LEXICON - B
BAALBO. Dead star. Baalbo is one of a binary system about which the planet Tond revolves. ("The Inhabitant of the Lake", Campbell.)
BAHARNA. Main port on the isle of Oriab in the Dreamland's Southern Sea. Its builders constructed it upon a steep slope, with the more expensive shops and dwellings on the higher levels and the less reputable establishments further down. The town's most famous landmarks are its twin lighthouses, Thon and Thai, as well as the canal that runs from the ocean beneath the town to the Lake of Yath in Oriab's interior. See Oriab. ("The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath", Lovecraft (O); "AMazed in Oriab", Lumley.)
BAL-SAGOTH. Island in the Atlantic said to be the last surviving fragment of Atlantis. At the time of the Crusades, Norsemen landed upon this isle. They later reported the nature of its natives, their highly advanced civilization, and their worship of the god known as Gol-goroth. See Gol-goroth. ("The Fishers from Outside", Carter; "The Gods of BalSagoth",'Howard (O).)
BARRIER OF NAACH-TITH (also WALL OF NAACH-TITH). Incantation that will "seal the souls" of the chanter when Yibb-Tstll is summoned, and which can also be used to provide a larger barrier to protect against or contain evil forces. This ritual is hinted at in the Cthaat Aquadingen, but the complete version may only be found in the library of Celaeno or in the Fourth Book ofD'harsis. See Celaeno; Cthaat Aquadingen; Sixth Sathlatta. ("Halls of Celaeno", Herber; The Clock of Dreams, Lumley; "Dylath-Leen", Lumley (O); "The Horror at Oakdeene", Lumley.)
BARZAI. One-time high priest of Earth's gods in Ulthar. Barzai had read the Pnakotic Manuscripts and the Seven Cryptical Books ofHsan, and was very knowledgeable about the Great Ones and their ways. His desire for knowledge, however, proved to be his undoing, for he attempted to gaze upon the gods themselves. As his apprentice Atal later reported, he vanished from atop Mount Hatheg-Kla, on which he had hoped to see the gods dancing. Atal has preserved Barzai's handwritten notes on the Great Ones at the Temple of the Elder Ones. The Necronomicon includes a chapter on creating the Scimitar of Barzai, a bronze weapon used to inscribe magical symbols and frighten spirits. Its connection with the historic Barzai is unknown. See Atal; Hatheg-Kla; Pnakotic Manuscripts. (The Necronomicon, Hay, ed.; "The Other Gods", Lovecraft (O); The Complete Dreamlands, Williams and Petersen.)
BAST. Egyptian goddess who took the form of a woman with the head of a cat. Bast was originally worshiped in Atlantis, and her worship was probably carried from that land to Egypt along with much of the sunken continent's lore. The center of Bast's cult in the land of the Nile was the city of Bubastis. The people of Bubastis revered felines, and many cats were mummified upon their deaths to please the goddess. Bast was also the goddess of pleasure, and was thus one of Egypt's most popular deities. During the reign of Nephren-Ka, the cult of Bast was subverted and her priests joined the Black Pharaoh in his dark worship. Prinn writes in De Vermis Mysteriis that the city of Bubastis was destroyed by the other religious factions of the Nile valley, due to the repulsive nature of Bast's rites. Most of the cult was put to the sword, but rumor has it that some escaped to Britain, keeping their practices a secret. Bast's worship underwent a reformation, with her priests taking it upon themselves to destroy those who threatened the pharaohs. Cults of Bast may survive in the modern world, though most of them have gone underground if this is so. [Bast was an actual Egyptian deity, though there is no evidence linking her to any dark and evil rituals.] See Black Rites; Luveh-Keraphf; Nephren-Ka; Saracenic Rituals. ("The Brood of Bubastis", Bloch; "The Mannikin", Bloch; "The Suicide in the Study", Bloch (O), "Cults Exposed!: The Sacred Flame of Bubastis", Harms.)
THE BEAST. See Nyarlathotep (The Beast).
BEINGS FROM IB. See Thuun'ha.
BEL YARNAK (also YARNAK?). City on the planet Yarnak. The city was beautiful, consisting of many high minarets of silver and streets paved with precious metals. Bel Yarnak was brought to its doom due to the actions of the wizard Thorazor, and no one lives there now. See Vorvadoss; Yarnak. ("The Eater of Souls", Kuttner (O); "The Jest of Droom-Avista", Kuttner.)
BELED EL-DJINN. See Kara-Shehr.
BENDAL-DOLUM. Fabled city in the depths of the Belize jungle. Various expeditions to find Bendal Dolum, especially that of Dr. Eric Williamson, have failed to find any sign of it. (A Resection of Time, Johnson; "The Pits of Bendal-Dolum", Lyons (O).)
BERKELEY TOAD. See Byatis.
BETHMOORA. City located somewhere beyond the hills of Hap in the Dreamlands. Bethmoora was once a thriving city with green copper gates where song and dance filled the streets. One day, when a festival was held in Bethmoora, three men riding mules came from the desert, bringing a message whose exact nature and origin remains unknown. Some say it came from the desert itself, which desired to overrun the fair city; others assert that the messengers brought a decree from the emperor Thuba Mleen or the gods, or even a warning of the plague. Upon hearing the words of these men, the entire population of Bethmoora deserted their city in one day, leaving it empty and shunned by all travelers. A drug-crazed madman who visited the court of Thuba Mleen in his dreams claims that this emperor was to blame, but he is hardly a credible source. Rumor has it that the priests of Bethmoora periodically mated a human woman with the gods Lloigor and Zhar to create tyrants who ruled Bethmoora for millennia before being overthrown. The departure of the people from the city left the cycle incomplete, and the gods wait inside Bethmoora's gates for the prophecy to be fulfilled. This does not explain the message of the three men on mules, however. In one incantation, Bethmoora is referred to as a conscious being. ("The Isle of Dark Magic", Cave; "Bethmoora", Dunsany (O); "The Hashish-Man", Dunsany; "The Whisperer in Darkness", Lovecraft; "Meet Me on the Other Side", Navarro.)
BHOLES. Creatures that dwell in the Dreamlands' Vale of Pnath. No one has ever seen a bhole, but Randolph Carter's encounter with them suggests that they are worm-shaped. Some say that bholes are a subspecies of dhole, or that the bholes give birth to the dholes and then send them through wormholes to other worlds. [This word originally appeared as "Dholes", but S. T. Joshi's corrected versions of Lovecraft's texts show that the word is "Bholes". It seems that one of the creators of the Dreamlands sourcebook for Call ofCthulhu read a corrected version of "Dream-Quest" and thought that "bholes" were a new creature, thus leading to the creation of two different creatures. The most recent edition has corrected this, however.] See Carter, Randolph; dholes; Pnath. ("The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath", Lovecraft; H. P. Lovecraft's Dreamlands, Petersen et. al.; S. Petersen's Field Guide to Cthulhu Monsters, Petersen et. al.)
