by Daniel Harms
WORMIUS, OLAUS
Monk who translated the Necronomicon from Greek into Latin in the year 1228. This Olaus Wormius, who is not to be confused with the later doctor of the same name, was born in Jutland. He later went on to perform other translations in both Latin and Greek.
[See the appendix for a more detailed discussion of Wormius.]
See Necronomicon (appendices). (The Art of Playing Mythos, Aniolowski et. al.; “Zoth-Ommog”, Carter; “History of the Necronomicon”, Lovecraft (O).)
WORMS OF THE EARTH
Creatures that share the traits of both humans and reptiles. It is likely that the Worms of the Earth were crossbreeds between normal snakes and the serpent-people of Valusia, who withdrew into Britain during their decline. The Worms were the first people of that island, but the Pictish invaders drove from their surface homes. They withdrew into their burrows and caverns, from which they emerged only under the greatest need.
Over the years, the Worms of the Earth became less and less human in form, but their magical power grew as it never had before. As memory of the battles between the Picts and their foes faded, the Worms became the bogeymen of the newcomers, who blamed them for the abduction of infants from their cradles and other nefarious deeds.
Several scholars have advanced the belief that the “Little People” of legend were actually the aboriginal inhabitants of Britain, who fled into the wilds when other groups began to colonize their former lands and who carried out acts of guerrilla warfare against their foes. Traditionally, the Little Folk were believed to possess many supernatural powers, such as curdling milk, destroying crops, and stealing away people who came too near the hills in which they lived. It would seem that the Worms are the source behind these myths, as well as the Norse tales of the dvergar. It is unknown whether any of the Worms of the Earth still survive, or whether they have become extinct in the centuries since their exodus to their burrows.
The title “Worms of the Earth” has also been given to the yuggya, but it is unlikely that any connection between these and the cave dwellers of Britain exists.
See Bran Mak Morn; serpent people. (“The Winfield Heritance”, Carter; “People of the Dark”, Howard (O); “The Worms of the Earth”, Howard; Heir to Darkness, Rahman.)
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XADA-HGLA
Azathoth’s only known avatar. Xada-Hgla has a shell like that of a clam from which many long pseudopods protrude. Inside the shell is a hairy, green-eyed face. It was this form which Azathoth possessed before the Elder Gods took away his reason. Images of Xada-Hgla may still be found in the shan’s teleporting temples.
See Azathoth; Shan. (Ye Booke of Monstres, Aniolowski; “The Insects from Shaggai”, Campbell (O).)
XASTUR
Female being who may be an avatar of Hastur. Xastur is said to kill sleeping men, but she is also the subject of a Litany, the Eighth word of which may destroy supernatural creatures. In the teachings of Arthur Praxis’ Critical Mass Theologians, Xastur is the Collective Mind that desires to make contact with the people of Earth.
(“The Face from Below”, Cornford; Necronomicon, Levenda (O); Cthulhu Live: Lost Souls, Salmon et. al.; “The Litany of Xastur”, Sennitt.)
XICCARPH
World of three suns and four moons. Xiccarph, and five other planets of its solar system, was ruled by the wizard Maal Dweb from his palace and labyrinth at the time of Eibon, who considered the sorcerer a colleague. It may be that Maal Dweb may order the execution of all its inhabitants in the future, or that he will himself die and become the focus of a religion.
In one incantation, “Xicarph” is referred to as if it were an entity. The significance of this is unknown.
(“In the Vale of Pnath”, Carter; “The Death of Maal Dweb”, Henderson; “The Alchemist’s Notebook”, Hurd and Baetz; “The Legacy of Maal Dweb”, Shiflet; “The Maze of the Enchanter”, Smith (O).)
XICLOTL
World in the same system as Shaggai. The shan colonized this world, enslaving the large, semi-intelligent carnivorous monsters which were native to this planet. After the destruction of Shaggai, the shan came together on this world and made it their home for two hundred years. The insects finally left Xiclotl when they discovered the truths behind the Xiclotlian’s singular religious practices.
See Revelations of Glaaki; shan. (“The Insects from Shaggai”, Campbell (O).)
