Deep Ones

[HPL Innsmouth (online text)]: An amphibious race that lives generally hidden beneath the earth's oceans. In appearance, they are said to be both frog-like and fish-like. Their form is vaguely anthropoid, but with long webbed paws and gills in their necks. Their skin is shiny and slippery, but with scaly ridges on their backs. The are largely greyish-green in color, but with white bellies. When on land, they hop irregularly, sometimes on two legs and sometimes on four.

The Deep Ones have cities on the sea-bottom. Some of their stone ruins can be found on two islands east of Otaheité (Tahiti). On the larger island, the ruins resemble those on Ponape, but also include carved faces like the big statues on Easter Island. The smaller, volcanic island has ruins with different carvings: much-worn images of awful monsters. When the latter island arose suddenly to the surface, the local human population visited it and found some of the Deep Ones still alive within the stone buildings. This meeting seems to have been at least 200 years ago. The meeting lead to mutual trade between the humans and the Deep Ones, with the Deep Ones providing gold ornaments and abundant fish in return for the sacrifices of young humans on May-Eve and Halloween.

Later, the Deep Ones began holding joint ceremonies with the humans, and then began interbreeding with them. This inbreeding is possible because humans are related to the Deep Ones, since all life originally came from the sea. The offspring of such matches look human at first, but progressively become more and more like the Deep Ones, and finally leave the land to join the Deep Ones underwater. Such beings never die from old age or disease, but can be killed by violence.

Sometime after the war of 1812, Capt. Obed Marsh of Innsmouth, Mass. learned of the Deep Ones from the islanders and began trading with them in the South Seas. Then around 1838, those islanders were slaughtered between Marsh's voyages, perhaps by neighboring islanders, and the stone carvings of the Deep Ones were largely destroyed. After that, Marsh persuaded the people of Innsmouth to begin commerce directly with the Deep Ones off Devil Reef, near Innsmouth. See: Innsmouth.

The Deep Ones, and their human allies, apparently venerate the beings Father Dagon and Mother Hydra, and Cthulhu. However, the Deep Ones seemingly cannot be the same as the Cthulhu spawn, since the latter appeared octopoid rather than frog/fishlike, and were a land-dwelling species.

The Deep Ones are vulnerable to certain signs that were once used by the lost "Old Ones". See: magic signs.

The narrator of Dagon may have witnessed a Deep One on a newly-risen island [HPL Dagon (online text)]. However, this being was of giant size, and apparently akin to other similar beings shown in carvings to be the size of whales. Such beings may represent a larger genus of the Deep Ones. Alternatively, the being in Dagon may be Father Dagon himself, who might be larger than his Deep Ones followers.

The Deep Ones in Derleth Stories

A Hybrid Race

The Deep Ones are subhuman amphibious creatures living in the depths of the sea. [AWD Gable (online text), Shuttered, Survivor (online text)]

Laban Shrewsbury said that originally the Deep Ones were purely aquatic beings, resembling humans but with frog-like and fish-like traits. Over a century ago, American traders began mating with the Deep Ones and produced a hybrid breed that can exist in or out of water. This hybrid breed can be found in most port cities of the world, never far from water. Shrewsbury speculated that human/Deep Ones crossbreeding may have occurred in multiple places around the world [Island, Keeper].

Sometimes, the term "Deep Ones" refers only to the human/Deep Ones hybrids. Thus, Marius Phillips called the Deep Ones "amphibian hybrids, bred of ancient matings between humanoids and batrachia, mutant developments of the race of man" [Seal (online text)].

Description

The Deep Ones are frog-like caricatures of human beings. They are frog-like, fish-like travesties of humans [Curwen, Seal (online text), Sky, Survivor (online text)].

Some of the Deep Ones reminded Andrew Phelan of John Tenniel's illustration of the frog footman from Alice in Wonderland [Curwen]. The original illustration actually shows both a frog footman and a fish footman, both of whom are suggestive of the Deep Ones.

They have a very low brow. The eyes are wide and staring, variously described as lidless or strangely webbed. They are earless or almost earless. They have abnormally wide mouths, with peculiar leathery lips [Gorge, Shuttered, Sky, Survivor (online text)].

Their faces are chinless and their necks are gilled [Shuttered, Gorge, Sky].

Some have tough, warty skin or leathery skin, which may be scaled and slimy [Gable (online text), Gorge, Shuttered, Sky].

The hands have webbed fingers [Curwen, Gorge, Sky].

They have a generally squat physiognomy and tend to be hunched over. They walk with a shuffling gait or hop-like steps. [Gable (online text), Gorge, Seal (online text), Survivor (online text)]

Some Deep Ones are described as having tentacles [Gorge, Sky]. It is not clear how large the tentacles are or where they are attached, but evidently they can be concealed beneath clothing.

Their voices sound strange, muffled and distorted. Their speech is rasping, like a distorted flute or oboe. [Gorge]

They smell strongly of the sea [Curwen].

Innsmouth and Massachusetts

Some of the Innsmouth people mated with Deep Ones. Thereafter, their sea ventures prospered, but their descendants were all tainted. See: Innsmouth.

These hybrids are apparently not limited to Innsmouth; Laban Shrewsbury said that they are to be found "in some Massachusetts coastal towns" [Island].

There are caverns stretching from the coast of Essex County as far inland as Aylesbury. These caverns include water pits that the Deep Ones can swim to from the ocean. [Hastur, Valley (online text)]

Descendants

Leander Alwyn may have been infected with the Deep Ones taint [Beyond2].

Horvath Blayne was descended from Deep Ones [Island].

Marius Phillips was descended from the Deep Ones and transitioned so far as to became amphibious [Seal].

