H P Lovecraft, page 1
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ABBITH. World of seven suns beyond which the binary star of Xoth may be
found. (Others say it orbits the star Algol.) The inhabitants of this planet are
metal brains that hold many of the universe's secrets. According to von Junzt,
Nyarlathotep lives or is imprisoned on Abbith, though others state that the
Crawling Chaos holds court at Sharnoth. The being known as Ossadogwah,
or Zvilpogghua, supposedly dwells there.
See Nyarlathotep; Xoth; Ymar; Zaoth. ("The Feaster from the Stars", Carter;
"Out of the Ages", Carter (O); Visions from Yaddith, Carter; "Zoth-Ommog",
Carter.)
ABDUL ALHAZRED. See Alhazred, Abdul.
ABHOTH. Being connected with filth and disease. Abhoth lives beneath Mount
Voormithadreth (or possibly behind the Dreamlands Grey Barrier Peaks), and
takes the form of a huge pool of grey slime. It continually spawns its children,
beings of infinite anatomical diversity. Abhoth devours most of these imme-
diately, but the rest may escape from their parent's cavern home.
In one recorded encounter with this being, Abhoth put out a pseudopod to
feel the intruder, communicated with him telepathically, afterward magically
compelling him to leave its presence. Others may not be so lucky, as Abhoth
finds the existence of humans vexacious.
Few instances of Abhoth's worship have been reported. The Hyperborean
colony of Krannoria revered Abhoth, but in the end their ungrateful deity
destroyed them. An "Abhoth the Dark" is also mentioned in many Hittite
inscriptions. Abhoth seems not to care that such cults exist, and is unlikely to
provide them with any favors. It does require sacrifices from time to time, but
may gather them itself by cloaking itself in illusion and calling to unsuspect-
ing victims.
Some have attributed the creation of all evil to Abhoth, but this seems
unlikely.
See Haon-Dor; Hyperborea; Outer Gods; Sothoth; Ubbo-Sathla;
Voormithadreth. ( Return to Dunwich, Herber; A Guide to the Cthulhu Cult,
Pelton; "The Seven Geases", Smith (O); The Complete Dreamlands, Williams
and Petersen; The Mind Parasites, Wilson.)
ACHERON. Evil kingdom founded at the Tybor River's mouth as a Stygian
colony in pre-Hyborian times. It soon threw off Stygian control, reaching its
height three thousand years before the time of Conan. It was known for its
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embrace of the darkest sorcery, and its rulers were also mighty magicians.
The King of Koth raised a massive alliance, destroying the purple towers of
its capital, Python. Its former lands became the kingdoms of Argos, Nemedia,
and Aquilonia. Only a few tribes of hill dwellers survived. Acheron's dark lore
nonetheless was passed down to Hyboria and Egypt.
See Koth-Serapis; Kuthchemes; Nephren-Ka; Serpent Ring of Set; Set.
("Black Colossus", Howard (O); "The Hour of the Dragon", Howard; "The Hand
of Nergal", Howard and Carter; "Acheron—A Revisionary Theory", Yaple.)
ADUMBRALI. Entities from another dimension which appear as globules of
darkness. The most complete references to the adumbrali can be found in the
Song ofYste. These creatures are said to send messengers to other dimensions
to attract prey for their own hunting pleasure. These messengers seem to be
members of the native species. They have an unnatural grace and are capable
of great feats of hypnotism, which they use to ensnare their victims. The minds
of these unfortunates are sent to the adumbrali s homeland, where they are
tortured and devoured.
See Song ofYste. ("The Abyss", Lowndes (O).)
AHTU. See Nyarlathotep (Ahtu).
AHU-Y'HLOA. Deep one city located in the sea off Cornwall. A group of deep
ones, with the aid of their brethren from Y'ha-nthlei, are still constructing this
metropolis. During World War II, this city formed a loose alliance with the Karo-
techia before a joint raid of Delta Green and PISCES brought it to an end.
See Deep ones; Y'ha-nthlei. ( Delta Green: Countdown, Detwiller et. al.; "The
Return of the Deep Ones", Lumley (O).)