BILLINGTON, ALIJAH. Descendant of Richard Billington who dwelt on the family estate during the first years of the nineteenth c entury. He took exception to what was written about his forebear in Reverend. Phillips' Thaumurgatical Prodigies in the New-English Caanan. A lively debate ensued, during which Phillips and his allies charged that Alijah was carrying on the dark practices of his ancestor in secret. After a few months of this controversy, John Druven, one of the Reverend's fellow advocates, disappeared following an inspection of the Billington estate. Shortly thereafter, Alijah left with his son Laban and an Indian servant, Quamis, for England, and Reverend Phillips, now surprisingly penitent, attempted to purchase and destroy all copies of his book. Billington died in England, far from his homeland. See Bilington, Richard; Billington's Wood; Dewart, Ambrose; Misquamacus; Thaumaturgatical Prodigies. ("The Lurker at the Threshold", Derleth and Lovecraft (O).)
BILLINGTON, RICHARD. Wealthy landowner who dwelt near New Dunnich, later known as Dunwich, in colonial times. Billington was reputed to be a wizard who worshiped Satan in an old stone circle near his house and learned a great deal from the Wampanoag shaman Misquamacus. After several murders in the area, Billington himself dropped out of sight and was not heard from thereafter. See Billington, Alijah; Billington's Wood; Misquamacus; OfEvill Sorceries Done in New England] Thaumurgatical Prodigies. ("The Lurker at the Threshold", Derleth and Lovecraft (O).)
BILLINGTON'S WOOD. Virgin forest north of Arkham, near the Aylesbury Pike. This place was once the property of Richard and Alijah Billington. In its depths stood the Billington house, along with a stone tower and ring on an island in a dry streambed. The latter was destroyed in 1924. The deeper parts of the woods are rumored to hold even stranger wonders. See Dewart, Ambrose. ("Arkham Pets", Ambuehl; "The Lurker at the Threshold", Derleth and Lovecraft (O).)
THE BLACK. Dark, flaky substance which serves as blood for the Great Old One Yibb-Tstll. Sorcerers sometimes call the Black itself to assault their foes. To do so, the caster must first inscribe the Sixth Sathlatta in its original Ptetholite characters (shown in the Cthaat Aquadingen) on a wafer of flour and water. This wafer then must be given to the intended victim. Some say that the victim must touch the wafer for the spell to take effect, but evidence from one attack suggests otherwise. Then, when the target can hear the caster, the wizard must recite the Hoy-Dhin Chant from the Necronomicon. As the sorcerer chants, the Black will manifest itself, falling upon and adhering to the spell's target. Soon the victim will be completely covered and suffocate. The Black will then return to Yibb-Tstll with the person's soul, leaving behind no trace. If a person afflicted by the Black is able to reach running water, the spell will cease and return to its caster, taking full effect upon the would-be murderer. See Hoy-Dhin chant; Ptetholites; Sixth Sathlatta; Yibb-Tstll. ("The Black Recalled", Lumley; "The Caller of the Black", Lumley (O); "The Horror at Oakdeene", Lumley.)
BLACK BOOK. See Unaussprechlichen Kulten.
BLACK BOOK OF THE SKULL (originally SURTHAGGITH: VTHAEGGAISH EAERTH). Volume written long ago by J'Cak Igguratian, the court sorcerer to the Vang, or King, of the lost continent of Quy. J'Cak vanished after he killed five women to attain immortality, in accordance with the book's instructions. The first known edition of the Black Book of the Skull was in Greek, but the Inquisition burned almost all of these. Later, the Black Book of the Skull was translated into Latin, although the translators refused to transcribe certain passages. The occultist Aleister Crowley translated the book into English. Starry Wisdom Press issued this translation during the 1920s, but this one is slightly inaccurate on several points. The only known surviving copy of the Greek edition is kept at Dwayne University in Amoston, Kansas, and a Latin edition may be found at Miskatonic University. This book gives a history of the earth's beginnings account of the author's occult experiments and his warnings on dealing with the Great Old Ones. The beings Othuyeg and Quyagen are discussed. ("Huitloxopetl VI: Lieutenant August Investigates", Burnham; "History of the Empire of the Continent of Quy", Burnham; "Invocation", Burnham (O); "The Seven Cities of Gold", Burnham; "Huitloxopetl XI: The Ripening of Huitloxopetl", Davey.)
BLACK BROTHERHOOD. International terrorist organization devoted to the cause of the Old Ones. Some claim that the group dates back to the reign of Nitocris, who once commanded them, and that they were also connected with the Assassins. The members of the Black Brotherhood, who come from all backgrounds and ethnicities, carry out covert assassination attempts against various government officials, choosing their targets in no discernible pattern. The perpetrators of these attacks usually die shortly thereafter, so very few interrogations of its members have taken place. Those of the Brotherhood believe that the Great Old Ones will awaken soon, and that their actions will make the earth ready for their masters. ("Coming of Age", Ballon; Strange Eons, Bloch (O).)
BLACK DEMON. See Nyarlathotep (Black Demon).
BLACK GOAT OF THE WOODS WITH A THOUSAND YOUNG. See ShubNiggurath.
BLACK GOD OF MADNESS, (THE). Novel by Amadeus Carson, a one-time romance novel writer whose writing took on sinister overtones after living in a witch-house in Salem. No publisher accepted the book, and most authorities in the field consider it to be lost, though it has turned up in at least one private collection. ("The Winfield Heritance", Carter; "The Land of the Reflected Ones", Collins; "The Salem Horror", Kuttner (O).)
BLACK GODS OF R'LYEH. Oath spoken in both Pictish Britain and Hyperborea. To which gods of the corpse-city it refers is unknown. ("The Fear of Liqoimkh", Cornford; "Worms of the Earth", Howard (O).)
BLACK LITANIES OF NUG AND YEB. Rituals of worship for the twin entities Nug and Yeb which include references to the "Black Fire." The only complete rendering of Yeb's Litany was found on a wall in ancient Irem, though the inhabitants of K'n-yan are known to practice both rites. One composite litany may be found in the Book of Eibon. See Nug and Yeb. ("The Mound", Lovecraft and Bishop (O); "To Clear the Earth", Murray; "The Black Litany of Nug and Yeb", Pulver.)
BLACK LOTUS. Ebon-hued flower from Khitai, an eastern country of the Hyborian Age. Only the priests of the mysterious god Yun who dwelt in that land's jungles could harvest the Lotus. Its scent could induce slumber in even the most ferocious beast, and the priests of Stygia made use of its properties to control the minds of others. The only ones who dared to take the black lotus powder knowingly were the necromancers of the Black Ring, though its use became more prevalent in later times. After the end of the Hyborian Age the flower was taken to the Plateaus of Leng and Sung, where the priests of forgotten religious orders cultivated it. Legend has it that the Black Lotus was the basis of the poison used to kill the Buddha, inspiring his final, suppressed teachings. Its effects became so notorious that the khans of the East attempted to ban its use. It is still grown by the Tcho-tcho people, who consider it vital in the worship of Zhar and Lloigor. Modern cults occasionally use the lotus to create drugs such as Liao which open up the mind to dreams of other dimensions. Dosages, methods of application, and precise effects may vary. Taken improperly, however, it may incite the user to homicidal frenzies or provide them with terrifying and uncontrolled hallucinations. The black lotus itself is sometimes seen in these visions, and it could be that the flower itself exerts a malign influence through them. See Liao. ("Black Lotus", Bloch; "The Black Lotus", Carter; "Dreams of the Black Lotus", Carter; "The Madness Out of Time", Carter; Secrets of Japan, Dziesinski; "The Hour of the Dragon", Howard; "Red Nails", Howard; "The Tower of the Elephant", Howard (O); "Dope War of the Black Tong", Price.)