Dagon and Cthulhu

The Deep Ones are ruled by Dagon, and serve the greater god Cthulhu [Gable (online text), Lurker, Shuttered, Survivor (online text)]. Elsewhere, the Deep Ones are said simply to be minions of Cthulhu [Curwen, Island] or of the Ancient Ones (2) [Keeper, Seal (online text), Space].

Range

The Deep Ones are of the seas and the watery places on Earth [Seal (online text)].

They have been observed in the Pacific, at

Sunken R'lyeh [Curwen, Gable (online text)]
Off the coast from Ponape [Seal (online text)].
On an uncharted island in the mid-Pacific [Sky].
In Polynesia [Shuttered].

They have also been seen in the Atlantic off Innsmouth, at Devil Reef and in the underwater city of Y’ha-nthlei [Curwen, Gable (online text), Seal (online text)].

Skulkers

The Deep Ones can follow on land or in water. Water is a necessary element for the Deep Ones; although they can exist away from it for some time, they prefer to stay near coasts and waterways. [Keeper]

When on land, they dress themselves and try to pass as humans. Icthyic or batrachian men have been observed in

Arkham [Curwen][Gorge]
Boston [Curwen]
London, on land and also in the Thames [Curwen][Gorge]
On the Simplon-Orient train from Transylvania to Calais [Gorge]
In Yemen, in the coastal cities of Damqut and Aden [Keeper]
In Singapore [Island]

Star-Stones Protect from Them

The Deep Ones cannot hurt those who carry the star-stones of Mnar [Curwen, Gorge, Island, Keeper, Lurker, Sky].

Additionally, the Deep Ones cannot get too close to the star-stones; a circle of such stones can form a barrier to their escape [Sky].

Written References

The Deep Ones were mentioned in the notes left by Abel Harrop [Whippoorwills].

The Deep Ones are written of in the Necronomicon [Witches].

Josiah Alwyn and Tony Alwyn read of the Deep Ones in HPL's story The Shadow Over Innsmouth. [Beyond2]

Rivals

There is tension between the Deep Ones and the Byakhee [Curwen]. This reflects the rivalry between their respective masters, Cthulhu and his half-brother Hastur [Curwen, Keeper, Sky].

Kidnappers

The Deep Ones took dock-worker Nayland Massie from the Thames river in London to Cthulhu's island; the purpose is unknown. If he was intended as a sacrifice, it is odd that he turned up in London again seven months later, and thereafter could speak only in the R'lyehian language. [Curwen]

Human Sacrifice

The Deep Ones are cold-blooded and wax fat and strong from devouring sacrificed warm-blooded animals and humans. Seth Bishop (2) and later Jefferson Bates brought animals and humans to the Deep Ones as sacrifices. [Valley (online text)]

Asaph Gilman speculated that the Deep Ones would have no interest in a dead man (presumably because he was no longer of any use as a sacrifice). [Gorge]

Impersonations

Ahab Marsh was a full-blooded Deep One disguised as a human. [Sky]

One of the Deep Ones impersonated Father Andrada in Peru. [Gorge]

Ways to Kill Them

When "Father Andrada" was shot, he seemed to collapse into a mass of convulsed flesh that slithered and hopped. Claiborne Boyd believed that Andrada was mortally wounded. [Gorge]

However, according to Andrew Phelan, only fire will destroy them. [Sky]

Guardians of Gates

The Deep Ones are in possession of almost all the avenues to Cthulhu. [Island]

Effect on Animals

Amphibians such as frogs sense the presence of the Deep Ones and become unusually active and vocal. [Lurker]

Transitioning

For Marsh relative Jeffrey Corey, the Deep Ones taint initially manifested only as rough skin on his neck, evidently latent gills. As the transformation approached, he felt pain from this gill area. His transition to sea life completed around the time of the Spring equinox. His transition may have been hastened by working with blue clay dislodged by the Federal depth charges off Innsmouth. [Clay]

Jeffrey Corey felt compelled to fashion a female Deep One out of the blue clay from Y'ha-nthlei. For unknown reasons, the sculpture came to life and swam off in the ocean with him. [Clay]

Marius Phillips' grandfather had successfully resisted his Deep Ones taint. [Seal (online text)]

Varying Size

The human/Deep Ones hybrids in the Marsh family can go without food or drink for a long time, and shrink or expand rapidly depending on food supply. Ralsa Whateley shrank to the size of a frog due to being locked up for years. [Shuttered]

Summoning Them

The Necronomicon says that worshippers can create a gate at any place to summon a variety of creatures, including the Deep Ones. [Lurker]

Other Mentions

The crewmen on the Okishuri Maru had the Innsmouth look. In tunnels beneath the Probilski Foundation, Kay Keith heard pursuers who may have been Deep Ones. The Coast Guard found the body of a Deep One offshore near the Probilski Foundation. Human/Deep One hybrids drowned Mark Dixon and then took him to see Reverend Nye. [RB Strange]

Georg Reuter Fischer read of the Deep Ones in Lovecraft's tale The Shadow Over Innsmouth [FL Terror2].

While holding an emblem of an octopoid entity (possibly Cthulhu), a man was inspired to recite a ceremonial speech that mentioned the Deep Ones [FBL Awakening].

Mary Peabody saw hybrid human/Deep Ones performing rituals near an obelisk in Witches' Hollow (2) at Old Dethshill Cemetery in Arkham. Nearby children saw Innsmouth people with frog-faces in a tunnel leading from Elmer Harrod's old house. [JVS Dead]

The people of Innsmouth were rumored to traffic with strange creatures from the sea [JVS Snouted].

Incl: Andrada, Father; Smith, Japhet.

Compare with: Spawn of Dagon.

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