Cthulhu

An alien being, said to be the priest of the Great Old Ones (1). Cthulhu preserved the Great Old Ones with spells, so they can survive until the stars are "right" again. [Information in this article is from HPL Call (online text) except where otherwise specified.]

Cthulhu is of vaguely anthropoid outline, with a scaly, rubbery-looking, green, sticky, bloated body. The head is octopus-like, the face covered with tentacles or feelers. There are prodigious claws on the hind and fore feet. Two long, thin, rudimentary wings rise behind. In a dream, Cthulhu appeared to be "miles high" and was later compared to a "mountain" in size. It is not clear whether Cthulhu resembles the other Great Old Ones, for "none might say whether the others were precisely like him."

Pronunciation

Regarding the name Cthulhu, Lovecraft wrote that

"The syllables were determined by a physiological equipment wholly unlike ours, hence could never be uttered perfectly by human throats... It is an alien, unfamiliar sound that human beings can make only with an effort... The kind of effort or noise made in this way is not really like speaking, but is more like the sound a man makes when he tries to imitate a steam-whistle or crowing rooster or howling window or neighing horse with his mouth... The letters CTHULHU were merely what Prof. Angell hastily devised to represent (roughly and imperfectly, of course) the dream-name orally mouthed to him by the young artist Wilcox. The actual sound—as nearly as human organs can imitate it or human letters record it—may be taken as something like Khlûl'-hloo, with the first syllable pronounced gutterally and very thickly. The u is about like that in full; and the first syllable is not unlike klul in sound, since the h represents the gutteral thickness. The second syllable is not very well rendered—the l sound being unrepresented."[1]

Robert M. Price has thoroughly discussed the pronunciation of Cthulhu in his essay "Mythos Names and How to Say Them"[2]. Price explains that Lovecraft's friends recall him pronouncing the name in various ways, including Koot-u-lew, Thulu (with both u's long), K-Lütl-Lütl, or as a whistling sound. Lovecraft's characters also pronounce or spell the name as Clooloo, Clulu, Cthulhutl, and Tulu.

1. H. P. Lovecraft, Letter to Duane Rimel, July 23, 1934. In Selected Letters: 1934-1937. Sauk City, WI: Arkham House, 1976.

2. Robert M. Price, H. P. Lovecraft and the Cthulhu Mythos. Mercer Island, WA: Starmont House, 1990.

Family

Cthulhu was descended from Nug, and was in turn an ancestor of Shaurash-Ho [HPL Family (online text)].

Cthulhu (Tulu) appears to be descended from the primal Azathoth, through Cxaxukluth, then Nug, then Ptmâk. Cthulhu's immediate cousins included Hzioulquoigmnzhah and Ghizguth. Through Ghizguth, he was also related to Tsathoggua. [CAS Pnom]

Deathless Chinamen and Naked Savages

The powers of Cthulhu and the Great Old Ones are greatly affected by whether the "stars are right." When the stars are "right," the Great Old Ones can plunge between the stars. But when the stars are "wrong," the Great Old Ones cannot live. When the stars went "wrong," Cthulhu used protective spells to seal himself and the other Great Old Ones in stone houses in R'lyeh. Unfortunately, the same spells that protect them also make it impossible for them to free themselves when the stars are "right" again. Nevertheless, they are aware of what happens outside while they lie waiting. The Great Old Ones have the ability to communicate telepathically with humans, and in ancient times inspired a cult of human worshippers by revealing the location of various small carved idols that had been brought from the stars. But this communication ended when R'lyeh sank beneath the ocean, for thought cannot pass through the deep waters.

The cult exists hidden in distant wastes and dark places all over the world. Old Castro said he thought the center of the cult was in the Arabian deserts where Irem, City of Pillars, lies hidden. The cult has been observed among a singular tribe of Esquimaux on the West Greenland coast as well as among a mob of mix-blooded West Indians, mulattos and negroes in a swamp south of New Orleans. There are undying leaders of the cult in the mountains of China. When the stars come right again, the secret priests of the cult will take Cthulhu from His tomb to revive His subjects and resume His rule of Earth.

