H P Lovecraft, page 41
AlAzif in a shop in Egypt. Undeterred by his loss of the parchment, Sadowsky
continued his studies using the only complete copy of AlAzif in Europe. Both
he and the manuscript were destroyed in a house fire in 1980.
See Necronomicon (appendices). ("Notes on a Fragment of the Necronomi-
con", Hamblin (O); "Further Notes on the Necronomicon", Hamblin.)
SANBOURNE INSTITUTE OF PACIFIC ANTIQUITIES. Anthropological
society based in Santiago, California which studies the cultures of the Pacific. It
was named for Carlton Sanbourne II, a man whose father had made a fortune
in the tuna-packing industry. Upon his death, Carlton left all of his money, his
house and grounds, and a great number of Polynesian artifacts which formed
the Institute's core collection. His son Philip was the founder of the Institute
itself.
Despite the amount of scholarly research credited to its staff, the public
remembers the Sanbourne Institute for the circumstances surrounding the
donation of the Copeland Bequest, which may have been responsible for the
death of Copeland himself and the madness of two of its caretakers. In 1931
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S A A A M A A A R I T U A L T O S A P I E N T I A M A G O R U M
(or 1933) the Institute closed and the Copeland Bequest was sent to Miskatonic
University for safekeeping. Since then, however, the Institute has returned and
re-opened its museum and projects.
See Blaine, Henry; Copeland, Harold; Hodgkins, Arthur; Ponape Figurine;
{Jnaussprechlichen Kulten; Zanthu Tablets. ("The Dweller in the Tomb", Carter
(O); "Out of the Ages", Carter; "Zoth-Ommog", Carter; A Resection of Time,
Johnson.)
SAND-DWELLERS. Creatures that resemble emaciated, grit-encrusted humans
with koala-like heads. Sand-dwellers come from another dimension, first ap-
pearing in North America, They dwell in the American Southwest, especially
beneath Arizona's Superstitition Mountains, Egypt, and in other desert areas
elsewhere in the world.
The sand-dwellers live in bands governed by the strongest individual
underneath a shaman. They are usually nocturnal, remaining in their caverns
until they leave to hunt at nightfall to seek food. One groups of sand dwellers
has limited telepathic abilities that they use to transform bats into their spies,
contact susceptible humans, and control mysterious weapons that create ball
lightning. These abilities have not been manifest in many encounters with
them, so it is unknown how widespread they might be among the species as
a whole.
The sand-dwellers might serve creatures that thrive deeper within their
grottoes and ultimately Cthulhu. They might also serve in the cults of Yig and
Nyarlathotep. A few have been known to affiliate with secretive cults in their
regions.
(The Cairo Guidebook, Anderson; Aniolowski, Malleus Monstruorum; "The
Gable Window", Derleth and Lovecraft (O); The Sand Dwellers, Niswander.)
SANSU. Inhabitant of the Dreamlands. Sansu was a great tyrant known as the
Godstalker, whose legion of soldiers once even laid siege to Thalarion. Sansu
was one of only three people in history to scale Mount Hatheg-Kla, though he
found nothing at the top. In the end, the things he saw on a journey to K'n-yan
drove him insane.
See Hatheg-Kla; Pnakotic Manuscripts. ("Thalarion: City of a Thousand
Wonders", Bock; "K'n-yan", DeBill; "The Other Gods", Lovecraft (O).)
SAPIENTIA MAGORUM ("Wisdom of the Magi"). Volume written in Greek
and Latin by the great Persian fire-mage Ostanes. Even in Roman times, the
volume was quite rare; aside from at least one copy held at Ephesus, editions
could also be found in Italy and Samaria, though these were almost impossible
to locate or to consult.
Within this volume, Ostanes recorded the rituals necessary to raise Kaiwan
(Hastur) and Shupnikkurat (Shub-Niggurath), an incantation to free a soul
T H E CTHULHU MYTHOS ENCYCLOPEDIA
S A R A C E N I C K I T U A L S T O S C A R L E T C I R C L E S
the latter goddess has taken, a formula to propitiate Fortuna (the Roman god
of luck), a possible immortality spell, and the true reason that Herostratos
burned down the temple of Artemis at Ephesus. Ostanes may have had access
to the Book ofEibon, so it is possible that the contents of those two books may
overlap at times.
