Cthulhu Mythos deities

H. P. Lovecraft created a number of deities throughout the course of his literary career, including the "Great Old Ones" and aliens, such as the "Elder Things", with sporadic references to other miscellaneous deities (e.g. Nodens) whereas the "Elder Gods" are a later creation of other prolific writers such as August Derleth, who was credited with formalizing the Cthulhu Mythos.[1][2]

Great Old Ones
"Great Old Ones" redirects here. For other uses, see Old Ones (disambiguation).

An ongoing theme in Lovecraft's work is the complete irrelevance of mankind in the face of the cosmic horrors that 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 deathlike sleep.[3]

Lovecraft named several of these deities, including Cthulhu, Ghatanothoa, and Yig. With a few exceptions, Cthulhu, Ghatanothoa, et al., this loose pantheon apparently exists 'outside' of normal space-time. Although worshipped by deranged human (and inhuman) cults, these beings are generally imprisoned or restricted in their ability to interact with most people (beneath the sea, inside the Earth, in other dimensions, and so on), at least until the hapless protagonist is unwittingly exposed to them. Lovecraft visited this premise in many of his stories, notably his 1928 short story, "The Call of Cthulhu", with reference to the eponymous creature. However, it was Derleth who applied the notion to all of the Great Old Ones. The majority of these have physical forms that the human mind is incapable of processing; simply viewing them renders the viewer incurably insane.

