Cthulhu Mythos deities

Updated on Dec 23, 2023

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Writer H. P. Lovecraft created a number of fictional deities throughout the course of his literary career, including the "Great Old Ones" and the "Outer Gods", with sporadic references to other miscellaneous deities (e.g. Nodens). The Elder Gods are a later creation of writers such as August Derleth, credited with formalizing the Cthulhu Mythos.

Great Old Ones

An ongoing theme in Lovecraft's work is the complete irrelevance of mankind in the face of the cosmic horrors that apparently exist in the universe, with Lovecraft constantly referring to the "Great Old Ones": a loose pantheon of ancient, powerful deities from space who once ruled the Earth and who have since fallen into a deathlike sleep.

Lovecraft named several of these deities, including Cthulhu, Ghatanothoa, and Yig. With a few exceptions, Cthulhu, Ghatanothoa, et al., this loose pantheon apparently exists 'outside' of normal space-time. Though worshipped by deranged human (and inhuman) cults, these beings are generally imprisoned or restricted in their ability to interact with most people (beneath the sea, inside the Earth, in other dimensions, and so on), at least until the hapless protagonist is unwittingly exposed to them. Lovecraft visited this premise in many of his stories, notably his 1928 short story, The Call of Cthulhu, with reference to the eponymous creature. However, it was Derleth who applied the notion to all of the Great Old Ones. The majority of these have physical forms that the human mind is incapable of processing; simply viewing them renders the viewer incurably insane.

Table of Great Old Ones

This table is organized as follows:

Name. This is the commonly accepted name of the Great Old One.

Epithet(s), other name(s). This field lists any epithets or alternate names for the Great Old One. These are names that often appear in books of arcane literature, but may also be the names preferred by cults.

Description. This entry gives a brief description of the Great Old One.

References. This field lists the stories in which the Great Old One makes a significant appearance or otherwise receives important mention. Sources are denoted by a simple two-letter code from the Wikipedia:Cthulhu Mythos reference codes and bibliography and the Cthulhu Mythos alphanumeric reference code and bibliography. A code appearing in bold means that the story introduces the Great Old One. If the code is given as comics, rpg or movie it means that the Great Old One first appeared in the Call of Cthulhu Role playing Game or are mentioned/depicted in comics or a motion picture rather than novels.

In Joseph S. Pulver's novel Nightmare's Disciple several new Great Old Ones and Elder Gods are named. The novel mentions D'numl Cthulhu's female cousin, T'ith and Xu'bea, The Teeth of the Dark Plains of Mwaalba. Miivls and Vn'Vulot, are said to have fought each other in southern Gondwanaland during the Cretaceous period, whereas Rynvyk, regarded as one of the mates of Cthulhu's sister Kassogtha, likely matches with Cthulhu itself or a similar entity. Kassogtha would have sired Rynvyk three sons (one named Ult) and now rests in a crimson pool in the Hall of Tyryar (likely another name or dimension of R'lyeh), whose portal is located somewhere in Norway.

Outer Gods

The Outer Gods are ruled by Azathoth, the "Blind Idiot God", who holds court at the center of the universe. A group of Outer Gods dance rhythmically around Azathoth, in cadence to the piping of a demonic flute. Among the Outer Gods present at Azathoth's court are the entities called "Ultimate Gods" in The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath (called Lesser Outer Gods in the Call of Cthulhu RPG), and possibly Shub-Niggurath, the "Black Goat of the Woods". Yog-Sothoth, the "All-in-One", co-rules with Azathoth and exists at all places and in all times in the cosmos, yet is somehow locked outside the mundane universe.

Nyarlathotep, the "Crawling Chaos", is the avatar and soul of the Outer Gods, and serves as an intermediary between the deities of the pantheon and their cults. The only Outer God to have a true personality, Nyarlathotep possesses a malign intellect and reveals a mocking contempt for his masters.

Abhoth

See Clark Ashton Smith deities.

Aiueb Gnshal

Aiueb Gnshal (The Eyes Between Worlds, The Child-Minded God) is a mysterious Outer God, who has his abode in a forgotten temple located somewhere in Bhutan. He appears as a formless black void, with seven pulsing orb-like eyes, and is mainly worshiped by ghouls, which tribute him in a defiled cult described in the mysterious Cambuluc Scrolls of the wizard Lang-Fu, dating back 1295 AD. Peering through the eyes of this god, after a hideous and devastating ritual, allows one to see straight into Azathoth's court. It is rumoured that the powers of Mongolian warlord Temujin, was a favour of Aiueb Gnshal.

