H P Lovecraft, page 15
with former inhabitants of the Merrymount (later Mount Dagon) community.
Members of the Whateley family later built a large number of mills in the area,
and Dunwich prospered until a tragedy in 1806 caused the mental collapse of
George Whateley, the owner of these industries. From that time onward, the
Dunwich economy spiralled downward as more people left the area to look
for jobs outside town.
Today, Dunwich is mostly deserted. Over the years, the remaining popula-
tion has become so inbred and degenerate that during the First World War, the
township was unable to meet its quota of recruits for the draft. Crimes of the
most hideous nature occur on a regular basis, though the townspeople attempt
to keep outsiders out of their affairs as much as possible. Some branches of the
Whateleys and Bishops have remained above the town's degradation. For the
most part, however, the people of Dunwich are uneducated and depraved.
During the late summer of 1928, a strange calamity occurred which has
since been dubbed "the Dunwich Horror". On August 3, a Dunwich resident
named Wilbur Whateley, noted by his neighbors for his magical delvings and
unnatural size, was killed while trying to obtain the Necronomicon from the
Miskatonic University library. A month later, the horror began in Dunwich.
A mysterious blast destroyed Wilbur Whateley's unoccupied house, and tales
of the disappearances of cattle and people began t o filter out of the township.
When Henry Armitage, Miskatonic University's librarian and a long-time
correspondent of Whateley, heard of what was occurring in Dunwich, he set
out for Dunwich along with Professors Rice and Morgan. On September 15,
they performed an exorcism on Sentinel Hill, bringing the horror to an end.
Following these events, all of the signs to Dunwich were torn down, and the
THE CTHULHU MYTHOS ENCYCLOPEDIA
U W E L L E R I N D A R K N E S S T O D z Y A N , B O O K O F
town was nearly forgotten.
Although the scenery in the surrounding countryside is breathtaking,
there is little else to attract the casual visitor to Dunwich. Archaeologists and
geologists know Dunwich for the stone circles which top many of the nearby
hills, as well as mysterious underground noises heard around Walpurgis and
Halloween.
[Lovecraft found the name "Dunwich" in Arthur Machen's novel N, ac-
cording to Robert M. Price. It refers to an actual town in Great Britain that
the sea washed away.]
See Armitage, Henry; Aylesbury Pike; Billington, Richard; Hoadley, Abijah;
Miskatonic River; Sentinel Hill; Sesqua Valley; Whateley, Wilbur; Whateley,
Wizard. ("The Lurker at the Threshold", Derleth and Lovecraft; Keeper's
Compendium, Herber; Return to Dunwich, Herber; "The Dunwich Horror",
Lovecraft (O).)
2) Town in the Flint Hills of Kansas. Dunwich was founded in 1833 by
the Reverend Ezekiel O'Sullivan, who received a vision of a golden city to the
west. He led some of the people from the New England Dunwich to the new
land. The townspeople of Dunwich avoided most of the nearby communities,
and the town took a neutral stance during the Civil War. In 1893, the entire
population of Dunwich vanished over the space of a few days. ("The Seven
Cities of Gold", Burnham.)
DWELLER IN DARKNESS. See Nyarlathotep (Dweller in Darkness).
DWELLERS IN THE DEPTHS. Book on Cthulhu and his minions. Dwellers
was the work of Gaston Le Fe, who, according to the book's introduction, died
insane. It was later published in both French and English editions.
This book details the race of aquatic beings known as deep ones and hints
at the monstrous entities which they often worship.
("The Aquarium", Jacobi (O); "Fischbuchs", Ross.)
DYER, WILLIAM, (c. 1875-?) Professor of geology at Miskatonic University.
Dyer is especially remembered for his leadership of the University's 1930-31
Pabodie Expedition to Antarctica, as well as his role in the 1935 trip to the
pre-human ruins in the deserts of Australia. He might have been involved in
OSS operations during the Second World War, though it is unclear in what
capacity he worked.
See Danforth; Emeritus Alcove; Pabodie Expedition; Peaslee, Nathaniel;
Starkweather-Moore expedition. ("To Arkham and the Stars", Leiber; "At the
Mountains of Madness", Lovecraft (O); "The Shadow Out of Time", Lovecraft;
"Stacked Actors", Worthy.)