The most detailed account of the cult worship comes from Inspector Legrasse, who raided a ritual in a Louisiana swamp on November 1, 1907. Naked worshippers danced counterclockwise in a circle around a bonfire with a pillar surmounted by a small carving of Cthulhu. The cultists erected ten scaffolds where they hung victims head down; the victims were slain by Black Winged Ones from a haunted wood. The ritual may also have been witnessed by a monstrous white bulk with shining eyes in the distance.

A Brief Resurgence

In the spring of 1925, there was a brief period of increased psychic influence on the part of Cthulhu or the Great Old Ones generally:

    1. On the night of February 28 to March 1, 1925, an earthquake occurred in New England and the artist Henry Armstrong Wilcox dreamed of Cthulhu. Starting on February 28, artists and poets began having bizarre and frightening dreams. Also on March 1 [or February 28 on the American side of the International Date Line], the schooner Emma was thrown off her course by a great "earthquake-born" storm in the South Pacific. It appears that this is the earthquake that threw a portion of the sunken city of R'lyeh to the surface.
       
    2. On March 23, the crew of the Emma landed on on previously unknown island, a portion of newly-risen R'lyeh. There, the hapless sailor Donovan seems to have been responsible for opening a great door that allowed Cthulhu to emerge. After killing some of the sailors, Cthulhu swam after their ship until they reversed direction and used the ship to ram Him. This did not kill Cthulhu, however, for He started to recombine afterward. Presumably as a result of Cthulhu's emergence from His lair, the psychic influence intensified on the night of March 22-23, when Wilcox lapsed into a delirium. During the night of March 22-23, New York police were mobbed by hysterical Levantines. During the period from March 23-April 2, even average people in society and business reported uneasy but formless nocturnal impressions.
       
    3. The psychic influence abated on April 2 when another storm occurred in the South Pacific and the dreamer Wilcox in New England recovered from his delirium. Poets, artists, and ordinary people stopped being troubled by the bizarre nocturnal visions. These events presumably mark the sinking of R'lyeh back to the ocean depths, and Cthulhu's return to entrapment.

Among the events in this period, it is not at all clear why R'lyeh rose or sank again; whether through random geologic processes, or because the stars were nearly "right," or as a result of ritual activities on the part of the cultists. Also, given that R'lyeh sank again, it is not explained why Cthulhu went down with it, since he had already escaped from His lair and shown His ability to swim.

Alien Cults

Abdul Alhazred was a worshipper of both Cthulhu and Yog-Sothoth [History (online text)]. Alhazred wrote that Cthulhu is a cousin of the Old Ones (2) associated with Yog-Sothoth, but can spy them only dimly [Dunwich (online text)]. The Necronomicon hints of the Cthulhu and Yog-Sothoth myth cycles, which antedate the coming of man to the earth [Whisperer (online text)]. Cthulhu seeped down from the stars when the earth was still half-formed [Mound (online text)].

There seems to be a strong alliance between Cthulhu and the Deep Ones. Thus, while discussing the beliefs of the Esoteric Order of Dagon at Innsmouth, Zadok Allen quoted the invocation to Cthulhu: Ph'nglui mglw'nafh, etc. [Innsmouth (online text)]. The Innsmouth (online text) narrator dreamed that the Deep Ones will someday rise again to give the tribute Cthulhu craves. As he contemplated his change into a Deep One, the Innsmouth (online text) narrator wrote praises to Cthulhu and R'lyeh.

The Outer Ones were also linked to Cthulhu. Folklore researcher Henry Akeley wrote of Cthulhu in a letter to Albert Wilmarth [Whisperer (online text)]. Cthulhu was among the entities praised during a May-Eve ritual in a Vermont cave, performed by an Outer One and a human. The being impersonating Henry Akeley said that the Outer Ones arrived on Earth long before the fabulous epoch of Cthulhu was over, and remember R'lyeh when it was above the waters. This being also told Wilmarth from whence Cthulhu first came.