BLACK MAN. See Nyarlathotep (Black Man).
BLACK PHARAOH. Individual, sometimes named "Khotep", who lived at the end of the Sixth Dynasty. This title has also been givem to both Nephren-Ka n£i Nyarlathotep, often referring to individuals in vastly different periods. The Black Pharaoh is often symbolized by an inverted ankh, or cross of life. See Nephren-Ka; Nyarlathotep (Black Pharaoh). ("Fane of the Black Pharaoh", Bloch (O); Curse of the Black Pharaoh, Carter; S. Petersen's Field Guide to Cthulhu Monsters, Petersen et. al.)
THE BLACK RITES. Section of the Scroll ofBubastis written by the Atlantean or Egyptian high priest Luveh-Keraphf, who worshiped Bast. The oldest copy known dates to the Thirteenth Dynasty. The Black Rites were usually omitted from the scrolls, but copies were secretly kept at Egypt's most powerful temples. The original was written in Khemite hieratic script, and a Greek translation may also exist. The book may have been passed down to the present day, though finding a copy in these times is nearly impossible. The book contains a great deal of information on Bast's worship, a general overview of the other Egyptian gods, the tale of the discovery of Sebek's Golden Crocodile, and a cautionary note on Nyarlathotep and the Black Pharaoh. ("The Suicide in the Study", Bloch (O); "Zoth-Ommog", Carter; Complete Masks of Nyarlathotep, DiTillio and Willis; "The Curse of the Crocodile", Tierney; "The Treasure of Horemkhu", Tierney.)
BLACK RITUALS OF KOTH-SERAPIS. See Koth-Serapis.
BLACK SEAL OF IRAAN. Item brought to earth by th.e mi-go which came into possession of the wizard Iraan of Mu. Zanthu later acquired it, and used it in his bid for power in the temple of Ythogtha. Carved on its surface are the Seven Lost Signs of Terror, which can command obedience from any creature. It may be that this stone bears a relation to the Black Stone or the Ixaxar. ("The Offering", Carter; "The Whisperer in Darkness", Lovecraft (O).)
BLACK STONE. 1) Monument near the town of Stiregoicavar, Hungary. The Black Stone is shaped like an obelisk and carved from a strange translucent stone. This monument is engraved with indecipherable carvings, but most of these have been chipped or weathered away. No one knows what civilization erected the Black Stone. Some say that the Huns left it, but others, including Friedrich von Junzt, insist that it is a remnant of an even earlier time. For hundreds of years, the Black Stone was the site of rituals for the hill people of the region. In 1526, a Muslim army marched into the area. When its commander, the scribe Selim Bahadur, discovered the locals' practices, he ordered all the tribesmen killed and their village destroyed, ending the cults reign of terror over the region. Even though over four centuries have passed since the land's purging, those who live nearby shun the Black Stone. Gazing at the stone for any length of time causes insanity, and those who have slept nearby are haunted in their dreams for the rest of their lives. At one time, the natives set out to destroy the Stone, but all those who attempted to do this were cursed and the people allowed it to stand. This monument might have inspired Justin Geoffrey's poem "People of the Monolith", as the poet is known to have visited this area. Another visitor is said to have constructed a replica of the Stone in the Sesqua Valley. See Magyar Folklore; Remnants of Lost Empires; Stregoicavar; Terrible Old Man; Unaussprechlichen Kulten; Xuthltan. ("The Black Stone", Howard (O); "Your Metamorphic Moan", Pugmire.) 2) A smaller object revered by the Worms of the Earth. These creatures kept it at Stonehenge until the invasion of the Picts, after which they bore it away into their underground caverns. A person who is able to steal the Black Stone from its keepers may request a service in return, though doing so will doom the thief after many years. The description of this stone seems to be quite similar to that of the Ixaxar, and the two might be the same object. See Black Seal; Zegrembi Seals. ("The People of the Dark", Howard (O); "The Worms of the Earth", Howard.)
BLACK SUTRA. Volume written by U Pao, one of Burma's earliest scholars, around the year 700. His Black Sutra shows great insight into the nature of life on Earth, including passages suggesting the theory of evolution. In addition, it deals with Yidhra at some length. Some say that von Junzt's last manuscript indicated he had read this book. ("Where Yidhra Walks", DeBill (O); Keepers Compendium, Herber, Nightmare's Disciple, Pulver.)
BLACK TOME OFALSOPHOCUS (also THE BLACK TOME). Book written by the great wizard Alsophocus of Erongill. An unknown monk partially translated the Tome into Latin in 1517, entitling it Extractus Alsophocus. No one knows where any surviving copies of this book might be found, though Miskatonic University may hold one. The Black Tome held such powerful information as the citing of Boromir, the secrets of the Shining Trapezohedron, and the calling of Cthulhu from his tomb. See Hounds of Tindalos. ("Coming of Age", Ballon; "The Black Tome of Alsophocus", Lovecraft and Warnes (O); Ex Libris Miskatonici, Stanley.)
BLACK TOWER OF LENG. See Pharos of Leng.
BLACK WIND. See Nyarlathotep (Black Wind)
BLAINE, (DOCTOR) HENRY STEPHENSON. Manuscript curator at the Sanbourne Institute. In 1928, while cataloging and publishing the papers of Harold Hadley Copeland, Blaine suffered a mental breakdown and was confined. See Hodgkins, Arthur. ("The Dweller in the Tomb", Carter (O); "Out of the Ages", Carter.)
BLAKE, ROBERT HARRISON. Milwaukee painter and weird fiction author. Due to difficulties in finding work, Blake turned to writing as a source of income. Though his works met with little commercial success at first, over time they began to gather acclaim, and Miskatonic University Press published the collection The Feaster from the Stars in 1928. Later, Blake took up painting as well, mainly depicting scenes of alien landscapes. In search of greater thrills for use in his fiction, Blake searched for forbidden books, discovering a copy of De Vermis Mysteriis. He made a journey to Providence so that a friend might translate the archaic Latin in which the book was written. During this visit, his friend's house burned to the ground with its tenant trapped inside. Blake left Providence hastily following this incident. During the winter of 1935, Blake took up residence in an apartment on College Street in Providence. It was here that Blake completed many of his most famous stories. That spring and summer, however, Blake became increasingly obsessed with a deserted church on French Hill. He disclosed to friends that a series of strange events connected with this structure had befallen him; many consider these assertions to be pat of a tremendous hoax engineered at least partially by Blake himself. On August 8, 1935, Blake was found dead from electrical shock in his rooms following a thunderstorm. His writing is still quite popular, and the short story collections The Stairs in the Crypt and his Collected Works have been reprinted after his death. [Blake first appeared in Bloch's "Shambler", but was not named until Lovecraft's "Haunter". Lovecraft chose the name "Blake" due to its similarities to "Bloch", so that he could return the favor Bloch had done by killing a Lovecraft-based character in "Shambler." According to Lovecraft, the title story of the collection Feaster from the Stars (invented later) was not written until 1935.] See Dexter, Ambrose. ("The Shadow from the Steeple", Bloch; "The Shambler from the Stars", Bloch (O); "The Franklyn Paragraphs", "Campbell; "The Freshman", Farmer; "The Haunter of the Dark", Lovecraft.)
