by Daniel Harms
See Hadoth; Kish, Sign of; Nephren-Ka; Nitocris; Shining Trapezohedron. (“The History of Nephren-Ka”, Harris; “At the Mountains of Madness”, Lovecraft (O); “The Mirror of Nitocris”, Lumley.)
2) High priest of the city of Sarnath. When Sarnath was young, this holy man railed against the people of Ib, inciting the people of Sarnath to destroy them. Afterward, the Elder Gods took him away to live with them.
A thousand years later, a prophet claiming to be Kish came to Sarnath. He called upon people to escape the city and its doom, but few believed him. Just before his city’s destruction, Kish and his congregation escaped the city, bearing with them the star-stones of Mnar. It may be that Kish and his followers escaped to Egypt, constructing the catacombs that bear the hierophant’s name. Before his death, Kish wrote a book called the “Testament of Kish” (now lost) which told of Sarnath’s destruction. A collection of his sayings later became part of the Pnakotic Manuscripts.
See Book of Eibon; Elder Sign; Kish, Sign of; Necronomicon (appendices). (“The Book of Dismissals”, Carter; “Zoth-Ommog”, Carter (O); “The Shunpike”, Price.)
3) God worshiped in a temple close to the city of Shand, which may lie in the Dreamlands. (“The Keeper of the Flame”, Myers (O).)
KISH, SIGN OF
Another name for the Elder Sign. Its name is derived from that of Kish, high priest of Sarnath, who used the Sign to escape his doomed city. It may also appear as a sign made with the hand.
See Elder Sign; Kish. (“Zoth-Ommog”, Carter; The Trail of Cthulhu, Derleth (O); Necronomicon, Hay.)
KITAB AL-AZIF
See Al Azif.
KITAB RASUL AL-AKBARIN
See Rasul Al-Akbarin.
KLARKASH-TON
High priest of Atlantis credited with preserving the Commoriom myth-cycle of Hyperborea. He is believed to have been a high priest of Tsathoggua. Favored by the king of Atlantis, he met his end after an experiment involving astral projection and the wives and concubines of the most prominent men of the land.
In the Sussex Manuscript, Klarkash-Ton is said to be Yog-Sothoth himself. This might mean that Klarkash-Ton was a manifestation of the Outer God, as it was revealed to Randolph Carter by Umr at’Tawil. The Sussex Manuscript also states that Klarkash-Ton was the original speaker of Alhazred’s famous quote (“That is not dead...”).
[“Klarkash-Ton” was actually Lovecraft’s joke-name for his friend Clark Ashton Smith.]
See Commoriom; Hyperborea; Luveh-Keraphf. (Selected Letters III, Lovecraft (O); “Through the Gates of the Silver Key”, Lovecraft; “The Whisperer in Darkness”, Lovecraft; The Sussex Manuscript, Pelton; “The Incubus of Atlantis”, Price.)
KLED
Dreamlands jungle near the river Oukranos. This orchid-filled forest contains many ivory palaces once inhabited by forgotten kings. Though the gods have preserved these temples for their future needs, the merchants of the elephant caravans who pass them do not stop, for fear of what guards them.
See Yibb-Tstll. (“The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath”, Lovecraft; “The Silver Key”, Lovecraft (O).)
K’LU-VHO
See Glyu-Vho.
K’N-YAN (also XINAIAN)
Blue-lit cavern beneath Oklahoma. This immense underground land contains an amazing variety of plant and animal life, as well as a highly developed though decadent civilization of human-like beings.
The natives of K’n-yan appear to the untrained eye much like the Native Americans of the surface region; only their curious garb and tools set them apart from the surface-dwellers. According to their legend, they came down to earth with their god Tulu (or Cthulhu) from the Black Nebula of Yl’glhuh, though many consider this to be untrue. (These people may have been the ancestors of the Aztec people, since that tribe’s mythology told of their origin in caverns to the north of their lands.) The underground dwellers also possess three other abilities unavailable to those on the surface. Firstly, they use telepathy for communication, with spoken language almost being a thing of the past. Secondly, they are able to dematerialize themselves (and other objects) so that they may pass through solid objects almost effortlessly. Finally, the people of K’n-yan have the secret of immortality, so that death is an almost unheard-of occurrence among them.
