Cthulhu Mythos Encyclopedia

by Daniel Harms

  See de Marigny, Henry; Emeritus Alcove; Peaslee, Nathaniel; Wilmarth Foundation. (Delta Green: Denied to the Enemy, Detwiller; “The Shadow Out of Time”, Lovecraft (O); The Burrowers Beneath, Lumley; The Transition of Titus Crow, Lumley.)

  PENTACLE OF PLANES

  Artifact or diagram said to be useful in protection from summoned beings, especially Daoloth. It consists of many black plastic pieces which, when placed together, keep anyone inside the pentagram from harm. It is possible for the person to voluntarily let part or all of a summoned being inside.

  See Daoloth; Saaamaaa Ritual. (“Render of the Veils”, Campbell (O).)

  THE PEOPLE OF THE MONOLITH

  Volume of poetry by Justin Geoffrey, a noted Baudelairean poet and correspondent of Edward Derby. Its title poem may be connected to the author’s descent into insanity after a trip to a location in Hungary known as Xuthltan in 1921 or 1922 (sources vary). When Geoffrey appeared in New York years later, he bore with him a manuscript that was to become The People of the Monolith. Geoffrey’s book was only published due to the generous support given by his friend John Tyler, who met the young man in New York. (Some have even gone so far as to attribute the book to Tyler, but few accept this theory.)

  Erebus Press of Monmouth, Illinois, published the volume in 1926, shortly before the author’s mental decline. Other sources have it that the book was published in New York in 1923; this could be misinformation or possibly an earlier printing made during Geoffrey’s “disappearance”. The book’s only brush with substantial fame came when noted director Corman Abbè adapted The People of the Monolith’s poetry to film in 1982. The film was never released to the public after the New York theater in which the premiere was held collapsed.

  At least one copy of The People of the Monolith was bound in the skin of a monstrous creature of the inner earth, but the bindings of most of the other copies are more conventional. The poems are arranged in chronological order, save for the last, “Rending the Veil”, which seems to have been included as an afterthought. The known poems from this collection include “People of the Monolith”, “Out of the Old Land”, “Dark Desires”, “Star Beast”, “Strutter in Darkness”, and “The Mirror of Nitocris”.

  See Black Stone; Geoffrey, Justin. (Masks of Nyarlathotep, DiTillio and Willis; “The People of the Monolith”, Harris; Keeper’s Compendium, Herber; “The Black Stone”, Howard (O); “The Thing on the Roof”, Howard; “The Thing on the Doorstep”, Lovecraft; “The Mirror of Nitocris,” Lumley; “Dark Shapes Rising”, Shoffner.)

  PHANTOM OF TRUTH

  See Pallid Mask.

  PHAROL

  Dangerous and powerful god worshiped on Mars who appears as a black, fanged being with one eye and tentacles in place of arms. Eibon sometimes summoned this being to answer questions about occult lore.

  (“Shaggai”, Carter; “Hydra”, Kuttner; “Shambleau,” Moore (O); “The Summoning of Pharol”, Tierney.)

  PHAROS OF LENG (also BLACK TOWER OF LENG)

  Building in the heart of the Plateau of Leng which is near (and may be identical with) the fabled black monastery of that region. The Pharos often emits a bluish light that can be seen for miles. The Great Old One Nyogtha has appeared beneath it at times. The Necronomicon states that the Pharos of Leng will give the signal for the Great Old Ones to re-emerge, but this will only happen after the earth is cleared off.

  (“The Salem Horror”, Kuttner; “The Elder Pharos”, Lovecraft (O); “To Clear the Earth”, Murray.)

  PHELAN, ANDREW (c. 1910–1938?)

  One-time secretary of Professor Laban Shrewsbury. Born in Roxbury, Massachusetts, Phelan’s abilities led him both to study philology at Harvard and to learn boxing and jujitsu. These qualifications impressed Shrewsbury enough that the older man took him on as his secretary. Following the disappearance of Shrewsbury, Phelan returned to his native Boston, from which he vanished shortly thereafter.

  See Keane, Abel. (“The House on Curwen Street”, Derleth (O).)

  PHILETAS, THEODORUS (also PHILETOS)

  Scholar of Constantinople who translated the Kitab al-Azif from Arabic into Greek in the year 950, bestowing upon it the title “Necronomicon.” Shortly after he recanted, his family died in a plague and he lost both property and good name. He is also believed to have made an attempt to reconstruct the Book of Eibon and render it in medieval Greek at some point before 960. It has been suggested that Philetas might be a corruption of the Greek “Philetos”, or “heretic”.