The Children of Tulu

The Old Ones (3) of K'n-yan worshipped an octopoid being named Tulu; the Mound (online text) narrator identified this being with folklore of monstrous and unmentioned Cthulhu, who seeped down from the stars while the earth was still half-formed [Mound (online text)]. Heaton referred to the Old Ones as the children of Tulu. Capt. George Lawton babbled of Great Tulu after visiting K'n-yan. Grey Eagle's protective talisman included a design of a kind of octopoid monster. Charging Buffalo said that the Old Ones worshipped Yig and Tulu. Inside the passageway leading to K'n-yan, Zamacona observed carvings of Yig and Tulu. Zamacona stumbled on a temple with a statue of an octopus-headed abnormality; the temples of Cthulhu were the most richly constructed objects in all K'n-yan. These temples were surrounded by embowering groves. Zamacona watched the subtle orgiastic rites at such temples with fascinated repulsion.

The Old Ones of K'n-yan traditionally believed that Tulu first brought them to this planet, along with the Tulu metal. By Zamacona's time, the Old Ones were not sure of the historical truth of these legends, but still reverenced Tulu for aesthetic reasons. Great Tulu was regarded as a spirit of universal harmony. The Old Ones believed that the wrath of space-devils had lead to the submergence of the gods, including Tulu.

Zamacona's dreams of the abyss of N'kai shocked the leaders of Yig and Tulu worship. Zamacona observed statues to Yig and Tulu in a tunnel leading up to the outer world; later, the Mound (online text) narrator also viewed them.

Other Connections

Rogers Museum included a statue of many-tentacled Cthulhu [Museum (online text)]. Stephen Jones fancied that the long facial tentacles of the Cthulhu statue seemed to sway.

Marceline Bedard played a part in a frightful secret from the days of Cthulhu and the Elder Ones (5) [Medusa (online text)].

The specimens of the crinoid Old Ones (1) of Antarctica reminded Lake of folkloric things spoken of by Wilmarth, such as Cthulhu cult appendages [Mountains (online text)]. The city of the Old Ones reminded William Dyer of primal myths such as the Cthulhu cult.

Megalithic ruins in Uganda were said to have been an outpost of the evil god Clulu [Winged (online text)].

Cthulhu in Derleth Stories

Appearance

Laban Shrewsbury interpreted the Fisherman’s God of the Cook islanders, with its misshapen torso and tentacles for legs and arms, as a primitive representation of Cthulhu himself. Horvath Blayne dreamed of Cthulhu as a giant being with the head of a human and an octopoid body below. Later, Cthulhu appeared on the risen Black Island of R'lyeh as a protoplasmic mass, emanating a green light, with a thousand tentacles of every length, and a head that constantly altered shape and had a single eye. [Island]

Seneca Lapham had a bas-relief of Cthulhu; it depicted him as octopoid, with a tentacled head, a pair of wings, and large claws on its lower extremities. [Lurker]

In the Seal of R'lyeh, Cthulhu was depicted as simultaneously fishlike, reptilian, octopoid, and semi-human, but of colossal size. [Seal (online text)]

In Unaussprechlichen Kulten, Von Junzt implies that Cthulhu is adorned with tentacles. [Lurker]

Cthulhu and the Great Old Ones

According to Dr. Fo-Lan, Cthulhu is one of a group of evil aliens, who were slaves to a benign superior race called the Elder Gods (1) from the constellation Orion. Cthulhu and the other slaves followed the Elder Gods (1) to Earth and fought for centuries for possession of the planet, only to lose in the end. [Lair]

In various Derleth stories, the group of evil gods that include Cthulhu are called by various names, such as the Great Old Ones (3) or the Ancient Ones (2). (See Elder Gods and Great Old Ones: God Terminology in Derleth's Mythos Stories.)

Jean-Francois Charriere stated that Cthulhu was in conflict with the Elder Gods (1). [Survivor (online text)]

Seneca Lapham said Cthulhu is "first among" the Great Old Ones (3) [Lurker]. Asaph Gilman said that Cthulhu is the most dread of the Great Old Ones (3) [Gorge].