XIMES
See Averoigne.
XINAIAN
See K’n-yan.
XOTH (possibly ZOTH)
Green binary star from which Cthulhu came to Earth, and home of the being, Idh-yaa, upon whom Cthulhu is said to have spawned four children. This system may be found within the constellation Taurus in a cluster with the stars Abbith, Zaoth, and Ymar, but cannot be viewed with a conventional telescope.
[One scholar has suggested that “Xoth” is a variation on “Sothis”, the Egyptian name for the star Sirius, which has been linked with “fish-men” in the myths of the Dogon people of Mali. I believe that this is unlikely, as these Dogon myths were not printed in English until 1976. A more likely source is Smith’s “Zoth”.]
See Abbith; Cthulhu; Cthylla; Ghatanothoa; Idh-yaa; Ymar; Zaoth; Zoth; Zstylzhemghi. (“The Thing in the Pit”, Carter; “Zoth-Ommog”, Carter; The Transition of Titus Crow, Lumley; “The Family Tree of the Gods”, Smith (O).)
XUTHLTAN
1) Former name of the town of Stregoicavar, Hungary. Xuthltan was the home to a cult which sacrificed victims kidnapped from neighboring communities at a monument known as the Black Stone. When the Muslim army came to this region in 1526, they destroyed Xuthltan and massacred all its people. The word “Xuthltan” is not native to the region, and may be a variation on Cthulhu. See Black Stone; Geoffrey, Justin; People of the Monolith; Stegoicavar. (“The Black Stone”, Howard (O); A Guide to the Cthulhu Cult, Pelton.)
2) Magician of ancient Arabia. Xuthltan traveled to a dark cavern in a distant land, stealing a magical gem known as the Fire of Asshurbanipal from a sleeping demon. While residing in the city of Kara-Shehr, the king imprisoned and tortured him to obtain the gem. Xuthltan died, and with his last breath he brought a curse down upon the king and his people. The city of Kara-Shehr still lies beneath the desert sands, holding the Fire of Asshurbanipal. See Kara-Shehr. (“The Fire of Asshurbanipal”, Howard (O).)
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YAANEK (also YARAK)
Volcano said to lie at the North Pole in the midst of a firestorm. Beast-men built shrines there, but only the ruins of these remain. In this place dwells the Great Old One Aphoom Zhah.
[Poe tells of “Mount Yaanek/In the realms of the boreal pole.” Lovecraft believed that he meant Mount Erebus, toward which the boreal, or north, wind blows. It is clear that Lin Carter did not accept this conclusion.]
(“The Book of Preparations”, Carter; “The Peak”, Fantina; “At the Mountains of Madness”, Lovecraft; “Ulalume”, Poe (O).)
YAD-THADDAG
Elder God who is the equivalent to Yog-Sothoth, according to some sources.
See Elder Gods. (Elysia, Lumley (O).)
YADDITH
Planet circling five suns millions of light-years away, in the same section of the sky where Deneb can be seen from Earth. Eons in the past, the Nug-Soth, tapir-snouted beings who shared both reptilian and mammalian characteristics, inhabited this world. From what little we know of them, they were scholars ruled by the Arch-Ancient Buo. These people explored the universe, not only in their “light-wave envelopes” which could take them to twenty-eight nearby galaxies, but also through controlled dreaming and time travel.
Despite all their magical and scientific knowledge, the Nug-Soth were unable to stop the dholes (or bholes) from burrowing through Yaddith’s core. For thousands of years, the sages of Yaddith conferred with each other and plumbed the universe for any means to put an end to this menace. All their efforts were doomed to failure. Eventually, the dholes that dwelt within Yaddith overwhelmed
it, and the cities of Yaddith were destroyed. Most of its inhabitants escaped the destruction of their home, but according to some, even then the dholes hunted them in their dreams.
Some say that Yaddith was once the home of Shub-Niggurath, who dwelt beneath the planet’s surface with her dhole servitors. Whether this is true or not, both the dholes and the Nug-Soth were the servitors of Shub-Niggurath, though their conflict was bitter nonetheless.