DYLATH-LEEN. Basalt city on the Dreamlands' Southern Sea. Dylath-Leen
8 4
TE CTHULHU MYTHOS ENCYCLOPEDIA
is u n p o p u l a r with its neighbors, due to the mysterious black galleys that dock
there to sell their cargoes of rubies in exchange for slaves from Parg.
See Parg; Southern Sea. ("The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath", Love-
craft.)
DZYAN, BOOK OF. See Book of Dzyan.
THE CTHULHU MYTHOS ENCYCLOPEDIA
85
E
E-POH. Leader of the Tcho-tcho people of the Plateau of Sung. E-poh is over
seven thousand years old. He was able to take over the cult of Lloigor and Zhar
by promising his followers access to the black lotus drug, a decision which might
have begun the Tcho-tcho's degeneration. E-poh may have been destroyed along
with the city of Alaozar. E-poh is considered by some to be the Tcho-Tcho
Lama of Leng, though this identification might not be accurate.
("Lair of the Star-Spawn", Derleth and Schorer (O); Miskatonic University,
Johnson et. al; "Dope War of the Black Tong", Price.)
EFFIGY OF HATE. See Nyarlathotep (Effigy of Hate).
EIBON. Sorcerer and author of the Book ofEibon, known as "the Unfathom-
able". Eibon was born to Milaab, the Keeper of the Archives for the king of
Iqqua, in the same year that the people of Hyperborea deserted Commoriom.
Milaab was a student of the rituals of Tsathoggua who died after the priests
of Yhoundeh exiled him and his family to the wilderness of Phenquor. Eibon
was only seven at the time of his father's death, but he never forgave the priests
of Yhoundeh.
Zylac, a wizard who owed his father many favors, bore Eibon away to his
tower of black gneiss by the sea on the peninsula of Mhu Thulan. Eibon studied
under Zylac, who many considered to be the greatest mage of his day. Following
the death of Zylac from a botched incantation when Eibon was twenty-three,
Eibon left this tower, wandering the land in the company of his friend Zaljis.
After nine years and many adventures, he returned to Zylac's tower and took
up permanent residence there.
Eibon derived much of this power from a pact with Tsathoggua, whom he
worshiped in return for greater magical ability. The great wizard once penetrated
the caverns beneath Mount Voormithadreth to see his master sleeping on his
throne. The legends of his works are legion. One Hyperborean tale tells how
Eibon looked through a magical viewing portal to the future to see the Earth
being destroyed by some huge celestial body. His response was to construct two
great webs across space in which to trap the entity. Then he planned to freeze
the Earth in time, so that it would never be destroyed. These accounts have
probably been exaggerated; even so, Eibon was one of the greatest sorcerers
who ever lived on this planet.
Two contradictory tales are associated with Eibon's end at the age of one
hundred and thirty-two. According to the first, Eibon's tower exploded one
starry night; the Book of Eibon was found in the ruins, but the great magician's
8 6
T - F O H TO HIHORT
body was never recovered. The more-commonly accepted account, though,
relates that Eibon fled from the persecution of the priests of Yhoundeh through
door made of a mysterious metal and emerged on the planet Saturn. This
account, i n c l u d e d in the book itself, then tells how Eibon foresaw his end and
conveyed his magical books, including his famous Book, to his former pupil
Cyron of Varaad.
One scholar has recently suggested that Eibon is not a real person at all, and
derives from a Greek word meaning "to trickle down." This derivation does not
explain the numerous references Eibon makes to himself within his book.
See Book of Eibon; Book of K'yog; Book of Night, Cykranosh; Haon-Dor;
Hyperborea; Life of Eibon; Mhu Thulan; Pharol; Ring of Eibon; Rituals ofYhe;
Rlim Shaikorth; Eibon, Sign of; Koth, Sign of; Voormish Tablets; Voormithadreth;
Xiccarph; Yhoundeh; Zylac. ("Tsathoggua", Carter; The Life of Eibon according
to Cyron of Varaad, Carter; "The Utmost Abomination", Carter and Smith,
Spawn ofAzathoth, Herber; Selected Letters V, Lovecraft; "The Coming of the
White Worm", Smith; "The Door to Saturn" (O), Smith; Ex Libris Miskatonici,
Stanley.)