From his dreams, Jason Wecter learned that Cthulhu is one of the Great Old Ones (3). [Wood]

Bates read in Seth Bishop, His Book that Cthulhu was one of the Ancient Ones (2) who rebelled against the Elder Gods (1). [Valley (online text)]

The Necronomicon says that Cthulhu is a cousin of the Old Ones (2), but can see them only dimly. [Lurker]

Cthulhu's Prison in R'lyeh

Cthulhu was banished to the lost undersea kingdom of R'lyeh. [Lair, Hastur, Seal (online text)]

The Elder Gods (1) imprisoned Cthulhu in a barnacled tower of R'lyeh under the sea, and sealed him in with the Elder Sign [Lurker]. Cthulhu was locked up under the seal of the Elder Gods (1) [Valley (online text)]. The Elder Gods (1) placed star stones at the doorway to Outside at R'lyeh to to seal him in his prison [Curwen].

The Biblical Flood is evidence of Cthulhu's banishment to a lost continent. [Island]

The only known avenue directly to Cthulhu is the Black Island. A doorway there opens on steps that lead down to where Cthulhu waits. [Island]

Cthulhu's State

Cthulhu raged at those who had imprisoned him, and they then imposed on him a semblance of death, so that he can only lie dreaming. [Lurker] His state is variously described as

Horvath Blayne believed that of the Ancient Ones (2), Cthulhu alone lies forever sleeping. [Island] Perhaps Blayne meant that Cthulhu is less completely inert than the other Ancient Ones (2).

Alhazred wrote that Cthulhu only seems to be dead or asleep. [Keeper ] The implication seems to be that Cthulhu is mentally alert.

The Prophecied Return

Great Cthulhu waits to rise again from hidden R’lyeh in the depths of the sea [Gable (online text)]. Someday Cthulhu shall be freed from R'lyeh [Lurker]. Alhazred wrote that Cthulhu will rise again from R'lyeh. [Keeper ] Cthulhu will come when summoned by his worshippers. [Curwen]

Marius Phillips believed that Cthulhu and the other Great Old Ones (1) will rise again and will overcome the Elder Gods (1). [Seal (online text)]

The Great Race hope to avoid the holocaust that will occur when Cthulhu and the other Ancient Ones escape their bondage and wage war against the Elder Gods [Space]

Cthulhu's followers maintain secrecy until the time is ripe for his return. [Curwen]

Cthulhu as a Water Elemental

Cthulhu is a water-being. [Curwen, Hastur, Seal (online text), Sky] Cthulhu is the ancient god of the waters, a water elemental, master of the waters. [Island]

Further, Cthulhu leads the forces of Earth's waters [Beyond2], the elemental water powers. [Sandwin]

Laban Shrewsbury wrote that the sea origin of Cthulhu is undeniable [Gorge]. Shrewsbury regarded Cthulhu as the progenitor of all sea-gods and deities associated with the water element [Island]. The manifestations of Cthulhu are associated with oceans and with such places inland as can be accessed by major waterways from the ocean [Lurker]. Upton Gardner speculated that the creature in Rick's Lake might be a water-being such as Cthulhu (though it eventually turned out to be Nyarlathotep instead) [Dweller].

Although strongly associated with the waters, Cthulhu is referred to as amphibious [Dweller, Sky, Valley (online text)]. If he were not imprisoned, he would be able to live either in or out of the water.

Cthulhu's Minions

Cthulhu has immediate servants and lesser servants. Little is known of his immediate servants, except that the star-stones of Mnar cannot protect against them [Gorge, Sky]. Cthulhu's immediate servants come to Earth's surface to destroy those who oppose the coming of Cthulhu. For Laban Shrewsbury and his followers, the only defense against Cthulhu's immediate servants is to flee to the star Celaeno. [Sky]

Abel Keane was menaced by something like a giant frog with tentacles, which may have been one of Cthulhu's immediate servitors. [Sky]

Cthulhu is accompanied by subhuman amorphous dwarfs, who go before him playing music of unparalleled strangeness on their flutes [Wood]. It is not clear if these flute-playing dwarfs are his immediate servants, or some lesser class of minions.

Cthulhu is served and worshipped by the Deep Ones [Island, Shuttered, Valley (online text)]. Though the Deep Ones' ultimate allegiance is to Cthulhu, their immediate ruler is Dagon [Gable (online text), Lurker].

Wilbur Akeley saw a shantak through the gable window after reciting a chant to Cthulhu. [Gable (online text)] Possibly this implies that the shantaks are allied to Cthulhu.