  See Al Azif; Alhazred, Abdul; Book of Eibon; Necronomicon (appendices). (“History of the Necronomicon”, Lovecraft (O); Ex Libris Miskatonici, Stanley; Necronomicon, Tyson.)

  PHILLIPS, WARD

  1) First president of what was to become Miskatonic University. Phillips was well respected, having come from a line that modern genealogists record back to 1670, if not earlier. Phillips was also one of the three teachers at the institution, and in 1693 donated the nucleus of what was to become the University Library. He proved to be an instrumental figure in the Arkham witch-trials, both in prosecuting the alleged witches and suspending the proceedings when the injustice of the trial became evident. (“The Winfield Heritance”, Carter (O); Miskatonic University, Johnson et. al.; Ex Libris Miskatonici, Stanley.)

  2) Great-grandson of the first Phillips and author of Thaumaturgical Prodigies in the New-English Canaan. Phillips was also the pastor of the Second Church (later First Baptist Church) of Arkham and became the librarian of Miskatonic University in 1805. He is better known, however, for his feud with Alijah Billington, which took quite a toll on him and might have led to his death soon after. See Billington, Alijah; Hoadley, Abijah; Phillips, Winfield; Thaumaturgical Prodigies in the New-English Canaan. (“The Lurker at the Threshold”, Derleth and Lovecraft (O); Arkham Unveiled, Herber et. al.; Ex Libris Miskatonici, Stanley.)

  3) Elderly author of Providence, Rhode Island. Phillips was a writer of tales for the pulps and friend of Randolph Carter, and he was a party in the dispute over Carter’s will. He eventually vanished, though no serious investigation of his disappearance was made. Some dreamers say he lives on in Ennon, the Dreamlands’ land of poets.

  [“Ward Phillips” was actually a fictionalized version of Lovecraft himself.]

  See Lamp of Alhazred. (“The Return of the White Ship”, Breach; “The Lamp of Alhazred”, Derleth and Lovecraft; “Through the Gates of the Silver Key”, Lovecraft and Price (O).)

  PHILLIPS, WINFIELD (1907–1937)

  Descendant of the Reverend Ward Phillips and personal secretary to Dr. Seneca Lapham. Phillips attended Miskatonic University, earning a degree in American literature and specializing in the works of the Decadents. He assisted Lapham in the scandalous case of Ambrose Dewart. He then left Lapham’s services in 1936 to live on the estate of his late uncle, Hiram Stokeley, where he died a year later.

  (“Zoth-Ommog”, Carter; “The Winfield Heritance”, Carter; “The Lurker at the Threshold”, Derleth and Lovecraft (O); “The Soul of the Devil-Bought”, Price.)

  PH’NGLUI MGLW’NAFH CTHULHU R’LYEH WGAH’NAGL FHTAGN

  Rough phonetic rendering of a R’lyehian phrase often spoken in the rites of Cthulhu. It may be translated as, “In his house at R’lyeh dead Cthulhu waits dreaming.”

  See Glass from Leng; Seal of R’lyeh. (“The Call of Cthulhu”, Lovecraft (O).)

  PICKMAN, RICHARD UPTON (1884–1926?)

  Salem painter of remarkable skill who is especially remembered for his works depicting strange bestial monsters in graveyards and cellars.

  Pickman was a naturally gifted artist, and his study at Minneiska University in Wisconsin, a center for decadent artists, only enhanced his own morbid instincts further. Pickman’s ghastly realism set him apart from many of his fellow decadents. Although the public received his works coolly, certain collectors prized them highly. Pickman spent much of his life in poverty, occasionally giving lessons to aspiring painters to supplement his income. He is said to have kept a hidden studi
o in Boston’s North End, though no trace of it has been found. For a brief time he attempted to create more mainstream works to gain the backing of the Boston Art Club. He eventually was forced to leave under pressure from most of the Club’s members.

  In the year 1926, Pickman disappeared from his home in Boston, along with most of his unsold works. Some assert that he committed suicide, but others believe that he dwells somewhere in the Dreamlands. From what we know of that magical land, both of these theories may be true. A few artists imitated Pickman’s work for a few years thereafter, but on the whole Pickman represents merely a footnote in the history of American painting. The art community quickly forgot him, and many of his works are kept in private collections or have simply vanished.