Table of Great Old Ones
See also: List of Great Old Ones

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 alternative 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.
Great Old Ones
Name Epithet(s),
other name(s)		 Description
Abholos[4] Devourer in the Mist A grey festering blob of infinite malevolence, described as the lesser brother of Tsathoggua or spawn of Cthulhu, born from his bile and tears.[5]
Alala[6] Herald of S'glhuo An entity of living sound native to the Gulf of S'glhuo, and manifesting as a huge monstrous being. He is served by the Denizens of S'glhuo, which are made of his same substance.
Ammutseba Devourer of Stars A dark cloudy mass, with tentacles, absorbing falling stars.
Amon-Gorloth[7] Creator of the Nile and Universe's Equilibrium A gigantic mysterious entity whose cult is perhaps coincident with that of Egyptian God Amun. Once dwelling in a gigantic palace known as Gz-eh near the Valley of the Kings, his dreaming force was able to shape reality. Causing life to eventually flourish within the Nile Valley, over 3,000 years ago, before the stars ceased to be right, and the advancing desert entombed his titanic body beneath the sands. Priests of his cult have built up secret subterranean mausoleums to access the Great Old One's body, and please the slumbering god by giving cattle as sacrificial victims.
Aphoom-Zhah The Cold Flame, Lord of the Pole Appears much like Cthugha, but grey and cold.
Apocolothoth The Moon God Lunar entity that dwells in the Dimension of Enno-Lunn.
Arwassa The Silent Shouter on the Hill A humanoid-torso with tentacles instead of limbs, and a short neck ending in a toothless, featureless mouth.
Atlach-Nacha The Spider God, Spinner in Darkness A giant spider with a human-like face.
Ayi'ig The Serpent Goddess, Aeg, Aega Daughter of both Yig and the Outer Goddess Yidhra, appearing as a gigantic octopus-like horror with serpentine eyes, and detachable tentacles, which may move independently. She dwells within the cavern of a deep canyon somewhere in Texas.
Aylith[8] The Widow in the Woods,
The Many-Mother		 A tall, shadowy humanoid figure with yellow glowing eyes, and strange protrusions like the branches of dead trees. She is a servant of Shub-Niggurath.
Baoht Z'uqqa-Mogg The Bringer of Pestilence A huge, flying scorpion with an ant-like head.[9]
Basatan Master of the Crabs Not described, possibly has fins and tentacles.[10]
B'gnu-Thun The Soul-Chilling Ice-God Appears as a cyanotic humanoid, followed by an eerie blizzard.
Bokrug The Great Water Lizard,
The Doom of Sarnath		 Appears as a gigantic water lizard.
Bugg-Shash[11] The Black One, The Filler of Space,
He Who Comes in the Dark		 Appears as a black slimy mass covered in eyes and mouths, much like a Shoggoth.
Byagoona The Faceless Ones Revered as a god of the dead and reanimated the deceased to sustain itself on their life force. Theorized to be an avatar of Nyarlathotep, though this is not confirmed.
Byatis The Berkeley Toad,
Serpent-Bearded Byatis		 Appears as a gigantic multicolored toad with one eye, a proboscis, crab-like claws, and tentacles below the mouth.
Chaugnar Faugn The Horror from the Hills,
The Feeder, Caug-Narfagn		 A vampiric elephant-like humanoid, with a mouth on the end of its trunk.
Coatlicue Serpent Skirted One[12] Appears as a gigantic reptilian humanoid with two facing snakes in place of an actual head, as depicted in the Coatlicue statue. She was the former mate of Yig, revered in K'n-yan along with her consort.
The Color The Colour Out of Space Appears as a mutagenic, glowing, foul-smelling mist or fluid that mutates all organisms around it while slowly consuming their life-force.
Coinchenn[13]
—
 A marine tentacled horror made of fish, whale, and octopus-like features.[14]
Crom Cruach[15] Master of the Runes, Bloody Crooked One[16] Not described, but likely something gigantic and serpent or worm-like.
Cthaat The Dark Water God A formless mass of shape-shifting water.
Cthaeghya
—
 (Half-)sister of Cthulhu, which spawned the Star-Spawn of Cthulhu.
Cthugha The Living Flame, The Burning One Appears as a living conflagration.
Cthulhu Master of R'lyeh, The Great Dreamer A massive hybrid of human, octopus, and dragon. He is usually depicted as being hundreds of meters tall, with webbed arms, tentacles, and a pair of rudimentary wings on his back.
Cthylla Secret Daughter of Cthulhu Appears as a huge winged octopus-like creature with six eyes. Youngest of Cthulhu and Idh-yaa's progeny.
Ctoggha The Dream-Daemon No description available.
Cyäegha The Destroying Eye, The Waiting Dark Appears as a gigantic black mass of tentacles, with a single green eye at the center.
Cynothoglys The Mortician God, She Whose Hand Embalms Appears as a formless mound, with one arm-like appendage.
Dhumin The Burrower from the Bluff A serpentine (likely Tremors-like) earth-shaking horror dwelling in the subsoil of Memphis, US.
Dygra The Stone-Thing A jewel-facetted, semi-crystalline geode with mineral tentacles.
Dythalla Lord of Lizards A gigantic saurian creature similar to Bokrug, but terrestrial, and endowed with a mane of tentacles.[17]
Dzéwà[18] The White God A ravenous plant-god who arrived from Xiclotl to Earth, awed by the Insects from Shaggai. He appears as a white orb hiding an enormous magenta excrescence, like an orchid or a lamprey-like mouth, with emerald tentacles, tipped with hands emerging from within the hideous mass.
Eihort The Pale Beast, God of the Labyrinth Appears as a huge, pallid, gelatinous oval with a myriad of legs and multiple eyes.
Ei'lor The Star-Seed, The Plant-God A plant-like parasitic horror native to the jungle planet Kr’llyand, which orbits a dead, green star.
Etepsed Egnis[19]
—
 A formless monstrosity with a huge, arm-like appendage.
Ghadamon A Seed of Azathoth A bluish-brown, slimy monstrosity riddled with holes, and an occasional malformed head.
Ghatanothoa Lord of the Volcano, Thoa[20] Appears as a colossal horror with multifarious appendages, and Gorgon-like powers.
Ghisguth The Sound of Deep Waters A titanic mass of jelly-like material.
Gi-Hoveg The Aether Anemone A cosmic-entity manifesting as a gigantic, spongy, and fleshy mass covered in a myriad of both eyes and spines. He is said to be the nemesis of the Outer God Uvhash, usually summoned to contrast this deity.
Gla'aki The Inhabitant of the Lake,
Lord of Dead Dreams		 Appears as a giant three-eyed slug with metallic spines, and tiny pyramid-like feet underneath.
Gleeth The Blind God of the Moon An eyeless and deaf Lunar deity worshiped in the ancient continent of Theem'dra, as well as in the Dreamlands, often mentioned as similar to Mnomquah, though apparently not related to each other.[21]
Gloon[22] The Corrupter of Flesh,
Master of the Temple, Glhuun		 Usually manifests through a Dionysian sculpture, but its true form is that of a gigantic wattled slug-thing.
Gobogeg[23] The Twice-Invoked Appears as a colossal pillar of amorphous alien flesh, with a cyclopean head. It drags up the continent it is summoned in, and causes the entire world to suddenly cave-in on itself.[24]
God of the Red Flux
—
 A vaporous red entity haunting the rainforest of Central Africa. It has the power to turn humans into zombie-like servants, the Tree-Men of M'bwa.
Gog-Hoor Eater of the Insane A gigantic entity dwelling in some reverse dimension, resembling a huge bullet with a long proboscis.
Gol-goroth Golgoroth, The Forgotten Old One,
God of the Black Stone, Golgoroð		 Appears as a gigantic, black, toad-like creature with an impossibly malevolent glare, or a tentacled, scaled, bat-winged entity.
Golothess
—
 An entity cut in ten pieces by Yig during a time of great battle (one of these pieces is an alabaster dish found in Egypt, dated back 1,300 BC). It resembles and has a similar domain as the Greek god Dionysus.
The Green God The Horror Under Warrendown A sentient plant-like entity dwelling within a series of caverns, where it is always served by mutant rabbit-like worshipers.
Groth-Golka The Demon Bird-God, The Bird-God of Balsagoð A monstrous bird-like fiend with sharp teeth, dwelling beneath Antarctica, vaguely resembling an extinct pterosaur.
Gtuhanai The Destroyer God of the Aartnna A destructive entity manifesting as a ravenous metallic vortex. He seems to be another half-brother of Cthulhu, like Hastur, and related to the slug-like Glaaki as well. He has also been called a "son of Yog-Sothoth". Whether these titles are literal or conceal some dark truth about the Destroyer, none can ascertain. He dwells somewhere in the Pleiades stellar region, and when summoned, he brings devastation.
Gurathnaka Eater of Dreams, Shadow of the Night A shadowy incorporeal entity dwelling in the Dreamlands.
Gur'la-ya Lurker in the Doom-laden Shadows A great shadow thing, with two glaring red eyes, able to transform the skull of its victims into green glowing stones carved with strange symbols.
Gwarloth
—
 A tentacled amoebic horror with multiple eyes, orifices, and a dangling gland forming a hideous face.
Gzxtyos Mate of Othuyeg The consort of Othuyeg, likely similar to her bridegroom.
Han The Dark One A being made of cold, howling mist bound to Yig's worship.
Hastalÿk The Contagion A microbial entity, responsible for plagues.
Hastur The Unspeakable,
He Who is Not to be Named,
Lord of Interstellar Spaces,
The King in Yellow, The Peacock King, Zukala-Koth		 His true form is unknown, but usually manifests either as a polypous, ravenous floating mass endowed with tentacles, drills, and suckers, or more frequently, as the King in Yellow, a humanoid being wearing tattered, yellow clothes and a mask hiding the face. He is said to be Cthulhu's (half-)brother. He is said to be of the air element opposed to Cthulhu's water element.
H'chtelegoth The Great Tentacled God A towering greenish trunk with a "crown" of tentacles, a row of multiple eyes, and a series of additional lateral grasping appendages.
Haiogh-Yai The Outsider a monstrous, amorphous, whirling entity living within a wandering black hole called Vix’ni-Aldru, which also hosts a city made of titanic blocks, inhabited by mysterious creatures resembling either worms or lizards.
Hnarqu The Great One Lesser brother of Cthulhu, manifesting as a gigantic mouth surrounded by countless tentacles, similar to a titanic sea anemone.
