Free Downloads

The Cthulhu Mythos Encyclopedia

The third edition of this popular and extensive encyclopedia of the Cthulhu Mythos—updated with more fiction listings and recent material—this unique book spans the years of H. P. Lovecraft’s influence in culture, entertainment, and fiction. The expansive entries make this reference invaluable for anyone knowledgeable about the Cthulhu Mythos and a much-needed resource for those longing to learn about the cosmic horrors from past and present decades.

Paperback: 402 pages

Publisher: Elder Signs Press; 3rd Revised edition edition (August 1, 2008)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 1934501050

ISBN-13: 978-1934501054

Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 0.8 x 8.5 inches

Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)

Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (47 customer reviews)

Best Sellers Rank: #71,233 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #7 in Books > Reference > Encyclopedias & Subject Guides > Science Fiction & Fantasy #37 in Books > Literature & Fiction > History & Criticism > Genres & Styles > Science Fiction & Fantasy #37 in Books > Reference > Encyclopedias & Subject Guides > Literature

First I suppose I should say what this book is not. It is not a bibliography of all the books, chapbooks, stories or web fiction that use or are about the Cthulhu mythos. With the explosion of mythos sites on the internet and the rapid pace of publication by small presses, such an endeavor would be out of date before it ever hit press. Mr. Harms cites Chris Jarocha-Ernst's A Cthulhu Mythos Bibliography and Concordance from 1999 as useful in this regard. I have used Glynn Barrass' similar chapbook from Rainfall Books as well. A continuously updated online reference would be invaluable for collectors and fans but alas there is nothing definitive. I really enjoy EP Berglund's site, The Reader's Guide to the Cthulhu Mythos ([...] but it has been under construction for some time now. As far as I can tell, The Ultimate Mythos Book List ([...]) has not been updated in 2 or 3 years.What this book does provide is a detailed description of those entities, characters, tomes, places and critters that populate the worlds of Cthulhu Mythos fiction. Mr. Harms makes no pretense about being comprehensive; monsters that may appear in only a single story will not show up here. Fortunately, Mr. Harms lists his own criteria for inclusion so there is no ambiguity: all entries from the second edition, entries from the first edition where there was a groundswell of popular demand, and things found in two different works by two different authors, or appearing in major Cthulhu Mythos novels. Thus you certainly find the Hounds of Tindalos but you won't find T'loal (not that you would want to; the novella was abysmal). There is likely quite a bit of RPG material that has been excluded as well, although I found a citation on Delta Green.

This is a resource that I keep beside me on my writing table while working on new books of Cthulhu Mythos fiction. Not only does it answers questions concerning every aspect of the Mythos, but it can also be a source of inspiration for new Mythos fiction; for one can read over the entries and find some line of reference that is so tantalizing that it makes one ache to write a story based on that entry. One important aspect is that after each entry there is a listing of the core stories, by H. P. Lovecraft and others, in which the entry subject is featured; such as this, following the main entry on Nyarlathotep:"See Abbith; BOOK OF AZATHOTH; BLACK RITES; Brotherhood of the Black Pharaoh; Byagoona; Cthugha; Cthulhu; Dreamlands; Eibon, sign of; elemental theory; Fable of Nyarlathotep; ghouls; gods of Earth; Great Old Ones; gugs; hunting horrors; Koth; Million Favored Ones; moon-beasts; NECRONOMICON (appendices); Nephren-Ka; N'gai, Wood of; Nophru-Ka; Old Ones; Other Gods; Outer Gods; Prinn, Ludwig; Set; SEVEN CRYPTICAL BOOKS OF HSAN; shantaks; Sharnoth; Smith, Morgan; S'ngac; Stygia; World of Seven Suns; Yegg-ha; 'Ymnar. ("The Faceless God", Bloch; "The Shadow from the Steeple", Bloch; THE LURKER AT THE THRESHOLD, Derleth and Lovecraft; DELTA GREEN, Detwiller, Glancy, and Tynes (G); MASKS OF NYARLATHOTEP, DiTillo and Willis (G); THE FUNGI FROM YUGGOTH, Lovecraft; "Nyarlathotep" (prose poem), Lovecraft (O); "The Rats in the Walls", Lovecraft; THE BURROWERS BENEATH, Lumley; ELYSIA, Lumley; "The Worm of Urakhu," Tierney.Thus not only do the entries explain the nature of the thing, but they lead us to core Mythos tales in which the entry is fictionally evoked; and we learn of other things to which the entry is related. I've never heard of Nophru-Ka, nor Ymnar.

The Cthulhu Mythos Encyclopedia The Art Of H.P. Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos Secrets of Tibet: An Unknown Land of Mythos and Mystery (Call of Cthulhu roleplaying) Franco: General - Diktator - Mythos (Urban-Taschenbücher) (German Edition) Encyclopedia Cthulhiana: A Guide to Lovecraftian Horror (Call of Cthulhu Fiction Series) Little Cthulhu Coloring and Activity Book The Call of Cthulhu and Other Weird Stories (Penguin Twentieth-Century Classics) Cthulhu Lies Dreaming: Twenty-three Tales of the Weird and Cosmic The Book of Cthulhu New Cthulhu: The Recent Weird The Tsathoggua Cycle: Terror Tales of the Toad God (Call of Cthulhu Fiction) Call of Cthulhu and Other Stories Spawn Of Azathoth: Herald of the End Of Time (Call of Cthulhu Horror Roleplaying) The Great Old Ones (Call of Cthulhu Horror Roleplaying, 1920s Setting) Call Of Cthulhu: Horror Roleplaying In the Worlds Of H.P. Lovecraft (5.6.1 Edition / Version 5.6.1) Unseen Masters: Modern Struggles Against Hidden Powers (Cthulhu Modern Roleplaying) H.P. Lovecraft's Dreamlands, 2nd edition (Call of Cthulhu: Roleplaying Beyond the Wall of Sleep) Cthulhu Britannica Day of the Beast (Call of Cthulhu Horror Campaign) The Call of the Cthulhu and Oher Stories