by Daniel Harms
The Tcho-Tchos and the people of K’n-yan are both known to worship Hastur. In the past, he was also revered in Samaria, Attluma, and Hyboria. His cult is considered particularly abhorrent, even when compared with those of the other Great Old Ones. The members of the cult are dedicated to bringing Hastur to Earth, as well as torturing mi-go to gain knowledge. Worshipers may call up Hastur when Aldebaran is in the sky (the best time being Candlemas Night when Mercury is in trine), usually in the presence of nine monoliths in a V-shape in imitation of the constellation Taurus.
In addition to his cults, Hastur is served by the interstellar race known as the byakhee. Some say the mi-go and Ithaqua are Hastur’s minions, but there is little evidence to support this and much to contradict it. The Outer God Shub-Niggurath and Hastur are closely linked, having mated to produce their own foul offspring called the Thousand Young. There seems to be some conflict between Hastur and Cthulhu; when the minions of the two beings have met, they have endeavored to destroy each other.
According to some sources, Hastur is not an actual entity at all, but rather an embodiment of the cosmic principle of entropy.
[In Bierce’s “Haïta the Shepherd”, Hastur is the benevolent god of shepherds. Chambers later appropriated Hastur and used the term as both a person and a place in his own stories. Derleth took Hastur from Chambers’ fiction and referred to it as a Great Old One. The title “Him Who Is Not to be Named” does appear in Derleth, but the idea of people being destroyed merely for speaking his name appears first in the Deities and Demigods Cyclopedia, and later in Call of Cthulhu.]
See Alar; Aldones; Brothers of the Yellow Sign; byakhee; Cthulhu; Demhe; elemental theory; Great Old Ones; Hali; Hastur; Ithaqua; King in Yellow; K’n-yan; Legends of the Olden Runes; L’mur-Kathulos; Magnum Innominandum; Nug and Yeb; Outer Gods; Pallid Mask; Sapientia Magorum; Set; Shub-Niggurath; Tcho-Tchos; Unspeakable Promise; Yellow Codex; Yellow Sign; Yhtill; Yog-Sothoth; Zann, Erich. (“Haïta the Shepherd”, Bierce (O); “H. P. Lovecraft: The Gods”, Carter; “The Return of Hastur”, Derleth; “The Lurker at the Threshold”, Derleth and Lovecraft; Delta Green: Countdown, Detwiller et. al.; Secrets of Japan, Dziesinski; “The Ring of the Hyades”, Glasby; Necronomicon, Levenda; “The Mound”, Lovecraft and Bishop; “The Shadow Out of Time”, Lovecraft; “The Whisperer in Darkness”, Lovecraft; Call of Cthulhu Rulebook, 5th ed., Petersen and Willis; “The Seed of the Star-God”, Tierney; Deities and Demigods Cyclopedia, Ward with Kuntz.)
HATHEG
Town on the Dreamlands’ river Skai established forty thousand years ago, at the same time as Nir and Ulthar. Hatheg is a quiet town renowned for its iridescent textiles. In the desert beyond it lies the mountain Hatheg-Kla.
See Hatheg-Kla; Lerion. (“In ‘Ygiroth”, DeBill; “The Cats of Ulthar”, Lovecraft (O); “The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath”, Lovecraft; “The Other Gods”, Lovecraft.)
HATHEG-KLA, MOUNT
Peak in the Great Stony Desert beyond the Dreamlands town of Hatheg. On certain nights, the gods of Earth come to Hatheg-Kla in their cloud-ships to dance upon its summit and recall the days of their youth.
Only two humans have climbed to the top of Hatheg-Kla to find the gods. One of these was Sansu, who, according to the Pnakotic Manuscripts, found nothing at the top but wind and stone. The other was Barzai, a high priest who vanished as he approached the peak in hopes of seeing the gods.
See Atal; Barzai; Hatheg; Pnakotic Manuscripts; Sansu. (“The Other Gods”, Lovecraft (O).)
HAUNTER OF THE DARK
See Nyarlathotep (Haunter of the Dark).
HERO, DAVID
Traveler in the Dreamlands and companion of Eldin the Wanderer. In his waking life, Hero was a moderately successful artist who was killed in the same accident that took the life of Professor Dingle.
