Cthulhu Mythos

The Cthulhu Mythos is one of the most iconic and evolving literary creations of the twentieth century. Writer H. P. (Howard Phillips) Lovecraft (1890–1937), considered the founder of the modern horror genre, created a series of stories featuring a chaotic and uncaring universe in which humankind must suffer and survive. The literary genre to which the Mythos belongs is known as weird literature. Other genres with which it is associated are modern horror fiction, fantasy and science fiction, supernatural fiction, dark fiction, and steampunk, among others.

The Cthulhu Mythos refers to elements in Lovecraft’s work, such as a pantheon of alien gods, arcane magic books, Miskatonic University, several New England towns, and other related elements, all of them fictitious. While Lovecraft’s work is at the core of the Cthulhu Mythos, he did not invent the term. Additionally, a group of Lovecraft’s contemporaries known as the Lovecraft Circle played an influential role in developing the Mythos. The original members of the circle wrote a series of interrelated stories that shared the same basic elements. Other writers have continued to add themes and stories to the Mythos.

Brief History

Cthulhu Mythos is the term that writer August Derleth, one of the original members of the Lovecraft Circle, coined to describe the specific elements, such as themes, places, and characters, in Lovecraft’s work and shared by writers influenced by his books. Authors and their work form the Mythos—or recurrent narrative themes—used to craft Cthulhu Mythos universe and literature.

Some have objected to the term because Lovecraft did not create it. Therefore, it is sometimes called the Lovecraft Mythos. However, many point out that it has long moved beyond Lovecraft’s original creation. Fans and purists who wish to concentrate on Lovecraft’s original work rather than on other authors’ changes, evolution, and modifications consider it the more accurate term. Others, including Lovecraft, sometimes referred to the Mythos as the Arkham Cycle, after a town in the fictional world, and also as Yog-Sothothery, one of the principal gods.

Although originally created by Lovecraft and his group of contemporary authors, the Cthulhu Mythos cycle took on an extremely complex—and sometimes difficult to follow—life of its own. Some of the most talented writers of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries started their careers writing under the aegis of the Cthulhu Mythos.

In “The Call of Cthulhu” (1928), Lovecraft introduces Cthulhu, a green, squidlike creature with bat wings, who is buried and sleeps the ages away in a city that sank into the ocean eons ago. He is one of a pantheon of cosmic gods. His dreams influence individuals around the world, causing them to join cults and engage in nefarious acts. Although there are other important gods in the pantheon of Lovecraft’s literature and the Mythos cycle, the character of Cthulhu seemed to stoke public imagination most of all. Cthulhu Mythos fiction has become a major cultural emblem, and fans engage in role-playing and other activities derived from its themes. Lovecraft himself, however, ended his life in poverty.

Overview

The Cthulhu Mythos story cycle has evolved in time. It is has many interconnected offshoots which today include a strong online presence. Themes and characters from myths of other cultures have also been adapted to the cycle by many authors, beginning with some members of the Lovecraft Circle. The Mythos today has expanded so much and into so many branches of popular culture that many experts claim it is even better known than Lovecraft’s original work; they suggest that Mythos-inspired work produced by subsequent authors and artists should be considered different phenomena.

Numerous horror writers began their careers writing Mythos fiction, enriching the genre and often eventually moving beyond it. Members of the Lovecraft Circle who incorporated aspects of the Mythos into their own work included Robert Bloch, August Derleth, Robert E. Howard, Henry Kuttner, Frank Belknap Long, and Clark Ashton Smith. Later came other authors whose work also followed this line: Clive Barker, Ramsey Campbell, John Carpenter, Lin Carter, Stephen King, Brian Lumley, Anne Rice, and Colin Wilson, among others.

Among scholars who have studied the Mythos is Sunand Tryambak (S. T.) Joshi, who identified four crucial elements: A fictional town or place in New England; recurring mythical characters; grimoires or works of arcane literature, such as the Necronomicon; and the principles of Cosmicism, a doctrine that says religious beliefs are mere fancies and that humans are alone in an indifferent universe. As such, humans are vulnerable to forces of the universe and helpless before powerful cosmic beings. Their search for knowledge often ends badly. The world of a Mythos is a darker reflection of the real world; in it, humans live in a society of diminishing rationality. People, however, often thirst for spirituality and many stories revolve around individuals forming cults for powerful alien beings (the Old Ones), revered as gods. The Necronomicon, a grimoire, holds their history and instructions for calling them up from dark dwellings, where they often sleep and dream the ages away. All of these fictional elements and worlds keep recurring in stories that share the Mythos tradition. The award statuette for the World Fantasy Award is a bust of H. P. Lovecraft, in honor of his work.

In time, role-playing games based on the Cthulhu Mythos were developed. Since the inception of the games, the related characters have continued to grow and develop. Players often take on roles such as detective, scholar, warrior, and so on, as they quest for knowledge and understanding. Besides its influence on games, the Cthulhu Mythos has also appeared in films, television, music, visual arts, online spaces, and other manifestations of popular culture.

Bibliography

Barton, William A., Kevin Ross, and Lynn Willis, eds. Cthulhu by Gaslight: Horror Roleplaying in 1890s England. Hayward: Chaosium, 2012.

Gaiman, Neil, Joe R. Landsdale, Elizabeth Bear, and Ellen Datlow. Lovecraft’s Monsters. San Francisco: Tachyon, 2014. Print.

Harms, Daniel. The Cthulhu Mythos Encyclopedia. Lake Orion: Elder Signs, 2008. Print.

Jarocha-Ernst, Chris. A Cthulhu Mythos Bibliography & Concordance. Virginia Beach: Wizard’s Attic, 1999. Print.

Joshi, S. T. The Rise and Fall of the Cthulhu Mythos. Poplar Bluff: Mythos, 2008. Print.

Lockhart, Ross E. The Book of Cthulhu. San Francisco: Night Shade Books, 2011.

Lovecraft, H. P. The Complete Works of H. P. Lovecraft. New York: Race Point, 2014. Print.

Petersen, Sandy, and Lynn Willis. Call of Cthulhu: Horror Roleplaying in the Worlds of H. P. Lovecraft. Hayward: Chaosium, 2004.

Sammons, Brian, ed. Atomic-Age Cthulhu: Mythos Horror in the 1950s. Hayward: Chaosium, 2013. Print.

Sammons, Brian M. The Dark Rites of Cthulhu. Oshawa: April Moon, 2014. Print.