AKELEY, GEORGE GOODENOUGH (1901-1971). Son of Henry Akeley and
founder of the Spiritual Light Brotherhood. George Akeley's mother passed
away due to complications resulting from his birth, and his father and a number
of caretakers raised the young man.
Eollowing his father's retirement, George Akeley moved to San Diego,
where he married. Of four children, only one (Aimee Doyle Akeley) survived
the first few months of life. He continued his father's studies, and provided
Albert Wilmarth with uncanny data when the professor visited him in 1937.
Sometime during these years, Akeley met the evangelist Aimee McPherson
and was inspired to set up his own church, the Spiritual Light Brotherhood.
He served as the "Radiant Father" of the religion his death, whereupon his
granddaughter, Elizabeth Akeley, took up the post.
See Akeley, Henry Wentworth. ("The Terror from the Depths", Leiber; "The
Whisperer in Darkness", Lovecraft (O); "Documents in the Case of Elizabeth
Akeley", Lupoff.)
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A D U M B K A L 1 1
AKELEY, HENRY WENTWORTH (1871-1928?). Noted folklorist and cor-
respondent of Albert Wilmarth.
Akeley was supposedly the son of Abednego Akeley,, a minister who served
the Townshend, Vermont branch of the Starry Wisdom Church, and Sarah
Phillips, a servant in Abednego's household. Though his mother's story was
dubious, the townsfolk accepted him as Abednego's heir.
Little has been said of Akeley's early years, though he had a successful
career in academics, most likely as a folklorist. He was married at one time,
but his wife died in 1901 shortly after the birth of the pair's only child, George
Goodenough Akeley.
Following his retirement, Akeley moved back into the ancestral mansion
near Townshend. Near the end of his life, he wrote frequent letters to the young
Professor Wilmarth on the legends of his region. Akeley vanished in Septem-
ber of 1928, following wild stories and bouts of paranoia which led many of
his neighbors to believe that the aged scholar had lost his mind. Some say he
returned to Earth later in mysterious circumstances.
See Akeley, George Goodenough; Wilmarth, Albert. ("The Whisperer in
Darkness", Lovecraft (O); "Documents in the Case of Elizabeth Akeley", Lupoff;
"Disconnected", Sammons.)
AKLO. Language of the Valusian serpent-men. It is still used in a modified form
by the priests of the Great Old Ones (to whom it was given by their masters),
as well as the Little People of Welsh legend. The term "Aklo" may also be used
to refer to a series of magical rituals (see below), or a specific time at which an
incantation should be performed.
E. A. Hitchcock's book Remarks upon Alchemy makes reference to "the now
unattainable secrets of the AKLO tablets", a set of writings which has never
been discovered. However, Alonzo Typer, an occultist of some note, might
have read these "Aklo writings" or others, as he described rituals known as the
Aklo formulae in his diary. The third of these formula e is useful in making the
unseen visible, but the proper use of the rest remains a mystery.
[One occultist has suggested to me that Aklo bears many similarities to
Enochian, the pre-human language John Dee supposedly discovered through
contact with angels and used by occult groups until the present. Though most
passages usually considered to be Aklo have little resemblance to Enochian, the
link does bring up some interesting possibilities. (See especially "Aklo Sabaoth"
and "Aklo Unveilings".)]
See Aklo Sabaoth; Aklo Unveilings; la; Kuen-Yuin; Remnants of Lost Em-
pires. (Letter (9/23/94), AzOth; The Necronomicon, Culp; Keeper's Compendium,
Herber; "Aliah Warden", Johnson; "The Haunter of the Dark", Lovecraft; "The
Diary of Alonzo Typer", Lovecraft and Lumley; "The White People", Machen
(O); "Plant y Daear", Ross; "The Return of the Lloigor", Wilson.)