Hziulquoigmnzhah The God of Cykranosh, Ziulquag-Manzah Has a spheroid body, elongated arms, short legs, and a pendulum-like head dangling underneath. He is the brother of Ghisguth, and uncle of Tsathoggua.
Idh-yaa Cthulhu's Mate, Xothic Matriarch A gigantic, pale, worm-like horror dwelling beneath the crust of the star Xoth. She has been Cthulhu's first bride, and with him spawned three sons—Ghatanothoa, Ythogtha, and Zoth-Ommog—and a younger daughter, Cthylla.
Inpesca The Sea Horror A formless expansive bluish-black mass, haunting both the Ecuadorian and Peruvian coasts, mentioned in Cthäat Aquadingen as inimical to the Deep Ones.
Iod The Shining Hunter A levitating, sinuous glowing creature.
Istasha Mistress of Darkness A cat-like deity, similar to Bastet, but vicious and malignant. Her sister is the sylvan Lythalia.
Ithaqua The Wind Walker, The Wendigo,
God of the Cold White Silence		 A gigantic, corpse-like human, with webbed feet and glowing red eyes.
Janai'ngo Guardian and the Key of the Watery Gates, The Lobster of the Deep A crustacean-like, tentacled, half-amorphous marine horror which serves Cthulhu, dwelling in the depths of the Bay of Rhiiklu, somewhere within the eastern coast of the United States.
Juk-Shabb God of Yekub Appears as a great shining ball of energy.
Kaalut The Ravenous One[25] Likely a gigantic larva-like horror, dwelling in the nebulous realm of K'gil'mnon, along with the Gharoides, its parasitic insectoid servants.
Kag'Naru of the Air[26]
—
 Mentioned in the American comic book Challengers of the Unknown #81-87 (1977) as the sister of M'Nagalah.
Kassogtha Bride of Cthulhu, The Leviathan of Diseases A huge mass of coiled, writhing tentacles. She is Cthulhu's sister and mate, who bore him the twin daughters Nctosa and Nctolhu.
Kaunuzoth The Great One, Cannoosut A squat, sea cucumber-like monstrosity with five eyes, three-toed, taloned appendages, and a large mouth. He is described as one of Glaaki’s brethren, and dwells within the Moore Reservoir of Vermont, in the United States.
Khal'kru[27] All-in-All, Greater-than-Gods A dark octopoid horror, similar to the Norse Kraken, but dwelling inside a temple somewhere within a hidden warm valley in Alaska.
Klosmiebhyx
—
 Sister of Zstylzhemghi.
K'nar'st Spawn of the Forgotten An amphibious humanoid with four, seven-clawed arms, and tentacles in place of legs. The head is lion-like, but bony and his mouth encases three long tongues. He lies trapped beneath the seafloor, inside a mysterious seamount called Nayghof.
Krang[28] The Dead One A monstrous, brown, leathery, alien entity native to a mysterious planet, currently slumbering within a gigantic mausoleum lost in the desert-wastes, set to guard a priceless treasure made up of the oldest decayed planets.
Kthaw'keth The Supreme Unknown, Scourge of Yaksh A six-eyed, crocodile-snouted monstrosity covered with both tentacles and tripod-like limbs. Revered by the ancient Egyptians as the deification of both darkness and chaos.
Kurpannga The Devil-dingo A giant hairless dingo-like fiend living in the Dreamlands (or the Dreamtime of Aboriginal myths).
Lam The Grey[29] An alien entity, similar to Grey aliens, dwelling in the dark side of the planet Mars.[30]
Lexur'iga-serr'roth He Who Devours All in the Dark A photophobic bat-winged monstrosity, with both a thousand-eyed misshapen head and huge maws.
Lythalia The Forest-Goddess A female seductive humanoid-entity, covered in both vines and vegetal parts. Somehow, she has been the mate of the Elder God Nodens, bearing him the twin gods Vorvadoss and Yaggdytha.[31] The feline Istasha is the sister of Lythalia.
Mappo no Ryujin Harbinger of Doom, Mappo's Dragon A dragon-like entity, covered in pseudopods, regarded as the mother of the Snake-God Yig and said to be imprisoned beneath the sunken continent of Mu.
M'basui Gwandu The River Abomination A spider-eyed bat-winged horror lurking within the Congo River.
M'Nagalah[32] The Devourer, The Cancer God,[33] The Eternal A mass of both entrails and eyes, or a massive blob-thing.[34]
Mnomquah Lord of the Black Lake, The Monster in the Moon A very large and eyeless lizard-like creature with a "crown" of feelers.
Mordiggian The Charnel God, The Great Ghoul,
Lord of Zul-Bha-Sair, Morddoth[35]		 A shape-shifting cloud of darkness.
Mormo[36] The Thousand-Faced Moon Mormo appears in many forms, but three are most common: as a mocking vampiric maiden, as a tentacle-haired gorgon, or as a hunched toad-like albino with a mass of feelers instead of a face. This last form is the appearance of her servitors, the Moon-beasts.
Mortllgh Storm of Steel A lustrous orb floating at the center of a whirling vortex of razor-sharp, metallic-looking blades.
Mynoghra She-Daemon of the Shadows A succubus-like fiend with alien traits, and tentacles in place of hair. She is mentioned as a cousin of Nyarlathotep in the O’ Khymer Revelations, and worshiped by witch cults in Salem, Oregon.
Nctosa & Nctolhu The Twin Spawn of Cthulhu Twin daughters of Cthulhu, imprisoned in the Great Red Spot of the planet Jupiter. They both appear as huge shell-endowed beings, with eight segmented limbs, and six long arms ending with claws, vaguely resembling their "half-sister" Cthylla.
Ngirrth'lu The Wolf-Thing, The Stalker in the Snows, He Who Hunts, Na-girt-a-lu A ferocious and towering wolf-like humanoid with bat wings. He is served by werewolf servants known as the Lupine Ones.
Northot[37] The Forgotten God, The Thing That Should Not Be[38] A mysterious entity related to Yog-Sothoth, Shub-Niggurath, and possibly Azathoth as well which manifests either as a faun-like humanoid with color-changing hair, or as a glowing halo of unknown color.
Nssu-Ghahnb[39] The Heart of the Ages, Leech of the Aeons A sort of gigantic pulsating heart secluded in a parallel dimensions. It is responsible for spawning all of the various monsters which exist within the known Universe.
Nug and Yeb The Twin Blasphemies Two horrid nebulous masses of shape-changing vapor from which eyes, tentacles, maws, and hooves emerge; somewhat like Shub-Niggurath. They have been spawned by Yog-Sothoth, and both (or either) are regarded as the blasphemous parents of Cthulhu.
Nyaghoggua The Kraken Within[40] A blurry, dark, kraken-like entity mentioned in the Song of Yste, and said to dwell in Outer Space.
Nycrama The Zombifying Essence A tall larva-like monstrosity, with hundreds of segmented taloned tendrils, exiled by the Elder Gods into a parallel dimension, with close connections to the rainforests of South America, where he lures human victims to enslave from other dimensions. Formerly, he was too an Elder God.
Nyogtha The Thing which Should Not Be,
Haunter of the Red Abyss		 Appears as an inky cloud of shadows.
Ob'mbu The Shatterer A giraffe-like reptilian monster.
Oorn[41] Mnomquah's Mate Appears as a huge, tentacled mollusk.
Othuum The Oceanic Horror A twisting tentacled mass, with a single alien face somewhere in the center of the slimy squirming mass.
Othuyeg The Doom-Walker Appears as a great tentacled eye similar to Cyäegha, but much more similar to the monster featured in the horror movie The Crawling Eye.[42] He currently dwells within the subsoil of Kansas, in the fabled Seven Cities of Gold.
Perse[43]
—
 A maddening, twisted-minded, alien entity appearing as a feminine figure in a red cloak, with three eyes, and an utterly alien face. Likely coincident with Classical Underworld goddess Persephone, she manifest aboard a ghost ship and contact traumatized humans, with hidden artistic talent, to spread both chaos and despair across the world.
Pharol Pharol the Black A black, fanged, cycloptic demon with arms like swaying serpents.[44] The entity normally dwells in another dimension—a "seething and sub-dimensional chaos" beyond the mundane universe.[45] The wizard Eibon of Hyperborea sometimes summoned Pharol to query him for arcane information.[46]
Poseidon
—
 A powerful extragalactic entity, awed by ‘Ymnar. It battled against the Elder God Paighon.
Psuchawrl The Elder One A tall humanoid with an eyeless sea anemone-like face, and a beaked grinning mouth, who can be summoned like a jinn.
Ptar-Axtlan The Leopard That Stalks the Night A mysterious entity related to zoomorphic shapeshifters, especially were-cats.
Quachil Uttaus Treader of the Dust Appears as a miniature, wrinkled mummy with stiff, outstretched claws.
Quyagen The Eye of Z'ylsm,[47] He Who Dwells Beneath Our Feet Worshiped as a deity in a lost continent located in the southern Atlantic Ocean. He appears related to Nyarlathotep, and his form is likely octopoid, with myriads of horns along a maddening body.
Q'yth-az The Crystalloid Intellect A towering mass of crystals, residing on the lightless planet Mthura.
Raandaii-B'nk
—
 A shark-like humanoid native to the Bermuda Triangle, possibly similar to Cthulhu's avatar the Father of All Sharks.
Ragnalla Seeker in the Skies A titanic raptorial fiend with a huge, single eye and a crown of tentacles.
Raphanasuan The One from the Sun Race[48] A gigantic and likely multi-armed fiend.
Rhagorthua Father of All Winds A fiery entity similar to Cthugha, able to absorb nuclear radiation, and imprisoned somewhere within the subsoil of New Mexico.
Rhan-Tegoth Terror of the Hominids, He of the Ivory Throne A three-eyed, gilled, proboscidian monster with a globular torso, six, long sinuous limbs ending in black paws, with crab-like claws, and covered in what appears to be hair, but is actually tiny tentacles.
Rhogog The Bearer of the Cup of the Blood of the Ancients A black leafless oak tree, hot to the touch and with a single red eye at the center.
Rh'Thulla of the Wind[26]
—
 Mentioned in the American comic book Challengers of the Unknown #81-87 (1977) as the brother of M'Nagalah.
Rlim Shaikorth The White Worm A gigantic, whitish worm with a huge maw and hollow eyes made of dripping globules of blood.
Rokon
—
 A mysterious extra-dimensional entity, regarded as the brother of Yig, ruling over a dimension called Zandanua.
Saaitii The Hog A gigantic, ghostly hog.
Scathach
—
 One of Hziulquoigmnzhah's children, supposedly female.[49]
Sebek The Crocodile God A crocodile-headed reptilian humanoid, equal to the Ancient Egyptian god Sobek.
Sedmelluq The Great Manipulator, Ishmagon A colossal glowing worm, with a starfish-shaped head, dwelling in Antarctica and served by the Mi-go.