BLASTED HEATH. Five-acre area to the west of Arkham covered with nothing but grey dust. No plants will grow on the Heath. At its center are the remains of a house and well. The Blasted Heath is believed to have been submerged beneath the new Arkham reservoir. ("The Colour out of Space", Lovecraft (O).)
BLAYNE, HORVATH (c. 1925-1948). Student of mythology and religion. Blayne was born Horvath Waite, but cousins in Boston adopted him when his home town of Innsmouth was destroyed and his family killed. He later became a student of Asian culture, centering his studies upon Indo-China and the isles of the Pacific. After the end of the Second World War, Blayne spent his time almost exclusively in the South Pacific, where he became known for his work with the ruins on Ponape. In 1947, Blayne was sighted in Singapore with the noted scholar Laban Shrewsbury, and he is believed to have taken part in a secret government action somewhere in the Pacific. His fate is unknown, though a testament found among his papers hints at some disturbing possibilities. ("The Black Island", Derleth (O).)
BLOATED WOMAN. See Nyarlathotep (Bloated Woman).
BLOODY TONGUE. See Cult of the Bloody Tongue.
B'MOTH (also BEHEMOTH or PHEMAUT). Oceanic deity worshiped in many parts of the world. B'moth desires to return all of humanity to the savage state that it once held, and can control weather and animals to accomplish this purpose. This creature maybe another name for Cthulhu, or maybe associated with the Great Old One in some way. See Magic and the Black Arts. ("The Scourge of B'Moth", Russell (O).)
BOKRUG. God who took the shape of a water-lizard and who was worshiped by the Thuum'ha of lb. He is especially infamous for his vengeance upon those who offend him. His revenge may take hundreds of years to overtake his foes, but when it comes, it is swift and devastating. The entire city of Sarnath blasphemed against this deity for many centuries, but Bokrug's wrath eventually destroyed the metropolis. Bokrug is worshiped today in the city of Ilarnek in the Dreamlands, and possibly in the lost pre-human city of Lh-Yib. Some evidence suggests that Bokrug may not actually be a god, but is in fact one of a race of humanoid beings who have set themselves up as gods of the Thuum'ha, as the people of lb are known. Others disagree, and say that "Bokrug" is only a mask for a more dangerous entity. See lb; Ilarnek; Sarnath. ("The Book of Dismissals", Carter; "The Doom that Came to Sarnath", Lovecraft (O); Beneath the Moors, Lumley.)
BOLTON. Factory town north of Arkham. The first settlers built their town on the banks of the James River in 1650, but Bolton was not incorporated until 1714. Today, Bolton is a major site for industry; its mills primarily employ immigrants, and the town has acquired an unsavory reputation due to the frequent quarrels which occur between the different ethnicities. The brilliant young doctor Herbert West practiced in this town for a short while, and Thomas de la Poer lived here before his ill-fated departure for England. [It is uncertain whether Lovecraft knew that Bolton was a real town before he included it in his stories.] See Miskatonic River. ("Herbert West—Reanimator", Lovecraft (O); "The Rats in the Walls", Lovecraft; "Freak Show", Ross and Woods.)
THE BOOK OF AZATHOTH. Volume carried by some forms of Nyarlathotep. Anyone who enters the service of the Outer Gods must sign the Book with their blood. It may possibly be the book spoken of by the victims of the witchcraft trials; if so, it would explain only a few of these volumes were ever found. The Book of Azathoth also contains material in parody of Scripture, praising the Outer Gods and denigrating Christianity. Another "Book of Azathoth", a spiral notebook containing a long rambling discourse about the nature of the universe, was found in a hotel room in Midium's Grove, New York. Since the other volume is in Nyarlathotep's possession, any comparison between the two is impossible. See Azathoth; Nyarlathotep (Black Man). (Devil's Children, Conyers, Godley, and Witteveen; "The Higher Mythos", Hen:sler; "The Dreams in the Witch-House", Lovecraft (O).)
THE BOOK OF DAGON. Set of inscribed conical stones. The Book was a gift from the Deep Ones to Captain Obed Marsh after he had founded the Esoteric Order of Dagon. Through help from his inhuman visitors, Marsh was able to translate the R'lyehian glyphs into English. The book was never published, and only a few handwritten copies exist. After the raid on Innsmouth, the cones were taken into government custody, where they were destroyed in 1955 in a freak accident. This book, which serves as the scripture for the cult of the Deep Ones, provides the history of that species and describes their religious ceremonies. (Delta Green, Detwiller, Glancy, and Tynes; Escape from Innsmouth, Ross (O).)
THE BOOK OF DZYAN (also the STANZAS OF DZYAN). Book of ancient wisdom which exists on a higher spiritual plane, where psychically sensitive travelers can find it. According to tradition, the Lords of Venus brought the first six chapters of this book, as well as the Senzar language, to humans. The grateful humans preserved the Book in the lost city of Shamballah. The book was later translated into Chinese and distributed widely, though only a few copies survive today. Traders discovered the oldest known written copy in a Chinese cave in 595, from which it made its way to the Wharby Museum in England. This copy was written in Chinese, Sanskrit, and characters resembling those in the G'harne and Sussex Fragments, and proved instrumental in Gordon Walmsley's deciphering of both books. Chinese and Sanskrit copies once rested in many monasteries of the East, though most of these have been destroyed or lost. Others have turned up in the van der Heyl mansion near Chorazin, New York, and the Starry Wisdom Church in Providence. In 1901, Wallace Deely supposedly translated the book from the Tsath-Yo language into English. The contents of this book remain a mystery. One section relates to the Seal of Solomon, a variant Elder Sign, and incantations that ward off evil might be found within. [The Book of Dzyan originally appeared in the works of the Theosophist Helena Blavatsky. In her book The Secret Doctrine, Blavatsky quotes it at some length, supposedly having viewed the original during a trip to Tibet. According to her account, the Book of Dzyan is the first of fifteen esoteric commentaries on the thirty-five books of Kiu-te, a likely transliteration of a term used to describe the Tibetan Buddhist corpus. According to Blavatsky, the Book of Dzyan was written on palm leaves in the Atlantean language of Senzar. Lovecraft did not encounter Blavatsky's work until the end of his life, and his main source for his descriptions of the book were the accounts of his friend E. Hoffman Price derived from later Theosophical sources. [Blavatsky stated "Dzyan" (pronounced "Djan") is derived from "Dhyan", the Sanskrit term for mystical meditation.] See Feery, Joachim; Study of the Book of Dzyan, A. (The Secret Doctrine, Blavatsky (O); The Fate, Detwiller with Ivey; The Dark Destroyer, Glasby; Keepers Compendium, Herber; "The Haunter of the Dark", Lovecraft; Selected Letters IV, Lovecraft; "The Diary of Alonzo Typer", Lovecraft and Lumley; The Book of Dzyan, Maroney, ed.; Ex Libris Miskatonici, Stanley.)
