H P Lovecraft, page 8
dath; Klarkash-Ton; Leng; Marigny, Etienne-Laurent de; Meadow Hill; Phillips,
Ward; Silver Key; time-clock; Warren, Harley. ("The Dream-Quest of Unknown
Kadath", Lovecraft.; "The Silver Key", Lovecraft; "The Statement of Randolph
Carter", Lovecraft (O); "Through the Gates of the Silver Key", Lovecraft; "The
Unnameable", Lovecraft; Prey, Masterton; "The Lord of Illusion", Price.)
CASSILDA. Character from The King in Yellow.
See King in Yellow. ("The Repairer of Reputations", Chambers (O); "Tell
Me, Have You Seen the Yellow Sign?", Ross.)
CASTAIGNE, (HILDRED). 1 ) Individual from New York in an alternate reality.
He fell under the influence of the play The King in Yellow after a fall from horse-
back inflicted a head injury. He became obsessed with the play, to the extent of
making his own translation. After attempting to kill his brother's fiancée, he
was confined to the Asylum for the Criminally Insane, where he died. ("The
Repairer of Reputations", Chambers (O); "Typo", Winkle.)
2) Author of the play The King in Yellow. Almost nothing is known of this
individual, save that he disappeared from an institution after writing it. It is
uncertain whether he was related to the first Castaigne. ("The Yellow Play",
Houarner; "Tatterdemalion", Love, Ross, and Watts (O).)
CASTRO. Ancient sailor captured during a raid on a sacrificial ritual in
Louisiana on November 1, 1907. Of all the prisoners taken during that night,
Castro proved to be the best informant on the nature of the cult. He said that
he was a worshiper of Cthulhu, and had met its immortal leaders who dwelt
in China. Castro's confession later formed a cornerstone of George Angell's
4 2
THE CTHULHU MYTHOS ENCYCLOPEDIA
CASSILDA TO T H E C E L A E N O FRAGMENTS
work on the Cthulhu cult.
See Cthulhu; Legrasse, John; Zuchequon. ("The Call of Cthulhu", Lovecraft
(O).)
CATHURIA. Land of the Dreamlands that once lay beyond the Basalt Pillars
of the West, held to be the land where all ideals are true. Cathuria has many
golden cities built of marble and porphyry with roofs of gold. The land is ruled
by the king Dorieb, whose people see him as a god. Unfortunately, the gods
took Cathuria away from the land of dream, and no one knows where it now
lies. The great dreamer Basil Elton failed in his quest to attain this land; his
grandson Nathaniel was said to have found this land, but was cast out soon
thereafter.
See Elton, Basil. ("The Return of the White Ship", Breach; "The m i t e Ship",
Lovecraft (O).)
CELAENO. One of the seven stars in the Pleiades. On Celaeno's fourth planet
lies the Great Library of Celaeno, where the lore stolen by the Great Old Ones
from the Elder Gods is kept. Just how the information is stored is unclear; some
references indicate that it is held on books and tablets, but others assert that
the elder lore rests in living organisms designed for that purpose. Visitors to
the Library should bear the sign of the Elder Ones and not remove any written
knowledge from the library, lest the Sleeper of the Lake prevent their escape.
The noted scholar Laban Shrewsbury spent much time here, and may have
deciphered the Celaeno Fragments from stone tablets he found in this place.
[Celaeno is an actual star, though no one has ever reported a huge library
being found nearby. I am not sure why Derleth chose this particular star, but it
is possible that he was considering a link between the byakhee and the harpies
of Greek myth, whose queen "Celaeno" is mentioned in the Aeneid.]
See Barrier of Naach-Tith; Celaeno Fragments; Elder Gods; Naotalba. ("The
House on Curwen Street", Derleth (O); "The Watcher from the Sky", Derleth;
"Halls of Celaeno", Herber; House of the Toad, Tierney.)
THE CELAENO FRAGMENTS. Transcript deposited at the Miskatonic Uni-
versity Library in 1915 by Doctor Laban Shrewsbury, who disappeared shortly
thereafter. Shrewsbury had seen the original broken stone tablets in the Great
Library of Celaeno, and left behind notes which he claimed were a translation
of the Fragments, which dated back to at least the mid-Triassic period. Archaeo-
logical expeditions have subsequently turned up stone shards inscribed with
portions of the Fragments,- and a copy also turned up later in the Amos Tuttle
Bequest made to the Miskatonic University Library.
