(WARNING: SOME OF THE IMAGES SEEN ARE FREAKY)
Music you can listen to as you go beyond the universeWriter H.P. Lovecraft created a number of fictional deities throughout the course of his literary career, including the "Great Old Ones" and the "Outer Gods", with sporadic references to demigod like beings.
Supernatural CharactersA number of supernatural characters appear in the Cthulhu Mythos. While many of these beings have godlike qualities, they do not fit the standard categories (that is, Outer God or Great Old One). Nonetheless, they are noteworthy for their infrequent or sometimes singular appearances in the mythos.
Magnum InnominandumMagnum Innominandum means "Great Not-to-Be-Named" in Latin. It is also known as the Nameless Mist and N'yog-Sothep.
According to H. P. Lovecraft, this being is the spawn of Azathoth (making it on par with the Magnum Tenebrosum and Cxaxukluth) and is associated with, and possibly the progenitor of, Yog-Sothoth. It is also associated with Hastur. Little is known about this god, but it is considered to be extremely dangerous to sorcerers, hence its title "the unnameable" (archaic terminology, meaning not to be summoned or ritually named in an incantation).
Mlandoth and Mril ThorionMlandoth (Pronounced "Mand Oth") and Mril Thorion ("Mirll Tho-reon") have a cycle surrounding these beings, they are a sort of cosmic Yin and yang, whose meeting resulted in the creation of all things (although the terrible Azathoth is usually attributed to this). Their joinings routinely create and destroy matter and entities.
PharolPharol is a powerful and dangerous demon that looks like "a black, fanged, cycloptic thing with arms like swaying serpents." The entity normally dwells in another dimension—a "seething and sub-dimensional chaos" beyond the mundane universe. The wizard Eibon of Hyperborea sometimes summoned Pharol to query him for arcane information.
Servitors of the Outer GodsThe Servitors of the Outer Gods are the servants of the powerful Lesser Outer Gods that swirl, writhe, and dance endlessly before the throne of Azathoth at the center of the universe. The Servitors play the insane flute tunes and drum beats to which the Outer Gods dance. Though they have no fixed shape, they are described as looking something like a toad and an octopus.
Great Old OnesAn ongoing theme in Lovecraft's work is the complete irrelevance of mankind in the face of the cosmic horrors that apparently exist in the universe, with Lovecraft constantly referring to the "Great Old Ones": a loose pantheon of ancient, powerful deities from space who once ruled the Earth and who have since fallen into a death-like sleep
They are all creatures beyond human comprehension who are immensely powerful beings made not wholly of flesh and blood but of something that can only be called matter in the most basic sense. They traveled from world to world when stars were right, but now sleep, waiting until the stars are right once more so they may rule again (incidentally, when they wake up, they plunge the world into madness and terror). With the Minor Exception of Hastur and Tsathoggua they appear to be intelligent and thinking beings, but operate on concepts entirely beyond mortal comprehension.
They are alien beings of pure madness from before the beginning of the universe, whose knowledge of the magical and psionic arts will actually drive you mad if you try and learn it.
Their intelligence is described as a vast and endless ocean, while that of a regular human is but a drop of water.
They are born with a racial memory, each individual inheriting the memories of its ancestors. They enjoy spending time lost in particularly fine memories of their ancestors, and if they have nothing better to do, they may relive entire portions of their forbearer's lives.
This makes even the youngest Old One a frighteningly deadly predator. They are well aware of their weaknesses, however, and will not attack foes if they consider it to their disadvantage.
They are utterly self-centered as a species, they know they were among the first beings in existence, and see all else as theirs.
They are not concerned with an afterlife since their perspective on death is to consider it a failure and they intend to live forever.
Due to the fact that they can live indefinitely, it is possible that there are ones that were around before the creation of the current universe
There are more Great Old Ones than stars in the sky so I'll only list the famous ones:
Cthugha
Epithet: The Living Flame
Pronounced: "Ka-thun Ga"
Entity which appears as a giant fireball. The Fire Vampires, little flame-like monsters that ignite anything flammable, are Cthugha's servitors.