THE BOOK OF EIBON. Tome penned by the Hyperborean wizard Eibon. Legend has it that it was found amid the ruins of his blasted tower, but Cyron of Varaad's afterword to the book tells of how Eibon left him the manuscript, which Cyron then arranged into sequential order. The Book was then passed from teacher to pupil for many years, with occasional notes being added by subsequent readers. After the destruction of Hyperborea during the Ice Ages, copies of the Book made their way to Zobna and Lomar, and later Atlantis and Hyboria, by way of a secretive cult that revered Eibon and may have been related to that which preserved the Pnakotic Manuscripts. The priesthood of Mithra in Brythunia, a country of the Hyborian Age, might have preserved a copy, but if so it has been lost. There seem to have been two paths by which the Book of Eibon made its way into the modern world. The first route was through Egypt, as traders from Atlantis brought their goods and knowledge to that land. The volume was translated into hieroglyphics, and the so-called "Kishite recension" made by the former high priest of Sarnath may have derived from one of these. It then made its way through the Mediterranean area, where the Syro-Phoenician scholar Imilcar Narba made a Punic translation around 1600 B.C. Byzantine Greek (or Graeco-Bactrian) copies were later made, and around 960, Theodorus Philetas correlated several of the surviving texts into a medieval Greek volume. A Greek copy may still exist, but the oldest confirmed copy is the ninth-century Latin translation of C. Philippus Faber, which was likely the source of the Latin text printed in Rome in 1662. The Latin copies of the Book of Eibon at Miskatonic and Harvard stem from this particular tradition. The second path was through a mysterious culture known as the Averones. These people fled to the east from the sinking Atlantis, bearing the Liber Ivonis on tablets with them. The Averones settled in a land that was to become Averoigne, and these tablets formed an important part of their rituals even centuries later. One book in the original Hyperborean tongue may have been kept here, at least until the fourteenth century. The Averonian version eventually made its way to Ireland, where Latin and Irish translations may still be found. One Latin version might have been found in the library of the notorious Aleister Crowley. In the 13th century, Gaspard du Nord of Averoigne made a French translation of the Book, most likely from a Greek manuscript (though the possibility of influence from his region's traditions should not be ruled out). This Gaspard was a sorcerer of some note, who saved his home city of Vyones from the designs of the evil magician Nathaire, who might have owned the copy that Gaspard later translated. In their gratitude, the authorities allowed him to continue in his occult studies, which presumably gave him the freedom to translate the Book of Eibon free from all popular censure. Many sorcerers and witches of the area used this particular edition to great effect, even centuries after its completion. Several copies of this edition still survive, including those at the van der Heyl mansion and another at the Starry Wisdom Church of Providence. During the reign of James I, an unknown scholar, presumably a translator of the King James Bible, translated the Book of Eibon into English. A dedicated searcher may still find a few of these copies. To the best of our knowledge, the Book has never been printed. A more recent French translation by the noted author Clark Ashton Smith vanished after his death. One Randall Flagg, a member of the Church of Starry Wisdom, created an unpublished set of Notes from the Book of Eibon. It should also be noted that a copy was passed down among the van Kauran family of New York, though it is uncertain which edition they held. A great deal of Eibon's book is devoted to tales of his own youth, his magical experiments, and his journeys to Shaggai and the Vale of Pnath. The book contains information on the rites of Tsathoggua, the artist Rhydagand, and tales of the great Rlim Shaikorth. Incantations for calling the emanation from Yoth and the Green Decay are held within, along with formulas for a chemical that petrifies living flesh and a powder that will destroy certain star-spawned monstrosities.
Though the Book of Eibon covers a vast amount of knowledge, only a fraction of the original work survives. For instance, certain rituals intended to call down dholes to serve the summoner have survived have been lost, and an encoded one-page appendix regarding the Antarctic Old Ones is found in only a few volumes. [A reconstruction of this work has been compiled by Robert M. Price and recently published.] See Averoigne; Bugg-Shoggog; dark young; dholes; du Nord, Gaspard; Eye of Tsathoggua; Ghorl Nigral; Green Decay; Grey Rite of Azathoth; Hyperborea; Iagsat; Liber Ivonis; Livre d'lvon; N'tse-Kaambl; Papyrus of the Dark Wisdom; Parchments of Pnom; Rhydagand of the Brush; Rlim Shaikorth; Selections de Live d'lvon; Testament of Carnamagos; Zon Mezzamalech. ("The Horror from the Bridge", Campbell; "The Book of Eibon", Carter; History and Chronology of the Book of Eibon, Carter; "In the Vale of Pnath", Carter; The Life of Eibon according to Cyron ofVaraad, Carter; "Papyrus of the Dark Wisdom", Carter; "Shaggai", Carter; "The Adventure of the Six Silver Spiders", Derleth; "Cults Exposed!: The Starry Wisdom Church", Harms; "By the Bay, Part I", Herber; Keeper's Compendium, Herber; "Pickman's Student", Herber; Dreams and Fancies, Lovecraft; Selected Letters V, Lovecraft; "The Man of Stone", Lovecraft and Heald; "The Thing at the Threshold", McConnell and Sutton; "To Call Forth Tsathoggua to Smith Thy Enemy", Pulver; "The Beast of Averoigne", Smith; "The Colossus of Ylourgne", Smith; "The Coming of the White Worm", Smith; "The Holiness of Azedarac", Smith (0);"Ubbo-Sathla", Smith; ExLibris Miskatonici, Stanley.)
THE BOOK OF HIDDEN THINGS. Volume mentioned in a manuscript discovered by Alonzo Typer. Nothing else is known of this book, though it may have to do with the lost city of Yian-ho. ("The Diary of Alonzo Typer", Lovecraft and Lumley (O).)
BOOK OF IOD. Book of unknown origin, though some attribute it to a mysterious author named "Khut-Nah". Only one copy in the original "Ancient Tongue" (which may be a mixture of Greek and Coptic) exists. It has been suggested that the Druids used some of the rites therein. Johann Negus later published an expurgated Latin (or possibly English) translation, a copy of which is kept at the Huntingdon Library in San Marino, California. The book discusses Iod, the Shining Hunter, Vorvadoss, and the being Zuchequon. Its philosophy seems to have much in common with that of the Gnostics. See Pott, Johannes; Von Junzt, Friedrich; Vorvadoss. ("Bells of Horror" (O), Kuttner; Letters to Henry Kuttner, Lovecraft; "Beneath the Tombstone", Price; "The Mythos Collector", Sammons; "The Looking-Glass", Worthy et. al.)
BOOK OF KARNAK. Tome of occult knowledge. From its title, it may consist of rituals taken from the Egyptian temple complex of Karnak. The book also contains information regarding Iod, the Hunter of Souls. ("The Hunt", Kuttner; "Hydra", Kuttner (O).)
BOOK OFK'YOG. Work that was old even in the age of Eibon. It has been lost on Earth for millennia, but supposedly tells how Tsathoggua was brought to earth from Yuggoth by an alien species that built a city now beneath the waves. ("The Haunting of Uthnor", Cornford; "The Old One", Glasby (O).)
BOOK OF NIGHT (also NOCTUARY OF VIZOORANOS). Dangerous work on necromancy written by the Hyperborean wizard Vizooranos. Eibon is the only one known to have seen a copy, and he quickly rid himself of it. ("Annotations for the Book of Night", Price (O).)
BOOK OF SKELOS. Grimoire written by the blind sage Skelos and preserved by his devotees, though some attribute it to the serpent-people wizards of Valusia. There has been considerable disagreement as to whether "Skelos" penned one or several books, but wizards throughout the world have put great stock in his reputation. In the Hyborian Age only three known copies existed, and none of these is known to have survived until today. Although all of Hyboria's mages coveted this book, we only know it contains information on an artifact called the Hand of Nergal and an isle on which monsters guard a great treasure. (Conan the Buccaneer, Carter and de Camp; "Black Colossus", Howard; "The Hour of the Dragon", Howard; "The Pool of the Black One", Howard (O); "The Hand of Nergal", Howard and Carter.)