Sfatlicllp The Fallen Wisdom The granddaughter of Tsathoggua, an amorphous mass which mated with a Hyperborean Voormi and spawned the legendary thief Knygathin Zhaum. In Chaosium's Dead Leaves Fall RPG supplement, she appears as a fiend with oily snakes skin, and prehensile dreadlocks like a Gorgon.
Shaklatal[50] The Eye of Wicked Sight A dark-skinned humanoid horror with tentacles sprouting from his head, and glowing red eyes, worshiped by the earliest African civilizations as the god Amun. He is said to be rival of Cthulhu.
Shathak Mistress of the Abyssal Slime,
Death Reborn, Zishaik, Chushaik		 Not described, likely an amorphous mass.
Shaurash-Ho
—
 Mysterious entity mentioned in Howard Phillips Lovecraft's letter to James F. Morton[51] as a descendant of Cthulhu which spawned other two horrid descendants (K'baa the Serpent and Ghoth the Burrower). The latter would have sired with a Roman noblewoman Viburnia the legendary ancestor of Lovecraft himself in a fictional family tree. The appearance of Shaurash-Ho has never been described.
Sheb-Teth[52] Devourer of Souls An eyeless alien humanoid entity, massively overgrown with both strange flesh and machinery.
Shista[53] God of Fidelity A shape-shifting entity, often manifesting as a spiny five-legged crab, with a spider-like head and metallic bracelets on each limb.
Shlithneth[54]
—
 A gigantic slimy worm, with a mass of black tentacles surrounding its maw.
Sho-Gath The God in the Box, The Big Black Thing A dark smoky column, with red malevolent eyes and a grotesque face, imprisoned inside a vintage box.
Shterot[55] The Tenebrous One A starfish-like horror spawned by the Outer God C'thalpa. It has been cut into pieces, but individual fragments live independently.
Shudde M'ell The Burrower Beneath,
The Great Chthonian		 Appears as a colossal worm with tentacles for a head.
Shuy-Nihl The Devourer in the Earth A dark blob of darkness endowed with tentacles.
Sthanee The Lost One[56] A gigantic marine horror with twelve snaky-limbs, endowed with suckers, and a beard of tentacles, both served and revered by vicious merfolk, known as the "Children of Sthanee".[57]
S'tya-Yg'Nalle The Whiteness An invisible entity made of both snow and chill, servitor of Ithaqua.
Summanus Monarch of the Night, The Terror that Walketh in Darkness A mouthless, grotesque humanoid with pale tentacles protruding from underneath a dark robe.
Swarog[58]
—
 A hideous being appearing as a dark, gigantic, legless bird-like horror swathed in dark flames, with its long neck topped by a black lump, half of which endowed with a big glowing eye and the other being covered in innumerable tentacles. It was revered by Slavic and Viking folks as the Solar god Svarog, though sharing almost nothing with the traditional deity.
Thanaroa[59] The Shining One A mysterious evil entity, manifesting as a pillar of dazzling light, dwelling in the ruins of Nan Madol, near Ponape. Its name recalls that of Polynesian creator god Tangaroa.
Tharapithia The Shadow in the Crimson Light Slavic and Ugric God-like creature, photophobic and burrowing fiend awed in the Middle Ages. It cannot endure sunlight, and eludes it by tunneling deep underneath the roots of oak trees.
Thasaidon Master of the Endless Void A malignant entity manifesting as a mace-wielding armored warrior. He is revered as the Principle of Evil in Zothique, but his cult dates back to the time of Mu.
T'ith -- The offspring of Cthulhu and the Elder God Sk'tai.
Thog The Demon-God of Xuthal[60] An octopoid monster of Hyborian Age, which haunts the underground city of Xuthal.
Toth[61]
−
A colossal, burrowing arthropod-like horror.
Th'rygh[62] The God-Beast A monstrous entity manifesting as a horrible patchwork of flesh, soil, and alien matter.
Tsathoggua The Sleeper of N'kai, The Toad-God,
Zhothaqqua, Sadagowah		 Appears as a huge, furry, almost humanoid toad, or a bat-like sloth.
Tulushuggua The Watery Dweller Beneath A mysterious subterranean horror, dwelling deep within the flooded caves of Florida, served by the eel-like horrors known as the Tulush.
Turua[50] Father of the Swamps, The Bayou Plant God A fungine entity with both tentacles and tendrils, which haunts the swamplands of Florida, somehow similar to The Green God.
Uitzilcapac[63] Lord of Pain[64] A sadistic entity trapped by the Elder Gods in a remote dimension of the Space-Time continuum, and appearing as a 4-m tall lizard-like horror with six legs, and a mouth filled with vicious fangs.
Ut'Ulls-Hr'Her The Great Horned Mother,
Black Glory of Creation		 A huge faceless creature with various appendages sprouting from its head, a beard of oozing horns, many reddish teats, and fish-like fins sprouting from an egg-shaped body.
Vhuzompha Mother and Father to All Marine Life, The Hermaphroditic God An amorphous monster of prodigious size, covered in a multitude of eyes, mouths, projections, and both male and female genitalia.
Vibur The Thing from Beyond A huge, furry, and rapidly shifting entity casting radioactive stones.
Vile-Oct
—
 A dragon-like or reptilian entity said to be familiar of Yig.
Volgna-Gath Keeper of Secrets A slimy shape-shifting mass, which can be summoned with mud and the blood of the invoker.
Voltiyig Yig's Terrifying Son Spawn of the Snake-God Yig, appearing as a winged and feathered serpent with flaming nostrils, somehow similar to the Aztec God Quetzalcoatl, trapped inside a dark tower topped with a giant five-pointed star.
Vthyarilops The Starfish God A tentacled horror similar to a Sun Star, but endowed with branching tentacles, spines, myriads of blue glaring eyes, and gaping-maws.
Vulthoom The Sleeper of Ravermos,
Gsarthotegga		 May appear as a huge, unearthly plant.
The Worm that Gnaws in the Night Doom of Shaggai A massive worm-like fiend similar to a Graboid from Tremors.
Xalafu The Dread One A titanic, globular mass of various dark colors, endowed with a huge single-eye in the middle of the alien bulk.
Xcthol[65] The Goat God A sadistic, mind-controlling, faun-like humanoid, likely related to Shub-Niggurath.
Xinlurgash The Ever-Consuming A bristly-mass with large gaping maws, made up with tentacles and spider-like limbs.
Xirdneth Maker of Illusions, Lord of Unreality An illusion-making entity with no true form.
Xitalu Being of Higher Dimension A tentacled, multi-eyed, soul-devouring abomination which dwells between dimensions.[66]
Xotli Lord of Terror, The Black Kraken of Atlantis, Demon-God of Elder Night[67] A rolling cloud of ebony darkness or a vortex of boreal cold, revered by Atlanteans priests of the Hyborian Age.
Xoxiigghua[68]
—
 A three-eyed, octopoid, and parasitic horror trapped inside a Central American mountain range.
Yamath Yama Worshiped in ancient Lemuria. Aspect of the Triple God of Chaos. Known as Yama, king of demons, in Tibet.
Yegg-Ha The Faceless One A 10-foot tall winged being which rules over the Nightgaunts, before being defeated in ancient Britain by a centuria of Roman soldiers.
Y'golonac The Defiler Appears as a naked, obese, headless humanoid with a mouth in the palm of each hand; other features are nebulous.
Yhagni
—
 A hideous female or hermaphroditic entity of tremendous power, cousin of Cthulhu and Hastur, imprisoned by the Great Old Ones being themselves aware of her powers. She dwells within the "Temple of Pillars," in the depths of Kyartholm located somewhere in the Northern Hemisphere. Her appearance is never described, but likely formless, larva-like, and tentacled as depicted in the minion-spawn which serve her parasitizing human victims.
Yhashtur The Worm-God of the Lords of Thule A worm-like monster dwelling at Northern Polar latitudes, said to be the rival or inimical to Nyarlathotep.
Yig Father of Serpents A giant snake with human-like arms covered in scales. Son of the Mappo's Dragon, children of his are Ayi'ig and Voltiyig, whereas Rokon is regarded as the brother of Yig.
Y'lla Master of the Seas A monstrous, barrel-shaped sea worm with tentacles and a lamprey-like mouth.
'Ymnar The Dark Stalker A shape-shifting entity spawned by the Outer God Ngyr-Korath to serve him only. It may grant great powers to whoever chooses to serve him and his master, but his final aim is the destruction of all sentient and intelligent life in the Cosmos.
Yog-Sapha The Dweller of the Depths,[69]
Lord of the Things Which Dwell Beneath the Surface		 A gigantic, amoebic, glowing, and multihued gelatinous mass living within the dark depths of Earth.
Yorith The Oldest Dreamer A huge crystalline-being residing in the seas of the ocean planet Yilla. Its hypnotic abilities force those spacefarers, who stray too closely, to suddenly plunge into the depths of its lethal sea.
Ysbaddaden Chief of the Giants[70] One of Hziulquoigmnzhah's children, supposedly male and gigantic.[71]
Ythogtha The Thing in the Pit Appears as a colossal Deep One, with tentacles surrounding its one eye.
Yug-Siturath The All-Consuming Fog A vampiric vaporous entity which adsorbs vital forces.
Zathog The Black Lord of Whirling Vortices A festering, bubbling mass that constantly churns and whirls, putting forth vestigial appendages and reabsorbing them. Bubbles burst on the surface to reveal hate-filled eyes, and slobbering mouths form or close randomly about his horrible body. He dwells in the Xentilx galaxy, served by the Zarrian aliens.
Zhar and Lloigor The Twin Obscenities Both appear as a colossal mass of tentacles, trapped inside the "Plateau of Sung," somewhere in Myanmar.
Zindarak The Fiery Messenger A mysterious fiery entity, that shall release Cthulhu from his prison once the stars are right.
Zoth-Ommog The Dweller in the Depths A gigantic entity with a cone-shaped body, a reptilian head, a beard of tentacles, and starfish-like arms.
Zstylzhemghi Matriarch of Swarms, Zystulzhemgni Spawn of the Outer God Ycnàgnnisssz, described as a living alien swarm. She also has a sister named Klosmiebhyx.
Zushakon Dark Silent One, Old Night,
Zul-Che-Quon, Zuchequon		 Appears as a swirling, black vortex, revered by the Mutsune Native Americans as a dire death god. He is also worshiped by mysterious servitors known as the Hidden Ones.[72]
Z'toggua[73]
—
 An obese bat-winged humanoid with a long polypous snout and a wide mouth, opening in the belly, served by the Deep Ones.
Zvilpogghua Feaster from the Stars,
The Sky-Devil, Ossadagowah		 A bat-winged, armless toad with tentacles instead of a face.