The people of K’n-yan cut themselves off from the upper world after the sinking of Atlantis and Lemuria. At one time they boasted many great works of art, technology, and science, but the last recorded visitor to K’n-yan, Pánfilo Zamacona, reported that the inhabitant’s civilization had stagnated, and the people had forgotten much of their former science. The people of the land put more value on experiencing new sensations than on their former pursuits. They still possessed many technological artifacts, however, such as disintegrating-ray projectors and various forms of transportation, which they used in their day-to-day life.
According to Zamacona, most of the population of K’n-yan lived in the central city of Tsath, whose inhabitants spent much of their time looking for novel experiences and emotions. To help them achieve these aims, they held gladiatorial games, conducted ritual torture, dreamed, experimented with intoxicating substances, and held religious ceremonies to various deities. Of these gods, Yig and Tulu (Cthulhu) were the most important, but they also held rites in honor of Hastur, Shub-Niggurath, Ghatanothoa, Nug, and Yeb. At one time, most of K’n-yan’s people revered Tsathoggua, but after they discovered the true nature of his worship, they destroyed all of his temples and images.
Several passages connect K’n-yan with the surface. Once in a while, a surface-dweller finds their way into the world of K’n-yan. The natives usually treat these people kindly, but forbid them from leaving the caverns. In more recent years, the people of K’n-yan have posted guards at these entrances to discourage the people on the surface from entering their land.
We have heard nothing of K’n-yan since the sixteenth century, and if the older accounts are any indication, it would be unwise to investigate and remind its people of the surface world.
See Brothers of the Yellow Sign; Cthulhu; Ghatanothoa; gyaa-yothn; Hastur; Nug and Yeb; Old Ones; Sansu; Tsath; Tsathoggua; y’m-bhi; Zamacona y Nuñez, Pánfilio de; Zuchequon. (“The Mound”, Lovecraft and Bishop (O); Keeper’s Compendium, Herber; Selected Letters III, Lovecraft; “Out of the Aeons”, Lovecraft and Heald; “The Epistles of Eibon”, Price and Cornford; “The Cthulhu Mythos in Mesoamerican Religion”, Tierney.)
KN’AA
Kingdom of the sunken continent of Mu, mentioned in von Junzt’s Unaussprechlichen Kulten as the original site of Ghatanothoa’s worship on earth.
See Ghatanothoa; Yaddith-Gho. (“Out of the Aeons”, Lovecraft and Heald (O).)
KNYGATHIN ZHAUM
Outlaw of Hyperborea who was the child of Voormi and Sfatlicllp. Recruiting among his fellow Voormis, he assembled a band of robbers and murderers who terrorized the land until the constabulary of Commoriom found him. Due to the excessive plasticity of his body, the headsman Athammaus found it impossible to carry out Knygathin’s execution, and Knygathin’s depredations continued. These events unnerved the people of Commoriom so much that they eventually fled the city.
(“Family Tree of the Gods”, Smith; “The Testament of Athammaus”, Smith (O).)
KORVAZ
See Cthugha.
KOTH
1) Black cyclopean city. No one knows precisely where this city is, but it is possibly that great city of the gugs sometimes seen by dreamers.
A Dark Lord whose face is hidden resides in Koth; this might be Nyarlathotep, but this has not been confirmed. If a mortal comes to the city and beseeches him, the Dark Lord may bestow great riches and a lifespan of hundreds of years upon the petitioner. At the end of the person’s life, the Dark Lord takes away their body and soul in exchange for services rendered. Only one mortal is known to have made the bargain.
See Koth, Tower of. (“The Book of the Gates”, Carter; “Dig Me No Grave”, Howard (O).)
2) Being who lives in the Dreamlands
and is known as the “God of Dreams.” He may also be the Dark Lord of the city of Koth. (“H. P. Lovecraft: The Gods”, Carter; “Dig Me No Grave”, Howard (O).)
3) Kingdom of the Hyborian Age founded by the Hyborians themselves. It extended across what is today the Mediterranean Sea and Italy, and its people became the Etruscans. See Acheron. (“The Hyborian Age”, Howard; “The Scarlet Citadel”, Howard (O).)