See dholes; Ghorl Nigral; Harag-Kolath; Mthura; Nug-Soth; Shub-Niggurath; Shonhi; Tablets of Nhing; Vhoorl; Visions from Yaddith; Zaoth; Zkauba. (Visions from Yaddith, Carter; “Dreams in the House of Weir”, Carter; “Zoth-Ommog”, Carter; “Through the Gates of the Silver Key”, Lovecraft and Price (O).)
YADDITH-GHO
Mountain in the kingdom of Kn’aa on Mu. Before the advent of humanity, beings from Yuggoth had built a fortress here to hold in the Great Old One Ghatanothoa. This site was of prime religious significance when humans dwelt on Mu, and remained the holiest place in that land until it sunk into the ocean. It is said that Yaddith-Gho shall rise once again when the Old Ones return.
See Ghatanothoa. (“Out of the Aeons”, Lovecraft and Heald (O).)
YAKSH
Another name for the planet Neptune. It is noted for its curious fungoid inhabitants.
See Hziulquoigmnzhah. (“The Family Tree of the Gods”, Smith (O).)
YAKTHOOB
Wizard and tutor of the young Abdul Alhazred. The tale of this man and his grisly end may be found in the Necronomicon.
See Alhazred, Abdul; Amulet of the Hound; Hadoth; Necronomicon (appendices); Rituals of Yhe. (“The Doom of Yakthoob”, Carter (O).)
YAMATH
God of fire in Lemuria, and possibly a form of the god Cthugha. This spirit later became known as Yama, a lord of the dead, in Hindu and Buddhist myths.
See Zarnak, Anton. (Thongor in the City of Magicians, Carter (O); “Admission of Weakness”, Henderson.)
YARNAK
Planet with three moons on the far side of Betelgeuse. Yarnak lies in the Grey Gulf of Yarnak, a region of space with curious properties. Its main city is Bel Yarnak. The Great Old One Mnomquah may have dwelt here at one time before being driven away.
See Bel Yarnak; Vorvadoss. (“The Descent into the Abyss”, Carter and Smith; “The Eater of Souls”, Kuttner (O).)
YCNÁGNNISSSZ
Creature from an alternate universe who came to ours through a wormhole near the star Zoth, or who may manifest as that ultraviolet body. Ycnágnnisssz spawned a number of young by itself, the most famous of which is Zstylzhemghi.
(“The Epistles of Eibon”, Price and Cornford; “Family Tree of the Gods”, Smith (O); “Ycnágnnisssz”, Tierney.)
YDMOS (also CITY OF THE SINGING FLAME)
City in an alternate dimension outside of time and space. Ydmos’ natural inhabitants were great emotionless giants, but the streets thronged with all manner of beings who had come on pilgrimages to its temple. This temple lay in the center of the city, and within its monumental walls sat a tall pulsating flame that put out a siren-like song. Many of the pilgrims would become so enchanted that they would throw themselves into the flame. Some said they would achieve a higher dimension, while others held that it brought nothing more than death. In the end, the Zarrians, or the lords of the “Outer Lands”, destroyed Ydmos after too many of their people perished in the flame.
(“The City of the Singing Flame”, Smith (O); Selected Letters III, Lovecraft; The Winds of Zarr, Tierney.)
YEB
Being given the title “Yeb of the Whispering Mists.” Sometimes Yeb is called the servitor of Abhoth or the leader of Ghatanothoa’s servants, the Dark Ones, but usually it is mentioned with its twin Nug.
See Black Litanies of Nug and Yeb; Furnace of Yeb; K’n-yan; Nug and Yeb; Shub-Niggurath. (“Behind the Mask”, Carter; “The Thing in the Pit”, Carter; “The Descent into the Abyss”, Carter and Smith; ““The Mound”, Lovecraft and Bishop (O); “Out of the Aeons”, Lovecraft and Heald.)