Azathoth

See Azathoth.

Azhorra-Tha

Azhorra-Tha is an Outer God imprisoned on planet Mars, as it fled from Earth after the imprisonment of the Great Old Ones. Its appearance is that of an insectoid to toad-like squid, but its shape continuously changes emitting an awful buzz. The Mi-Go discovered the prison of Azhorra-Tha the millennia after, and made everything to not reveal its location to any human being.

The Blackness from the Stars

The Blackness from the Stars is an immobile blob of living, sentient darkness, torn from the primal fabric of the cosmos at the center of the universe. It is distinguishable in darkness only as vaguely shimmering oily pitch. Although intelligent, it speaks no known language and ignores attempts to communicate.

The Cloud-Thing

A man-eating cloudy mass, unnamed Outer God at the court of Azathoth.

C'thalpa

C'thalpa (The Internal One) is a huge mass of living sentient magma, located in the Earth’s mantle. She is mother of the Great Old One Shterot, and other five unnamed hideous children. She is also served by a race of mole-like humanoid burrowers known as the Talpeurs.

Cxaxukluth

Cxaxukluth (Androgynous Offspring of Azathoth) is one of the Seed-Spawn of Azathoth, grown to adulthood and monstrous proportions. In appearance, Cxaxukluth resembles something of a cross between Azathoth and Ubbo-Sathla: an amorphous, writhing mass of bubbling, nuclear, protoplasmic-gel. He normally dwells alone within an unnamed dimension beyond time and space, unless disturbed or summoned away.

Daoloth

See Ramsey Campbell deities.

Darkness

Darkness (Magnum Tenebrosum, The Unnamed Darkness) is a mysterious entity spawned by Azathoth, and is the progenitor of Shub-Niggurath.

D’endrrah

D'endrrah (The Divinity) is sort of blurry female entity of supernatural beauty, living inside a dark palace located on Mars' Moon Deimos. She lives in a hall with myriads of mirror altering her actual image, which is that of a tentacled dark abyss. This Mythos entity is somewhat inspired by C. L. Moore's Shambleau, the illusionary Martian she-vampires of lust.

Ghroth

See Ramsey Campbell deities.

The Hydra

See Henry Kuttner deities.

Ialdagorth

Ialdagorth (The Dark Devourer) is both the cousin and servant of Azathoth, appearing as a black, shapeless, malevolent mist. The sight of such a fiend is unsettling if not traumatizing.

Kaajh'Kaalbh

Kaajh'Kaalbh is a lesser Outer God, servitor of Azathoth, but secluded in a parallel chaotic-dimension where everything is unstable. The god itself is constantly formed or disrupted, and has no true form at all. Whoever attempts summoning this entity needs the aid of a Dimensional Shambler, and the deity may manifest in variety of forms, often as an immense lava lake or a vast pool of solidified quicksilver.

Lu-Kthu

Lu-Kthu (Birth-womb of the Great Old Ones or Lew-Kthew) is a titanic, planet-sized mass of entrails and internal organs. On closer examination it appears a wet, warty globe, covered with countless ovoid pustules and spider-webbed with a network of long, narrow tunnels. Each pustule bears the larva of a Great Old One.

Mh'ithrha

An invisible wolf-like fiend similar to Fenrir of Norse mythology (if not coincident). Mh'ithrha (Arch-Lord of Tindalos) is the lord of the Hounds of Tindalos, and the most powerful. Although not an actual Outer God as such, its form and awesome powers defy standard classification. Mh'ithra's eternal battle with Yog-Sothoth is said to be legendary.

Mlandoth and Mril Thorion

See Mlandoth and Mril Thorion.

Mother of Pus

A Lesser Outer God composed of slime, tentacles, eyes, and mouths. The Mother of Pus was spawned through an obscene mating between a human and Shub-Niggurath. When summoned to Earth, the Mother of Pus seeks refuge in pools of stagnant, foul water.

The Nameless Mist

The Nameless Mist (Nyog' Sothep?) is a misty, shapeless thing.

Ngyr-Korath

Ngyr-Korath (The Ultimate Abomination or The Dream-Death) is a dark blue-green mist which causes a sense of terror as it approaches. Once close, an eye of flame forms within. He spawned by fission the Great Old One (or the avatar of his) ‘Ymnar, and his nemesis is the Elder God Paighon. He may coincide with the entity known as the Magnum Tenebrosum.