See Koth, Sign of; Uoht.
KOTH, SIGN OF
Sigil found on the Tower of Koth in the City of the Gugs and at various physical gates from the waking world to the lands of dream. It may be useful in sealing other gates as well, as it prevents certain nightmares from entering the waking world. If meditated upon, the Sign may be used to project one’s spirit to faraway worlds. Those who view it in a state of fear may find that the world around them alters.
According to some sources, the Yellow Sign is a specialized representation of the Sign of Koth.
See Koth; Koth, Tower of; Uoht; Yellow Sign. (“Shaggai”, Carter; The Necronomicon: The Book of Dead Names, Hay; “Terror Rate”, Konaka; “The Case of Charles Dexter Ward”, Lovecraft; “The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath”, Lovecraft (O); “The Lurker in the Crypt”, Miller; House of the Toad, Tierney.)
KOTH, TOWER OF
Structure which stands in the City of the Gugs in the Dreamlands. The Tower links the Underworld with the upper lands, but the Sign of Koth at its base reminds the gugs of their covenant. Kenneth Grant has linked this with the word “Kotha”, meaning “Thou hollow one”, which appears in Crowley’s writing and suggests certain sex rituals.
(Nightside of Eden, Grant; “The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath”, Lovecraft (O).)
KOTH-SERAPIS
Wizard of ancient times. Some say he lived in the kingdom of Acheron, while others maintain that he was the last high priest of Gol-Goroth in Stygia. Koth-Serapis used unholy means to achieve immortality, though in what form he did so is questionable. His knowledge is collected in the Black Rituals of Koth-Serapis.
(“Black Eons”, Howard and Price (O); “The Burrower Beneath”, Price.)
KRYPTICON
Book written by Silander, a Greek. Miskatonic holds an illuminated manuscript of this book. Nothing is known of its contents.
(Ex Libris Miskatonici, Stanley; The New Adam, Weinbaum (O).)
KSAKSA-KLUTH
See Cxaxukluth.
KTHANID
The mightiest of all the Elder Gods. Kthanid is a tentacled horror much like Cthulhu, differing in appearance only in his golden, peaceful eyes. This Elder God dwells in Elysia, where he presides over the entire land from his iceberg palace. Kthanid bears a special hatred for the Great Old Ones, who killed his mate and children while he lay sleeping.
See Elder Gods; Tiania. (The Transition of Titus Crow, Lumley (O); Nightmare’s Disciple, Pulver.)
KTHULHUT
See Cthulhu.
K’THUN
A being whose odor or vapor is considered particularly abhorrent. Mating with Noth-Yidik, it spawned the hideous Hounds of Tindalos.
See Noth-Yidik; Zarnak, Anton. (“The Madness Out of Time”, Carter; “The Horror in the Museum”, Lovecraft and Heald (O).)
KTYNGA
Comet near the star Arcturus. It will journey past our own world some four centuries from now. This body possesses some peculiar traits: It travels between solar systems instead of maintaining a steady orbit around a star, makes inexplicable changes in its trajectory, and may at times move faster than the speed of light.
When more closely observed, the comet seems to have a curious reddish-blue tinge and an extremely high surface temperature. Upon Ktynga rests a tremendous building which houses the fire-being Fthaggua and his fire vampires, who guide the comet and use it to transport themselves between the stars.
See fire vampires; Fthaggua. (“Zoth-Ommog”, Carter; “The Fire-Vampires”, Wandrei (O).)
KUEN-YUIN
Cabal of Chinese sorcerers who worship Cthulhu. Each member of the Kuen-Yuin separates himself into two bodies, one of which is covered with Aklo inscriptions and pierced with numerous needles. The other may travel about at will, doing the will of the god. They are said to control a hundred million people in China from their capital city of Yian. In one recent scheme, the Kuen-Yuin attempted to destroy the U.S. economy through the manufacture of gold.
(“The Maker of Moons”, Chambers (O); Cthulhu Live: Lost Souls, Salmon et. al.).