In Joseph S. Pulver's novel Nightmare's Disciple several new Great Old Ones and Elder Gods are named. The novel mentions D'numl Cthulhu's female cousin, T'ith and Xu'bea, The Teeth of the Dark Plains of Mwaalba. Miivls and Vn'Vulot, are said to have fought each other in southern Gondwanaland during the Cretaceous period, whereas Rynvyk, regarded as one of the mates of Cthulhu's sister Kassogtha, likely matches with Cthulhu itself or a similar entity. Kassogtha would have sired Rynvyk three sons (one named Ult) and Rynvyk himself currently rests in a crimson pool in the Hall of Tyryar (likely another name or dimension of R'lyeh), whose portal is located somewhere in Norway.[74]

Great Ones

The Great Ones are the "weak gods of earth" that reign in the Dreamlands. They are protected by Nyarlathotep.

  • Lobon ("The Doom That Came to Sarnath;" HP Lovecraft's Dreamlands, John Fultz's "Wizards of Hyperborea")
  • Nath-Horthath ("Celephaïs", The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath; HP Lovecraft's Dreamlands, "Kadath/The Vision and the Journey")
  • Oukranos (The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath)
  • Tamash ("The Doom That Came to Sarnath;" HP Lovecraft's Dreamlands, "Wizards of Hyperborea")
  • Zo-Kalar ("The Doom That Came to Sarnath;" "Wizards of Hyperborea")
  • Hagarg Ryonis (HP Lovecraft's Dreamlands, "Wizards of Hyperborea")
  • Karakal (HP Lovecraft's Dreamlands, "Wizards of Hyperborea", Mike Minnis' "The Crawler of Pnoth")

Outer Gods

As it is known in the Mythos, the Outer Gods are ruled by Azathoth, the "Blind Idiot God", who holds court at the center of infinity. 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 the entities called "Ultimate Gods" in The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath (called "Lesser Outer Gods" in the Call of Cthulhu RPG), and possibly Shub-Niggurath, the "Black Goat of the Woods with a Thousand Young". Yog-Sothoth, the "All-in-One and One-in-All", co-rules with Azathoth and exists as the incarnation of time in the cosmos, yet is somehow locked outside the mundane universe. Nyarlathotep, the "Crawling Chaos", is the avatar of the Outer Gods, existing as the incarnation of space and functions as an intermediary between the deities of the pantheon and their cults. The only Outer God to have a true personality, Nyarlathotep possesses a malign intellect and reveals a mocking contempt for his masters.[75] Lovecraft himself never made reference to them as the Outer Gods, instead calling them the Other Gods or the gods of the outer hells, as noted in his short story "The Other Gods".

Abhoth
Main article: Hyperborean Cycle § Abhoth

Aiueb Gnshal

Aiueb Gnshal (The Eyes Between Worlds, The Child-Minded God)[76] is a mysterious Outer God, who has his abode in a forgotten temple located somewhere in Bhutan. He appears as a formless black void, with seven pulsing orb-like eyes, and is mainly worshiped by ghouls, which tribute him in a defiled cult described in the mysterious Cambuluc Scrolls of the wizard Lang-Fu, dating back 1295 AD. Peering through the eyes of this god, after a hideous and devastating ritual, allows one to see straight into Azathoth's court. It is rumoured that the powers of Mongolian warlord Temujin, was a favour of Aiueb Gnshal.

Aletheia

Aletheia (The End of the Darkness) is a God-like entity symbolizing or incarnating the Truth. Named after the Greek Goddess of Truth, it manifests as vast spiral of manifold titanic hands with a single cycloptic eye in each palm as in the Hamsa and kilometric wire-like protrusions able to ensnare living beings replacing their spinal bone in puppet-like fashion. Introduced in Dylan Dog Issue 374,[77] In the plot the entity has clear features of an Outer God rather a Great Old One as well as an appearance vaguely resembling that of Yog-Sothoth and is invoked by a deranged prophet with words in Naacal or R'lyehan language almost coinciding with those featuring in Cthulhu's invocation, with R'lyeh replaced with Z'lyeh.

Azathoth

Azathoth, sometimes referred to as the "Blind Idiot God", is a dreaming monster whose dream is where the universe resides. Azathoth is completely unaware of anything going on in the dream; hence his title. Azathoth also shifts in his slumber, causing reality to change. He is the most powerful entity, according to Lovecraft, closely followed by his grandson Yog-Sothoth, and is the creator and ruler of the Outer Gods.

Azhorra-Tha

Azhorra-Tha[78] is an Outer God imprisoned on planet Mars, as it fled from Earth after the imprisonment of the Great Old Ones. Its appearance is that of an insectoid to toad-like squid, but its shape continuously changes emitting an awful buzz. The Mi-Go discovered the prison of Azhorra-Tha the millennia after, and made everything to not reveal its location to any human being.

The Blackness from the Stars

The Blackness from the Stars is an immobile blob of living, sentient darkness, torn from the primal fabric of the cosmos at the center of the universe. It is distinguishable in darkness only as vaguely shimmering oily pitch. Although intelligent, it speaks no known language and ignores attempts to communicate.

The Cloud-Thing

A man-eating cloudy mass, unnamed Outer God at the court of Azathoth.

C'thalpa

C'thalpa[55] (The Internal One)[79] is a huge mass of living sentient magma, located in the Earth's mantle. She is mother of the Great Old One Shterot, and five other unnamed hideous children. She is also served by a race of mole-like humanoid burrowers known as the Talpeurs.

Cxaxukluth

Cxaxukluth (Androgynous Offspring of Azathoth) is one of the Seed-Spawn of Azathoth, grown to adulthood and monstrous proportions. In appearance, Cxaxukluth resembles something of a cross between Azathoth and Ubbo-Sathla: an amorphous, writhing mass of bubbling, nuclear, protoplasmic-gel. He normally dwells alone within an unnamed dimension beyond time and space, unless disturbed or summoned away.

Daoloth
Main article: Daoloth

Darkness

Darkness (Magnum Tenebrosum, The Unnamed Darkness) is a mysterious entity spawned by Azathoth, and is the progenitor of Shub-Niggurath.

D’endrrah

D'endrrah[55] (The Divinity) is a sort of blurry female entity of supernatural beauty, dwelling within her obsidian palace located on Mars' Moon Deimos. She lives in a hall composed of a myriad of mirrors that distort her appearance, which is that of a tentacled dark abyss. This Mythos entity is somewhat inspired by C. L. Moore's Shambleau, the illusionary Martian she-vampires of lust.

Ghroth
Main article: Ghroth

The Hydra
Main article: Henry Kuttner deities § The Hydra

Ialdagorth

Ialdagorth (The Dark Devourer) is both the cousin and servant of Azathoth, appearing as a black, shapeless, malevolent mist. The sight of such a fiend is unsettling if not traumatizing.

Kaajh'Kaalbh

Kaajh'Kaalbh[80] is a lesser Outer God, servitor of Azathoth, but secluded in a parallel chaotic-dimension where everything is unstable. The god itself is constantly formed or disrupted, and has no true form at all. Whoever attempts summoning this entity needs the aid of a Dimensional Shambler, and the deity may manifest in variety of forms, often as an immense lava lake or a vast pool of solidified quicksilver.

Lu-Kthu

Lu-Kthu (Birth-womb of the Great Old Ones or Lew-Kthew) is a titanic, planet-sized mass of entrails and internal organs. On closer examination it appears a wet, warty globe, covered with countless ovoid pustules and spider-webbed with a network of long, narrow tunnels. Each pustule bears the larva of a Great Old One.

Mh'ithrha

An invisible wolf-like fiend similar to Fenrir of Norse mythology (if not coincident). Mh'ithrha (Arch-Lord of Tindalos) is the lord of the Hounds of Tindalos, and the most powerful. Although not an actual Outer God as such, its form and astounding powers defy standard classification. Mh'ithra's eternal battle with Yog-Sothoth is said to be legendary.

Mother of Pus

A Lesser Outer God composed of slime, tentacles, eyes, and mouths. The Mother of Pus was spawned through an obscene mating between a human and Shub-Niggurath. When summoned to Earth, the Mother of Pus seeks refuge in pools of stagnant, foul water.

The Nameless Mist

The Nameless Mist (Magnum Innominandum, Nyog' Sothep) is a "misty, shapeless thing" spawned by Azathoth, and is the progenitor of Yog-Sothoth.

Ngyr-Korath

Ngyr-Korath (The Ultimate Abomination or The Dream-Death) is a dark blue-green mist which causes a sense of terror as it approaches. Once close, an eye of flame forms within. He spawned by fission the Great Old One (or the avatar of his) ‘Ymnar, and his nemesis is the Elder God Paighon. He coincides with the entity known as the Magnum Tenebrosum.

Nyarlathotep
Main article: Nyarlathotep

First appearing in Lovecraft's 1920 prose poem of the same name, he was later mentioned in other works by Lovecraft and by other writers and in the tabletop role-playing games making use of the Cthulhu Mythos. Later writers describe him as one of the Outer Gods. He is a shape-shifter with a thousand forms, most of them maddeningly horrific to humans.

Nyctelios

Once an Elder God, Nyctelios[81] has been punished by his peers - especially Nodens - for having created a race of foul servitors. He has been permanently banished from the Elder Gods' Olympus, and imprisoned beneath the eastern Mediterranean Sea, near Greece, in a dark, basalt-built citadel named Atheron. However the exiled deity is not dead, but just sleeping, and one day he will rise again from his abyss manifesting himself as a blue, 6-metre tall, cyclops-like monstrosity, with the bulk of his body covered entirely in crawling worms.