See Eldin the Wanderer. (Hero of Dreams, Lumley (O); Mad Moon of Dreams, Lumley; Ship of Dreams, Lumley.)
HE WHO IS NOT TO BE NAMED
See Hastur.
HERMETIC ORDER OF THE SILVER TWILIGHT
See Masters of the Silver Twilight.
HIDDEN THINGS, BOOK OF
See Book of Hidden Things.
HIERON AIGYPTON (roughly “Temple of Egypt”)
Work in Greek written on papyrus and dating from 200 B.C. It details the rites of the miri nigri and other unpleasant secrets, including a revelation granted to one Anacharsis.
(Selected Letters III, Lovecraft (O); Cthulhu Dark Ages, Gesbert et. al.)
HIGH PRIEST NOT TO BE DESCRIBED (also ELDER HIEROPHANT, TCHO-TCHO LAMA OF LENG)
Being which dwells alone in a monastery on the Plateau of Leng and wears a yellow silk robe and mask. Its servitors are the men from Leng, with whom it communicates by playing a flute. Some have said that this figure could be a moon-beast or Nyarlathotep himself, but those who have been in close contact with him dispute this. According to them, he is a human who contains the tulku, or psychic avatar, of Nyarlathotep, and who is periodically replaced. Kenneth Grant has equated the High Priest with his Old One Lam.
[Lovecraft developed this character before reading Robert W. Chambers’ collection The King in Yellow.]
See Leng; Nyarlathotep (Thing in the Yellow Mask). (“The Book of the Gates”, Carter; “The Strange Doom of Enos Harker” Carter and Price; “Celephaïs”, Lovecraft (O); “The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath”, Lovecraft; “The Elder Pharos”, Lovecraft; Selected Letters V, Lovecraft.)
HIKE, HERBERT
Professor of medieval metaphysics at Miskatonic University (M.A. U. Michigan, Ph.D. University of Salamanca). He is best known for his A Preliminary Celaeno Catalog (1983, U. of Michigan Press) and Lamp-Eft Anatomy and Physiology (1981, U. of Michigan Press).
[See E. C. Fallworth.]
(“Miskatonic University Graduate Kit”, Petersen and Willis (O); S. Petersen’s Field Guide to Creatures of the Dreamlands, Petersen et. al.; S. Petersen’s Field Guide to Cthulhu Monsters, Petersen et. al.)
HINTERSTOISSER, DOCTOR STANISLAUS (August 23, 1896 – October 10, 1977)
Viennese occult scholar and the president of the Salzburg Institute for the Study of Magic and Occult Phenomena. Hinterstoisser received his Ph.D. in political theory from the University of Dresden in 1925. He became a well-known cryptographer and even accompanied a German expedition into the Antarctic in the early Thirties.
In 1933, Hinterstoisser had a nervous breakdown and moved to Zurich, where Carl Jung treated him for two years. It was under Jung’s guidance that the doctor first became interested in the occult. The Nazis destroyed his magnum opus on the subject, Prolegomena zu Einer Geschichte der Magie (1943), although a few copies may still exist. After World War II, Hinterstoisser founded the Salzburg Institute, which he ran in his spare time. The doctor is most famous for his discovery of Lovecraft’s father’s ties to the Freemasons, but he died shortly after he made this public and was unable to attain the prestige that he deserved.
See Necronomicon (appendices). (The Necronomicon: The Book of Dead Names, Hay, ed. (O).)
HLANITH
Town of the Dreamlands at the mouth of the Oukranos on the Cerenerian Sea. Hlanith has tall granite walls and oak wharves. Its people are known for being more rational than other Dreamlands inhabitants, and scientists of great creativity dwell there.
See Cerenerian Sea. (“The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath”, Lovecraft (O); The Complete Dreamlands, Williams and Petersen.)
HOADLEY, REVEREND ABIJAH
Clergyman who took up a post at the Congregational Church in Dunwich in 1747. He is known as the author of Of Evill Sorceries Done in New-England of Daemons in No Human Shape, and as a possible correspondent of the younger Ward Phillips. He preached a sermon (later published in Springfield, Massachusetts) on strange underground voices which he claimed were those of demons. Hoadley vanished shortly after delivering the sermon.