Cthulhu
Pronounced: "Ka Thu Loo"
The One of the Most Famous Deities of H.P. Lovecraft (The Other Being Nyarlathotep). The monstrous high priest of the Great Old Ones, sleeping in the sunken city of R'lyeh until 'the stars are right' and he can awaken his kin to resume their rule of Earth. A gigantic humanoid form with a squid-like head and dragon wings.
H. P. Lovecraft's initial short story, "The Call of Cthulhu", was published in Weird Tales in 1928 and established the character as a malevolent entity trapped in an underwater city in the South Pacific called R'lyeh. The imprisoned Cthulhu is apparently the source of constant anxiety for mankind at a subconscious level, and also the subject of worship by a number of religions (located in New Zealand, Greenland, Louisiana, and the Chinese mountains) and other Lovecraftian monsters. The short story asserts the premise that, while currently trapped, Cthulhu will eventually return. His worshipers chant "Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn" ("In his house at R'lyeh, dead Cthulhu waits dreaming.")
Ghatanothoa
Pronounced: "Gha-ta-no-tho-a"
Ghatanothoa is a Great Old One and the first born of Cthulhu. It is a huge, monstrosity which is so hideous, 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 remains 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.
Ghatanothoa is currently trapped underneath Mount Yaddith-Gho in sunken Mu. He was brought to Earth from the planet Pluto by an ancient, alien race, who built a colossal fortress atop Yaddith-Gho and sealed Ghatanothoa inside the mountain beneath a large trapdoor. 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 mummies.
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 Unaussprechlichen Kulten or Nameless Cults. T'yog created a scroll that 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 occurred in the Year of the Red Moon, which is 173,148 B.C. according to von Juntz.
He made a guest apperence as Mr. Big Bad in in the Japanese TV series Ultraman Tiga as an ancient evil that had defeated Ultraman Tiga and his fellow giants in ancient times and destroyed the civilization present on Earth at the time. In the finale, he reawakens and attempts to do the same to the modern world, covering the Earth in darkness. Tiga challenges him but the tyrant defeats him and turns him back to stone. However, Tiga is revived by humanity as Glitter Tiga and manages to overwhelm and finally kill Ghatanothoa with a powerful beam from his Color Timer.
Hastur
Epithet: The King in Yellow
Hastur is the name of a potentially supernatural character (in "The Demoiselle D'Ys"), a place (in "The Repairer of Reputations"), and mentioned without explanation in "The Yellow Sign". The latter two stories also mentioned Carcosa, Hali, Aldebaran, and the Hyades, along with a 'Yellow Sign' and a play called 'The King in Yellow'.
Hastur is a Great Old One, spawn of Yog-Sothoth, the half-brother of Cthulhu, and possibly the Magnum Innominandum.
Ithaqua
Epithet: The Wind-Walker
Pronounced: "Iff ha qwa"
Ithaqua is one of the Great Old Ones and appears as a horrifying giant with a roughly human shape and glowing red eyes. He has been reported from as far north as the Arctic to the Sub-Arctic, where Native Americans first encountered him. He is believed to prowl the Arctic waste, hunting down unwary travelers and slaying them, and is said to have inspired the Native American legend of the Wendigo and possibly the Yeti.
Tsathoggua
Epithet: the Sleeper of N'kai
Pronounced: "Sa Tho Gooa"
A Great Old Ones, whose visage is that of a furry, huge toad. The Sleeper was born outside the solar system, where he immigrated with his family to Pluto, and eventually making his way to Earth. He briefly resided under Mount Voormithadreth, and is often mentioned in the Hyperborean Cycle. Tsathoggua currently resides in N'kai, deep under the Earth. He is served by the Formless Spawn, black ooze capable of changing shape.
Oddly he's Affably Evil and surprisingly laid-back for an Cosmic Abomination.
Outer GodsThe Outer Gods, which exist outside our universe and seem to be embodiments of various cosmic principles. They are far more powerful than even the Great Old Ones and seem to be responsible for the creation of our universe, albeit unwittingly.