Nyarlathotep

See Nyarlathotep.

Nyctelios

Once an Elder God, Nyctelios has been punished by his peers - especially Nodens - for having created a race of foul servitors. He has been permanently banished from the Elder God's olympus, and imprisoned beneath the eastern Mediterranean Sea, near Greece, in a dark, basalt-built citadel named Atheron. However the exiled deity is not dead, but just sleeping, and one day he will rise again from his abyss manifesting himself as a blue, 6-meters tall, cyclops-like monstrosity, with the bulk of his body covered entirely in crawling worms.

Ny-Rakath

A goat-like fiendish horror with bat wings and multiple horns, mentioned as the brother of Shub-Niggurath.

Olkoth

Olkoth (God of the Celestial Arcs) appears as a demoniacal god-like entity able to reincarnate in human bodies if the stars are right (sort of a "Cthulhian" Antichrist). Olkoth may emerge in our dimension through an eyeless, grotesque statue of the Virgin Mary.

Shabbith-Ka

Shabbith-Ka appears as a shapeless, roughly man-sized purplish aura, spitting and crackling with powerful electrical arcs. A sense of power, malignancy, and intelligence accompanies it and persons able to gaze at its form long enough can see a rudimentary face or faces within the glowing mass.

Shub-Niggurath

See Shub-Niggurath.

Star Mother

The Star Mother appears as a chunk of yellow-green stone about the size of an infant. Its shape suggests a plump, huge-breasted, faceless female figure. From it extend dozens of pencil-thin root-like strands. It is one of the Larvae of the Other Gods and has no cult, although served by zombie slaves.

Suc'Naath

Suc'Naath is one of the mindless gods which twist and dance in the court of Azathoth. It appears as a formless spinning hurricane-like thing with strings of violet and golden colors across its shape, constantly emitting, sickening, smacking, and screeching noises, while showing pain-stricken faces appearing on its body.

Suc'Naath's essence is currently divided into three parts, one in a comet called Aiin, the other in some sort of statue located somewhere in the World, while the third has been genetically passed on for aeons through prehuman, and now human races of earth, mostly in the middle east. The carriers of the Outer God's gene are said to have done great acts of magic and/or to have been insane. If these three parts are ever to be combine, Suc'Naath will be freed. This entity is served by a small middle eastern cult or sect known as the Golden Hands of Suc'Naath, which collect deranged intellectuals, and trained assassins, who wish to set Suc'Naath free (they may have connections to the old Hashashin cult as well).

Tru'nembra

Tru'nembra (The Angel of Music) is the name given in Malleus Monstrorum Call of Cthulhu roleplay game guide to the entity described in Howard Philips Lovecraft's novel "The Music of Eric Zahn". It has no shape, but manifests as haunting music.

Tulzscha

Tulzscha (The Green Flame) is the name given in Malleus Monstrorum Call of Cthulhu roleplay game guide to the entity described in Howard Philips Lovecraft's story The Festival. Tulzscha appears as a blazing green ball of flame, dancing with its Lesser Outer Gods at the court of Azathoth. Called to our world, it assumes a gaseous form, penetrates the planet to the core, then erupts from below as a pillar of flame. It cannot move from where it emerges.

Ubbo-Sathla

See Clark Ashton Smith deities.

Uvhash

Uvhash (The Blood-Mad God of the Void) appears as a colossal, vampiric, red mass of both tentacles and eyes. It dwells within the realm of Rhylkos, which matches with the red planet Mars, and whoever summons Uvhash witnesses an atrocious death. He has affinities with the star vampires ,and is rumored to have been one of mad emperor Caligula's eldritch sponsors as well. There is enmity with both the Elder God Nodens and the Great Old One Gi-Hoveg.

Xa'ligha

Xa'ligha (Master of the Twisted Sound or Demon of Dissonance) is an entity made of maddening sound, somehow similar to Tru'Nembra. There is some affinity with the Great Old One Hastur

Xexanoth

See Xexanoth.

Ycnàgnnisssz

Ycnàgnnisssz is a black, festering, amorphous mass that constantly blasts and erupts violently, spewing out bits of churning lava-like material. She spawned the Great Old One Zstylzhemgni by fission.

Yhoundeh

See Yhoundeh.

