... Robert Joseph Shea (1933 - March 10, 1994) was the co-author (with Robert Anton Wilson) of The Illuminatus! Trilogy. ... 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 Tsathoggua Cycle

In 2005, Chaosium published a Cthulhu Mythos anthology edited by Robert M. Price called The Tsathoggua Cycle, which comprised the original Clark Ashton Smith stories featuring Tsathoggua, along with tales by other authors in which the entity has a starring role. The short story collection includes: 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. ... Robert McNair Price was born July 7, 1954 in Mississippi and is a Professor of Theology and Scriptural Studies. ...

• "From the Parchment of Pnom" by Clark Ashton Smith
• "The Seven Geases" by Clark Ashton Smith
• "The Testament of Athammaus" by Clark Ashton Smith
• "The Tale of Satampra Zeiros" by Clark Ashton Smith
• "The Theft of the Thirty-Nine Girdles" by Clark Ashton Smith
• "Shadow of the Sleeping God" by James Ambuehl
• "The Curse of the Toad" by Loay Hall and Terry Dale
• "Dark Swamp" by James Anderson
• "The Old One" by John Glasby
• "The Oracle of Sadoqua" by Ron Hilger
• "The Horror Show" by Gary Myers
• "The Tale of Toad Loop" by Stanley C. Sargent
• "The Crawling Kingdom" by Rod Heather
• "The Resurrection of Kzadool-Ra" by Henry J. Vester III

The Testament of Athmmaus is a short story by Clark Ashton Smith that is part of his Hyperborean cycle. ... The Tale of Satampra Zeiros is a short story written in 1929 by Clark Ashton Smith as part of his Hyperborean cycle, and first published in the November 1931 issue of Weird Tales. ...

References

Books

• Carter, Lin; Clark Ashton Smith [1984] (2002). "The Feaster from the Stars", in Robert M. Price (ed.): The Book of Eibon, 1st ed., Oakland, CA: Chaosium. ISBN 1-56882-129-8. 

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

• Lovecraft, Howard P.; Zealia Bishop [1940] (1989). "The Mound", in S.T. Joshi (ed.): The Horror in the Museum and Other Revisions. Sauk City, WI: Arkham House. ISBN 0-87054-040-8. 

• Lovecraft, Howard P. [1931] (1984). "The Whisperer in Darkness", in S. T. Joshi (ed.): The Dunwich Horror and Others, 9th corrected printing, Sauk City, WI: Arkham House. ISBN 0-87054-037-8.  Definitive version.

• Smith, Clark Ashton (1996). in Will Murray: The Book of Hyperborea. West Warwick, RI: Necronomicon Press. ISBN 0-940884-87-9. 

• Price, Robert M. (ed.) (2005). The Tsathoggua Cycle, 1st ed., Oakland, CA: Chaosium. ISBN 1-56882-131-X. 

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. ... Robert McNair Price was born July 7, 1954 in Mississippi and is a Professor of Theology and Scriptural Studies. ... Robert McNair Price was born July 7, 1954 in Mississippi and is a Professor of Theology and Scriptural Studies. ...

Web sites

• Cornford, Laurence J. A Hyperborean Glossary. The Eldritch Dark. Retrieved on April 9, 2006.

• Murray, Will (1996). The Book of Hyperborea Introduction. The Eldritch Dark. Retrieved on April 9, 2006. (Online version of the "Introduction" to The Book of Hyperborea ISBN 0-940884-87-9.)

• Quotes from Sandy Petersen. Retrieved on April 29, 2006.

Notes

1. ^ Robert M. Price, "About 'The Tale of Satampra Zeiros'", The Tsathoggua Cycle, p. 56.
2. ^ Clark Ashton Smith, "The Tale of Satampra Zeiros", The Tsathoggua Cycle, p. 65.
3. ^ "Quotes from Sandy Petersen" (web site).
4. ^ Robert M. Price, recognizing that Smith's gods dwell beneath Mount Voormithadreth, remarked that is fitting that Smith's "Hyperborean Olymp[ians] should be under a mountain rather than atop one!" (Price, "About 'The Seven Geases'", The Tsathoggua Cycle, p. 8).
5. ^ Will Murray, "Introduction", The Book of Hyperborea.
6. ^ Clark Ashton Smith, "From the Parchments of Pnom", The Tsathoggua Cycle, pp. 2–7. Originally published as "The Family Tree of the Gods" in the The Acolyte (Summer 1934). URL accessed on April 29, 2006.

Sandy Petersen Carl Sanford Joslyn Petersen (born September 16, 1955) is a game designer. ... 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). ... The twelve gods of Olympus. ... April 29 is the 119th day of the year (120th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... For the Manfred Mann album, see 2006 (album). ...

External links

• "The Seven Geases" by Clark Ashton Smith

• "The Tale of Satampra Zeiros" by Clark Ashton Smith