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A 'Great Old One' is a type of fictional being in the Cthulhu Mythos based in the stories of HP Lovecraft. Though Lovecraft created the most famous of these fictional deities, the vast majority of them were created by other writers, many after Lovecraft's death. Collectively, the Great Old Ones (sometimes referred to as the ''Old Ones''[1] by some authors or the ''Cthulhu Cycle Deities'' by Brian Lumley in his Titus Crow stories) are not as powerful as the Outer Gods, nor do they have as much influence. Nonetheless, they are served by devoted of worshipers, made up of both human and non-human cults.
The Great Old Ones are ancient extraterrestrial beings of immense power, and most are also colossal in size. These entities seems to have a physical shape, but being cosmic lifeforms from beyond our space-time continuum means they are not based on matter in our definition of the concept, yet their forms are built on principles similar enough to those of true matter that they appear to be material in their nature. They are worshiped by deranged human cults, as well as by most of the non-human races of the mythos. The Great Old Ones are currently imprisoned—a few beneath the sea, some inside the Earth, and still others in distant planetary systems and beyond. The reason for their captivity is not known, though there are two prevailing theories:
# They were sequestered by the Elder Gods for using black magic , or
# they are sealed off somehow from the rest of the universe of their own volition.[2]
According to the first theory, the Great Old Ones were once related to the Elder Gods. When they committed some unknown blasphemy, they were cast out and imprisoned in various places in the universe. The Great Old Ones impatiently await the time of their release, eager to seek retribution against their jailors.
The second theory holds that the Great Old Ones are intentionally . To account for this, it is possible that the universe experiences cosmic cycles, similar to the natural seasons which occur on earth. Just as some animals hibernate during the winter, so too must the Great Old Ones rest in a death-like sleep during the present cosmic cycle.[3] If this is so, the Great Old Ones are currently trapped by powerful cosmic forces and must remain so until such time as the planets are in a certain alignment... or "the stars are right"—the event upon which they may be released and can revel once more across the cosmos.[4]
This table is organized as follows:
★ ''Name''. This is the commonly accepted name of the Great Old One.
★ ''Epithet(s), other name(s)''. This field lists any epithets or alternate names for the Great Old One. These are names that often appear in books of arcane literature, but may also be the names preferred by cults.
★ ''Description''. This entry gives a brief description of the Great Old One.
★ ''References''. This field lists the stories in which the Great Old One makes a ''significant'' appearance or otherwise receives important mention. Sources are denoted by a simple two-letter code—the key to the codes is found 'here'. A code appearing in 'bold' means that the story introduces the Great Old One.
★ The Encyclopedia Cthulhiana, , Daniel, Harms, Chaosium, 1998, ISBN 1-56882-119-0
★ The Best of H.P. Lovecraft: Bloodcurdling Tales of Horror and the Macabre, , H.P., Lovecraft, Ballantine Books, 1982, ISBN 0-345-35080-4
★ The New Lovecraft Circle, , Robert M., Price, Random House, 1996, ISBN 0-345-44406-X
1. "Old Ones" has variable meanings in Lovecraft's stories. Although it is synonymous with ''Great Old Ones'', ''Old Ones'' can also refer to the Elder Things. (Harms, "Old Ones", ''The Encyclopedia Cthulhiana'', pp. 228–9).
2. Harms, "Great Old Ones", pp. 126–7.
3. Ibid. While the first theory, which proposes that the Great Old Ones were forcibly imprisoned by the Elder Gods, is delineated by the writings of August Derleth, the second theory (relating to "cosmic cycles") is debatable.
4. Lovecraft, "The Call of Cthulhu" (1928), ''The Best of H.P. Lovecraft'', p. 88.
5. Scott D. Aniolowski, "Mysterious Manuscripts" in ''The Unspeakable Oath #3'', John Tynes (ed.), Seattle, WA: Pagan Publishing, August 1991. Periodical (role-playing game material). Baoht Z'uqqa-Mogg first appeared in this gaming supplement.
6. When Brian Lumley read David Sutton's short story "Demoniacal", he wrote a sequel entitled "The Kiss of Bugg-Shash". Lumley expanded Sutton's tale and gave his unnamed entity its name—Bugg-Shash—which effectively tied Sutton's creation to the mythos. (Price, "Introduction", ''The New Lovecraft Circle'', pp. xx–xxi). The name "Bugg-Shash", however, appeared earlier in Lumley's short story "Rising with Surtsey" (Harms, "Bugg-Shash", ''Encyclopedia Cthulhiana'', p. 41).