Ny-Rakath

A goat-like fiendish horror with bat wings and multiple horns, mentioned as the brother of Shub-Niggurath.

Olkoth

Olkoth (God of the Celestial Arcs)[82] appears as a demoniacal god-like entity able to reincarnate in human bodies if the stars are right (sort of a "Cthulhian" Antichrist).[83] Olkoth may emerge in our dimension through an eyeless, grotesque statue of the Virgin Mary.

Shabbith-Ka

Shabbith-Ka appears as a shapeless, roughly man-sized purplish aura, spitting and crackling with powerful electrical arcs. A sense of power, malignancy, and intelligence accompanies it and persons able to gaze at its form long enough can see a rudimentary face or faces within the glowing mass.

Shub-Niggurath
Main article: Shub-Niggurath

Star Mother (the great mother of all)

The Star Mother appears as a chunk of yellow-green stone about the size of an infant. Its shape suggests a plump, huge-breasted, faceless female figure. From it extend dozens of pencil-thin root-like strands. It is one of the Larvae of the Other Gods and has no cult, although served by zombie slaves.

Suc'Naath

Suc'Naath is one of the mindless gods which twist and dance in the court of Azathoth. It appears as a formless spinning hurricane-like thing with strings of violet and golden colors across its shape, constantly emitting sickening smacking and screeching noises while showing pain-stricken faces across its body.

Suc'Naath's essence is currently divided into three parts, one in a comet called Aiin, the other in some sort of statue located somewhere in the World, while the third has been genetically passed on for aeons through prehuman, and now human races of earth, mostly in the middle east. The carriers of the Outer God's powers are said to have done great acts of magic and/or to have been insane. If these three parts are ever to be combine, Suc'Naath will be freed. This entity is served by a small middle-eastern cult known as the Golden Hands of Suc'Naath, who collect deranged intellectuals and trained assassins, who wish to set Suc'Naath free (they may have connections to the old Hashashin cult as well).

Tru'nembra

Tru'nembra (The Angel of Music) is the name given in Malleus Monstrorum Call of Cthulhu roleplay game guide to the entity described in H. P. Lovecraft's novel "The Music of Eric Zahn". It has no shape, but manifests as haunting music.

Tulzscha

Tulzscha (The Green Flame) is the name given in Malleus Monstrorum Call of Cthulhu roleplay game guide to the entity described in H. P. Lovecraft's story "The Festival". Tulzscha appears as a blazing green ball of flame, dancing with its Lesser Outer Gods at the court of Azathoth. Called to our world, it assumes a gaseous form, penetrates the planet to the core, then erupts from below as a pillar of flame. It cannot move from where it emerges.

Ubbo-Sathla
Main article: Hyperborean Cycle § Ubbo-Sathla

Uvhash

Uvhash (The Blood-Mad God of the Void) appears as a colossal, vampiric, red mass of both tentacles and eyes. It dwells within the realm of Rhylkos, which matches with the red planet Mars, and whoever summons Uvhash witnesses an atrocious death. He has affinities with the star vampires, and is rumored to have been one of mad emperor Caligula's eldritch sponsors as well. There is enmity with both the Elder God Nodens and the Great Old One Gi-Hoveg.

Xa'ligha

Xa'ligha (Master of the Twisted Sound or Demon of Dissonance) is an entity made of maddening sound, somehow similar to Tru'Nembra. There is some affinity with the Great Old One Hastur.[84]

Xexanoth

Xexanoth is a fictional character from Clark Ashton Smith's Cthulhu Mythos work. It appears only once in "The Chain of Aforgomon", where it is summoned by the main character. Apparently, Xexanoth is the bane and mortal enemy of the time god Aforgomon and, because of Aforgomon likely being an avatar of the Outer God Yog-Sothoth, is probably an Elder or Outer God.

Ycnàgnnisssz

Ycnàgnnisssz is a black, festering, amorphous mass that constantly blasts and erupts violently, spewing out bits of churning lava-like material. She spawned the Great Old One Zstylzhemgni.

Yhoundeh
Main article: Yhoundeh

Yibb-Tstll

A gigantic, bat-winged humanoid with detached eyes, wearing a green robe. This horrible deity sees all time and space as it slowly rotates in the centre of its clearing within the Jungle of Kled, in Earth's Dreamlands. Beneath its billowing cloak are a multitude of nightgaunts, suckling and clutching at its breasts. Having a close connection to the Great Old One Bugg-Shash,[85] so should Yibb-Tstll be regarded as a Great Old One - specifically in the Drowners group introduced by Brian Lumley, parasitic alien entities which thrive by vampyrizing the Great Old Ones themselves[86] - though in RPG materials she is classed as an "Outer God".[87]

Yidhra

Yidhra (The Dream Witch or Yee-Tho-Rah[88]) usually appears as a youthful, attractive, earthly female, though her shape may vary.

Yidhra has been on Earth since the first microorganisms appeared and is immortal. To survive in a changing environment, she gained the ability to take on the characteristics of any creature that she devoured. Over time, Yidhra split herself into different aspects, though each part shares her consciousness.

Yidhra is served by devoted cults found in such widely separated places as Myanmar, Chad, Laos, Sumer, New Mexico, and Texas. Members of Yidhra's cult can gain immortality by merging with her, though they become somewhat like Yidhra as a consequence. Those who serve her are also promised plentiful harvests and healthy livestock. She usually conceals her true form behind a powerful illusion, appearing as a comely young woman; only favored members of her cult can see her as she actually is.

Yog-Sothoth

Kenneth Grant suggested Lovecraft's description of Yog-Sothoth as a conglomeration of "malignant globes" may have been inspired by the Spheres of the Qliphoth.[89]

The cosmic entity Yog-Sothoth was first mentioned in The Case of Charles Dexter Ward (written 1927, first published 1941). The being is said to take the form of a conglomeration of glowing spheres. It is an all-knowing deity, which means it knows the past, present, and future. Yog-Sothoth is coterminous with all time and space, yet is supposedly locked outside of the universe we inhabit. Its cosmic nature is hinted at in this passage from "Through the Gates of the Silver Key" (1934) by Lovecraft and E. Hoffmann Price:

It was an All-in-One and One-in-All of limitless being and self—not merely a thing of one Space-Time continuum, but allied to the ultimate animating essence of existence's whole unbounded sweep—the last, utter sweep which has no confines and which outreaches fancy and mathematics alike. It was perhaps that which certain secret cults of earth have whispered of as YOG-SOTHOTH, and which has been a deity under other names; that which the crustaceans of Yuggoth worship as the Beyond-One, and which the vaporous brains of the spiral nebulae know by an untranslatable Sign...

Yog-Sothoth sees all and knows 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. Some authors state that the favor of the god requires a human sacrifice or eternal servitude.

According to the genealogy Lovecraft devised for his characters (later published as "Letter 617" in Selected Letters), Yog-Sothoth is the offspring of the Nameless Mists, which were born of the deity Azathoth. Yog-Sothoth mated with Shub-Niggurath to produce the twin deities Nug and Yeb, while Nug sired Cthulhu through parthenogenesis.[90] In Lovecraft's short story "The Dunwich Horror", Yog-Sothoth impregnates a mortal woman, Lavinia Whateley, who then gives birth to twin sons: the humanoid Wilbur Whateley and his more monstrous unnamed brother.

In Anders Fager's short story "Grandmother's Journey" a tribe of dog or wolf-like humans (analog to the "ghouls" of the Lovecraftian mythos) is said to have sacrificed to Yog-Sothoth to become "different". In Fager's "Herr Goering's Artifact" Yog-Sothoth is invoked to protect a couple of witches from Father Dagon.

Yog-Sothoth has some connection to the mysterious Old Ones mentioned in "The Dunwich Horror" (1929), but their nature, their number, and their connection to Yog-Sothoth are unknown. Nonetheless, they are probably allied to him in some way, since Wilbur Whateley, the half-human son of Yog-Sothoth, tried to summon them so that they could control Wilbur's more tainted twin and make it reproduce.

At the end of Lovecraft's last story "The Haunter of the Dark", the protagonist Robert Blake calls on Yog-Sothoth to save him from the eponymous malign entity which he has let loose.

Yomagn'tho

Yomagn'tho (The Feaster from the Stars, That Which Relentlessly Waits Outside) is a malevolent being who wishes nothing more than the destruction of mankind for unknown reasons. He waits in his home dimension in Pherkard, until he is summoned to Earth. When first summoned, Yomagn'tho appears as a small ball of fire that quickly expands to a large circle of fire with three flaming inner petals. The reptilian burrowing folk, the Rhygntu, are known to worship this malignant deity.