The Outer Gods are ruled by Azathoth, the "Blind Idiot God", who holds court at the center of the universe. A group of Outer Gods dance rhythmically around Azathoth, in cadence to the piping of a demonic flute. Among the Outer Gods present at Azathoth's court are Lesser Outer Gods, the entities called "Ultimate Gods" in The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath, and possibly Shub-Niggurath, the "Black Goat of the Woods". Yog-Sothoth, the "All-in-One", co-rules with Azathoth and exists at all places and in all times in the cosmos, yet is somehow locked outside the mundane universe. Nyarlathotep, the "Crawling Chaos", is the avatar and soul of the Outer Gods, and serves as an intermediary between the deities of the pantheon and our world. The only Outer God to have a true personality, Nyarlathotep possesses a malign intellect and reveals a mocking contempt for his masters. They appear to have intelligence above humans with the minor exception of Azathoth. They are all Cosmic Abomination with the minor exception of Nyarlathotep who is a Humanoid Abomination.
Azathoth
Epithet: The Daemon Sultan
One of the two most powerful entities in the universe (the other being Yog-Sothoth who is his grandson), Azathoth is a mindless, formless being of nigh-unlimited power that may have created the universe, which it dwells at the centre of with a coterie of (relatively) minor deities that serve as its "entertainment." Described as ultimate chaos. Lovecraft meant this deity to embody the mindless yet unbendable forces of physics.
He sits in the center of the entire universe.
To be Honest What kind of music does he listen to? I mean what does Azathoth prefer? Considering he has no mind of his own I bet he likes boy bands
Nyarlathotep
Epithet: The Crawling Chaos
Pronounced: "N-yar-la-tho-tep"
First off Nyarlathotep has no gender unlike the others mentioned on this list, This is because he is the Outer Gods soul
Nyarlathotep differs from the other beings in a number of ways. Most of them are exiled to stars, like Yog-Sothoth and Hastur, or sleeping and dreaming like Cthulhu; Nyarlathotep, however, is active and frequently walks the Earth in the guise of a human being, usually a tall, slim, joyous man who resembles an ancient Egyptian pharaoh. It has "a thousand" other forms, most of these reputed to be maddeningly horrific. Most of the Outer Gods have their own people serving them; Nyarlathotep seems to serve these people and take care of their affairs in their absence. Most of them use strange alien languages, while Nyarlathotep uses human languages and can be mistaken for a human being.
It is a Complete Monster. While the other Outer Gods and Great Old Ones are often described as mindless or unfathomable, rather than truly malevolent, Nyarlathotep is Sadistic, deceptive and manipulative, and even cultivates followers and uses propaganda to achieve its goals. In this regard, it is probably the most human-like among them. While it acts as a soul for the great old one's the thing's body is made out of literally every single evil act perpetuated by Humanity. However he can be outwitted, defeated or temperarly destroyed.
Now it has no true form but according to a japanese cartoon that known as "Haiyore! Nyaruko-san" This is it's true form:
Shub-Niggurath
Epithet: The Black Goat of the Woods with a Thousand Young
Pronounced: "Shub Nurger Rath"
One of the most worshiped of the Mythos entities, she is revered by the Mi-go, K'nyani, and human cults past and present, among others. While never described directly in Lovecraft's tales, Shubby is often portrayed as a cloud with constantly changing hoofs and tendrils.
Those things at the bottom of the picture are her offspring.
oddly she's Affably Evil and Seemingly one of the least apathetic of the Outer Gods, a goddess of fertility who looks after her followers. It's not as if anyone but her followers would want her attention, however.
Yog-Sothoth
Epithet: The Key and the Gate
Pronounced: "Yog Sha thoth"
The other supreme deity of the stories Yog-Sothoth is the living, sentient embodiment of the time-space continuum, although for reasons unknown he is trapped outside of our reality, only manifesting through various rituals. Is capable of appearing at anypoint in time. Its most well-known appearance is as a conglomeration of ever changing, glowing spheres, though this is just one of several forms.
Yog-Sothoth knows all and sees all. To "please" this deity could bring knowledge of many things. However, like most beings in the mythos, to see it or learn too much about it is to court disaster.
He's actually Affably Evil and seems nice enough to have some tea with.
Wed Aug 15, 2012 12:04 pm