7. Kag’Naru of the Air, the sibling of M'Nagalah the Eternal (from ''Swamp Thing'' fame) and Rh’Thulla of the Wind, debuted in ''Challengers of the Unknown'' #83.
8. M'Nagalah first appeared in the comic book ''Swamp Thing'' #8 (1974) in a story by Len Wein and Bernie Wrightson (Harms, "M'nagalah", ''Encyclopedia Cthulhiana'', p. 196). The being has since shown up in stories in ''Challengers of the Unknown,'' ''The Trenchcoat Brigade'', and ''The All-New Atom''. His siblings, Rh’Thulla of the Wind and Kag’Naru of the Air, debuted in ''Challengers of the Unknown'' #83 (which also added "the Eternal" to M'Nagalah's name).
9. Rh’Thulla of the Wind, the sibling of M'Nagalah the Eternal (from ''Swamp Thing'' fame) and Kag’Naru of the Air, debuted in ''Challengers of the Unknown'' #83.
★ The Book of Alternative Dead Names An open database of alternate names for Cthulhu Mythos entities
| Contents |
| Summary |
| Table of Great Old Ones |
| Overview |
| Table |
| References |
| Books |
| Notes |
| External links |
Summary
''That is not dead which can eternal lie,''
''And with strange aeons even death may die.''
—Abdul Alhazred, The ''Necronomicon''
The Great Old Ones are ancient extraterrestrial beings of immense power, and most are also colossal in size. These entities seems to have a physical shape, but being cosmic lifeforms from beyond our space-time continuum means they are not based on matter in our definition of the concept, yet their forms are built on principles similar enough to those of true matter that they appear to be material in their nature. They are worshiped by deranged human cults, as well as by most of the non-human races of the mythos. The Great Old Ones are currently imprisoned—a few beneath the sea, some inside the Earth, and still others in distant planetary systems and beyond. The reason for their captivity is not known, though there are two prevailing theories:
# They were sequestered by the Elder Gods for using black magic , or
# they are sealed off somehow from the rest of the universe of their own volition.[2]
According to the first theory, the Great Old Ones were once related to the Elder Gods. When they committed some unknown blasphemy, they were cast out and imprisoned in various places in the universe. The Great Old Ones impatiently await the time of their release, eager to seek retribution against their jailors.
The second theory holds that the Great Old Ones are intentionally . To account for this, it is possible that the universe experiences cosmic cycles, similar to the natural seasons which occur on earth. Just as some animals hibernate during the winter, so too must the Great Old Ones rest in a death-like sleep during the present cosmic cycle.[3] If this is so, the Great Old Ones are currently trapped by powerful cosmic forces and must remain so until such time as the planets are in a certain alignment... or "the stars are right"—the event upon which they may be released and can revel once more across the cosmos.[4]
Table of Great Old Ones
Overview
This table is organized as follows:
★ ''Name''. This is the commonly accepted name of the Great Old One.
★ ''Epithet(s), other name(s)''. This field lists any epithets or alternate names for the Great Old One. These are names that often appear in books of arcane literature, but may also be the names preferred by cults.
★ ''Description''. This entry gives a brief description of the Great Old One.
★ ''References''. This field lists the stories in which the Great Old One makes a ''significant'' appearance or otherwise receives important mention. Sources are denoted by a simple two-letter code—the key to the codes is found 'here'. A code appearing in 'bold' means that the story introduces the Great Old One.