The Fragments are short, constituting only fifty pages of Shrewsbury's notes.
In most respects, they are quite close to the Eltdown Shards and the Pnakotic
Fragments in content. They may include information on the King in Yellow
THE CTHULHU MYTHOS ENCYCLOPEDIA
C E L E P H A I S TO C H A U G N A R FAUGN
and Carcosa, and a small amount of data on the deep ones.
See Celaeno; Necronomicon (appendices); Shrewsbury, Laban; Zanthu
Tablets. ("Behind the Mask", Carter; "H. P. Lovecraft: The Gods", Carter; "The
House on Curwen Street", Derleth (O); "The Gable Window", Derleth and Love-
craft; Keeper's Compendium, Herber; A Resection of Time, Johnson; Miskatonic
University Graduate Kit, Petersen et. al.; Ex Libris Miskatonici, Stanley.)
CELEPHIAS. City of the Dreamlands found in the Valley of Ooth-Nargai. Its
marble walls and bronze gates make it one of the most impressive cities in all the
Dreamlands. In Celephais, time seems not to pass at all, and a visitor may return
many years later to find things exactly as they were when he or she left.
Celephais was built in the dreams of Kuranes, a London dreamer of some
note. When he passed away, he went to dwell in Celephais forever as its ruler.
See Aran, Mount; Cerenerian Sea; Dreamlands; Kuranes; Nath-Horthath;
Nithy-Vash; Ooth-Nargai; Serannian; Tanarian Hills. ("Celephais", Lovecraft
(O); "The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath", Lovecraft.)
CERENERIAN SEA. Azure ocean of the Dreamlands. It may be crossed between
the towns of Hlanith and Celephais in only two days, but the journey across it
to Inquanok takes three weeks. One who travels on this sea might encounter the
cloud-city of Serannian, or the nameless rock inhabited by the moon-beasts.
See Hlanith; Inquanok; moon-beasts; Oukranos. ("Celephais", Lovecraft
(O); "The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath", Lovecraft.)
CHAG-HAI. See Shaggai.
CHALMERS, HALPIN (1891-1928). Noted occultist and horror fiction author.
Chalmers was born in Partridgeville, New York, and graduated from Miskatonic
University at a surprisingly late date (Class of 1918). Afterward, he moved to
Brooklyn, where he served as the Curator of Archaeology at the Manhattan
Museum of Fine Arts for some time. He was the author of a large number of
occult volumes, including The Secret Watcher, published by London's Charnel
House Press.
Chalmers was found dead in his apartment in Patridgeville on July 3,1928,
and his apparent murder has never been solved. Since then, his fiction has
achieved immense popularity. The interested reader should consult The Col-
lected Letters ofHalpin Chalmers and Fred Carstairs' memoir Halpin Chalmers:
Voyager of Other and Many Dimensions.
See Einstein Formula; Morton, James; Partridgeville; The Secret Watcher.
("The Letters ofHalpin Chalmers", Cannon; "The Winfield Heritance", Carter;
"The Horror from the Hills", Long; "The Hounds of Tindalos", Long (O); Ex
Libris Miskatonici, Stanley.)
4 4
T E CTHULHU MYTHOS ENCYCLOPEDIA
C E L E P H A ' I S TO C H A U G N A R FAUGN
CHANDRAPUTRA, SWAMI SUNAND. East Indian individual who first ap-
peared in 1930, taking up residence in Boston's West End. He is known to have
sent letters of inquiry to many occultists, and visited the Cabot Museum to view
an ancient mummy housed there. The Swami impressed all who met him as an
intelligent man who possessed a prodigious knowledge of uncanny subjects,
though his garb and mannerisms made his listeners uneasy.
In 1932, the Swami left Boston for the New Orleans home of Etienne-
Laurent de Marigny so that he might provide evidence of Randolph Carter's
survival. During the reading of the will, however, the Carter family's lawyer
died of apoplexy, and the Swami, who is believed to have been responsible in
some way, disappeared.