BOOK OF THOTH (or SCROLL OF THOTH-AMMON). Volume supposedly written by Thoth, the Egyptian god of wisdom and magic who is said to have written thousands of books on occult subjects. Current scholarship holds that Thoth-Ammon, a powerful Stygian wizard and priest of Set, was actually the author. After the destruction of that continent, the Book of Thoth was preserved by the high priests of Egypt in their temple at Alexandria. The Roman emperor Caligula took this volume from Egypt for his own experimentation, but it was destroyed shortly before his death. Abdul Alhazred :is known to have perused another copy, and others may exist in Tibetan monasteries, but no outsider has seen the book for many years. The Book of Thoth discusses the being known as Tawil at'Umr, as well as the Great Old Ones and the history of Hyboria. It also contains a spell that confers life to the dead (of a temporary nature), extensive astronomical data, hints on the nature of Ngyr-Khorath, and the secret of humanity's creation. The third volume of the Book may deal with the opening of gates. One spell claimed to be within is the Rite of Abomination, which supposedly can plunge the world into darkness.
[Though many different books that Thoth is said to have written have survived, there is not one specifically called the "Book of Thoth". Many occultists use the term as another name for the Tarot deck, though in Mythos stories it is an actual text. The Mythos "Book of Thoth" should not be confused with Aleister Crowley's treatise on the Tarot of the same name.] See 'Umr at-Tawil. (The Secret Doctrine, Blavatsky; "Ngyr-Khorath", DeBill; "The Dweller Beyond the Gate", Glasby; "Through the Gates of the Silver Key", Lovecraft and Price; "The Lord of Illusion", Price (O); The Gardens ofLucullus, Rahman and Tierney; "The Ring of Set", Tierney; "The Scroll of Thoth", Tierney; "The Soul of Kephri", Tierney; The Winds of Zarr, Tierney.)
BOREA. World in a parallel universe upon which Ithaqua was at one time imprisoned. The world has three moons, Dromos, Numinos, and another unnamed satellite. Due to the physics of this particular dimension, however, none of these bodies turns around another, and the planet itself does not circle the sun. Thus, parts of Borea are left in perpetual cold, while others enjoy an eternal tropical summer. Legend has it that the Elder Gods confined Ithaqua in a plateau near Borea's southern pole following the revolt of the Great Old Ones. After many years, the Wendigo obtained his freedom and traveled to other worlds and dimensions, yet he still returns to Borea from time to time. Ithaqua's habit of taking away with him those who have stirred his displeasure is well known. Though Ithuaqua usually drops these victims from the sky after weeks or months, others are taken to Borea. Over the years, Ithaqua has brought many sorts of life to this world and its moons, including various sorts of plants, bats, wolves, bears, whales, and even humans. These unfortunates are altered so that not even the bitterest cold may affect them; this trait, however, also makes them somewhat vulnerable to the same forces that repel the Great Old Ones. Upon their arrival, most of the humans are inducted into the Children of the Winds, Ithaqua's cult on Borea, which boasts hundreds of thousands of members. Some, however, rebel against the Wind-Walker; colonies of these outcasts may be found in the plateau in which Ithaqua was imprisoned, as well as upon the Isle of Mountains on Numinos. These colonies are a consistent irritation for Ithaqua, but his cult's forays against them have never been completely successful in eradicating them. See Elder Sign; Ithaqua; Khrissa; Numinos; Silberhutte, Hank. (In the Moons of Borea, Lumley; Spawn of the Winds, Lumley (O).)
BORELLUS.
Writer on science and mysticism, most likely Petrus Borel (1620- 1689), who wrote the following passage: The essential Saltes of Animals may be so prepared and preserved, that an ingenious Man may have the whole Ark of Noah in his own Studie, and raise the fine Shape of an Animal out of its Ashes at his Pleasure; and by the lyke Method from the essential Saltes of humane Dust, a Philosopher may, without any criminal Necromancy, call up the Shape of any dead Ancestour from the Dust whereinto his Bodie has been incinerated. [Borellus is a real-life figure. The passage quoted above comes from Cotton Mather's Magnolia Christi Americana. It has yet to be found in any of Borellus' works.] ("The Case of Charles Dexter Ward", Lovecraft.)
BOWEN, (PROFESSOR) ENOCH
(1795?-1868). Noted occultist and archaeologist from Providence, Rhode Island. He taught at history and philology at Brown University, though another source states he taught at, and donated a valuable Biblical manuscript to, Miskatonic University. His most memorable accomplishment was his excavation of the crypt of the forgotten pharaoh Nephren-Ka in 1843. The following year, Bowen inexplicably stopped his excavations and, upon returning to Providence, established the infamous Church of Starry Wisdom. His books include Description of Excavations at Tell-Basta (1833), Sacrificial Cults in Ptolemaic Egypt (1839), Excavations of Early Dynastic Egypt (1842), and the secret manual of the cult, The Pathway to the Darkness. In 1927, another individual named Enoch Bowen headed a branch of the Starry Wisdom cult in Arkham, but this can hardly have been the same person. See Starry Wisdom cult. ("Coming of Age", Ballon; "The Shadow from the Steeple", Bloch; "Cults Exposed!: The Starry Wisdom Church", Harms; "The Haunter of the Dark", Lovecraft (O); "Acute Spiritual Fear", Price; Sherlock Holmes in the Adventure of the Ancient Gods, Vaughan.)
BOYD, CLAIBORNE.
Student of Creole culture. Boyd was born in Mississippi, and later resided in New Orleans, from which he continued his studies. After the death of his grand-uncle, a former professor at Harvard, Boyd came into possession of his papers detailing his mythological speculations. Boyd vanished shortly thereafter, though not before mailing off his papers to Miskatonic University. He may have been killed in 1986 in Fort Myers, Florida. ("The Gorge beyond Salanpunco", Derleth (O); Other Nations, Marsh and Marsh.)
BRAN MAK MORN
(?-ca. 210). King of the Pictish peoples of Caledonia (Scotland) during the Roman occupation of Britain. Bran was born as the son of a Wolf clan chief, but quickly gained power until he became the king of the Picts, who had been split into small feuding tribes for over five hundred years. Bran was a brave and just ruler who attempted to wean the Picts away from the bloody rituals that they once practiced. His most famous deed, however, was the summoning of the Worms of the Earth to take revenge against the Roman legions. Bran eventually fell in battle due to the treachery of a Roman officer, and his kingdom crumbled. Over time, the tales of Bran's deeds have become distorted, and many legends about his abilities have been invented. In his Unaussprechlichen Kulten, von Junzt mentions a statue of the king that the spirit of Bran inhabited after his death. This effigy was hidden in a cave, which remains the focus for a religion centering on Bran to this day. Members of this cult, made up of the descendants of the Picts, are expected to make a pilgrimage to this statue once in their lifetimes. According to this group's teachings, one day the statue of Bran will return to life, and he and his people will come forth from his cavern to rule the world. [One mythological Bran was a Welsh deity of tremendous size, while another was the British hero whose severed head protected the British Isles from invasion after his death. Howard seems to have been unaware of this tradition, and named his hero after Brennus, a barbarian at the siege of Rome, and Gol Mac Morn, an Irish folk hero.] See Worms of the Earth. ("The Children of the Night", Howard (O); "The Dark Man", Howard; "Kings of the Night", Howard; "Men of the Shadows", Howard; "The Worms of the Earth", Howard; Chronicle of the Black Labyrinth, Inabinet; "The Whisperer in Darkness", Lovecraft.)