Table
| Name | Epithet(s), other name(s) | Description | References |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ammutseba | ''Devourer of Stars'' | ? | ? |
| Aphoom-Zhah | ''The Cold Flame'', ''Lord of the Pole'' | Appears as a vast, cold, grey flame. | AF, AT, 'HG', LP |
| Arwassa | ''The Silent Shouter on the Hill'' | A vast, wailing, floating monstrosity. | |
| Atlach-Nacha | ''The Spider God'', ''Spinner in Darkness'' | A giant spider with a human-like face. | PS, 'SG' |
| Azathoth | ''The Blind Idiot God'', ''Nuclear Chaos'', ''the Daemon Sultan'' | An "amorphous blight of nethermost confusion which blasphemes and bubbles" | 'WD', DW |
| Baoht Z'uqqa-Mogg | ''The Bringer of Pestilence'' | A huge, flying, scorpion-like beast. | ''n/a''[5] |
| Basatan | ''Master of the Crabs'' | ? | 'MC' |
| Bokrug | ''The Great Water Lizard'', ''The Doom of Sarnath'' | Appears as a giant lizard. | 'DC', SC |
| Bugg-Shash[6] | ''The Black One'', ''The Filler of Space'', ''He Who Comes in the Dark'' | Appears as a slimy mass covered with eyes and mouths. | 'DI', EL, KB, RS |
| Byatis | ''The Berkeley Toad'', ''The Serpent-Bearded'' | Appears as a gigantic, spider-like crab with a . | BY, RC, 'SF' |
| Chaugnar Faugn | ''Horror from the Hills'', ''The Feeder'', Caug-Narfagn | An elephant-headed . | 'HF' |
| Coatlicue | ''The Fire Breather'' | Appears as a winged firebreathing snake'' | ? |
| Cthugha | ''The Living Flame'', ''The Burning One'' | Appears as a living ball of fire. | DD, EL, 'HC', LM |
| Cthulhu | ''The Sleeping God'', ''Master of R'lyeh'', ''The Great Priest'', Kthulhut, Tulu | A gigantic, winged, octopus-headed humanoid. | AM, BI, 'CC', FH, GU, HC, HM, LY, MO, PS, RH, SE, TU, YT? |
| Cthylla | ''Secret Seed of Cthulhu'' | Appears as a huge, octopus-like creature. | ID, 'TC' |
| Cxaxukluth | | Probably appears similar to Azathoth. | 'FT', TA |
| Cyäegha | ''The Destroying Eye'', ''The Waiting Dark'' | Appears as a gigantic eye covered with tentacles. | 'DM' |
| Cynothoglys | ''The Mortician God'' | Appears as a shapeless, mutating entity with a single arm. | 'PR' |
| The Dweller in the Gulf | ''Eidolon of the Blind'' | Appears as a huge, eyeless reptilian creature with whip-like tails. | 'WL' |
| Eihort | ''The Pale Beast'', ''God of the Labyrinth'' | Appears as a huge, pallid, oval with a legs and multiple eyes. | 'BS', FP |
| Father Dagon and Mother Hydra | | Both appear as abnormally large Deep Ones. | 'DA', DB, RD, SI |
| Ghadamon | ''A Seed of Azathoth'' | A shapeless, inky, protoplasmic mass. | |
| Ghatanothoa | ''The Usurper'', ''God of the Volcano'' | with appendages and grotesque members; too horrid to behold, viewing causes . | HT, 'OE', RL, SX, TP |
| Ghisguth | | | 'FT' |
| Glaaki | ''The Inhabitant of the Lake'', ''Lord of Dead Dreams'' | Appears as a giant slug with metallic spines. | GL, IB, 'IL' |
| Gloon | ''The Corrupter of Flesh'', ''Master of the Temple'' | Manifests through a Dionysian sculpture; resembles a monstrous sea slug. | 'TE' |
| The Gog-Hoor | ?"A spectacle of a man" by:Weston Ochse | ? A creature of unfathomable size thit a bullet-shaped,probocises head thit more than o dozen blue eyes and a nearly infinite number of green tentacles-all different | ? |
| Gol-goroth | Golgoroth, Gol-Goroth, ''The Forgotten Old One'', ''God of the Black Stone'' | Appears as a gigantic, black, toad-like creature with an impossibly malevolent glare. | FO, FR, 'GB' |
| Han | ? | ? | ? |
| Hastur | ''The Unspeakable'', ''He Who is Not to be Named'', ''Lord of Interstellar Spaces'' | "True" form remains a mystery; said to be amorphous, possibly . | FA, 'HS', LT, RH, SS, WD, YS |