AKLO SABAOTH (or AKLO FOR THE SABAOTH). Formula in the Aklo lan-
T E CTHULHU MYTHOS ENCYCLOPEDIA
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guage used to invoke extradimensional beings. The Aklo Sabaoth may only be
performed on clear nights when the moon is in its first phase. It is only effec-
tive for those spirits that are "answerable from the hill"; there may be another
version which will invoke those of the air.
Some h
the "Enochian Keys", as the nineteenth Key summons the angels of the "Aires".
Thus, the version that calls the spirits of the hill might be an inferior variant
of the original Aklo Sabaoth. It should also be noticed that "Sabaoth" is the
Hebrew word for "Hosts", a term usually used for angels. All of this is specula-
tion, and experimenters are advised to be cautious.
See Aklo. (Letter (9/23/94), AzOth; "The Tower on Yuggoth", Campbell; "The
Dunwich Horror", Lovecraft (O).)
AKLO UNVEILINGS. Levels of initiation in the cult of Glaaki. A cult member
may undergo up to forty-eight of these Unveilings, and the forty-ninth takes
place when Glaaki calls his worshiper to him for the last time. It is interesting
to note that John Dee's Enochian system of magic also includes forty-eight
Keys, or incantations, as well as a forty-ninth that is unknown and which
could invoke God.
See Aklo; Glaaki. (Letter (9/23/94), AzOth; "The Inhabitant of the Lake",
Campbell; Selected Letters IV, Lovecraft (O).)
ALAZIF (also KITAB AL-AZIF). Original Arabic title for Alhazred's Necronomi-
con. Al-Azif supposedly refers to the sounds made by insects at night, which the
people of Alhazred's time took to be the calls of djinn. The occultist Kenneth
Grant has noted the buzzing noises heard during magical rituals and flying
saucers encounters as a possible explanation for the title. Others, though, have
given alternate meanings for A1 Azif, such as "to soar or fly".
[Lovecraft took this name from a footnote in Beckford's Vathek.]
See Alhazred, Abdul; Necronomicon (appendices); Philetas, Theodorus;
Sadowsky, Phileus P. ( Outside the Circles of Time, Grant; "History of the Necro-
nomicon", Lovecraft; "The Last Test", Lovecraft and de Castro (O); Ex Libris
Miskatonici, Stanley.)
ALALA. Being alluded to in the infamous Green Book. Alala is a Great Old One
who is a native of the Gulf of S'glhuo. It is a sound that can manifest itself as a
huge monstrous being, and the Gulf's inhabitants serve and fear it.
[Alala turned up as the name of a deity for both the Greeks and the Meso-
potamians. Whether Machen knew this or not is unknown.]
See Green Book; S'glhuo. ("The Voice of the Animals", Adair; "The Plain of
Sound", Campbell; "The White People", Machen (O) .)
ALAOZAR. Legendary city located on the fabled Plateau of Sung. The city was
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built upon the Isle of Stars, where extraterrestrial beings landed thousands of
years ago, within the Lake of Dread. No party of explorers has ever found this
site, but it is a holy place for the Tcho-Tcho people. Beneath Alaozar lie the
caverns in which Lloigor and Zhar dwell. If reports from the Burmese interior
are accurate, this city may have been destroyed.
See E-poh; Lloigor; Sung; Zhar; Zhou Texts. ("The Lair of the Star-Spawn",
Derleth and Schorer (O).)
ALAR. 1) Character from the play The King in Yellow, in one account. 2) City
that besieges the metropolis of Hastur in the same play, according to others.
See Demhe; Hastur; King in Yellow; Yhtill. ("More Light", Blish; "The
Repairer of Reputations", Chambers (O); "Tell Me, Have You Seen the Yellow
Sign?", Ross.)
ALDONES. 1) Character who seeks the throne of Yhtill in The King in Yellow.
2) The founder of the city of Hastur's ruling dynasty in the same play.
See King in Yellow; Last King. ("More Light", Blish; "The Repairer of Reputa-
tions", Chambers (O); "Tell Me, Have You Seen the Yellow Sign?", Ross.)
ALHAZRED, ABDUL (also ABD AL-AZRAD) (655? - 738). Poet and mystic of
Sanna in Yemen, best known for his Kitab al-Azif( later re-titled Necronomicon).
