Cthulhu Myth: Lovecraft's legacy as a timeline
H.P. Lovecraft never achieved great fame in his lifetime. However, the US writer is regarded as a pioneer of supernatural horror literature, one who continues to inspire authors and directors to this day. His life's work was the Cthulhu Myth.
The great literary talent of Howard Phillips Lovecraft emerged early. Born in Providence, Rhode Island in 1880, he wrote poems from the age of six. A few years later, he produced hand-made magazines and distributed them to his relatives. Perhaps his creativity and imagination helped him to endure the reality of his life; his father died when he was three years old, and the later death of his grandfather in 1904 plunged the family into great poverty and triggered suicidal intentions in Lovecraft. The writer’s mental health was further challenged when his mother died in 1921. Amazingly, the years after this were his most productive. Lovecraft wrote, among other things, the short stories of The Hound, The Rats in the Walls and his legendary narrative, The Call of Cthulhu.
Lovecraft was never financially successful with his stories, and continued to live in poverty over the years. He published his stories in magazines, but only one of his books was published in his lifetime: The Shadow Over Innsmouth. When he died in 1937, he was very poor - a tragic fate for a man who is now regarded as a pioneer of horror literature and continues to inspire successful authors to this day. Stephen King once said that H.P. Lovecraft paved the way for him in horror literature. In addition to horror stories, Lovecraft wrote many letters, estimated to be more than 100,000, and he had several pen pals with whom he exchanged views on politics, social issues and, of course, his stories.
One of his closest friends was August Derleth. After Lovecraft's death, Derleth collected his stories and published them in collections through the publishing house Arkham House, which was founded for this purpose. August Derleth also edited and published many stories, some of which were loosely based on notes from Lovecraft. Lovecraft himself had given his stories a general theme, but called them the "Arkham Cycle." Derleth finally gave them the name "Cthulhu Myth", and thus created a closed literary universe with a clearer context.
The Cthulhu Myth and Lovecraft's literary legacy as a timeline
After his death, August Derleth and other friends of H.P. Lovecraft added their stories to the Cthulhu Myth, expanding it to include places, monsters, gods, and more. Consequently, the myth is now extensive and complex, which is why there is a timeline of all stories, but also of movies and video games.
Lovecraft's Cthulhu Myth: Characters and creatures
Monsters lurking in the depths of space, races that lived on Earth before humans, and strange characters whose fascination can hardly be escaped – the Myth of Cthulhu is rich in original characters.
The main characters
Abdul Alhazred
"The mad Arab," Abdul Alhazred’s nickname, is the author of the legendary Necronomicon. The work is a collection of occult knowledge and today, there are apparently only a few copies that are still under lock and key. Around 700 AD, Abdul Alhazred travelled to various mysterious places, including the ruins of Babylon and the underground worlds of Memphis. In Damascus, he finally wrote the Necronomicon, in which he described beings like the so-called old race. His death was particularly cruel; Abdul Alhazred is said to have been devoured by an invisible monster.
Randolph Carter
Randolph Carter is believed to be a student at Miskatonic University in the city of Arkham, and the alter ego of H.P. Lovecraft. Randolph Carter is also an old-age researcher and a frequently recurring character in the Cthulhu Myth. Although he comes into contact with the cosmic horror several times, he keeps his mind - a big exception in the Lovecraft universe.
Edward Pickman Derby & Asenath Waite
In the horror story of The Thing on the Doorstep, the two Miskatonic students Edward and Asenath get to know each other as they share a deep interest in the occult. They are about to get married and move to a house in Arkham. Soon, the initially harmonious marriage is marked by mistrust and suspicion and it finally finds a tragic end.
Charles Dexter Ward
Charles, who grew up in New England and lived a sheltered life, is confused and shaken when he encounters the history of his ancestor and Necromancer Joseph Curwen. In The Case of Charles Dexter Ward, Charles sets out to follow in the footsteps of his ancestor.
The main creatures
The Old Ones
This breed is usually only referred to as "the old". The old ones are an amphibian species who settled in the world a very long time ago and all forms of life today are said to be derived from them. The old ones mastered many sciences but, above all, genetic engineering. Among other things, man was born.
Byakhee
An interstellar species from the depths of space, the Byakhee have large bodies with wings that they do not use for flying, but for balancing and controlling. They have a special organ for their movement, the Hune, which allows them to use the magnetic fields of planets as a driving force and thus travel between solar systems. They occur mainly in the vacuum of space and enter the atmosphere of planets only for hunting.
The Hounds of Tindalos
These extra-dimensional creatures hunt time travellers. Once they have taken the trail, it is almost impossible to escape them and therefore, there are few reports of the Hounds of Tindalos. Only the "great race of Yith" has managed to successfully avoid them.
Mi-go
The Mi-go are ancient, look like a mixture of a fungus and a cancer, and they have been living isolated on Earth for millions of years. It is believed that the Mi-go come from a different dimension, their matter is foreign and dissolves after death. The Mi-go are very intelligent and have advanced technology, especially in the medical field. Their actions are determined by a strong pragmatism and they claim that they could easily wipe out humanity – but they do not see it as profitable.
The great race of Yith
This alien race lived on Earth many millions of years ago and had extremely advanced technologies, they were also considered mostly peaceful and inquisitive. Thus, the great race of Yith had revealed the secret of time. What the beings look like is not known, because they can transfer their spirits to foreign bodies. However, on Earth, the beings were about three metres tall and had four
tentacles.
Shogghen
The Shogghen are huge, abetted creatures whose stench already causes disgust and flight instincts from far away. Their bodies are strong and consist of protoplasma, enabling them to change shape constantly. Their many eyes burst on their bodies and the sight of them is enough to cause panic and lasting psychological damage to most people.