| Huitloxopetl | ''Haunter of Dreams'', ''The Nightmare Walker'' | ? | 'H1', H2, H3, H4 |
| Hziulquoigmnzhah | | Has body, arms, short legs, and a -like head dangling underneath. | 'DS', FT, TA |
| Idh-yaa | | | 'OA' |
| Iod | ''The Shining Hunter'' | A levitating, , glowing creature. | HU, IN, 'SZ' |
| Ach' narrgutha | ''The evil toad'' | A brown globulous fiend of pain | HU IN GD |
| Ithaqua | ''The Wind Walker'', ''The Wendigo'', ''God of the Cold White Silence'' | A horrifying frozen giant. | BW, CD, IM, IQ, SW, 'TW', WE |
| Juk-Shabb | ''God of Yekub'' | Appears as a great ball of energy. | 'CF' |
| Kag’Naru of the Air[7] | ? | ? | ? |
| Kassogtha | ? | ? | ? |
| Lloigor | ''See Zhar and Lloigor below.'' | ||
| M'Nagalah the Eternal[8] | ''The Great God Cancer'', ''The All-Consuming'' | A massive, , blob-like thing. | TU |
| Mnomquah | ''Lord of the Black Lake'' | A very large and eyeless lizard-creature with a "crown" of feelers. | MD, MQ, 'SB' |
| Mordiggian | ''The Charnel God'', ''The Great Ghoul'', ''Lord of Zul-Bha-Sair'' | A horrifying giant with eyeless head and limbless body, much like a worm. | 'CG', IC, RE |
| Nctosa & Nctolhu | ? | ? | ? |
| Nug and Yeb | ''The Twin Blasphemies'' | Appear similar to Shub-Niggurath. | BF, EH, 'LA', OA, TO |
| Nyogtha | ''The Thing which Should Not Be'', ''Haunter of the Red Abyss'' | Appears as an inky shadow. | AF, HG, 'SH', SR |
| Oorn | ? | Appears as a huge, tentacled mollusc. | 'MD' |
| Othuum | ''Deep Slumberer in Green'', ''Great Master of Those-Who-Wait-Without'' | Black, cyclops-like demon with two pairs of legs. | OT, 'RS' |
| Othuyeg | ''The Doom-Walker'' | Appears as a great, tentacled eye (similar to Cyäegha). | 'DF', VC, SP |
| Quachil Uttaus | ''Treader of the Dust'' | Appears as a miniature, wrinkled mummy with , outstretched claws. | KU, 'RU' |
| Pamael | Ulaa'con | A large man with a lions head and many long tenticles from its back | ? |
| Q'yth-az | ? | A crystalline entity. | 'EF' |
| Rh’Thulla of the Wind[9] | ? | ? | ? |
| Rhan-Tegoth | ''He of the Ivory Throne'' | A tall humanoid with crab-like appendages; hard to describe in a few words. | 'HM', LT |
| Rlim Shaikorth | ''The White Worm'' | A gigantic, whitish worm with a huge and eyes made of dripping globules of blood. | 'CW', HG, LP |
| Saa'itii | ''The Hogge'' | A giant, hog. | |
| Sfatlicllp | | | 'FT' |
| Shathak | | | 'FT' |
| Shterot | ? | Separate, living tentacles. | |
| Shudde M'ell | ''The Burrower Beneath'', ''The Great Chthonian'' | Appears as a colossal worm with tentacles. | BU, 'CS', TC, WU |
| Summanus | ''Lord of Hell'', ''Monarch of Night'', ''The Terror that Walketh in Darkness'' | A mouthless, grotesque human with tentacles. | FH, 'WG' |
| Sthood | ? | ? | ? |
| Tharapithia | ? | ? | |
| Tsathoggua | ''The Sleeper of N'kai'', ''The Toad-God'', Zhothaqqua, Sadagowah | Appears as a huge, furry, almost humanoid toad. | BC, DS, FT, IU, OL, RT, SG, 'TS' |
| Ut'ulls-Hr'her | ? | ? | ? |
| Vulthoom | ''The Sleeper of Ravermos'', Gsarthotegga | May appear as a monstrous plant with an enormous, elf-like blossom. | 'VU' |
| The Worm that Gnaws in the Night | ''Doom of Shaggai'' | A massive, worm-like fiend. | 'AG' |
| X'chll'at-aa | ''Lord of the Great Old Ones'', ''The Unborn God'', ''Enemy of All That Live'' | ? | |
| Y'golonac | ''The Defiler'' | Appears as a naked, headless human with a mouth in the palm of each hand; other features are nebulous. | 'CP' |
| Yhoundeh | ''The Elk Goddess'' | Perhaps an elk-like humanoid. | 'DS', LE |
