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Cthulhu Mythos

The Cthulhu Mythos is a mythopoeia and a shared fictional universe, originating in the works of American horror writer H. P. Lovecraft. The term was coined by August Derleth, a contemporary correspondent and protégé of Lovecraft, to identify the settings, tropes, and lore that were employed by Lovecraft and his literary successors. The name "Cthulhu" derives from the central creature in Lovecraft's seminal short story "The Call of Cthulhu", first published in the pulp magazine Weird Tales in 1928.[1]

Richard L. Tierney, a writer who also wrote Mythos tales, later applied the term "Derleth Mythos" to distinguish Lovecraft's works from Derleth's later stories, which modify key tenets of the Mythos.[2][3] Authors of Lovecraftian horror in particular frequently use elements of the Cthulhu Mythos.[4]: viii–ix 

Fictional cults[edit]

A number of fictional cults dedicated to "malevolent supernatural entities" appear in the Cthulhu Mythos, the loosely connected series of horror stories written by Lovecraft and other writers inspired by his creations.[23] These fictional cults have in some ways taken on a life of their own beyond the pages of Lovecraft's works. According to author John Engle, "The very real world of esoteric magical and occult practices has adopted Lovecraft and his works into its canon, which have informed the ritual practices, or even formed the bedrock, of certain cabals and magical circles".[24]

Significance[edit]

The Cthulhu Mythos of H. P. Lovecraft is considered to have been highly influential for the speculative fiction genre. It has been called "the official fictional religion of fantasy, science fiction, and horror, a grab bag for writers in need of unthinkably vast, and unthinkably indifferent, eldritch entities".[25]

Biology[edit]

Sollasina cthulhu, an extinct ophiocistioid echinoderm, is named after the Cthulhu Mythos.[26]

 – Fictional characters in H. P. Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos story cycle

List of Cthulhu Mythos characters

 – Fictional deities in H. P. Lovecraft's Cthulhu mythos

Cthulhu Mythos deities

 – Short story collections set in the milieu created by H. P. Lovecraft

Cthulhu Mythos anthology

 – Cultural references to H. P. Lovecraft

Cthulhu Mythos in popular culture

 – Subgenre of speculative fiction

Weird fiction

(1978). Strange Eons. Whispers Press. ISBN 0918372291.

Bloch, Robert

Burleson, Donald R. (1979). "The Lovecraft Mythos". In Magill, Frank N. (ed.). Survey of Science Fiction Literature. Vol. 3. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Salem Press. pp. 1284–1288.  978-0-89356-197-0.

ISBN

(1972). Lovecraft: A Look Behind the Cthulhu Mythos. New York: Ballantine Books. ISBN 0-345-02427-3.

Carter, Lin

(August 1, 1996) [1937]. "H.P. Lovecraft—Outsider". Crypt of Cthulhu. No. 3. pp. 16–18. ISSN 1077-8179.

August, Derleth

Dziemianowicz, Stefan (March 19, 1992). "Divers Hands". Crypt of Cthulhu. No. 80. pp. 38–52.  1077-8179.

ISSN

Dziemianowicz, Stefan. "The Cthulhu Mythos: Chronicle of a Controversy". In The Lovecraft Society of New England (ed) Necronomicon: The Cthulhu Mythos Convention 1993 (convention book). Boston: NecronomiCon, 1993, pp. 25–31

Jens, Tina, ed. (1999). Cthulhu and the Coeds: Kids and Squids. Chicago: Twilight Tales.

(1982). H. P. Lovecraft (1st ed.). Mercer Island, WA: Starmont House. ISBN 978-0-916732-36-3.

Joshi, S.T.

(1999) [1928]. "The Call of Cthulhu". In S.T. Joshi (ed.). The Call of Cthulhu and Other Weird Stories. London / New York: Penguin Books. Archived from the original on December 14, 2007.

Lovecraft, Howard P.

(1996). "Introduction". In Robert M. Price (ed.). The New Lovecraft Circle. New York: Random House, Inc. ISBN 978-0-345-44406-6.

Price, Robert M.

Price, Robert M. (1991). "Lovecraft's 'Artificial Mythology'". In Schultz, David E.; Joshi, S.T. (eds.). An Epicure in the Terrible: a centennial anthology of essays in honor of H. P. Lovecraft. Rutherford, NJ / Cranbury, NJ: / Associated University Presses. ISBN 978-0-8386-3415-8.

Fairleigh Dickinson University Press

Turner, James (1998). "Iä! Iä! Cthulhu Fhtagn!". Tales of the Cthulhu Mythos (1st ed.). Random House.  978-0-345-42204-0.

ISBN

Thomas, Frank Walter (2005). Watchers of the Light (1st printing ed.). Lake Forest Park, WA: Lake Forest Park Books.  978-0-9774464-0-7.

ISBN

Lovecraft Archive

"H. P. Lovecraft". The Scriptorium. Archived from the original on July 18, 2005. Retrieved July 20, 2005.

Joshi, S.T.

a mapping of Lovecraft's imaginary version of New England

The Virtual World of H. P. Lovecraft

– full documentary at the Snagfilms company YouTube channel

Lovecraft: Fear of the Unknown

Archived 2023-03-29 at the Wayback Machine

Schema on Lovecraft's »The Call of Ctuhulhu« and the Cthulhu Mythos