Cthulhu's followers include Something from Out There. [OutThere]

Cthulhu's human cult includes some members who have mutations, such as gills, vestigial tentacles on the torso, or scaly eyes near the navel. [Lurker]

Relations and Rivalries

According to Paul Tuttle, Cthulhu is the half-brother of Hastur [Hastur]. Nevertheless, there is a rivalry between Cthulhu and Hastur, and between their followers [Keeper , Sky]. In his fight against Cthulhu, Laban Shrewsbury is able to use servants of Hastur who oppose Cthulhu's return [Gorge].

According to Shrewsbury, there is enmity between Cthulhu's followers and the followers of both Hastur and Lloigor [Curwen]. On another occasion, Shrewsbury and his followers spoke of a feud between two factions: one including Cthulhu and Ithaqua, the other including Hastur and Cthugha. [Island]

At Sandwin House, there were voices chanting to Shub-Niggurath, Cthulhu, Lloigor, and Ithaqua. It seems the followers of these beings were working together against Asa Sandwin. Also, Asa's nephew David believed that Asa was pledged body and soul to serve the spawn of Lloigor and Cthulhu. [Sandwin]

Henry Lucas mentioned Cthulhu in his delerium after having been taken by Ithaqua. [Ithaqua]

Geography of the Cthulhu Cult

Asaph Gilman believed that Cthulhu worship is more widespread than that of Hastur, Shub-Niggurath, and Yog-Sothoth. Gilman speculated that the Cthulhu cult has members all over the world. Gilman was searching for the central headquarters of the Cthulhu cult. [Gorge] Gilman was one of several scholars who surveyed worldwide activity of the Cthulhu cult, including Seneca Lapham, Sylvan Phillips, and Laban Shrewsbury. Below are all the locations noted by these authorities, and some suggestive items of folk art from these locations.

Pacific (mostly South Pacific) Shrewsbury: The South Pacific, where Cthulhu was the primal deity. [Island]
Polynesia (general)

Phillips: The "Marsh drift," a rift in the ocean floors about the Polynesias [Seal (online text)].

Phillips: Ceremonial masks featuring tentacle and octopoid shapes [Seal (online text)].

Carolines (incl. Ponape)

Shrewsbury: "Ponape, with its shunned ruins, its abandoned port in which the carvings are of unmistakable significance, carvings of brooding terror, of fish-men, of frog-men, of octopoids, all speaking mutely of a strange and terrible way of life led by inhabitants who were half-bestial, half-human" [Island]. There is a focal point of cult activity near Ponape [Gorge].

Gilman: The Carolines had figures similar to a tentacle-bearded mask from Ambrym. [Gorge]
Cook Islands

Shrewsbury: The Fisherman’s God of the Cook islanders, with its misshapen torso and tentacles for legs and arms, is a representation of Cthulhu himself. [Island]

Gilman: Had an image of the Fisherman's God of the Cook Islands [Gorge].

Easter Island

Shrewsbury: Lizard figures and the great heads of Rano-raraku on Easter Island. [Island]

Phillips: The Easter Island idols [Seal (online text)].

Hawaiian Islands Shrewsbury: Ceremonial figures used in some parts of the Hawaiian Islands. [Island]
Indonesia Shrewsbury: Batak dream music and other ceremonial music of the Indonesias, and the Wayang shadow-play of leather puppets dramatizing a legend of sea-beings. [Island]
Marquesas

Shrewsbury: The batrachian stone tiki of the Marquesas. [Island]

Gilman: A stone taki of a batrachian-headed man, possibly with webbed fingers, and feared by the natives. [Gorge]

New Caledonia Gilman: A carved door jam (talé), with a suggestion of a five-pointed star [Gorge].

New Guinea, Papua

Shrewsbury: Figures found in the Sepik River valley of New Guinea [Island]. Gilman: A figure of a human with a bird on top, from the Sepik River [Gorge].

Shrewsbury: The shell pendants of the Papuans [Island]. Gilman: From Papua, a shell pendant with a tentacled figure [Gorge].

New Hebrides

Gilman: A carving from Ambrym, New Hebrides, of a half-human, half-batrachian figure, whose owner was frightened when Gilman mentioned the name Cthulhu. [Gorge]

New Zealand Maori

Shrewsbury: Carvings of the New Zealand Maori, depicting creatures that combine features of man, octopus, fish, and frog. [Island]

Gilman: Such a hybrid figure, appearing on a carved lintel [Gorge].