EIBON, BOOK OF. See Book of Eibon.
EIBON, SIGN OR Glyph resembling a three-legged swastika. It aids the user
in escaping the notice of the minions of Nyarlathotep, but not that of the
Crawling Chaos himself.
See Eibon; Nyarlathotep. ( Masks of Nyarlathotep, DiTillio and Willis
(O).)
EIHORT. Great Old One known as the God of the Labyrinth. Eihort is a huge
white oval mass with innumerable legs and eyes. It lives in a maze beneath an
abandoned house in Camside, England, but can create gates that lead to other
parts of the world.
Eihort telepathically contacts visitors to its labyrinth and asks if they wish
to become its servant. If they answer no, Eihort crushes them. If a victim says
yes, Eihort paralyses him or her and channels immature members of its brood
into his or her body. Since this process includes a form of hypnosis, the person
may not remember what happened upon waking.
At first, an infested person seems normal, but soon visions of horrific alien
events begin. After a while, these visions increase in intensity and duration.
Finally the Bargainer bursts open, with hundreds of Eihort's tiny spawn emerg-
ing and running away.
Few people make the Bargain with Eihort.
We Pass from View by Roland Franklyn contains a curious reference to
Eihort. According to this self-styled prophet, an initiate of his cult must be
cremated so that the person's soul can escape. Otherwise, if the initiate is bur-
TE CTHULHU MYTHOS ENCYCLOPEDIA
87
JÜV1 iw JL-J JLJ XJ JD XV J l b IN
ied, the soul will remain in the body, and burrowing monsters will drag the
believer's corpse down beneath the earth to Eihort's feast. (Franklyn himself,
sad to say, was not cremated.)
See Camside; Revelations of Glaaki. ("Before the Storm", Campbell (O);
"The Franklyn Paragraphs", Campbell; "The Pale God", Ross.)
EI'LOR. Old One resembling a vast growth of weeds with prehensile vines.
It may be called to Earth to germinate here via incantations in the Ei'lor
Fronds.
("The Star-Seed", Ambuehl (O); "Ei'lor", Gruetzmacher.)
EINSTEIN FORMULA. Spell developed by Halpin Chalmers using the works
of Albert Einstein. It may protect from Hound of Tindalos attacks, but it also
has a number of dangerous side effects. No copy of this incantation is known
to have survived its inventor.
("The Wild Hunt", Ballon; "The Hounds of Tindalos", Long (O).)
ELDER BEINGS. See flying polyps.
ELDER GODS. Beings opposed to the Great Old Ones. The Elder Gods sup-
posedly live somewhere near Betelgeuse, or in an alternate dimension known as
Elysia, or even in a place called the Hourless House in the realm of dreams.
At some point in the past, the Great Old Ones, who may have been cre-
ated as the Elder God's servants or even numbered among them, "rebelled"
against the Elder Gods, taking certain documents from the possession of their
foes and hiding them in the Great Library of Celaeno or with Ubbo-Sathla.
In retribution for this affront, the Elder Gods came to earth and battled the
Great Old Ones. This war concluded with the imprisonment of the Great Old
Ones and the return of the Elder Gods to their homes. According to myth, the
Elder Gods, including Nodens, Kthanid, and Yad-Thaddag, will arise to combat
their ancient foes when the stars are right again and the Great Old Ones break
free of their prisons.
Other Elder Gods mentioned include Adaedu, Alithlai-Tyy, DveahtehsEy-
roix, Othkkartho (Nodens' first-born son), Ovytonv, Urthuvn, Xislanyx,
Xuthyos-Sihb'Bz, and Zehirete (the Pure and Holy Womb of Light). Very little
is known about any of these.