Elder Gods

In post-Lovecraft stories, the Elder Gods oppose the likes of Cthulhu and his ilk. Derleth attempted to retroactively group the benevolent deity Nodens in this category (who acts as deus ex machina for the protagonists in both The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath and "The Strange High House in the Mist"). Joseph S. Pulver mentions in his Nightmare's Disciple (2006) a set of original Elder Gods, but offers no descriptions of their true forms. The story introduces entities as Adaedu, Alithlai-Tyy, Dveahtehs, Eyroix, Ovytonv, Urthuvn, Xislanyx and Xuthyos-Sihb’Bz'. Others have a cult title as Othkkartho (Sire of the Four Titans of Balance and Order), which is said to be Nodens's son, and Zehirete, who is The Pure and Holy Womb of Light. Sk'tai and Eppirfon are both siblings. Eppirfon was originally Cthulhu's second bride who bore him a son, T'ith, now dead, murdered by Cthulhu himself.

Known Elder Gods in the Mythos

The following is another Elder God with no description: Walter C. DeBill, Jr.'s Paighon, an extra-galactic entity which now dwells in Earth's core, said to be inimical to the Outer God Ngyr-Korath and his servitor 'Ymnar.

Bast

Bast (Goddess of Cats or Pasht) appears as a female human with a cat's head. Likely named after the ancient Egyptian goddess Bastet.

Hypnos

An ambiguous deity regarded as an Elder God. First appeared in Lovecraft's short story "Hypnos".

Kthanid

A creation of Brian Lumley, Kthanid is a sibling of Cthulhu. It looks the same as Cthulhu except for eye colour.

Oryx

Oryx was introduced without name in August Derleth's "The Lair of the Star-Spawn" (1932). The name Oryx is given in Call of Cthulhu RPG supplement "The Creature Companion" (The Bright Flame) manifests as a giant pillar of blinding white and purple flames. Although its expression is bright and blinding, no one feels its heat. No one can look at Oryx more than a few seconds; after the first glance, the eyes of anyone who looks become sore and watery.

Oztalun

Oztalun (Golden and Shimmering One) is an Elder God introduced by James Ambuehl. It is symbolized by a seven-pointed star symbol, which is his own Seal.

Nodens

Nodens ("Lord of the Great Abyss") appears as a human male riding a huge seashell pulled by legendary beasts. In CthulhuTech supplements, Nodens is said to be the avatar of the Forgotten One Savty'ya.

Shavalyoth

Shavalyoth (Shadowy and Shapeless One) is an Elder God introduced by James Ambuehl, supposed to be dark and formless.

Ulthar

Ulthar (or Uldar and also Ultharathotep[91]) is a deity sent to Earth to hold vigil over the Great Old Ones.

Vorvadoss

Vorvadoss* (The Flaming One, Lord of the Universal Spaces, The Troubler of the Sands, Who Waiteth in the Outer Dark) appears as a cloaked, hooded being, enveloped in green flames, with fiery eyes. He is described as a son of both the Elder God Nodens and the Great Old One Lythalia and has a twin brother, Yaggdytha.[31]

Yad-Thaddag

Another Brian Lumley deity. Has the same appearance as Yog-Sothoth, except its spheres are of a different color and its nature is purely benevolent.

Yaggdytha

Yaggdytha ("The Incandescent One") is twin brother of Vorvadoss, manifesting as a great, amorphous, incandescent ball of cyan living energy, spreading itself into a web of giant talons of light.

