BY EMERSON LAYNE

Howard Philips Lovecraft was the father of cosmic horror and a pioneer in the horror genre. Many of his short stories and poems revolve around dreams, incomprehensible horrors, and the insignificance of human society. Lovecraft wrote about many different creatures and deities from night-gaunts, moon-beasts, zoogs, Azathoth, Yog-Sothoth, and talking cats. Most of these  examples are probably unfamiliar to someone outside of the Lovecraftian realm of literature. The works of Lovecraft, spanning all the way back to the 1920’s, is worthy to delve into due to its complexity and carefully crafted narratives. (Note: This will only cover the works of Lovecraft, not the other authors who have contributed to the Cthulhu Mythos.) 

Let’s start with the first realm; our universe. Our universe is infinite in size and shape, housing everything that we see, feel, smell, hear, and taste. The majority of Lovecraft’s work revolves around our solar system and references things beyond it, so for this article we will focus on our solar system. About 1 billion years ago, the Elder Things were the first alien species to colonize Earth. The Elder Things were oval-barrel shaped with star-like appendages on each end and had large wings. The Elder Things were far more technologically advanced than humans, having skills in biological engineering. They created the ancestors of all native life on Earth and the species called the Shoggoths. The Shoggoths are amorphous, shapeshifting beings that were slaves to the Elder Things. Eventually after a few million years, the Soggoths overthrew the Elder Things and destroyed their civilization. Another living being on Earth is the Deep Ones, which are humanoid fish people. The Deep Ones live in the deep oceans and worship Dagon and Mother Hydra, both being humanoid fish beings. The Deep Ones, as described in The Shadow Over Innsmouth, have created deals with humans for mating in exchange for gold, in which they created hybrids. Another major species is the Mi-go that comes from Yuggoth, a planet at the very edge of our solar system. The Mi-go are fungi creatures that resemble large insects. The Mi-go are able to travel between Earth and Yuggoth by their wings, though their wings are not suitable for Earth. 

The next realm is the Dreamlands. The Dreamlands is an infinite dimension that mortal beings are able to visit during their dreams. Each planet, including Earth, has its own Dreamlands that native inhabitants are able to visit. The Dreamlands exist beyond time, so you could spend eons in the Dreamlands and almost no time would pass in our universe. A few notable creatures are the moon-beasts that are toad-like creatures, zoogs: a forest dwelling creature, night-gaunts: a humanoid creature with smooth black skin, wings, and no face, and talking cats are some of the many that inhabit the Dreamlands of Earth. The Dreamlands is also where dream-gods of Earth inhabit in Kadath, whose location is unknown but accessible in the Dreamlands. Dreamers are powerful people who are able to cross between the waking world and the Dreamlands at will when dreaming. This power is at its strongest when we are children and as we get older the ability is eventually lost. We see with the fictional character Randolph Carter how he dreams and his quests as a Dreamer. 

The next realm is the infinite number of universes and Dreamlands. While we don’t get much detail in the multiverse that Lovecraft describes, we just know it exists. 

The next and final realm(s) is the Ultimate Gate and the Void. The Ultimate Gate and the Void are beyond infinity and time. The Ultimate Gate itself is Yog-Sothoth, an Other God that is described to be a mass of glowing orbs and hinted at being omniscient. Yog-Sothoth exists outside of the universe, so he is able to know and see everything at once. Yog-Sothoth metaphorically represents the entire Lovecraft lore, being descriptive as the “All-in-One”. Inside the Void exists some of the Other Gods including Azathoth, Nyarlathotep, and Shub, to name a few. Azathoth is described as being the Blind Idiot God, a constantly changing entity, and is in a deep slumber by flutes within the void. It is a common misconception that Azathoth dreamt of the universe, since nowhere in Lovecraft’s works does he ever describe this. Another entity that dwells within the Void is Nyarlathotep, the crawling chaos. Nyarlathotep represents the soul of all the Other Gods and frequently visits Earth disguised as a tall, thin man. Another deity is Shub, the Goat with a Thousand Young. Shub is described as a large and black mass with goat-like features. Though Shub hasn’t been described in what her powers are, she is worshiped by many and resides in the Void with other powerful gods. 

A popular god in the literature of Lovecraft’s lore is Cthulhu. Cthulhu is a humanoid and dragon-like creature with octopus features. Cthulhu resides in the underwater city of R’lyeh, being a deep slumber. Cthulhu arrived on Earth during the Paleozoic Era with his Star Spawn, who eventually created the city of R’lyeh. Cthulhu is described as being a high priest for the Great Old Ones, and cultists believe that once Cthulhu is free from R’lyeh he will open the gate for the Great Old Ones to terraform and devour Earth. The Great Old Ones are alien and less godly creatures that have an interest in Earth and other terrestrial planets. 

This was just a basic overview of the world Lovecraft has created. If you are interested in learning more about Lovecraft then I recommend looking into the Cthulhu Mythos and or reading his work yourself.