Tonga Islands Shrewsbury: Tapa cloth designs of the Tonga islanders [Island].
Australia

Gilman: Owned a war-shield of the Queenslanders, depicting an underwater labyrinth with a tentacled figure [Gorge].

Shrewsbury: Described a similar war-shield [Island].

Central Asia Phillips: The Plateau of Leng in the heart of Asia, and Kadath in the Cold Waste, located somewhere in space-time continua, yet somehow adjacent to an area near Mongolia [Seal (online text)].
Middle East

Shrewsbury: Southwest Asia, centering around the buried city of Irem in Kuwait [Gorge].

Shrewsbury: The Nameless City, in the southern end of the Arabian peninsula, which was populated by reptilian followers of Cthulhu [Keeper ].

Gilman: Arabia and Egypt, where there is worship of a fearful being of the sea. [Gorge].

North Africa

Shrewsbury: North Africa and the Mediterranean, centering on the Saharan oasis of El Nigro [Gorge].

Gilman: Morocco, where there is worship of a fearful being of the sea [Gorge].

North Atlantic Shrewsbury: The Atlantic, centering on the Azores. [Gorge].
New England / Atlantic Ocean

Shrewsbury: The Atlantic, centering off Innsmouth, Massachusetts [Gorge].

Phillips: Devil Reef off Innsmouth [Seal (online text)].

Josiah Alwyn: Innsmouth, where there is a cult of Cthulhu [Beyond2].

North America, far northern regions

Shrewsbury: North Canada and Alaska, centering north of Medicine Hat [Gorge].

Gilman: Among certain Eskimos in the far north, where the supreme elder devil or tornasuk resembles a Great Old One [Gorge].

Northwest Coast Phillips: Ceremonial masks of the Northwest Coast Indians, featuring tentacle and octopoid shapes [Seal (online text)].
Wisconsin Rick's Lake, where a cult gathering mentioned Cthulhu briefly, among a litany of various deities [Dweller].
Southern U.S. Shrewsbury: The southern United States, centering in the Gulf of Mexico [Gorge].
Mesoamerica Phillips: Quetzalcoatl in Aztec and Mayan myths [Seal (online text)].
South America

Shrewsbury: An underground lake under a rocky hill near a river between Machu Picchu and Salapunco, in the Cordillera de Vilcanota mountains of Peru [Curwen, Gorge].

Phillips: Quetzalcoatl in Incan myths [Seal (online text)].

Shrewsbury: The Devourer, the war-god of the Quichua-Ayars [Curwen].

Writings About Cthulhu

A prayer by Clithanus referred to "mad Cthulhu," as if Cthulhu is actually insane. [Depths (online text)]

Cthulhu was described by St. Augustine as "Mad Cthulhu, who dared return from R'lyeh." [OutThere]

Abdul Alhazred came closer than any had to revealing the secrets of Cthulhu and his cults. According to an invocation pronouced by Laban Shrewsbury, Alhazred keeps the key to Cthulhu. [Keeper ]

The Necronomicon speaks of ancient genii of evil, including Cthulhu. [Depths (online text)] According to the English version of the Necronomicon at Miskatonic University library, Cthulhu is one of an alien race of invaders called the Ancient Ones (2) [Witches]. There are hints in the Necronomicon and the R'lyeh Text that the time for Cthulhu's resurgence is drawing near. The Necronomicon says that Great Cthulhu shall rise from R'lyeh. [Curwen]

According to the R'lyeh Text, Great Cthulhu shall rise from R'lyeh. [Sky]

Solar Pons authored a (possibly tongue-in-cheek) monograph called An Examination of the Cthulhu Cult and Others [Who].