See time-clock. ("The Strange Doom of Enos Harker", Carter and Price;
"Out of the Aeons", Lovecraft and Heald; "Through the Gates of the Silver Key",
Lovecraft and Price (O).)
CHATEAU DES FAUSSESFLAMES. Ruined manor located in the woods of
Averoigne, near the abbey of Perigon. In medieval times, the chateau was the
home of Sieur du Malinbous and his wife, who were suspected of practicing
witchcraft. Even after the pair's death, the site's ill repute remained. Many who
visited the ruins of the Chateau did not leave, and even centuries later most
curiosity-seekers shun its ruined walls. In 1932, the Cabot Museum in Boston
displayed some curious mummies from the crypts beneath the manor.
("Out of the Aeons", Lovecraft and Heald; "The End of the Story", Smith
(O); "A Rendezvous in Averoigne", Smith.)
CHAUGNAR FAUGN. Hyperdimensional creature slightly resembling an
elephant-headed human with webbed ears and a large disk at the end of its
trunk. It spends most of its time immobile in a cavern on the Plateau of Tsang,
only shifting its bulk when feeding upon a sacrificial victim.
When Chaugnar came to earth, the most advanced life forms on this
planet were amphibians. Desiring to have a race of servitors, Chaugnar Faugn
used amphibian tissue to create the Miri Nigri. Over the long eons, these
beings continued to worship Chaugnar. The Miri Nigri consorted with the
first humans to create a hybrid race, eventually giving rise to the abominable
Tcho-tcho people.
In Roman times, Chaugnar Faugn and his "brothers", beings who bore a
likeness to Chaugnar but were lesser in power, dwelt beneath the Pyrenees in
northern Spain, near the town of Pompelo. The Miri Nigri who lived in the
nearby hills would kidnap villagers to be sacrificed to their gods each year
before Halloween. Eventually, the Roman governors sent out an expedition to
put an end to the hill-dweller's depredations. Though the Miri Nigri destroyed
this force, Chaugnar knew that this would not put an end to the Roman threat.
He might be able to destroy his foes himself, but his time had not yet come.
T E CTHULHU MYTHOS ENCYCLOPEDIA
4 5
C H E S U N C O O K W I T C H C O V E N T O C H O R A Z O S C U L T
Instead, he journeyed to the East to wait for the age of his greatness. When his
Brothers balked at making the trip, Chaugnar cursed them and promised to
devour them after his resurgence.
Currently, Chaugnar Faugn is worshiped in a cavern on the Plateau of
Tsang; diffusion of such rites may account for the curious physical similarities
between Chaugnar and the Indian elephant-god Ganesha. Though he rarely
awakens, his one-time high priest, Mu Sang, prophesied that one day the White
Acolyte would come from the West and bear Chaugnar away to a new land. In
this land, the elephant-god will awaken and feed until he devours the universe.
Chaugnar was brought to the West and displayed in the Metropolitan Museum,
but he was sent back into the past via a curious time-ray device.
In his guise of Ganesha, Chaugnar is said to possess the body of the Sacred
White Elephant of Jadhore in Malaysia. He is also claimed to be another name
for Tsathoggua. More research is required to verify these claims.
See brothers of Chaugnar Faugn; Magnum Innominandum; Pnakotic
Manuscripts; Tcho-tchos; Tsang; Tsathoggua; White Acolyte. ("The Curse of
Chaugnar Faugn", Barton; "Death is an Elephant", Bloch; "The Horror from
the Hills", Long (O); Selected Letters IV, Lovecraft; "The Very Old Folk", Love-
craft.)
CHESUNCOOK WITCH COVEN. See Cult of the Skull.
CHHAYA RITUALS. Manuscript famous for its vagueness. Only the most
knowledgeable occultists understand its allusions.
["Chhaya" is Blavatsky's transliteration of a Sanskrit term meaning "shad-
ow." Kenneth Grant lists the "Chaaya" as an astral shadow that a mystic seeking
to release the Chakra energy in their body must overcome.]
("Hydra", Kuttner (O).)
CHIAN. Language mentioned in the Green Book that the Little People some-
times speak. Other references to "Chian games" and a "Chian pentagram" have
been found, but the significance is unknown.