YEGG-HA
Minor Mythos being who took the form of a ten-foot bipedal monster with tiny wings and a featureless face. This creature entered our dimension thousands of years ago through a gateway somewhere near Hadrian’s Wall. In pre-Roman Britain, various tribes worshiped Yegg-ha. According to Lollius Urbicus’s Frontier Garrison, a company of Roman soldiers killed the being, but not until the enemy had slain over fifty of their number. The Romans, fearing that the tribesmen would discover the creature’s remains and return it to life, secretly buried its remains somewhere near Hadrian’s Wall.
It has been said that Yegg-ha is the ruler of the nightgaunts, and in return serves Nyarlathotep. Aside from the physical similarity between nightgaunts and Yegg-Ha, however, there is no evidence to support this theory.
See Frontier Garrison; nightgaunts. (“The Winfield Heritance”, Carter; “An Item of Supporting Evidence”, Lumley (O); The Transition of Titus Crow, Lumley.)
YEKUB
World located in a far-off galaxy populated by a race of centipede-like beings. These beings are ruled by Juk-Shabb, a spherical being of untold might. According to the Eltdown Shards, these beings became capable of space travel and exterminated all other intelligent lifeforms in their galaxy. Their desire for conquest was unabated, and they began to make grander plans.
The Yekubians constructed cubes of a quartz-like material which, when placed in light, had a hypnotic effect upon their viewers. They sent these cubes out from their home galaxy. When one of these items came upon a solid body’s gravitational field, it would shed its protective covering and land there. If an intelligent being found this cube, the Yekubians would exchange its mind with that of one of their explorers. While the Yekubians interrogated the alien’s mind for information about its home world, the Yekkubian explored its world, reporting back on its findings.
Usually, after this had taken place, the two minds would be returned to their proper bodies. On the other hand, if the scientists of Yekub found a planet whose inhabitants were capable of space travel, they employed the cube to capture their minds and destroy that world’s people, or sent more of their number to subjugate them entirely. If the latter occurred, the Yekubians destroyed the captive alien minds and created a rough duplicate of their former civilization upon this new planet.
In the entire history of the planet Earth, only one of these cubes has ever landed upon our world. This was during the era when the Great Race held sway over the planet. After the Yekubians took over a few Yithians, the Great Race noticed the danger and destroyed these scouts, even though this stranded their own captive minds upon Yekub. They did not want to destroy the cube, as it might prove useful later, so they kept it from all light and heat and guarded it vigilantly. During a war millions of years later, however, the artifact was lost. It is unknown whether this cube has survived to this day.
See Eltdown Shards; Juk-Shabb. (Ye Booke of Monstres, Aniolowski; “The Challenge from Beyond”, Moore et. al. (O).)
YELLOW CODEX (also XANTHIC FOLIO)
Set of Pnakotic tablets found in the ruined city of Niya in China’s Xinjiang province. The tablets tell of a treaty between the cities of Hastur and Carcosa.
Some have suggested that English copies of the Yellow Codex were circulating among literary circles even before the Tablets’ discovery. These copies might have inspired certain people to mention the King in Yellow in their work, or they might have served as background for the play’s authors.
(“The Second Movement”, Adams; “The King in Yellow”, Bastienne (O).)
YELLOW SIGN
Symbol that is a focus for the power of Hastur, the Unspeakable One. This sign is usually useless until the arrival of the King in Yellow into our world. Then this sign will warp the dreams of everyone that saw it, sending visions of the city of Carcosa on the Lake of Hali. This sign is the major symbol of the cult of Hastur.
[The most common version of the Yellow Sign, a three-armed swirl, was created by Kevin Ross,
the owner of the design. Originally meant to replicate the arms of a monster, the Sign was flipped and printed upside down in the original publication.]
See Brothers of the Yellow Sign; Great Race of Yith; Hastur; Keeper of the Yellow Sign; King in Yellow; Koth, Sign of; Thale. (“The Yellow Sign”, Chambers (O); “Tell Me, Have You Seen the Yellow Sign?”, Ross.)
Y’GOLONAC
Great Old One who takes the form of a flabby headless human with mouths on the palms of his hands. Since Y’golonac takes possession of a human when he arrives, the exact details of the form may vary according to the person chosen.