See Of Evill Sorceries… (“The Dunwich Horror”, Lovecraft (O); “Acute Spiritual Fear”, Price.)
HOAG, CAPTAIN ABNER EZ
EKIEL (1697–?)
Arkham mariner credited with discovering the original manuscript of the Ponape Scripture. Hoag’s father Isaiah came to Arkham from New Plymouth in 1693, and dark rumors were to follow their family for quite some time. Hoag began sailing at the age of fifteen, and married Bathsheba Randall Marsh of the Innsmouth Marshes a year later. He served as a captain for the first time at the age of twenty-one, and in 1732 he became one of the first New England traders to trade rum and copra among the Pacific islands.
Around 1734, Hoag discovered the Ponape Scripture during his stay on the isle of Ponape. He spent many years translating the volume with the help of his servant Yogash, but the Scripture remained unpublished due to ecclesiastical outcry until after the captain’s death.
See Ponape Scripture. (“The Dweller in the Tomb”, Carter (O); “Introduction” to Dreams from R’lyeh, Carter; Keeper’s Compendium, Herber.)
HOAG, WILBUR NATHANIEL
Poet and last of the Hoag family line who vanished from his home in Arkham on September 13, 1944.
(Dreams from R’lyeh, Carter (O).)
HODGKINS, ARTHUR WILCOX (c. 1900–?
Assistant curator of manuscripts at the Sanbourne Institute who took over the collection after the confinement of Dr. Henry Blaine in 1928. After a brief trip to Arkham, Hodgkins returned to the Institute on March 26, 1929, when he allegedly killed a night watchman, torched a gallery, and attempted to steal a statuette called the “Ponape Figurine”. Following his capture, Hodgkins was himself committed.
(“Out of the Ages”, Carter (O); ”Zoth-Ommog”, Carter.)
HOLT, RICHARD
See Terrible Old Man.
HOUND, AMULET OF THE
See Amulet of the Hound.
HOUNDS OF TINDALOS (also TIND’LOSI HOUNDS)
Creature which comes from the distant past, or possibly another dimension. The Hounds appear much like green hairless dogs with blue tongues, or like black formless shadows — it is difficult to be sure of the Hounds’ true forms. They dwell in Tindalos, a city of corkscrew towers, but have been known to travel to other places and times to track their prey.
The Hounds of Tindalos are the embodiment of foulness, and they lust after something found in humans. Long ago, an event took place in which the Hounds of Tindalos and humanity both took part and upon which the tale of the Fall from Paradise is based. The Black Tome of Alsophocus suggests that the cause was both species’ attraction to the power of the Shining Trapezohedron. Humanity did not wholly participate, thereby retaining some element of “pureness” which was lost to the Hounds. The Hounds hate all natural life because of this, seeking to destroy any such beings they encounter.
Attempts to journey back in time via psychic means attract the Hounds’ attention. After an observer has been “scented,” the Hounds can follow them through time and space until the person is caught and killed. According to Halpin Chalmers, the noted occultist, these creatures have descended through “angled” time, while normal life has developed through “curves.” This is not readily understood, but it is known that a hound must materialize itself through an angle; thus, a person kept in a perfectly round room would be safe from the beast’s attack. When this occurs, however, the hounds usually contact some of their metaphysical allies in this time-period, such as the “satyrs” (possibly Shub-Niggurath’s minions) and the dholes, to do away with these defenses in some way and allow them access to their prey. They may also send telepathic images of the hunt to these individuals, slowly driving them mad.
One sage has hypothesized that the hounds are unable to enter our three dimensions, and anyone who is not traveling through time is safe from their depredations. Cases of hound attack, however, show that this is not the case. It may be that the hounds can only indirectly affect this dimension, which makes them no less of a threat.
Analysis of the blue slime left after Hound attacks reveal that the Hounds have no enzymes within their bodies. Enzymes are helpful in that they speed chemical reactions, yet their presence eventually causes a being to die. Not only are the hounds masters of time travel, they seem to be immortal as well; whether or not this means that hounds cannot be permanently destroyed by violence or other means remains to be seen.