(The Gardens ofLucullus, Rahman and Tierney; "The Seed of the Star-God",
Tierney; "The Soul of Kephri", Tierney; "The Sword of Spartacus", Tierney (O);
"The Throne of Achamoth", Tierney and Price.)
SARACENIC RITUALS. Famous chapter of Ludwig Prinn's De Vermis Myste-
riis. It contains the secrets learned by the author during his captivity under
the wizards of Syria—or so Prinn asserted. Not only is this chapter contained
in De Vermis Mysteriis, but it has also appeared separately. A German transla-
tion has been spoken of, and a "Clergyman X" published a translation of this
chapter during the nineteenth century. This holy man, however, omitted several
passages from his version out of pious horror. A copy of this pamphlet is kept
at the British Library.
This chapter deals with the efreets and djinni of the Arabian deserts, as well
as with the pharaoh Nephren-Ka, the priesthoods of the Egyptian gods Sebek
and Bast, and the worm-wizards of many-columned Irem.
See De Vermis Mysteriis. ("The Brood of Bubastis", Bloch; "Fane of the Black
Pharaoh", Bloch; "Hell on Earth", Bloch; "The Secret of Sebek", Bloch; "The
Shambler from the Stars", Bloch (O); "Lord of the Worms", Lumley.)
SARKOMAND. Dreamlands city in a valley below Leng, lying between the
basalt cliffs of the plateau and the sea. The men from Leng used Sarkomand
as their capital until they met the moon-beasts a million years before human-
ity appeared. The moon-beasts still use Sarkomand as a place for docking and
unloading captives.
Sarkomand was a mighty city in its time, with many avenues with columns
and gardens. Roads from the six gates guarded by sphinx statues ran into a
plaza where two winged lions made of diorite still guard an entrance to the
Great Abyss. Nearby lies the low circular temple of the Great Old One Oorn,
who dwells beneath the city.
See Gnorri; Great Abyss; Leng; Mnomquah; Oorn; Tcho-tchos. ("The
Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath", Lovecraft (O); Mad Moon of Dreams,
Lumley.)
SARNATH. City built near a great lake in the land of Mnar by a group of no-
mads. Sarnath lay quite near to another city, lb, in which a species of amphibian
creatures dwelt. The people of Sarnath hated the creatures who dwelt in lb, and
the warriors of Sarnath killed all of its inhabitants, bearing back to Sarnath the
statue of Bokrug which the people of lb worshiped.
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S A R A C E N I C R I T U A L S T O S C A R L E T C I R C L E S
After this victory, Sarnath conquered many of the nearby nations and
became rich and powerful. A thousand years later, however, a great calamity
befell, and the city of Sarnath disappeared in one night.
According to one variant, the Great Old Ones were actually the builders of
Sarnath. The priests of Sumer traveled in time back to this city through their
ziggurats, and bore the Old Ones' worship back with them. Most consider
Sarnath to have been a human city, however.
[A ruined city named Sarnath does exist in India; Lovecraft never mentions
it, so he seems not to have been aware of the coincidence.]
See Bokrug; Book of Eibon; lb; Ilarnek; Ilarnek Papyri; Kadatheron; Kish;
Kish, Sign of; Lobon; Mnar; Shub-Niggurath; Tamash; Thuum'ha; Zo-Kalar.
("The Doom that Came to Sarnath", Lovecraft (O); Prey, Masterton.)
SARNATH-SIGIL. See Elder Sign.
SATAMPRA ZEIROS. Thief of Uzuldaroum in Hyperborea who is best known
for the loss of his right hand in the temple of Tsathoggua in the lost city of
Commoriom. He nonetheless continued his chosen career, making off with
the thirty-nine girdles of the virgins of Leniqua. He participated in another
heist at that god's behest which inadvertently led to the death of its high priest
before settling down in his old age with his wealth.
("The Shadow of the Sleeping God", Ambuehl; "The Tale of Satampra
Zeiros", Smith (O); "The Theft of the Thirty-Nine Girdles", Smith.)