The deeds of this man, who is said to have been a descendent of the mythical
tribe of Ad, are still matters of legend in the Middle East.
The early life of Abdul Alhazred remains a mystery. Several different and
contradictory accounts have appeared:
1) Our first mention of Alhazred is during his travel to Egypt, where
he studied necromancy under the wizard Yakthoob. After his master's death,
he led Yakthoob's disciples on his travels, until most of them were destroyed.
(Carter)
2) Alhazred—who in this account is unnamed—was a young shepherd
who narrowly escaped death when he witnessed a cult of the Old Ones. Having
seen their power, he forsook his former life. (Levenda)
3) The son of a prostitute and a silver merchant, Alhazred was recognized
as a brilliant scholar even in his youth. He married into the family of the Gov-
ernor of Tabez and had two children. Shortly thereafter, he seemed to become
possessed by a demon, turning to impious conduct. Being brought before the
Caliph for judgment, he was cast into the desert. (St. Albans.)
4) Alhazred was a young herder's son who was brought to the court of
King Hasan of Sanaa due to his beautiful voice. He lived in the palace for many
years as a favored son of the court. Due to an affair with the king's daughter,
Alhazred was mutilated and abandoned in the depths of the desert. (Tyson)
5) Alhazred grew up in a poor family and gained recognition for himself
as a soldier. Finding the work not to his taste, he apprenticed himself to a silk
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merchant, becoming enamored of one of his customers. Upon learning that she
was the lover of a local prince, Alhazred absconded with the business' profits.
(Larkin)
No matter what Alhazred's origin, the substance of his later life is less
debated. He is known to have spent much time in the Empty Quarter of the
Arabian desert, where he discovered both Irem, the City of Pillars, and the
Nameless City. In search of mystical knowledge, he made extensive travels
throughout the Middle East and beyond. The exact destinations are debatable,
but Alexandria, Memphis, and Babylon are commonly named stops upon his
route. In the end, he dwelt in Damascus, where he penned the Al Azif.
In his Biographical Dictionary, Ibn Khallikan tells of an invisible beast de-
vouring the "mad" poet in the marketplace of Damascus in the middle of the
day. Even this legend is disputed; some state it is a confused re-telling of his
former trance-states or the death of his master Yakthoob. Others claim that
his death was illusory and that he was borne off to the Nameless City to be
tortured and killed. A few heretics of his time proclaimed that he returned to
the Empty Quarter, from which he would one day return. Legend has it that
his voice can still be heard in the insects of the desert, teaching apprentice
magicians his forgotten lore.
It seems that an earlier scribe who copied the Necronomicon made an error
with regards to the name of the book's author, as "Abdul Alhazred" is said to
have no real meaning in Arabic. Scholars have suggested various solutions to
the puzzle of the mad Arab's true name:
a) Abd al-Azrad, "the worshiper of the great devourer" (from "abd" - wor-
shiper/servant, "al" = the, Azrad = "strangler/ devourer") (Hamblin)
b) Abd Al-'Uzza, "servant of Al-Uzza [a pre-Muslim goddess]" (Stanley)
c) Abdallah Zahr-ad-Din, "Servant-of-God Flower-of-the-Faith" (given the
mad Arab's religion, an unlikely name at best) (de Camp)
d) al-Hazred, a name which has only kept its meaning of "one-who-sees-
what-shouldn't-be-seen" in Yemenite (Farmer)
Aside from the Necronomicon, only a few of Alhazred's works have survived,
including the short story "Al Jeldah" ("The Scourge") and a few of his poems,
which were quite popular with the nobles of his time.
["Abdul Alhazred" was a play-name of Lovecraft's that either he or the
Whipple family lawyer, Albert Baker, invented when HPL was very young.]
See Al Azif.; Book of Thoth; ghouls; Great Old Ones; Hadoth; Ibn Ghazi;
Ibn Schacabao; Irem; Kara-Shehr; Lamp of Alhazred; Leng; Maze of the Seven