See also

References
  1. Robert Bloch, "Heritage of Horror", p. 8.
  2. Robert M. Price, "H.P. Lovecraft and the Cthulhu Mythos", Crypt of Cthulhu #35, p. 5.
  3. Daniel Harms, "A Brief History of the Cthulhu Mythos", p. viii.
  4. This entity is introduced in RPG scenario "Devourers In The Mist", featuring in "Stunning Eldritch Tales: Trail of Cthulhu Adventures"
  5. Robin D. Laws (2010). "Devourers In The Mist". Stunning Eldritch Tales: Trail of Cthulhu Adventures. Pelgrane Press
  6. Regarded as Great Old One in Daniel Harms's Encyclopaedia Cthulhiana, p. 4
  7. This entity is introduced in RPG scenario "Les Yeux d'Amon" available at http://www.tentacules.net/index.php?id=5181
  8. This entity is introduced as a Great Old One in Call of Cthulhu roleplay game scenario "Twilight Memoirs" (2005), by Clint Krause.
  9. 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.
  10. It does not feature in Chaosium's Malleus Monstrorum.
  11. 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. (Robert M. Price, "Introduction", The New Lovecraft Circle, pp. xx–xxi). The name "Bugg-Shash", however, appeared earlier in Lumley's short story "Rising with Surtsey" (Daniel Harms, "Bugg-Shash", Encyclopedia Cthulhiana, p. 41).
  12. This is the title the Aztec goddess Coatlicue was usually worshiped, also mentioned in Ann K. Schwader's "Fiesta For Our Lady" (2012).
  13. This entity recalls the Coinchenn, cetacean sea monster of Celtic Mythology.
  14. Coinchenn features in Abraham Martinez's "Coinchenn" featuring in Lovecraftian comics Strange Aeons, issue#1. Webcomic version of this episode is available at
  15. Crom Cruach is mentioned several times in Brian McNaughton's horror stories "Downward to Darkness" and "Worse Things Waiting" (2000) along with the Great Old Ones Hastur and Shub-Niggurath.
  16. See Name, nature and functions.
  17. As in James Ambuehl's short poem "Dythalla", featured in Etchings & Odysseys, issue #7 (October 1985). Available online at http://www.oocities.org/area51/rampart/4059/jamb03.html
  18. This entity is introduced without a name in Ramsey Campbell's "The Insects from Shaggai" (1964). Dzéwà is the name given to this entity in the roleplay game scenario "The Lord of the Jungle", featuring in Call of Cthulhu RPG supplement "Shadow Over Filmland" (2009).
  19. He is first mentioned in Dawid Lewis' short novel "Etepsed Egnis" and cited again in Cthulhu Cultus #11, in the novel A Core Unto Itself.
  20. Polynesian cult title featuring in "Destroying Paradise, Hawaiian Style", roleplay game scenario of "Atomic Age Cthulhu".
  21. Daniel Harms, Encyclopaedia Cthulhiana, p.113.
  22. This entity is introduced in the role-playing game Call of Cthulhu. The name is fictional, H. P. Lovecraft has not described it in the original story "The Temple".
  23. This entity was introduced in the strategy game "Cthulhu Wars" by Sandy Petersen. It is an original creation based on the Moon Ladder mentioned in the H.P Lovecraft novella "At the Mountains of Madness".
  24. First appears in Cthulhu Wars by Petersen Games https://petersengames.com/product/independent-great-old-one-pack-3-preorder/%5B%5D
  25. As ravenous Kaalut in J.B. Lee's "Genuine Article" (1998).
  26. Kag'Naru of the Air and Rh'Thulla of the Wind are mentioned in the comic book Challengers of the Unknown #83 (which also added "the Eternal" to M'Nagalah's name).
  27. This entity features in A. Merritt's Dwellers in the Mirage (1932), a fantasy novel which involves many of H. P. Lovecraft's leitmotivs.
  28. Krang (often mentioned as Lord Krang) is a God-like entity created by Robert H. Barlow in the story "The Tomb of the God" (Annals of the Jinns V), not to be confused with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles' supervillain Krang. Though mentioned as a "Elder God" in the original story, the few details concerning Krang (an evil mind and a hideous appearance according to description) seem rather to qualify him as a "Great Old One", since he has fallen in a death-like slumber, likely bound to mysterious astral conjunctions.
  29. According to Kenneth Grant, this would be an extraterrestrial intelligence which the occultist Aleister Crowley came into contact with in 1919 (Grant's The Magical Revival, p. 84).
  30. Scott D. Aniolowski, Malleus Monstrorum, p. 171.
  31. James Ambuehl, The Star-Seed (2004).
  32. M'Nagalah first appeared in the comic book Swamp Thing vol. 1 #8 (1974) in a story by Len Wein and Bernie Wrightson (Daniel 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).
  33. Title introduced in the DC Comics maxiseries Crisis on Infinite Earths.
  34. M'Nagalah also features as a villain in the DC Comics maxiseries Crisis on Infinite Earths.
  35. see Mordiggian
  36. Mormo is informally introduced in H. P. Lovecraft's "Horror at Red Hook". Kenneth Hite's "Trail of Cthulhu" RPG material lists her as a Great Old One, and relates her to the Moon-beasts.
  37. This Great Old One has been created for Call of Cthulhu French role-play game website Tentacles.net.
  38. Same title used for Nyogtha
  39. This Great Old One has been created for Call of Cthulhu French role-play game website Tentacles.net. URL at http://www.tentacules.net/toc/toc/tocyclo_fiche.php?type=crea&id=402
  40. As in the short poem Nyaghoggua of Robert Lowndes (1941).
  41. This entity has previously been mentioned in R. H. Barlow and H. P. Lovecraft's "The Hoard of Wizard-Beast" (1933).
  42. As in Crispin Burnham's People of the Monolith: Stone of Death.
  43. The novel introducing Perse, Stephen King's "Duma Key" (2008), describes this entity with several Cthulhu Mythos leitmotivs, including a clear reference to Howard Phillips Lovecraft in the text.
  44. Lin Carter, "Shaggai", The Book of Eibon, p. 206.
  45. Lin Carter, "Shaggai", The Book of Eibon, 207.
  46. Daniel Harms, "Pharol", p. 238, The Encyclopedia Cthulhiana. Daniel Harms believes that Pharol was invented by C. L. Moore, Henry Kuttner's wife, since the being appears in many of her stories.
  47. Crispin Burnham "People of the Monolith: Stone of Death" (1997).
  48. As in Ravana page.
  49. This entity is supposed to coincide with the legendary Scottish war goddess Scáthach featuring in the Ulster Cycle.
  50. This entity is introduced as a Great Old One in Call of Cthulhu roleplay game scenario "Utatti Asfet".
  51. "Selected Letters vol. 4", 633rd letter, April 2, 1933
  52. This entity is introduced as a Great Old One in Call of Cthulhu roleplay game scenario "Once Men" (2008), by Michael Labossiere.
  53. This entity is introduced in Robert H. Barlow's "The Fidelity of Ghu" as rival or nemesis of Krang.
  54. This entity is introduced as a Great Old One in Call of Cthulhu roleplay game scenario "Cthulhu Britannica: Avalon - The County of Somerset" (2010), by Paul Wade-Williams.
  55. This entity is part of Call of Cthulhu RPG French edition.
  56. Or lost Sthanee as in Lowndes' "Nyaghoggua" (1941).
  57. Sthanee is mentioned in Robert Lowndes' short poem "Nyaghoggua" (1941), but its physical appearance was depicted in Lowndes' comics panels of "When Sthanee Wakes" (pp. 32-33) featuring in Scienti-Comics issue#2, originally published in sci-fi magazine Spaceways, July 1940. Scans of the original comics are publicly viewable at http://fanac.org/fanzines/ScientiComics/ScientiComics2-05.html
  58. This entity is introduced in German Pegasus Press roleplay game magazine Cthulhu. Berlin. Im Herzen der großen Stadt. Rollenspiel in der Welt des H. P. Lovecraft, in Jan Christoph Steines' scenario "Jahrhundertsommer" (i.e. "The Millennium Summer").
  59. This entity is introduced in Abraham Merritt's fantasy novel "The Moon Pool" (1918) and its sequel "The Conquest of the Moon Pool" (1919) (then collected in 1948 as a whole story on Fantastic Novels magazine, divided in multiple issues), sometimes cited as an influence on The Call of Cthulhu by H. P. Lovecraft, which may in turn have itself influenced Merritt's later story Dwellers in the Mirage. See The Moon Pool.
  60. Though not officially related as a Great Old One, this entity is introduced by Robert E. Howard as a "demon-god", very similar to Lovecraft's Great Old Ones.
  61. Introduced in William Browning Spencer's "Usurped", not to be confused with Egyptian deity Thoth.
  62. This entity features in Gareth Hanrahan Warpcon XII Call of Cthulhu supplement "Verboten: Operation Faust"
  63. This entity is introduced in the French Call of Cthulhu roleplay game scenario "Le Maître des Souffrances" (1986).
  64. English translation of French title Le Maître des Souffrances.
  65. This entity is introduced as a Great Old One in John Gary Pettit's role-playing game material "Ravenstone Sanitarium" (2008).
  66. This entity, regarded as a "Lovecraftian God", is introduced in Chris Roberson and Michael Allred's IZOMBIE published by DC Comics's Vertigo, featuring in issues from 22 to 28.
  67. Like Thog, Xotli appears not officially related as Great Old One, though introduced in a Conan the Barbarian's story of L. Sprague de Camp and Lin Carter as "demon-god of Elder Night" with significant similarities with Lovecraft's Great Old Ones, besides canonical "Cthulhu Mythos" cult title.
  68. This Great Old One is introduced in French Call of Cthulhu roleplay game scenario "Une Ombre Couleur Sépia" (2006) by Benjamin Schwarz.
  69. Not to be confused with Zoth-Ommog.
  70. According to Culhwch ac Olwen.
  71. This entity is supposed to coincide with the vicious giant Ysbaddaden featuring in the Welsh tale Culhwch ac Olwen.
  72. Lin Carter, Descent to the Abyss.
  73. Not Zothaqquah nor Tsathoggua.
  74. Joseph S. Pulver, "Nightmare's Disciple"
  75. Daniel Harms, The Encyclopedia Cthulhiana, "Azathoth", pp. 16; "Nyarlathotep", pp. 218; "Shub-Niggurath", pp. 275; "Tulzscha", pp. 304; Yog-Sothoth, p. 346.
  76. This entity is introduced in "Eyes Between the Worlds", roleplay game scenario featuring in Kevin T. McKinnon and Dylan K. Sharpe's Call of Cthulhu RPG monograph "Tales of Dread and Wonder #1"
  77. "La Fine dell'Oscurità" ("The End of Darkness").
  78. This entity is a creation of TOC website (http://www.tentacules.net) and officially employed in Call of Cthulhu RPG supplement "Cthulhu Rising"
  79. Translated from French Le Interieur, referring to her location in the depths of Earth's mantle
  80. This entity is introduced in "Full de Drames," a French "Call of Cthulhu"-type role-play game scenario available at http://www.tentacules.net/toc/toc_/scen/full_de.pdf.zip
  81. This entity is introduced in "Le Regard Dans L'Abime", a French "Call of Cthulhu" -type role-play game scenario available at Tentacules.net
  82. English translation of Olkoth, le Dieu des Arcs Célestes featuring in French "Call of Cthulhu" roleplay game scenario.
  83. This entity is introduced in French Tentacules.net's "Call of Cthulhu" scenario available at http://www.tentacules.net/index.php?id=5046
  84. See James Ambuehl & E.P. Berglund's "Whiteout" (2006).
  85. Scott D. Aniolowski's Malleus Monstrorum, p. 131.
  86. Daniel Harms's Encyclopaedia Cthulhiana, p. 324.
  87. Scott D. Aniolowski's Malleus Monstrorum, p. 241.
  88. Walter C. DeBill, Jr.'s "What Lurks Among the Dunes" (2006), Black Sutra, p. 39.
  89. Harms, Daniel & Gonce, John Wisdom (1998). The Necronomicon Files. York Beach, Maine: Red Wheel/Weiser, LLC. p. 109. ISBN 1578632692.
  90. Lovecraft, H. P. (1967). Selected Letters of H. P. Lovecraft IV (1932–1934). Sauk City, Wisconsin: Arkham House. "Letter 617". ISBN 0-87054-035-1.
  91. Daniel Harms, Encyclopaedia Cthulhiana, p. 291.

Bibliography
  • Harms, Daniel (1998). "Heritage of Horror". The Encyclopedia Cthulhiana (2nd ed.). Oakland, CA: Chaosium. ISBN 1-56882-119-0.
  • Lovecraft, Howard (1982). The Best of H. P. Lovecraft: Bloodcurdling Tales of Horror and the Macabre (1st edition ed.) (1st ed.). Ballantine Books. ISBN 0-345-35080-4.
  • Price, Robert M. (1996). The New Lovecraft Circle. New York, N.Y.: Random House. ISBN 0-345-44406-X.
  • Thompson, C. Hall (1946). Spawn of the Green Abyss (3rd ed.). Robert M. Price, Fedogan & Bremer, 1992. ISBN 1-878252-02-X.
  • Myers, Gary (1975). "Xiurhn". The House of the Worm. Sauk City, WI: Arkham House. ISBN 0-9789911-3-3.
  • Pulver, Joseph S. (1999). Nightmare's Disciple. Chaosium. ISBN 1-56882-118-2.
  • Daniel Harms & John Wisdom Gonce III (2003). The Necronomicon Files: The Truth Behind Lovecraft's Legend. Weiser Books. ISBN 978-1578632695.CS1 maint: uses authors parameter (link)
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