Cthulhu Mythos Encyclopedia

by Daniel Harms

  THING THAT SHOULD NOT BE

  See Nyogtha.

  THOG AND THOK

  Twin moons of the planet Yuggoth. Thog has been described as a dark world, but Thok’s appearance is unknown.

  [In his poetry, Lovecraft used Thok as a variant spelling of Throk. Lupoff took the word and used it in his own fiction as a moon of Yuggoth.]

  See Ghooric Zone. (“The Color from Beyond”, Cabos; “The Pigeon-Flyers”, Lovecraft (O — Thog); “To a Dreamer”, Lovecraft (O — Thok); “Discovery of the Ghooric Zone”, Lupoff.)

  THOK, PEAKS OF (also THROK)

  Mountains in the underworld of Earth’s Dreamlands. These mountains are made of granite and are completely devoid of life. Few dreamers who see them return to tell the tale.

  [Though Throk is more commonly used, “Thok” is the name given in Lovecraft’s poetry and the corrected versions of his stories.]

  See Thog and Thok. (“The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath”, Lovecraft; “To a Dreamer”, Lovecraft (O).)

  THOTH, BOOK OF

  See Book of Thoth.

  THOTH-AMON (also THOTH-AMMON)

  Stygian high priest of Set and sorcerer of great power who was feared throughout the Hyborian lands during Conan’s time.

  Thoth began his career as a street thief in the capital of Stygia. Slaying his friend Amon who had been granted a post at the temple of the god Ibis, Thoth quickly worked his way up through the ranks, slaughtering both priests and nobles until he could bring the country to the worship of Set. King Ctesiphon gave him great honor and elevated him to the highest post in the land. Though not fully accepted by his peers, Thoth-Amon nonetheless managed to hold on to power ruthlessly through his magic and his mastery of the Serpent-Ring of Set.

  Only a few tales of Thoth-Amon have come down to us. It is rumored that at one point in his career Thoth-Amon lost the Ring of Set and became the slave of a northern outlaw. At another time, he came close to ruling the kingdom of Zingara, but Conan himself stopped him. For all of his power and reputation, nothing else is known of his feats, or even of his death.

  In modern times, scholars remember Thoth-Amon as the reputed author of the Book (or Scrolls) of Thoth and the Scrolls of Set.

  See Book of Thoth; Cobra Crown; Serpent Ring of Set. (“The Snakefarm”, Ambuehl; Conan: Book of Thoth, Busiek and Wein; Conan the Buccaneer, Carter and de Camp; “The Hour of the Dragon”, Howard; “The Phoenix on the Sword”, Howard (O); “The Ring of Set”, Tierney.)

  THOUSAND YOUNG

  Offspring of Shub-Niggurath. Some consider these to be the same as the dark young, though other encounters describe everything from small goat-like familiars to ebon giants.

  (“Tommy’s Goat”, Cartwright; “The Epiphany of Dissolution”, Davey; “The Whisperer in Darkness”, Lovecraft (O); Call of Cthulhu, Petersen and Willis.)

  THRAN

  City of the Dreamlands on the Oukranos river. It is known best for its golden spires, alabaster walls, and marble wharves. To enter, a dreamer must tell the red-robed guard at the gate three dreams beyond belief.

  See Oukranos. (“The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath”, Lovecraft; “The Silver Key”, Lovecraft (O).)

  THROK, PEAKS OF

  See Peaks of Thok.

  THUGGON

  Seemingly uninhabited world where the insects from Shaggai dwelt for a short time. Their slaves steadily disappeared, however, and when they searched for them, the shan found a black tower within a marsh, with the mutilated bodies of their servants nearby. The shan did not remain on Thuggon long thereafter.

  See shan. (“The Insects from Shaggai”, Campbell (O).)

  THUUM’HA (or THUNN-HA)

  Amphibian creatures that came from outer space to build the cities of Ib and Lh-Yib. They were mostly human in shape, but had flabby lips, bulging eyes, and a slimy hide, and they could not speak. These qualities did not endear them to the men of Sarnath, who finally destroyed them. Some Thuum’ha may still survive in Ib’s sister city Lh-Yib.