  See Necronomicon (appendices). (“Huitloxopetl IX: Pickman’s God”, Ambuehl; Strange Eons, Bloch; “The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath”, Lovecraft; “Pickman’s Model”, Lovecraft (O); “Principles and Parameters”, Patterson; “The Minneiska Incident”, Rahman and Rahman; “Pickman’s Model”, Sapinsley; “Unfinished Business”, Shiflet.)

  PISCES (Paranormal Intelligence Section for Counter-intelligence, Espionage, and Sabotage)

  UK government organization founded on June 26, 1940, placing Great Britain’s occult intelligence expertise under a single group reporting directly to the prime minister. They proved invaluable during the war, fighting the Karotechia and pursuing an informal relationship with Delta Green that was soon disrupted after an Australian operation in 1943.

  PISCES has survived into the present day with its mission intact, though it has privatized some portions of its operations and limited itself to domestic operations.

  See Ahu-Y’hloa. (Delta Green: Denied to the Enemy, Detwiller; Delta Green: Countdown, Detwiller et. al. (O).)

  PLATEAU OF LENG

  See Leng.

  PLATEAU OF SUNG

  See Sung, Plateau of.

  PLATEAU OF TSANG

  See Tsang, Plateau of.

  PLUTONIAN DRUG

  See Liao.

  PNAKOTIC

  Language mentioned in passing in an obscure reference. It may be this tongue in which the first parts of the Pnakotic Manuscripts are written, and thus might be Yithian in origin. Linguists have divided Pnakotic into at least two sub-varieties, Pnakotic A and Pnakotic B.

  See Pnakotic Manuscripts; Yellow Codex. (Dagon, Chappell (O); “Call for Papers!!”, Wessel.)

  THE PNAKOTIC MANUSCRIPTS (also the PNAKOTIC FRAGMENTS)

  Book of uncertain age and origin. It has been said that the Great Race of Yith wrote the first five chapters and preserved them at their City of the Archives known as Pnakotus, from which the book derived its name. Others have given the Elder Things the credit, due to the similarities between the Manuscripts and the Eltdown Shards. What is certain is that the people of Lomar preserved this knowledge and passed it on to Hyperborea. There it was rewritten in the tongue of that land, and a secretive cult preserved it until historical times.

  As time went on, different scribes added on to the Manuscripts; two definite additions, one from the Voormis and another from a Zobnarian scribe, have been identified. The first portions of the manuscript are written with a curious sort of cuneiform and dot-group glyphs, which bear resemblance to many patterns carved in stone that have been found throughout the world. (They are especially similar to the fifty-foot symbol found at the peak of Mount Hatheg-Kla after Barzai’s disappearance.) Some linguists say that humans are completely unable to decipher these versions, but a number of individuals claim to have read or translated the book.

  The Manuscripts originally appeared in scroll form. All editions of this version are said to be lost, though one may still exist in the Temple of the Elder Ones in Ulthar and some parchment fragments at Miskatonic University may also come from this source. Greek and English translations (the former is known as the Pnakotica) were made in later times. Although it is rumored that an anonymous translator published an English edition in the late 15th century, others hold that this document has only been circulated in the original manuscript form. One source has it that the copy in Ulthar is the last in existence, but other copies have been found at Miskatonic University, the University of Tokyo, and the Providence Church of Starry Wisdom, and the New York Public Library. An expurgated photostat is held at the British Museum. A few commentaries, including The Pnakotic Manuscripts: A New Revised Study (1922), Werner’s A Study of Pnakotic Writings (1938) and Schwarzwalder’s Analysis of the Manuscript of the Pnakotoi (1895), are available to scholars.

  This volume contains information about the Great Race of Yith, the nature of Chaugnar Faugn and Yibb-Tstll, the journey of Sansu to the top of Mount Hatheg-Kla, the fall of Zobna, the battles of the people of Lomar against the Voormis, the knowledge of the ghouls, rituals of Rhan-Tegoth’s worship, and the location of Xiurhn. A map within provides the locations of Leng, Yian-Ho, and other mythical places, though much research must be done to establish how it corresponds to modern landmarks.

  It is said that the Pnakotic Manuscripts have some sort of Guardian, and those who would read this work must pay the Guardian’s price. This Guardian may be entirely fanciful or merely symbolic, but the reader should beware.