BRAVING, MINNESOTA. Town in Minnesota notable for its numerous cases of missing persons and mysterious deaths. An uneasy air hovers over the town, and even Royceton University is known for the tension of its students and faculty. ("The Deep-Lord Awakens", Ambuehl; "Sculpture", Ambuehl (O).)
BRICHESTER. Commercial hub of England's Severn River Valley. Known in medieval times as Bicestre, today's Brichester may be split into three parts: Mercy Hill to the north, Brichester proper, and Lower Brichester in the south. Brichester is home to Brichester University, one of the region's most respected institutions of learning. This town has been the site of many strange happenings. Brichester University once held a copy of the Revelations ofGlaaki donated in 1958, but this has since disappeared or been destroyed. A congregation of Brichester University students worshiping the Great Old Ones was broken up in the Twenties, and many of the professors at that institution also possess knowledge of the paranormal events in the surrounding countryside. It was in Brichester that the eccentric cult leader Robert Franklyn lived and published his book on reincarnation We Pass from View. Finally, a man living on Mercy Hill was induced through dream-communications to write the twelfth volume of the Revelations of Glaaki. See Devil's Steps; Eihort; Glaaki; Goatswood; Mercy Hill; Revelations of Glaaki; Sentinel Hill; Severnford; Temphill; Undercliffe; We Pass from View. ("13 Place of Interest in Brichester", Brownlow; "The Church in High Street", Campbell (0);"Cold Print", Campbell; The Darkest Part of the Woods, Campbell; "The Franklyn Paragraphs", Campbell; The Horror from the Bridge", Campbell; "The Mine on Yuggoth", Campbell; "The Plain of Sound", Campbell; "Behold, I Stand at the Door and Knock", Price.)
BRICK CYLINDERS OF KADATHERON (also CYLINDERS OF KADATHERON). Seven artifacts brought out of the Middle East by an expedition led by a Mr. Angstrom. They were translated through use of the late Gordon Walmsley' work, but the characters are so archaic that only a few scholars can read them. The Cylinders are currently kept at the British Museum. The Dreamlands city of Kadatheron holds another set. The Cylinders deal primarily with the history of the land of Mnar, especially as it relates to the pre-human city of lb. They also include information on the Sarnath-sigil and tell the tale of the wizard Ilathos who went to speak with the high priest of Leng (though the ending of that story has been effaced). Another section provides the history and ruling dynasties of Kadatheron itself. See lb; Kadatheron; Lh-yib. ("The Book of Dismissals", Carter; "The Book of the Gates", Carter; "The Lure of Leng", DeBill; "The Doom that Came to Sarnath", Lovecraft (O); Beneath the Moors, Lumley; "Passing of a Dreamer", Myers.)
BRINGER OF PESTS. See Nyarlathotep (Bringer of Pests).
BROKEN COLUMNS OF GEPH. Monuments located within the coastal jungles of Liberia. No one knows how old the columns of Geph are, but they are mentioned in the writings of Teh Atht, a great wizard from the primal land of Theem'hdra. Upon these pillars the elders of the Ptetholites carved warnings against those who would use black magic against their foes, as well as the images of the Great Old Ones. Though the followers of the Old Ones have struck out some inscriptions and attempted to destroy the Columns themselves, these monuments have survived to this day, and are thought to be the center of worship for the natives of that region. With the help of Professor Gordon Walmsley of Goole, the characters upon these monuments were deciphered several years ago. See Geph Transcriptions; Ptetholites; Walmsley, Gordon. ("The Caller of the Black", Lumley (O); "The Return of the Deep Ones", Lumley; "Rising with Surtsey", Lumley; "The Sorcerer's Dream", Lumley; The Transition of Titus Crow, Lumley.)
BROTHERHOOD OF THE BEAST. Organization founded in the twelfth century by a Chinese sage and a Romanian noble, so that the prophecy of Nophru-Ka, an Egyptian priest of the XIV Dynasty, might be fulfilled. The Brotherhood's founders led the followers of Nophru-Ka from their exile in G'harne and brought them to Europe to intermarry. As this assimilation of Egyptian blood into the European population progressed, the Brotherhood kept detailed genealogical records of these matings. They hoped that one day a child would be born who would fulfill the high priest's prophecy and aid Nyarlathotep in returning to Earth. Over the centuries, the Brotherhood has gained a great deal of power and has greatly expanded its membership as it continues to strive toward its goals. It has failed in several of its schemes, however, such as an attempt to found a country in Eastern Europe in the territory of the Teutonic Knights. More recently, the Brotherhood, having realized that the time of the Old Ones' return is approaching, has begun preparations for a great globe-spanning operation calculated to destroy much of human civilization. See Brotherhood of the Black Pharaoh. ("The Brotherhood of the Beast", Herber (O).)
BROTHERHOOD OF THE BLACK PHARAOH. Cult devoted to the return of the Black Pharaoh avatar of Nyarlathotep. The group's leadership has remained primarily Egyptian, but in recent years its branches have been attracting members from all backgrounds and nationalities. This group has known affiliations with the Cult of the Bloody Tongue, the Starry Wisdom church, and the Brotherhood of the Beast. One sub-cult of this group, the Children of the Sphinx, is dedicated to the production of animal-headed composite mummies. See Nyarlathotep (Black Bull). (Cairo Guidebook, Anderson; Masks of Nyarlathotep, DiTillio and Willis (O).)
BROTHERS OF CHAUGNAR FAUGN. Creatures that look like smaller versions of Chaugnar Faugn. When the Miri Nigri took Chaugnar to the East, the Brothers remained beneath the Pyrenees, to Chaugnar's great displeasure. They have been known to come forth from the mountains and wreak havoc when Chaugnar Faugn himself is active. When Chaugnar awakens and devours the world, his brothers will be awakened to join him and be devoured by their master. See Chaugnar Faugn. (The Horror from the Hills, Long (O).)
BROTHERS OF THE YELLOW SIGN (also CULT OF THE YELLOW SIGN). Cult of Hastur in his form of the King in Yellow. There are conflicting accounts of its origins; some say it began among the serpent people of Valusia, but it seems more likely that it started in the underground land of K'n-yan. Whatever the source, it now enjoys a small following among humans. The Brothers identify each other through hand signs or by rings or pendants with a yellow stone. Occasionally they congregate to destroy mi-go outposts and to worship Hastur and Shub-Niggurath. One of their secondary goals is the suppression of archaeology in the Gobi Desert, where they hold their most sacred rites. It has been suggested that the Cult of the Yellow Sign founded every religion ever created to strengthen the Great Old Ones, but this sounds unlikely. See Hastur; Yellow Sign. (Keepers Compendium, Herber; "The Whisperer in Darkness", Lovecraft (O); The Illuminatus! Trilogy, Shea and Wilson.)
BROWN JENKIN.