SATHLATTAE. Set of magical formulae, at least one of which may be found
in the Cthaat Aquadingen. Some are summonings, while others are protec-
tive spells, and many of them must be performed at midnight. We have more
complete data on three of them:
—The Third Sathlatta, which provides protection from Bugg-Shash the
Devourer, though such protection only lasts until death;
—The Sixth Sathlatta (which see);
—The Ninth Sathlatta, which served as a potent protection from baneful
magics in Theem'hdra.
See Codex Dagonensis; Codex Maleficium, Codex Spitalski; Sixth Sathlattae.
("Billy's Oak", Lumley (O); "Cryptically Yours", Lumley; "The Kiss of Bugg-
Shash", Lumley.)
SCARLET CIRCLES. Ritual (?) possessed by the "satyrs" who serve Shub-Niggurath.
It provides rapid travel between distant places, and may even breach the dimensional
barrier so that the hounds of Tindalos may enter our dimension. The blood of one
of Shub-Niggurath's transformed worshipers is needed to complete the rite.
("The Book of the Gates", Carter; "The Hounds of Tindalos", Long (O);
Cthulhu Live: Lost Souls, Salmon et. al.)
T H E CTHULHU MYTHOS ENCYCLOPEDIA
J U H K A I H , V J U K O A K L » I U O E K A IN IN I A IN
SCHRACH, GERHARD. Viennese interpreter of dreams who did much of his
work in the 1930s. Titus Crow considered Schrach's work to be on a par with
that of Freud and Jung.
(The Burrowers Beneath, Lumley; Clock of Dreams, Lumley; Hero of Dreams,
Lumley; "The Man in the Dream", Lumley (O).)
SCIMITAR OF BARZAI. See Barzai.
SCROLL OF THOTH-AMMON. See Book ofThoth.
SEAL OF R'LYEH. Insignia bearing a picture of Cthulhu standing over the
city of R'lyeh and encircled by the motto, "Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh
wgah'nagl fhtagn."
See R'lyeh. ("The Seal of R'lyeh", Derleth (O).)
THE SECRET MYSTERIES OF ASIA, WITH A COMMENTARY ON THE
"GHORL NIGRAL". Volume by Gottfried Mulder, an associate of von Junzt, who
accompanied the eccentric scholar on many of his journeys. During a trip to a
Chinese monastery in 1818-9, von Junzt consulted a copy of the Ghorl Nigral.
He later spoke much of that volume's contents to Mulder.
In the years following von Junzt's death, Mulder began to realize how
crucial the revelations given to him had been. Making use of self-hypnosis, he
reconstructed many of the hints von Junzt had given and incorporated them
into his Secret Mysteries of Asia. Following the book's Leipzig printing in 1847,
most copies were seized and destroyed by the government.
The locations and contents of this volume are not common knowledge,
though one is probably held at Miskatonic University Library.
See Ghorl Nigral; Mulder, Gottfried; Von Junzt, Friedrich. ("Zoth-Ommog",
Carter; Lovecraft at Last, Conover and Lovecraft (O); "The History of Von
Unaussprechlichen Kulten", Harris.)
THE SECRET WATCHER. Book by Halpin Chalmers, a noted occultist and
one-time Curator of Archaeology at the Manhattan Museum of Fine Arts,
who was found murdered in his apartment following a bout of insanity. This
volume, published by London's Charnel House Publishers, deals with the
author's psychic experiments in the area of "transcendental time travel". Chalm-
ers anticipated the work of Huxley and Leary through his use of psychotropic
substances to access what he claimed were other realities.
See Chalmers, Halpin. ("The Wild Hunt", Ballon; "The Winfield Heritance",
Carter; "The Horror from the Hills", Long; "The Hounds of Tindalos", Long
(O).)
SEED OF AZATHOTH. Greenish, glowing material, the source of which is the
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THE CTHULHU MYTHOS ENCYCLOPEDIA
S C H R A C H , G E R H A R D TO S E R A N N I A N
spawn of Azathoth that the Outer God occasionally throws off while dancing
at his court. It is also possible for a spawn of Azathoth to carry some of this
material with them as they travel into the universe. Often a seed will become
part of a comet, being indistinguishable from a normal body of this type.