  [Lovecraft first described these beings, and Lumley created the term for them.]

  See Bokrug; Ib; Lh-yib; Mnomquah. (“Something in the Moonlight”, Carter; “The Doom that Came to Sarnath”, Lovecraft (O); Beneath the Moors, Lumley.)

  THURSTON, FRANCIS WAYLAND

  Boston anthropologist and grandnephew of George Angell. Thurston followed up on Angell’s work on the Cthulhu cult in hopes of enhancing his professional reputation. He died soon afterward near the docks of Providence, though some maintain that he will live until the return of the Old Ones.

  See Angell, George; Johansen Narrative. (Keeper’s Compendium, Herber; “The Blasphemous Enlightenment of Prof. Francis Wayland Thurston of Boston, Providence, and the Human Race”, Ligotti; “The Call of Cthulhu”, Lovecraft (O).)

  THYOPH

  Planet that, according to the G’harne Fragments, a “Nuclear Chaos” (most likely a seed of Azathoth) broke apart to create the asteroid belt.

  (Spawn of Azathoth, Herber; “In the Vaults Beneath”, Lumley (O).)

  TIANIA

  Woman born of a Muvian scientist and a woman of Thenopia who bore the blood of the Elder Gods. Her parents came to Elysia when Mu was destroyed, and left Tiania there under the care of Kthanid. She later married Titus Crow when he arrived in Elysia.

  (The Transition of Titus Crow, Lumley (O).)

  TIKKOUN ELIXIR

  Another name for holy water. This substance is said to be proof against the Great Old One Nyogtha. It provides limited protection from the cthonians and possibly other earth elementals.

  [“Tikkun” is actually a word in Jewish mysticism that refers to magical processes designed to restore the shattered and imperfect Creation to its proper form. It is likely that Kuttner found it spelled as “Tikkoun” in Blavatsky’s Secret Doctrine.]

  See Cthonians; Nyogtha. (“The Salem Horror”, Kuttner (O); The Burrowers Beneath, Lumley.)

  TILLINGHAST RESONATOR (also THE ULTRAVIOLET)

  Invention of Crawford Tillinghast, a scientist from Providence, Rhode Island. According to Tillinghast, the Resonator activated vestigial sense organs in the human mind, opening them to visions of higher dimensions and their inhabitants. In 1920, Tillinghast invited his friend Franklin Rathke to a demonstration of the Resonator in his house on Benevolent Street. When completed, Tillinghast was dead of apoplexy, and a bullet from Rathke’s gun brought the experiment to a halt. The police questioned Rathke but released him when no link between him and Tillinghast’s death could be found.

  Rathke took up Tillinghast’s experiments, sometimes advertising in order to obtain backing for his venture. This was unsuccessful, and Rathke vanished in 1943 from his Boston apartment. The U. S. Navy had picked up on his technology, and attempted to use it to make a ship, the USS Eldridge, invisible. The test was only performed once, due to the odd and terrifying results of this experiment. Rumor has it that the Nazis attempted to use similar technology, but were unable to control it. In more recent years, miniaturized versions of the Tillinghast resonator, designed to show an individual beings from other realms, might have been perfected for certain government agencies.

  (“Night and Water”, Detwiller; Project Rainbow, Detwiller; “From Beyond”, Lovecraft (O); “The Jennifer Morgue”, Stross.)

  TIME-CLOCK

  Alien artifact resembling an ornately carved, coffin-shaped grandfather clock with four hands which move around its dial in seemingly random patterns. The clock operated without any outside power source whatsoever. Only rumors relate what those who opened the clock found within. It is believed that this is merely one device out of many, but this is the only one of its kind encountered on Earth.

  The Yogi Hiamaldi supposedly brought back the time-clock (as it was later called) from the alien city of Yian-Ho. He presented the clock as a gift to Etienne-Laurent de Marigny, the famous French mystic, who kept the object at his New Orleans retreat. It was here that the clock played an important role in the disappearance of Swami Chandraputra, an
elderly Indian who had come to provide evidence that Randolph Carter survived. After de Marigny’s death, a wealthy Frenchman purchased the clock and vanished soon thereafter. Titus Crow later bought it at an English antique auction. The clock remained in Crow’s possession for years, until it vanished along with him and his friend Henri-Laurent de Marigny during a freak windstorm in 1969.