Rat-like being with tiny paws like hands and a human face. According to Essex County court records, Keziah Mason claimed Brown Jenkin was her familiar. Though the witch herself has been dead for three centuries, reports from as far away as England, but centering in Mason's home city of Arkham, have spoken of reports of her familiar's ghost. Bones found when Arkham's Witch-House was demolished in 1931 confirm at least that the creature existed. See Mason, Keziah; rat-things. ("The Dreams in the Witch-House", Lovecraft (O); Prey, Masterton; "Small Ghost", Minnis.)
BUGG-SHASH.
Great Old One who takes the form of an inky blackness covered with many eyes and mouths which make a chittering sound. Sorcerers have known Bugg-Shash since Atlantean times and called it into this dimension. Bugg-Shash may be called up quite easily, though it is important that the "Pentacle of Power" should imprison him when summoned. The would-be summoner should also be quick in telling Bugg-Shash where it may find a victim, or Bugg-Shash may take the caster instead. Bugg-Shash can only exist in darkness, but bringing the Great Old One into the light will not banish it permanently. Bugg-Shash must remain in this dimension until it has found and feasted upon a victim, after which it will return to its home. It may also have power over the dead, so those dealing with it slhould be especially cautious. Bugg-Shash is known to be one of the servants of Yog-Sothoth. Though often included among the Great Old Ones, some say that it is in fact only one of the parasites that feed off such beings. It is considered especially close in nature to Yibb-Tstll, and both are often classified as the "Drowners", a term of uncertain meaning. [As far as I can tell, Lumley had mentioned Bugg-Shash in "Rising" before he read Sutton's "Demoniacal". Though Sutton's story did not mention BuggShash, Lumley wrote "Kiss" as a sequel which attached the name "Bugg-Shash" to Sutton's monster.] See Cthaat Aquadingen; Mad Berkley's Boo>k; Necronomicon (appendices); Notes on the Cthaat Aquadingen-, Sathlattae. (Elysia, Lumley; "The Kiss of BuggShash", Lumley; "Rising with Surtsey", Lumley (O); The Transition of Titus Crow, Lumley; "Demoniacal", Sutton.)
BUGG-Siioggog TO BYATIS BUGG-SHOGGOG. Mysterious word on the lips of Wilbur Whateley upon his death. Interpretations include that it was part of an invocation to Yog-Sothoth, a generic term for an offspring of Yog-Sothoth, the title of Whateley s brother, or Wilbur's own name in Yian-Ho when the earth was cleared off. A seal of Bug-Shaggog, Grim Sentinel of Ild-Ryn, is employed in the Book of Eibon to ward off those unworthy of its rites. ("The Dunwich Horror", Lovecraft (O); R'lyehian as a Toy Language, Marsh; "The Grey Rite of Azathoth", Pulver; "Acute Spiritual Fear", Price; Necronomicon, Tyson.)
BUOPOTHS.
Shy creatures of the Dreamlands which leave their forests to drink from the river Oukranos. Buopoths appear to be small elephants with brightly-colored hide and ridges on their backs, but in truth they are more closely related to the Rhinogradentia, or snouters. They are especially fond of the root of the tofflebol bush. ("The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath", Lovecraft (O); S. Petersen's Field Guide to Creatures of the Dreamlands, Petersen et. al.)
BYAGOONA.
Being called "the Faceless One" to whom a "Secret Parable" is attributed. Byagoona was born to a creature named "Lu-Kthu" in the "Great Vortex". Byagoona's "Secret Parable" supposedly refers to his arrival on Earth at the time of the lost civilization of Altuas. At that time, Byagoona was known as the Lord of the Dead who would bring the dead to life and then feed upon their essences. He was said to bestow a great boon—those who created a statue of him from their own hands would be remembered forever. In later times, Byagoona became known as Nyarlathotep. See Nyarlathotep. ("The Bane of Byagoona", Ambuehl; "The Faceless God", Bloch; "The Grinning Ghoul", Bloch (O); "The Sphinx of Abormis", Cornford.)
BYAKHEE.
Creatures resembling bats, birds, moles, and rotting corpses, but not quite like any of them. Byakhee were once intelligent inhabitants of a city drawn into Carcosa, an experience which drove their species mad. Some say they made a deal with Hastur to support them in a conflict that led to their home world's destruction. The byakhee now dwell in Carcosa and interstellar space, though they have been known to frequent Yuggoth and other worlds. Byakhee serve the Great Old One Hastur, and are often involved in his rituals. They are also used as mounts that may carry a rider between the stars, provided that they have drunk space-mead. By activating an organ in its abdomen called a hune, the byakhee creates a state that allows it to span interstellar distances so quickly that it may seem to be teleportation to the unknowing spectator. To summon a byakhee, the wizard waits until a night when Aldebaran is above the horizon. Then they blow a special whistle and chant the following words: Ici! Ia! Hastur! Hastur cf'ayak 'vulgtmm, vulgtmm, vulgtmm! Ail Ail Hastur! After this is done, the byakhee will fly down from space to the caster. Usually an Elder Sign is also required. [Call of Cthulhu has taken its description of the byakhee from the creatures in Lovecraft's "The Festival", but it is uncertain whether Lovecraft and Derleth's creations are one and the same.] See Hastur; Legends of the Olden Runes; space-mead. ("The Book of the Gates", Carter; "The House on Curwen Street", Derleth (O); "The Watcher from the Sky", Derleth; Delta Green: Countdown, Detwiller et. al.; Secrets of Japan, Dziesinski; S. Petersen's Field Guide to Cthulhu Monsters, Petersen et. al.; Deities and Demigods Cyclopedia, Ward with Kuntz.)
BYATIS. Great Old One known as "serpent-bearded Byatis" and "the Berkeley Toad." As its titles imply, it appears much like a multi-colored, one-eyed, shimmering toad with a proboscis, crab-like pincers, and a row of tentacles below its mouth. Byatis is capable of hypnotizing those it chooses to prey upon, and with each victim devoured by Byatis, the Great Old One grows larger. According to Prinn's De Vermis Mysteriis, obeisances made to Byatis' image, which the deep ones brought to earth, called up the Great Old One. The serpent-men of Valusia and the people of the lost continent of Mu worshiped Byatis later on. His cult was strongest in Britain, where the people worshiped him as a fertility god, merging his cult with that of the Greek monster Medusa whom traders had brought to them. Many years later, Roman legionnaires occupying Britain's Severn River Valley discovered Byatis behind a stone door in an ancient camp. Horrified by what they saw, they imprisoned it with a five-pointed star before continuing on their way. From time to time, Byatis broke free of its prison to stalk and feast upon its victims, creating the legend of the "Berkeley Toad", a monster whose activities were centered on that town. During the 18th century, the wizard Sir Gilbert Morley purchased the Norman castle where Byatis had been chained. In return for sacrifices, Byatis allowed him to communicate with the other Great Old Ones. One day, after Morley had closed the prison of Byatis, he vanished and was never seen again. Some sources label Byatis as the son of Yig. It has been said that the Greek worshiped Byatis under the name "Hypnos", though the two beings have seemed quite different in appearance and motivations when encountered. See Atlantis; Camside; De Vermis Mysteriis; deep ones; Notes on Witchcraft ...; Revelations of Glaaki; serpent-people. ("The Shambler from the Stars", Bloch (O); "The Room in the Castle", Campbell; "Zoth-Ommog", Carter; "Unseen", Love; "The Beard of Byatis", Price.)