When one of these seeds lands on a planet, it burrows into the ground until
it reaches the planet's core. There it hatches and forms another of Azathoth's
spawn, cracking the planet open as it escapes. A seed landing upon the world
of Thyoph destroyed that world, creating our asteroid's belt. Another Seed
may have caused the Tunguska explosion, but if this is true, its effects were
halted before much damage was done. Physical proximity to such a fragment
is quite dangerous, and results in a slow disintegration of any organic tissue
that its rays strike.
The Seed is believed to have beneficial effects as well. It is said to have a
catabolic effect on certain servitors of the Other Gods. The fungi from Yuggoth
and insects from Shaggai often make tools out of this material.
See Azathoth; Thyoph. ("Pickman's Student", Herber (O); Spawn of Aza-
thoth, Herber; "In the Vaults Beneath", Lumley.)
SENTINEL HILL. Prominence near Dunwich, Massachusetts. Its summit is
capped with a large stone resembling a table or altar. Archaeologists have de-
bated the origin of this feature, as well as the ancestry of the bones found buried
nearby. The Whateley family once held rites on Sentinel Hill on Walpurgis and
Halloween. It was also the site where the Dunwich Horror came to a close.
Another hill of the same name, with a circle of monoliths at the top, lies
just outside Brichester.
("The Recurring Doom", Joshi; "The Dunwich Horror", Lovecraft (O).)
SELECTIONS DE LIVRED'IVON. Gaspard du Nord's French commentary on
the Latin Book ofEibon (though some suggest it is an eighteenth-century hoax).
It contains several protective charms to keep the user safe from the forces of
evil, especially Nyarlathotep.
See Book of Eibon. ( The Fate, Detwiller with Ivey; Masks of Nyarlathotep,
DiTillio and Willis (O).)
SEMPRONIUS BLAESUS, TITUS. Quaestor of the Roman Empire at the time
of Sulla. ("The Shadow out of Time", Lovecraft (O).)
SERANNIAN. City in the clouds that lies off the coast of Ooth-Nargai. It is not
difficult to reach, as ships may fly off the ocean and into the clouds from the
ocean surrounding it. King Kuranes of Celephais lives there for half the year.
See Cerenerian Sea; Kuranes. ("Celephais", Lovecraft (O); "The Dream-
Quest of Unknown Kadath", Lovecraft.)
THE CTHULHU MYTHOS ENCYCLOPEDIA
S E R P E N T P E O P L E TO SET
SERPENT PEOPLE. Species of bipedal reptiles that appeared during the Perm-
ian period. Some say they came from Venus, but most hold that they evolved
naturally upon earth. With their great magic (and the aid of the fabled Cobra
Crown), the serpent people conquered the empire of Valusia, an area which
today forms part of both Europe and Africa. During this time, the serpent
people reared great stone cities containing both laboratories and temples to
Yig, Byatis, Han, Shub-Niggurath, and Tsathoggua. When the Triassic Age came,
new conditions caused the race to go into decline for eons until they resurged
during the Pleistocene Era.
The coming of humanity proved to be the downfall of the serpent people's
dominion over the world. Although some of the serpent people provided hu-
manity with helpful knowledge, the new race later swept aside the old cities of
the reptiles in order to build their towns and fortresses. To escape this destruc-
tion, some of the reptiles crept into hidden burrows in the hills of Wales, or to
the caverns of Yoth. Others put themselves into deep hibernation, while some
used their magical abilities to disguise themselves and concealed themselves
among the invaders. Apart from one abortive attempt to recapture the throne
of Valusia, the serpents were never a serious threat to humanity thereafter.
Today, the serpent people are small in numbers, and must do even more to
keep their identities hidden. Despite this, many of this species are convinced
that another resurgence of their race is imminent. For the most part, the serpent
people are so few and individualistic that any concerted efforts seem unlikely.
Their dislike of direct confrontation and mastery of both scientific and magical
techniques (as well as their advanced knowledge of poison manufacture) make
them formidable foes nonetheless.
See Aklo; Book ofSkelos; Brothers of the Yellow Sign; Byatis; Cobra Crown;
