Derlette, Comte

D'ERLETTE, COMTE. Title of eccentric French nobleman to whom Cultes des Goules is attributed. (Erlette was a place located near Vyones in France.) Three different individuals bearing this title may have been the author: 1) Paul Henri d'Erlette, of whom nothing else is known. This name is most likely false. ("The Adventure of the Six Silver Spiders", Derleth (O).) 2) Antoine-Marie Augusin de Montmorency-les-Roches (1635-c. 1693), a young man who was interested in the pre-Christian rites practiced by the natives of southern France, especially the Pyrenees. If this hypothesis is correct, Cultes des Goules was published around 1665. Antione-Marie made himself quite unpopular due to his introducing several members of the nobility to the occult, not to mention his anti-Catholic sentiments. He vanished in 1681, most likely as a result of a royal edict, and probably died in prison some years later. (Ex Libris Miskatonici, Stanley (O).) 3) Francois-Honore Balfour (1678-1724), an extremely eccentric individual who may have been a member of a Parisian cannibal cult. In 1703, the Comte secluded himself until his son found his mutilated body on his estate in 1724. According to his wishes, the Comte was placed in a sealed casket and buried in the family vault. ("Darkness, My Name Is", Bertin (O); Keeper's Compendium, Herber.) 4) The Comte never existed, and the title is a pseudonym for a real author. Once again, this is of dubious origin. (Peace, Wolfe (O).) Whatever the case, the d'Erlettes were forced to flee to Bavaria at the time of the French Revolution, there changing the family name to Derleth. The last titled member of the line died in 1919.

[As with "Cuites des Goules", it is uncertain whether this individual was invented by Bloch, Derleth, or Lovecraft, so I have listed the first story appearance. The Comte d'Erlette was supposedly a real title held by Derleth's ancestors, though no one has found evidence of it.] See Cuites des Goules. ("The Suicide in the Study", Bloch (O); "The Adventure of the Six Silver Spiders", Derleth; "The Black Island", Derleth.)