| Yibb-Tstll | ''The Patient One'', ''The Watcher in the Glade'' | Gigantic, bat-winged humanoid with detached eyes; truly horrible to behold. | CB, OK, 'SC' |
| Yig | ''Father of Serpents'' | A scaly, serpent-like humanoid. | 'CY', SJ, VY |
| Ythogtha | ''The Thing in the Pit'' | Appears as a colossal, cyclops-like Deep One. | 'OA', PD, TC, TP |
| Zathog | ? | ? | 'FB', WZ |
| Zhar and Lloigor | ''The Twin Obscenities'' | Both appear as a colossal mass of tentacles (have a rumoured triplet). | SA, 'LS', SX |
| Zoth-Ommog | ''Dweller in the Deeps'' | A gigantic entity with a cone-shaped body, a head, and starfish-like arms. | HG, 'OA', TC |
| Zstylzhemghi | ''Matriarch of Swarms'', Zystulzhemgni | ? | 'FT', TA |
| Zushakon | ''Dark Silent One'', ''Old Night'', Zul-Che-Quon, Zuchequon | Appears as a swirling, black . | 'BH', KD |
| Zvilpogghua | ''Feaster from the Stars'', ''The Sky-Devil'', Ossadagowah | Winged, tentacle-faced, toad-like giant. | 'LT', RM, SV |
References
Books
★ The Encyclopedia Cthulhiana, , Daniel, Harms, Chaosium, 1998, ISBN 1-56882-119-0
★ The Best of H.P. Lovecraft: Bloodcurdling Tales of Horror and the Macabre, , H.P., Lovecraft, Ballantine Books, 1982, ISBN 0-345-35080-4
★ The New Lovecraft Circle, , Robert M., Price, Random House, 1996, ISBN 0-345-44406-X
Notes
1. "Old Ones" has variable meanings in Lovecraft's stories. Although it is synonymous with ''Great Old Ones'', ''Old Ones'' can also refer to the Elder Things. (Harms, "Old Ones", ''The Encyclopedia Cthulhiana'', pp. 228–9).
2. Harms, "Great Old Ones", pp. 126–7.
3. Ibid. While the first theory, which proposes that the Great Old Ones were forcibly imprisoned by the Elder Gods, is delineated by the writings of August Derleth, the second theory (relating to "cosmic cycles") is debatable.
4. Lovecraft, "The Call of Cthulhu" (1928), ''The Best of H.P. Lovecraft'', p. 88.
5. Scott D. Aniolowski, "Mysterious Manuscripts" in ''The Unspeakable Oath #3'', John Tynes (ed.), Seattle, WA: Pagan Publishing, August 1991. Periodical (role-playing game material). Baoht Z'uqqa-Mogg first appeared in this gaming supplement.
6. When Brian Lumley read David Sutton's short story "Demoniacal", he wrote a sequel entitled "The Kiss of Bugg-Shash". Lumley expanded Sutton's tale and gave his unnamed entity its name—Bugg-Shash—which effectively tied Sutton's creation to the mythos. (Price, "Introduction", ''The New Lovecraft Circle'', pp. xx–xxi). The name "Bugg-Shash", however, appeared earlier in Lumley's short story "Rising with Surtsey" (Harms, "Bugg-Shash", ''Encyclopedia Cthulhiana'', p. 41).
7. Kag’Naru of the Air, the sibling of M'Nagalah the Eternal (from ''Swamp Thing'' fame) and Rh’Thulla of the Wind, debuted in ''Challengers of the Unknown'' #83.
8. M'Nagalah first appeared in the comic book ''Swamp Thing'' #8 (1974) in a story by Len Wein and Bernie Wrightson (Harms, "M'nagalah", ''Encyclopedia Cthulhiana'', p. 196). The being has since shown up in stories in ''Challengers of the Unknown,'' ''The Trenchcoat Brigade'', and ''The All-New Atom''. His siblings, Rh’Thulla of the Wind and Kag’Naru of the Air, debuted in ''Challengers of the Unknown'' #83 (which also added "the Eternal" to M'Nagalah's name).
9. Rh’Thulla of the Wind, the sibling of M'Nagalah the Eternal (from ''Swamp Thing'' fame) and Kag’Naru of the Air, debuted in ''Challengers of the Unknown'' #83.
External links
★ The Book of Alternative Dead Names An open database of alternate names for Cthulhu Mythos entities
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