H. P. Lovecraft wrote stories purporting to be fiction that revealed progressively more about the Cthulhu cult. [Curwen] Dr. Jamison gave Robert Norris several old magazines containing stories by H. P. Lovecraft about Cthulhu. [Wind (online text)]

Using the Lamp of Alhazred, Ward Phillips (1) saw Cthulhu asleep in the watery depths of R'lyeh. Later, Phillips wrote stories about the myths of Cthulhu. [Lamp (online text)]

Laban Shrewsbury's second book was titled Cthulhu in the Necronomicon. [Curwen]

Openings for Return

Cthulhu supposedly inhabits a secret place on earth [Island]. Laban Shrewsbury sought the place of concealment where Cthulhu lies waiting. According to Shrewsbury, Cthulhu waits asleep in some fastness, possibly in sunken R'lyeh [Keeper ].

Laban Shrewsbury and Andrew Phelan searched for the "openings" by means of which Cthulhu might return from R'lyeh [Sky]. Laban Shrewsbury attempted to seal all the avenues to the Outside that Cthulhu might use for his return [Curwen]. Portions of various places important to Cthulhu have been destroyed by small bands of men who oppose his coming [Seal (online text)].

Pinckney bought a wooden statue of Cthulhu for Jason Wecter. The carving is a point of contact for Cthulhu's attempts to return to our world. The Ph'nglui chant was carved on its base, apparently in some alphabet or script that was known to Pinckney. [Wood]

Emergences

Sometime during the Federal invasion of Innsmouth (thus 1928), Amos and Paul Tuttle believed that Cthulhu had arisen again. From a cellar beneath the Tuttle house near Arkham, Haddon and Paul Tuttle heard voices chanting "Cthulhu naflfhtagn": "Cthulhu no longer waits dreaming." Cthulhu seems to have manifested as a protoplasmic mass in the lake beneath the Tuttle house, and battled Hastur to take possession of the body of Paul Tuttle. Cthulhu seems to have lost to Hastur in the struggle to possess Tuttle's body; immediately after, Cthulhu was sent back to his ocean prison by one of the Elder Gods (1). [Hastur]

At the Seth Bishop (2) house, Jefferson Bates heard the Ph'nglui chant. Cthulhu appeared to briefly emerge from the flaming Bishop house before retreating. [Valley (online text)]

In 1938, Cthulhu was blown up by Laban Shrewsbury's explosives while emerging from a door on the risen island of R'lyeh, but re-formed himself quickly afterwards. The island began to shake, perhaps as a prelude to sinking again. [Curwen]

The U.S. Navy dropped on atomic bomb on Cthulhu when he was emerging from the doorway of the Black Island. Shrewsbury was hopeful but uncertain that Cthulhu had been killed. Horvath Blayne was sure the Cthulhu had survived. [Island]

Marius Phillips and Ada Marsh found the Seal of R'lyeh which they believed was keeping Cthulhu imprisoned, and planned to go back to remove it. They may have died in the attempt [Seal (online text)].

Misc References

Voices outside Josiah Alwyn's house near Harmon, Wisconsin chanted to Cthulhu. [Beyond2]

Septimus Bishop received letters hailing him in the name of Cthulhu [Middle].

Jean-Francois Charriere's notes included references to Cthulhu. Charriere saw links between saurians (various classes of reptiles) and the Cthulhu myth pattern. [Survivor (online text)]

Asaph Gilman searched for the leader of the most potent of the Cthulhu cult groups. [Gorge]

In a vision, Dan Harrop heard the name of Cthulhu chanted. [Whippoorwills]

Ahab Marsh was a leader in preparing the way for the return of Cthulhu. [Sky]

The Esoteric Order of Dagon seeks to open the gate for Cthulhu's return. [Sky]

Prof. Partier referred to the mysterious cult of Cthulhu. [Dweller]

Sylvan Phillips was devoted to Cthulhu and left notes about his search for R'lyeh. Marius Phillips and Ada Marsh dedicated themselves to finding R'lyeh and Cthulhu. [Seal (online text)]

Eldon Sandwin mentioned the name of Cthulhu while talking in his sleep. Asa Sandwin said that Cthulhu could not take him into the sea, because Asa had "closed the passage." Asa Sandwin did not fear Cthulhu. [Sandwin]

Amos Tuttle's papers included references to Great Cthulhu. [Hastur]

In delerium, Allison Wentworth spoke of Cthulhu slumbering beneath the sea, waiting to rise and destroy the world. [Wind (online text)]

Williams (2) read of Cthulhu in the Necronomicon at Miskatonic University library [Witches].