The hounds are the spawn of Noth-Yidik and K’thun, and may serve Azathoth in some capacity. They serve the Lords, mighty exemplars of their species, of whom the most powerful is Mh’ithrha. They may oppose Yog-Sothoth, who represents the curves of time that repel them from our reality. Interaction of hounds with humans is limited — supposed “spells” to contact these creatures are most likely admonitions on how not to contact other realities.
Friendly relations are rare between hounds and humans, though Romulus propitiated them while building Rome into an empire. A few hounds, known as ny’rela, serve a particular master, though these are very rare and the means for securing their service is unknown. Some have also connected them with the corpse-cult of Leng, whose symbol is the winged hound.
See Amulet of the Hound; Einstein Formula; K’thun; London, Terry; Noth-Yidik; Scarlet Circles; Tindalos; Walters, Harvey. (“The Wild Hunt”, Ballon; “The Orb”, Campbell; “The Madness out of Time”, Carter; “The Hounds of Tindalos”, Long (O); Elysia, Lumley; The Transition of Titus Crow, Lumley; S. Petersen’s Field Guide to Cthulhu Monsters, Petersen; “One-Way Conversation”, Sammons.)
HOY-DHIN CHANT
Incantation found in the Necronomicon and used by sorcerers to call the Black. The chant must be used in conjunction with other formulae found in the Cthaat Aquadingen.
See The Black; Necronomicon (appendices); Sixth Sathlatta. (“The Horror at Oakdeene”, Lumley (O).)
HSAN, SEVEN CRYPTICAL BOOKS OF
See Seven Cryptical Books of Hsan.
HUITLOXOPETL
Being which is known for its control over dreams. When the Great Old Ones rebelled against the Elder Gods, Huitloxopetl remained in Syrgoth, a galaxy at the rim of the universe. His father Azathoth punished him by imprisoning him there.
Huitloxopetl’s name appears in many medieval Arabic manuscripts, and it has been suggested that the Aztec cult of Huitzilopochtli was connected to him. Some say that vampires and the living dead serve Huitloxopetl, while others state that these are actually mindless creations controlled by the being itself.
(“Huitloxopetl IX: Pickman’s God”, Ambuehl; “Huitloxopetl IV: Vision of Madness”, Berglund (O); “Huitloxopetl XII: Plagued by Dreams”, Cornford; “Huitloxopetl XI: The Ripening of Huitloxopetl”, Davey.)
HUNTING HORRORS
Creatures resembling black-winged serpents of immense size. Horrors originally dwelt on only a few worlds, but they have been sighted flying through space in several galaxies. Extremely bright light may destroy a hunting horror, but such a powerful light-source is rarely available to its victims.
The hunting horrors serve Nyarlathotep, who often sends them to deal with those who displease him. An enterprising wizard who is outside at night may summon one of these monsters, providing a sentient being as a sacrifice for it. If none is available, the horror is happy to devour the magician and depart.
[The “hunting horrors” turn up briefly in “Dream-Quest”, but they are never described there. “Lurker” is the source for their appearance.]
(“Mysterious Dan’s Legacy”, Baugh; “The Lurker at the Threshold”, Derleth and Lovecraft; “The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath”, Lovecraft (O); Call of Cthulhu Rulebook, 5th ed., Petersen and Willis; S. Petersen’s Field Guide to Cthulhu Monsters, Petersen et. al..)
HUTCHINSON, EDWARD (alias NEPHREN-KA NAI HADOTH)
Gentleman of Salem-Village (present-day Danvers), Massachusetts. Edward Hutchinson was a man of some learning who had many discussions on science with both Simon Orne and Joseph Curwen. His neighbors considered him to be a wizard, a situation that may have lead to his disappearance around the time of the witch-trials. Questionable evidence suggests that he later turned up near Rakus, Transylvania, near the ruins of Castle Fer
enczy. Buzrael Press of Liverpool published one of his most famous works, The Opener of the Way, in 1864. His links with the historic Nephren-Ka are unknown.
See Curwen, Joseph; Orne, Simon. (“The Case of Charles Dexter Ward”, Lovecraft (O); S. Petersen’s Field Guide to Cthulhu Monsters, Petersen et. al.)
HYBORIAN AGE