Most scholars do not accept this distinction, finding it unconvincing to
equate the amoral Great Old Ones with "evil" and to postulate a "good" force
opposing them. Some other myths acknowledge the Elder Gods' existence while
disagreeing about their nature:
A. The Elder Gods may be the Great Ones, the little gods of Earth which
rule the Dreamlands. According to these myths, the Great Ones came into ex-
istence during the sleep of the Great Old Ones. Finding the Old Ones in their
8 8
TE CTHULHU MYTHOS ENCYCLOPEDIA
E I ' L O R TO ELDER S I G N
tombs, the Elder Gods became terrified, sealed the tombs of the evil ones with
the Elder Sign, and placed them in the care of Nodens, Lord of the Great Abyss.
A/hen Nodens sleeps, then the Great Old Ones will emerge to rule the world.
The Great Ones will be powerless to stop this or protect humanity.
B. The Elder Gods were the creators of this universe, and made pain and
suffering possible. The Great Old Ones hope to destroy the universe, and may
make a better one in the aftermath.
C. The Elder Gods are the Antarctic Elder Things, who imprisoned the
Great Old Ones for unknown reasons.
D. The Elder Gods do exist, but are no better in nature than the Great Old
Ones; the outcome for humanity will be the same in the end.
See Aphoom Zhah; Atal; Borea; Celaeno; Cthugha; Elder Key; Elder Sign;
Elysia; Glyu-Vho; Great Old Ones; gods of earth; Kthanid; Mu; Nodens;
N'tse-Kaambl; R'lyeh; S'ngac; star-stone; time-clock; Ubbo-Sathla; Tiania;
Ulthar; Ultharathotep; Vorvadoss; Yad-Thaddag; Zathog. ("Time in the Hour-
less House", Attansio;"The Book of Preparations", Carter; "The Lurker at the
Threshold", Derleth and Lovecraft; "The House on Curwen Street", Derleth;
"The Lair of the Star-Spawn", Derleth and Schorer (O); Outside the Circles of
Time, Grant; Keeper's Compendium, Herber; Elysia, Lumley; "The House of the
Worm", Myers; Nightmare's Disciple, Pulver.)
ELDER HIEROPHANT. See High-Priest Not to be Described.
ELDER KEY. 1) (also ELDER KEYS or ELDER RECORDS) Stone tablets in-
scribed by the Elder Gods which Ubbo-Sathla now preserves. Their power
is tremendous; the use of only one of these incantations brought our world
into this universe from the parallel dimension of the Elder Gods, and others
unknown may release humanity from the Great Old Ones. Only two copies of
the Keys exist on earth, but they are almost inaccessible.
It has been suggested that the Elder Keys are identical to the Tablet of
Destiny, an artifact in Sumerian and Babylonian myth which allowed its user
to know and control all things.
("The Unbegotten Source", Carter; "Hydra", Kuttner (O); "From the Jour-
nals of Alexander Hale, Ph. D.: The Tablets of Destiny", Lewis; "The Snout in
the Alcove", Myers.)
2) Sign which antehuman wizards used to ward off powerful creatures.
("The Descent into the Abyss", Carter and Smith.)
ELDER SCRIPT. See Tsath-Yo.
ELDER SIGN (also SARNATH-SIGIL, SIGN OF KISH, and STAR-STONE OF
MNAR). Magical symbol which the Elder God N'tse-Kaambl (or possibly the
Elder Things) created. The Elder Sign usually is drawn as as a star with an eye
T E CTHULHU MYTHOS ENCYCLOPEDIA
8 9
in the center, with a pillar of flame where the pupil should be. Other versions,
including one resembling an eye in a pentagon, another which looks like a leafy
branch, and a sign made with the hand, are lesser-known variants which may
or may not substitute for the more traditional design.
The Elder Sign protects its user from the minions of the Great Old Ones.
Why this glyph has these effects can only be conjectured. As the Elder Gods
thrust the Great Old Ones into their prisons, they might have inserted memory
patterns into their foes' minds that rendered the Great Old Ones helpless
against certain syllables and sigils, of which the Elder Sign was one. An Elder
Sign is carved on the doorway of Cthulhu's tomb, the supposed handiwork
of three Elder Things. Likewise, large quantities of stones engraved with this
symbol imprisoned Shudde-M'ell and his cthonians in G'harne and Ithaqua
on Borea.
The degree to which the Elder Sign will protect a human who holds it in
front of a Mythos creature is debatable. Some say it will protect them from