Cthulhu in Other Writers

Albert Keith dreamed of beings worshipping Cthulhu. The cultist crew of the Okishuri Maru fed Keith to Cthulhu on the temporarily risen island of R'lyeh. Reverend Nye said that Cthulhu lies waiting in sunken R'lyeh and the time for his return is close at hand. Kay Keith dreamed that the house of Cthulhu was risen and empty. She was kidnapped and taken to Easter Island, where Cthulhu mated with her. Cthulhu was killed by the atomic bomb that destroyed Easter Island. But Kay Keith gave birth to a son, Mark Dixon. In the near future, when Dixon is a young man, Reverend Nye has him kidnapped and uses the Shining Trapezohedron to transform Dixon into Cthulhu. Cthulhu goes forth into the world to begin his eternal reign. As priest of the Great Old Ones, Cthulhu brings about the return of Azazoth and Yog-Sothoth. [RB Strange]

A secret cult in Haiti worships deities called the Old Ones, including Tulu (Cthulhu). A living octopoid being appeared at one of their ceremonies and was said to be Tulu. [HC Pits]

The tiny man hinted that Kathulhn of Vhoorl, author of the Book, was identical with that tentacled and ever-damned Kthulhu reputed to have come to Earth eons ago by way of the planet Saturn to which it had previously fled from depths beyond our solar system [HH Guardian].

The Hooded Monk promised his followers that great Cthulhu would sweep them all to victory. [REH Bear]

Professor Kirowan admitted that cults like that of Cthulhu might have existed in the past, but denied that such cults survive today. [REH Children (online text)]

As Xuthltan died, he called on Cthulhu and other gods to curse the false king and the Fire of Asshurbanipal. [REH Fire (online text)]

Edmund Lear believed in the existence of undersea super mollusks who are incarnations of the Elder Gods and who are commanded by Cthulhu [CJ Acquarium].

Franz, 21st Baron Kralitz learned "of the cyclopean shapes that attend unsleeping Cthulhu in his submarine city" [HK Kralitz (online text)]

Cthulhu of the Watery Abyss was worshipped by the first human race in primal Mu [HK Invaders (online text)].

Albert Wilmarth speculated that Cthulhu might have created some underground tunnel and cavern worlds. Georg Reuter Fischer wrote of "snake-limbed Cutlu" in his dream-inspired poems. Later, voices spoke to Fischer of Cthulhu and of "Great Cthulhu's wasps," possibly a reference to the winged worms. [FL Terror2]

After picking up an amulet with an image of an octopoid figure, the narrator entered a trance and began to speak praises of Cthulhu and other beings [FBL Awakening].

The Ice-Goddess Ythillin told the werewolf Ghor that he could draw on Cthulhu and other Old Ones for strength when in his wolf form [FBL Gift].

When Gordon Whitney translated the nineteenth of the Eltdown Shards, he was reminded of dread Cthulhu [RFS Warder].

Elmer Harrod dreamed of a group of cowled figures chanting to Cthulhu on the shores of a cove, until there surfaced a tremendously large creature with unbelievably long tentacles. Harrod later pronounced a chant to Cthulhu in Old Dethshill Cemetery. Then shadows gathered around him, and Jeremy Kent's tomb opened up. [JVS Graveyard]

An obelisk in Old Dethshill Cemetery has the word kutullu inscribed in Assyrian cuneiform symbols and a drawing of a creature with many tentacles. Some neighborhood boys found and played a recording from a tape player found on Elmer Harrod's corpse; the recording includes chants to Cthulhu. Soon the boys heard the name Cthulhu chanted from underground. [JVS Dead]

The narrator dreamed of Cthulhu [DW Lady (online text)].

More Information

Aka: Clooloo; Clulu; Cthulhutl; Cutlu; Fisherman's God; Great Old One; Him Who Lies Dreaming; Him Who Will Rise Again; Kathuln; Kthulhu; Kthulhut; Kulu; Kutullu; Thooloo; Tulu; octopus-like entities?.

Possibly synonymous with: Devourer, the; Kon, Lord of the Earthquake.

See also: Cthulhu, spawn of; Tulu metal.

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