Starry
The star breed looks very similar to the sleeping god Cthulhu, but is much smaller. Therefore, the beings are also called Cthulhi. It is unknown whether the star breed originates from or was created by Cthulhu. A long time ago, the species followed him to Earth and accompanied him to the war against the old race. Later, the Starry established the town of R'lyeh for Cthulhu, where it is still in a deep sleep together with the sleeping god.
The Deep Ones
These creatures resemble man, but they do not age and live deep under the sea surface. They have a fish-like or frothy look, can move on land and emit a strong smell of fish. From time to time, they do business with people. In exchange for the gold they possess, they demand reproduction with humans, in order to create hybrids.
From Arkham to Innsmouth: Locations of the Cthulhu Myth
The locations and scenes H.P. Lovecraft designed are images of real cities and places, but there are also cities on the bottom of the sea and planets in space. They all have one thing in common: the mood is always dark to alpine-like.
Arkham
H.P. Lovecraft invented this Massachusetts city as a central location for many of his stories, even calling his entire work Arkham Cycle. The term "Cthulhu Myth" was coined only after his death by Lovecraft's good friend and horror author, August Derleth. Many Lovecraft-related sites are located in Arkham, such as Miskatonic University or the Arkham Sanitarium.
Innsmouth
Innsmouth is a run-down port town in Massachusetts. The inhabitants of the city live in isolation, and Innsmouth itself has no reputation. There is a smell of fish and mould, and the houses are old and dilapidated. The city has a central meaning for the Cthulhu Myth through the horror story "The Shadow over Innsmouth."
R‘lyeh
The mysterious city is said to have been built by the sleeping god Cthulhu and lies on the seabed – somewhere in the Pacific, between South America and Australia.
Yuggoth
Yuggoth is a planet located at the very edge of the solar system. It is used by the alien race of the Mi-go for the extraction of raw materials on Earth. The landscape of Yuggoth is like a nightmare: the buildings do not have windows, the rivers pass through bad luck and there is constant, almost complete darkness.
Strange Beings: The "Great Old Ones" in the Cthulhu Myth
The “great old ones” are ancient beings, they have incredible power and work across the entire universe. Sometimes as old as time itself, the large old ones almost always have a physical form. However, their nature and existence are not limited to this. In addition to a distant kinship to each other, the great old ones have a strange stench that reveals their presence.
The most important Great Old Ones
Cthulhu - the sleeping god
Several million years ago, Cthulhu came to Earth. He fought a war against the old race and had the star-breed build the now sunken city of R'lyeh. It was there that he fell into a constant sleep in his house. His awakening, it is said, will initiate the return of the great old and the end of humanity. Cthulhu’s exterior is incredible: he measures several hundred meters, has huge bat-like wings on his back, and there are many tentacles on the lower half of his face.
Hastur – The Unspeakable
Hastur is the half-brother of Cthulhu and the direct descendant of Yog-Sothoth. He is informal and interacts with the real world through various avatars, such as the "King in Yellow". If you speak his name, you fall into ruin. Therefore, Hastur is only referred to as "he who must not be named".
NUG and Yeb – the blasphemous twins
NUG and Yeb are the parents of Cthulhu and Tsathoggua. Unlike their children, however, they were never on Earth. Their earthly followers are therefore sparse.
Tsathoggua – the sleeper of N’kai
Tsathoggua lives in N’kai, a dark cave deep below the Earth's surface. He usually appears as a bat or giant toad and is known for his broad grin. According to legend, Tsathoggua committed a terrible crime a long time ago,.
Yig - the father of the snakes
Yig is revered as the father and patron of all snakes on Earth. He curses or kills those who disturb his children, and he punishes people who kill snakes. Yig is considered to be the creator of Yoth's snake men, whom he cursed when they turned away from him.
From Other Worlds: The "Outer Gods" in the Cthulhu Myth
The “Outer Gods” resemble their descendants, the "Great Old Ones". They are the most powerful beings and not bound to a physical form, appearing to be omnipresent and existing mainly in the depths of the universe.
The most important Outer Gods
Aiueb Gnshal – The eyes between the worlds
Appearing as a figureless and formless black void with seven orb-like eyes, he lives in a lost temple in Bhutan.
Azathothh – The Demon Sultan
Azathothh is the origin of all gods, existent and non-existent. Also known as "nuclear chaos", Azathothh is a creature with limitless power. Everything that ever existed or will exist is part of his existence and his power. He is at the centre of the universe, without consciousness and without will. His aura is everywhere.
Nyarlathotep – ambassador and soul of the outer gods
Little is known about Nyarlathotep. He is considered to be personified evil and older than time itself. In contrast to the other outer gods, he appears in different physical forms amongst humans and when he appears to them, he breaks their mind by sharing his terrible knowledge with them.
Shub-Niggurath – the black goat
This black goat is considered a great old one and outer god at the same time. She is the mother of many contradictions and although she has followers across the cosmos, little is known about her. It is not clear whether this black goat, described as the mistress of the forests, is a personalisation of Shub-Niggurath or an independent being.
Yog-Sothoth – the gate guard
Yog-Sothoth is regarded as the immortal guardian of the gates, since he unites the whole reality in himself and thus is omniscient. He exists outside of time and space as a collection of dazzling spheres. Yog-Sothoth alone knows when the sleeping god Cthulhu will wake up and when the great old will wipe out humanity.
Listen to the Cthulhu Myth
From his first short story, Dagon, to The Cats of Ulthar and The Terrible Old Man, to The Call of the Cthulhu: many other stories and short stories from H.P. Lovecraft can be found at Audible.
The Case Of Charles Dexter Ward
More horror stories from masters of his subject
H.P. Lovecraft laid the foundation for the supernatural horror genre. In the meantime, there are numerous subgenres to listen to, including George Orwell's 1984.