[Chian was originally a drink composed of garlic, leeks, cheese, oil, vinegar
and dried herbs imbibed at the mysteries of Artemis at Ephesus, so it seems
likely that the "Ephesian letters of good omen" mentioned by Athaenus are
actually the Chian language. These Greek letters were supposed to form words
representing the words for darkness, light, the earth, the sun, the year, and truth.
They adorned the feet, girdle, and crown of the statue of Artemis at Ephesus.
The possession of these letters made their possessor invincible at sports, but
their use was illegal in such contests; one wrestler won three hundred bouts
before the nature of his victories became known. King Croesus was said to have
escaped being burned to death by saying the words over his pyre, and King
Solomon himself was said to have used the Chian letters to exorcise demons.
4 6
T H E CTHULHU MYTHOS ENCYCLOPEDIA
C H E S U N C O O K W I T C H C O V E N T O C H O R A Z O S C U L T
Certain cults may have passed down the mystical traditions of Chian down
to present times.
[It should be noted that at least one Machen scholar has objected to this
interpretation, but I find it to be an interesting one nonetheless.]
See Green Book. ("Something in the Moonlight", Carter; "The White People",
Machen (O).)
CHILDREN OF THE NIGHT. See Worms of the Earth.
CHORAZIN. 1) Cthulhu's will or id. This is Cthulhu's most psychically ac-
cessible part and is responsible for most of his dream sendings. See Cthulhu.
("Dreams Dark and Deadly", Szymanski (O).)
2) Ruined city in Israel. This city was condemned by Jesus in the Bible
(Matthew 11:21, Luke 10:13). Evil sorcerers often make a "Black Pilgrimage"
to Chorazin in hope of gaining great power. Both Abdul Alhazred and Ludwig
Prinn are said to have made such a pilgrimage and lived among the city's ruins
for some time. See Alhazred, Abdul. ("Count Magnus", James; "Lord of the
Worms", Lumley; "The Transition of Abdul Alhazred", Price (O).)
3) Town in upstate New York near both Attica and the ancestral Van der
Heyl mansion visited by Alonso Typer. Most of the people here belong to a
loathsome cult that meets on a hill near the old mansion. ("The Diary of Alonzo
Typer", Lovecraft and Lumley (O).)
CHORAZOS CULT. Sect of Yog-Sothoth worshipers established in the moun-
tains of Rumania in the late 16th century. Its leader was a man named Chora-
zos, who was supposedly of Gypsy extraction. The members of the cult came
from such diverse places as Hungary, Africa, Arabia, and China. In 1594, the
cult was exiled from its former Continental site to England, where a temple
was established in Finchley. Though at first popular with Queen Elizabeth, the
cult was hounded out of London in late 1595 due to an investigation by their
former patron on the advice of Doctor John Dee. They moved their base of
operations to a house known as the Oaks.
Though the Chorazos Cult spent only a year in the Oaks, it became infa-
mous throughout the area. When Parson Goodly of the local church asked
Chorazos about the cult's worship, Chorazos cursed the surrounding land,
which to this day remains poor and deserted. Finally, the countrymen banded
together and burned down the Oaks. Chorazos and a few other members
escaped to Scotland.
Chorazos's cult received land in the Pentland Hills due to its supposed acts
of healing. Before any official action took place, the people living nearby rose
up following a series of disappearances, destroying the sect once and for all.
See Yog-Sothoth. ("The House of the Temple", Lumley (O); "The Running
Man", Lumley.)
THE CTHULHU MYTHOS ENCYCLOPEDIA
T H E C H R O N I C L E S OF N A T H TO COBRA C R O W N
THE CHRONICLES OF NATH (originally CHRONIKE VON NATH). Volume
written by Rudolf Yergler, a German mystic who finished it in 1653, shortly
before he became completely blind. When the first edition was published in
1655, the authorities in Berlin sent Yergler to a madhouse, where he died un-
der mysterious circumstances. In 1781, James Sheffield made an expurgated
English translation of the Chronike. A copy of the latter might be found at the
Croydon University Library.
The tome deals with the history of Nath, Land of the Three Suns. In ad-