  According to notes discovered in Crow’s demolished manor, the clock operated as a gateway and a vehicle to other places, times, and dimensions. The user would open the clock, step inside, and immediately be able to utilize the device’s powers of transportation. The clock was supposedly a tool of the Elder Gods, however, and the time-clock’s powers could be dangerous if misused.

  (“Through the Gates of the Silver Key”, Lovecraft and Price (O); The Burrowers Beneath, Lumley; The Clock of Dreams, Lumley; “De Marigny’s Clock”, Lumley; The Transition of Titus Crow, Lumley.)

  TINDALOS

  World which may exist on earth far in the past, on a faraway world near a black hole, or even floating throughout time, contemporaneous with all space yet unable to intrude upon it. Its towers shaped like corkscrews are the homes of the hounds of Tindalos. It is whispered that an awful deed done here aeons ago caused the hounds to be created.

  [In Melanesia, the word “tindalo” refers to a spirit of the dead who possesses magical power. What this has to do with the hounds is unknown, and it could be a simple coincidence.]

  See hounds of Tindalos. (“The Book of the Gates”, Carter; “The Hounds of Tindalos”, Long (O); “The Statement of One John Gibson”, Lumley; The Transition of Titus Crow, Lumley; “The Sound of a Door Opening”, Webb.)

  TIND’LOSI HOUNDS

  See hounds of Tindalos.

  TOK’L

  Metal used on Tond and Yuggoth as part of a process that bestows immortality. Every thirty-five years, the creature’s brain must be transferred from one body to another. During this process, the brain must be kept in a container made of tok’l-metal during the transition between bodies. It has been suggested that the metal may also be used for other ritual purposes. The nearest source of this mineral is the planet Yuggoth.

  See Ghooric Zone; Yuggoth. (“The Mine on Yuggoth”, Campbell (O); “The Return”, Smith.)

  TOMB-HERD

  Beings mentioned in the Necronomicon that feed upon the occupants of tombs. They come from another dimension, possessing the bodies of other creatures to enter our own space-time continuum and feast upon the dead.

  The tomb-herd has the limited ability to warp space; for example, a chosen victim might be unable to escape from an area where the tomb-herd waits, as every road circles back on itself and returns to the dwellings of the herd. Outside assistance may be of some help in eluding the tomb-herd, but they often catch their victims in the end despite all precautions.

  The tomb-herd may be allied to the Great Old One Glaaki, and they are said to serve Yog-Sothoth. Some cults focussing around the tomb-herd exist; the worshipers allow the herd to possess them, in return for certain benefits.

  These beings are probably not connected with ghouls, who are not allied with Yog-Sothoth, and who have material bodies in this dimension.

  (“The Church in High Street”, Campbell; “The Inhabitant of the Lake”, Campbell; “Through the Gates of the Silver Key”, Lovecraft and Price (O).)

  TOND

  Planet which some say circles our sun, but which, according to most authorities, revolves the dark star Baalbo and the green star Yifne. Tond is mentioned in works such as the Necronomicon and the Revelations of Glaaki. On this planet live the yarkdao, who have built curious cities of black stone and bluish metal. One of these cities is Derd, beneath which lies an avatar of Azathoth.

  It has been said that Glaaki spent some time upon this world on his way to Earth. The only way a human can behold Tond is through the use of the Crystallizer of Dreams.

  [Ramsey Campbell’s Far Away and Never includes more tales set on Tond, though that world seems quite different than the one described in his Mythos tales.]

  See Crystallizer of Dreams; Daoloth; Glaaki; tok’l. (“The Inhabitant of the Lake”, Campbell (O); “A Madness from the Vaults”, Campbell; “Papyrus of the Dark Wisdom”, Carter.)

  TOWER OF KOTH

  See Koth, Tower of.

  TREADER OF THE DUST

  See Quachil Uttaus.

  TREGARDIS CRYSTAL

  See Eye of Ubbo-Sathla.

  TRONE TABLES

  Set of highly abstruse mathematical equations connected with the Great White Space. They are presented in some sources as a book unto themselves, and in others as a section of The Ethics of Ygor.