Yibb-Tstll

A gigantic, bat-winged humanoid with detached eyes, wearing a green robe. This horrible deity sees all time and space as it slowly rotates in the centre of its clearing within the Jungle of Kled, in Earth's Dreamlands. Beneath its billowing cloak are a multitude of nightgaunts, suckling and clutching at her breasts. Having a close connection to the Great Old One Bugg-Shash, so should Yibb-Tstll be regarded as a Great Old One - specifically in the Drowners group introduced by Brian Lumley, parasitic alien entities which thrive by vampyrizing the Great Old Ones themselves - though in RPG materials she is classed as an "Outer God".

Yidhra

Yidhra (The Dream Witch or Yee-Tho-Rah) usually appears as a youthful, attractive, earthly female, though her shape may vary.

Yidhra has been on Earth since the first microorganisms appeared and is immortal. To survive in a changing environment, she gained the ability to take on the characteristics of any creature that she devoured. Over time, Yidhra split herself into different aspects, though each part shares her consciousness.

Yidhra is served by devoted cults found in such widely separated places as Burma, Chad, Laos, Sumer, New Mexico, and Texas. Members of Yidhra's cult can gain immortality by merging with her, though they become somewhat like Yidhra as a consequence. Those who serve her are also promised plentiful harvests and healthy livestock. She usually conceals her true form behind a powerful illusion, appearing as a comely young woman; only favored members of her cult can see her as she actually is.

Yog-Sothoth

See Yog-Sothoth

Yomagn'tho

Yomagn’tho (The Feaster from the Stars, That Which Relentlessly Waits Outside) is a malevolent being who wishes nothing more than the destruction of mankind for unknown reasons. He waits in his home dimension in Pherkard, until he is summoned to Earth. When first summoned, Yomagn’tho appears as a small ball of fire that quickly expands to a large circle of fire with three flaming inner petals. The reptilian burrowing folk, the Rhygntu, are known to worship this malignant deity.

Elder Gods

In post-Lovecraft stories, the Elder Gods oppose the Outer Gods and the Great Old Ones. Derleth attempted to retroactively group the benevolent deity Nodens in this category (who acts as deus ex machina for the protagonists in both The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath and "The Strange High House in the Mist").

As for Great Old Ones, Joseph S. Pulver mentions in his Nightmare Disciples (2006) a series of original Elder Gods, though lacking of any description about their true form. The story introduces entities as Adaedu, Alithlai-Tyy, Dveahtehs, Eyroix, Ovytonv, Urthuvn, Xislanyx and Xuthyos-Sihb’Bz'. Others have a cult title as Othkkartho (Sire of the Four Titans of Balance and Order), which is said to be Nodens's son, and Zehirete, who is The Pure and Holy Womb of Light. Sk’tai and Eppirfon are siblings and the former (female) has been Cthulhu's second bride who bore him a son, T'ith, now dead, murdered by Cthulhu himself.

Another Elder God with no description is Walter C. DeBill, Jr.'s Paighon, an extra-galactic entity which now dwells in Earth's core, said to be inimical to the Outer God Ngyr-Korath and his servitor 'Ymnar.

Bast

Bast (Goddess of Cats or Pasht) appears as a female human with a cat's head.

Kthanid

See Brian Lumley deities.

Orryx

Orryx (The Bright Flame) manifests as a giant pillar of blinding white and purple flames. Although its expression is bright and blinding, no one feels its heat. No one can look at Orryx more than a few seconds; after the first glance, the eyes of anyone who looks become sore and watery.

Oztalun

Oztalun (Golden and Shimmering One) is an Elder God introduced by James Ambuehl. It is symbolized by a seven-pointed star symbol, which is its own Seal.

Nodens

Nodens (Lord of the Great Abyss) appears as a human male riding a huge seashell pulled by legendary beasts. In CthulhuTech supplements, Nodens is said to be the avatar of the Forgotten One Savty'ya.

Shavalyoth

Shavalyoth (Shadowy and Shapeless One) is an Elder God introduced by James Ambuehl, supposed to be dark and formless.

Ulthar

Ulthar (or Uldar and also Ultharathotep) is a deity sent to Earth to hold vigil over the Great Old Ones.

Vorvadoss

Vorvadoss* (The Flaming One, Lord of the Universal Spaces, The Troubler of the Sands, Who Waiteth in the Outer Dark) appears as a cloaked, hooded being, enveloped in green flames, with fiery eyes. He is described as a son of both the Elder God Nodens and the Great Old One Lythalia and has a twin brother, Yaggdytha.

Yad-Thaddag