(KING) KULL
(100000 BC?) Barbarian from the continent of Atlantis. After Kull’s tribe cast him out, Lemurians captured him and forced him to serve on a galley for two years. He later became an outlaw until captured by Valusians, who made him into a gladiator and later a soldier. With the support of the foreign mercenaries in Valusia’s army, Kull killed the old king and took the throne. With the aid of his companion Brule the Spear-slayer, he beat off the serpent people’s attempt to retake their ancestral kingdom.
See Shining Trapezohedron; Valusia. (“By This Axe I Rule!”, Howard; “Exile of Atlantis”, Howard; “Kings of the Night”, Howard; “The Shadow Kingdom”, Howard (O).)
(KING) KURANES
Former author and king of Celephaïs. Kuranes (whose real-world name is unknown) at one time lived at Trevor Towers in Innsmouth, but fell on hard times and moved to London. He was one of the world’s foremost dreamers; he created the city of Celephaïs at an early age, and was one of three dreamers to visit the court of Azathoth (and the only one to return sane). He wrote of his dreams, but ceased to do so when others laughed at his works. Kuranes met his earthly end when he fell over the cliffs of Innsmouth, but he lives on in the Dreamlands as the king of Celephaïs and Serannian. Recently, Kuranes has begun to yearn for the waking world that he will never see again.
See Celephaïs; Dreamlands; Eldin; Ooth-Nargai; Serannian; S’ngac. (“Celephaïs”, Lovecraft (O); “The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath”, Lovecraft.)
KUTHCHEMES
City of the emperor of Acheron that lay near the present-day site of the Suez Canal. Invaders destroyed it, and for much of the later Hyborian Age, it lay in ruins. Nearby is the Black Mountain beneath which, some claim, Yog-Sothoth was once imprisoned.
(“Black Colossus” Howard (O); The Winds of Zarr, Tierney.)
KUTULU
See Cthulhu.
[Kutulu doesn’t mean “Man of Cutha”, and in fact makes no sense at all in Sumerian.]
KYTHAMIL (or KTHYMIL)
Double planet that once circled the star Arcturus and served as the dwelling place for certain fungoid beings. The worse-than-formless worshipers of the Great Old One Tsathoggua came to Hyperborea from this star.
(“Shaggai”, Carter; “Through the Gates of the Silver Key”, Lovecraft and Price (O).)
L
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LADEAU, ALEXIS (October 28, 1794 – 1840)
Frenchman and friend of Friedrich von Junzt. Ladeau came from the noble line of de Laudeau de Nevers; his father was killed during the Reign of Terror, but his mother escaped and gave birth to Alexis in Vienna. Ladeau returned to France in 1799, and he met von Junzt in Paris in 1825. In 1827 the two travelled to America and lived in New York for a while. While exploring in the Everglades, Ladeau caught malaria and was forced to return home in early 1829.
In 1835, von Junzt called Ladeau to his family manor, where the two lived together until the completion of Unaussprechlichen Kulten the following year. On the day after the book was completed, however, von Junzt took a train to Saint Petersburg, and Ladeau was not to see him alive again.
In 1840, Ladeau was present when von Junzt’s Dusseldorf hotel room was opened and his body discovered. Ladeau bore away a manuscript von Junzt had been writing, and pieced it back together. Sadly, after he had read it, he destroyed it and cut his throat with a razor. (Some say that a few pages of this manuscript were buried with Ladeau, but if so they were taken when the Nazis dug up his body in 1942 in hopes of obtaining knowledge of sorcery.)
Ladea
u’s only known book was Reminiscences of Friedrich Wilheim von Junzt (1846, Bridewall; Kielkopf, 1898), a slightly inaccurate look at the famous author’s life.
See Unaussprechlichen Kulten; Von Junzt, Friedrich Wilheim. (Delta Green, Detwiller, Glancy, and Tynes; “The History of Von Unaussprechlichen Kulten”, Harris; “The Black Stone”, Howard (O).)
LAKE OF HALI
See Hali.
LAM
Being with a large forehead, small slanted eyes, and a small mouth depicted in one of Aleister Crowley’s paintings. Kenneth Grant has stated that Lam is one of the Great Old Ones, and has linked him to the High Priest Not to Be Described and the “grays” seen during UFO abductions.