  See Barzai; Celaeno Fragments; G’harne Fragments; Hatheg-Kla; Kish; Lomar; Pnakotic Pentagon; Pnakotus; Sansu; shan; Zanthu Tablets. (“The Acolyte of the Flame”, Carter; “Zoth-Ommog”, Carter; “Perilous Legacy”, DeBill; “Pursuit to Kadath”, Gallagher; Keeper’s Compendium, Herber; “Ulthar and Beyond”, Herber; “At the Mountains of Madness”, Lovecraft; “The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath”, Lovecraft; “The Other Gods”, Lovecraft; “Polaris”, Lovecraft (O); Selected Letters V, Lovecraft; “The Haunter of the Dark”, Lovecraft; “The Shadow out of Time”, Lovecraft; “The Horror in the Museum”, Lovecraft and Heald; “The Diary of Alonzo Typer”, Lovecraft and Lumley; The Burrowers Beneath, Lumley; “The Asylum”, McCall; “Xiurhn”, Myers; “Principles and Parameters”, Patterson; “The Shunpike”, Price; “The Warder of Knowledge”, Searight; Ex Libris Miskatonici, Stanley; The Keep, F. Paul Wilson.)

  PNAKOTIC PENTAGON

  Warding sigil said by Ludvig Prinn to be efficacious against intrusions by beings from outside during the use of Liao. In addition, the people of Hyperborea used the Pentagon to seal the tombs of wizards and prevent them from coming forth again. Drawn reversed, it allows the Great Old Ones to take hold on our world once more, albeit in minor ways.

  The source of this sign may in fact be the Pnakotic Manuscripts. Seals like this might have been used in the city of Pnakotus to protect against the incursions of the flying polyps.

  (Delta Green: Denied to the Enemy, Detwiller; “The Stairs in the Crypt”, Carter and Smith; “The Invaders”, Kuttner (O); “Oh, Baleful Theophany”, Pugmire.)

  PNAKOTUS

  City built by the Great Race millions of years ago in the Australian desert. Its name, bestowed by later races, roughly translates as “City of the Archives.” According to von Junzt, this city lent its name to the Pnakotic Manuscripts, which the Yithians brought to this city. The city existed up until World War II, at which time it may have been destroyed.

  See Pnakotic Manuscripts, Pnakotic Pentagram. (“Zoth-Ommog”, Carter (O); Delta Green: Denied to the Enemy, Detwiller.)

  PNATH, VALE OF (also PNOTH)

  Valley located in the Dreamlands’ underworld. The Vale is filled with the gnawed bones tossed into this great crevasse by the ghouls who feast on a nearby plateau. Gigantic worm-like creatures known only as bholes (or dholes), that no one has ever seen, as well as other less pleasant beings, inhabit the Vale. Nightgaunts delight in leaving hapless travelers in this place. Unless the ghouls deign to help them, the bholes will sense the person’s movement and come to the surface to engulf them.

  See bholes; Book of Eibon; ghouls; Nath; nightgaunts; shoggoths. (“The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath”, Lovecraft; “To a Dreamer”, Lovecraft (O); “The Summons of Nuguth-Yug”, Myers and Laidlaw.)


  PNOM, PARCHMENTS OF

  See Parchments of Pnom.

  PNOTH

  See Pnath, Vale of.

  POLAR STAR. (also ORACLE OF AMMON and EYE OF ZEUS)

  Diamond that supposedly has powers over the dead. Legend connects with Alexander the Great, who thought of himself as a god after touching it. The gem later passed into the Punjab area of India, where it changed hands many times. The gem passed into the hands of a Dutch captain whose ship was lost at sea. In 1904, it reappeared, and the American millionaire Albert Cosgrave bought it. The gem vanished when the airship on which it was being transported went down over the Atlantic in 1929.

  (“The Wild Hunt”, Ballon, “De Schip Zonder Schaduw”, Wimble (O).)

  POLYNESIAN MYTHOLOGY, WITH A NOTE ON THE CTHULHU LEGEND-CYCLE

  Book by Harold Hadley Copeland published in 1906 by Miskatonic University Press. Most of the subject matter is conventional, but Copeland includes an appendix describing legends of the Deep Ones and their worship of Cthulhu. (Contrary to what some have said, this was not Copeland’s first book.)