  (The Great White Space, Copper (O); “The Dreaming City”, Johnson.)

  TRUE MAGIK (or TRUE MAGICK)

  Book written by a sorcerer named Theophilus Wenn (most likely a pseudonym). The book is often dated to the 17th century, though research indicates that it might have turned up at the University of Salamanca in medieval times. One copy, published in 1872 by Oakley Press, may be found at the Miskatonic University Library, and other manuscript copies have also been circulated.

  In addition to the usual references to demons, vampires, and the like, the book also contains seven incantations of great power. Three of these are for the creation of various protective charms, and another three may be used against the wizard’s enemies. The seventh, which summons a hideous demon, is especially perilous, as it requires a blood sacrifice made at an altar to the Great Old Ones in exchange for great wealth. Wenn’s curious distinctions between black, white, and grey magic will also be of interest to students of the occult.

  [This book is not to be confused with Amber K’s paperback manual of the same name.]

  (“The Seventh Incantation”, Brennan (O); Devil’s Children, Conyers, Godley, and Witteveen; Miskatonic University Graduate Kit, Petersen et. al.)

  TRU’NEMBRA

  Outer God also known as the Angel of Music, manifesting itself as an unearthly melody. Tru’nembra only comes to Earth when a master musician has somehow come to the god’s attention. The musician hears music that no one else may perceive, and these melodies become more captivating. Eventually, Tru’nembra manifests to bear the musician back to Azathoth’s court, to play there for all eternity. This might have been the fate that befell Erich Zann.

  See Zann, Erich. (Ye Booke of Monstres, Aniolowski (O).)

  TSAN-CHAN

  Oriental empire that will come into being three thousand years in the future. It may be that by this time the return of the Great Old Ones will have occurred, and that non-human masters will rule this empire.

  See Yiang-Li. (“Beyond the Wall of Sleep” (O), Lovecraft; “The Shadow Out of Time”, Lovecraft.)

  TSANG, PLATEAU OF

  Region in Asia inhabited by the Tcho-Tcho people. Some maintain that this place is identical to the Plateau of Leng; perhaps Tsang is a point where Leng intersects our own dimension. In a cavern on Tsang rests Chaugnar Faugn, the Tcho-tcho’s god. Here he waits for the time when he shall journey west and devour the world.

  The mountains beyond Tsang, according to Harold Hadley Copeland, were at one time the home of a group of refugees who fled the destruction of Mu. The great wizard Zanthu led the survivors, who later buried him in an ancient graveyard somewhere in this region.

  [Tsang, or Hou-tsang, is a province in the south of Tibet. Its major city is Shigatse or Xigaze. Whether Long knew this or not is unknown.]

  See Chaugnar Faugn; Copeland, Harold; Miri Nigri; Tcho-tchos; Zanthu Tablets. (“The Curse of Chaugnar Faugn”, Barton; “The Dweller in the Tomb”, Carter; “The Horror from the Hills”, Long (O).)

  TSATH

  Capital city of the subterranean land of K’n-yan. The people of this land named their capital in honor of the Great Old One Tsathoggua before they banned his worship.

  See K’n-yan; Tsathoggua. (“The Mound”, Lovecraft and Bishop.)

  TSATH-YO (possibly also ELDER SCRIPT)

  Pri
mal language used in the land of Hyperborea millions of years ago.

  See Book of Dzyan; Testament of Carnamagos. (“Through the Gates of the Silver Key”, Lovecraft and Price.)

  TSATHOGGUA (also SADOGUI, SAINT TOAD, or ZHOTHAQQUAH)

  Great Old One whose amorphous body usually takes the form of a furry toad-like being with sleepy eyes and a toothy grin, or a combination of bat and sloth. The genealogist Pnom maintains that Tsathoggua, the offspring of Ghisguth and Zstylzhemghi, came with them and its grandfather Cxaxukluth from a distant galaxy to Yuggoth when it was still an infant. Secreting itself in deep caves on Yuggoth to hide from its grandsire, Tsathoggua later made its way to Saturn. According to other myths, the inhabitants of a dark planet at the edge of our system brought Tsathoggua to Earth from Saturn.