Cthulhu Mythos Encyclopedia Read online

  A tale has been heard of a king in Carcosa whose speech was so horrific that it may have led to battle. Whether this was the King in Yellow is unknown.

  See Brothers of the Yellow Sign; Celaeno Fragments; Hastur; Nyarlathotep (Queen in Red, Thing in the Yellow Mask); Yellow Sign. (“More Light”, Blish; “The Silent Land”, Chambers; “The Yellow Sign”, Chambers (O); Delta Green, Detwiller, Glancy, and Tynes; Delta Green: Countdown, Detwiller et. al.; “The King, in: Yellow”, Keene; “Tatterdemalion”, Love, Ross, and Watts; “Sosostris”, Tynes; “The Peace That Will Not Come”, Worthy.)

  KINGSPORT. Town north of Salem and Arkham on the coast of Massachusetts.

  In 1639, settlers from southern England and the Channel Islands founded Kingsport, and the town quickly became a center for shipbuilding and overseas trade. In 1692, witchcraft fever struck the town, and four reputed witches were hung. Thirty years later, a raid was made on the Congregational Church in response to rumors of pagan rituals being performed beneath it, and over thirty people were taken into custody. During the Revolutionary War, many of Kingsport’s merchants fought as privateers on the Colonial side, leading to a short British blockade of the town. During the 19th century, the sea trade in Kingsport declined and fishing became the port’s major industry. At this time, Kingsport’s economy steadily faded until the first years of the 20th century.

  Today, Kingsport is a small seaside town in which the primary source of revenue is tourism. Kingsport boasts a large artistic community, and sailing and sightseeing are popular among its visitors. One point of especial interest is the Strange High House in the Mist, a one-story structure that stands atop one of the highest of the nearby cliffs.

  See Elton, Basil; Martin’s Beach; Miskatonic River; Necrolatry; Necronomicon (appendices); Ponape Scripture; Tulzscha; Waite, Asenath. (“The Festival”, Lovecraft (O); “The Strange High House in the Mist”, Lovecraft; “The Terrible Old Man”, Lovecraft; Kingsport, Ross.)

  KIRAN. City with terraces of jasper which lies on the banks of the Oukranos. Near the riverside sits a seven-towered temple that only the king of Ilek-Vad may enter.

  See Ilek-Vad; Oukranos. (“The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath”, Lovecraft (O).)

  KIROWAN, (PROFESSOR) JOHN (also STANLEY?). Expert on the occult. Kirowan was the black sheep of an Irish noble line, one of the fourteen families that ruled Galway in ancient times. He studied occultism in Budapest with a Yosef Vrolok, and he fell in love with a woman there who died soon after due to a curse, a tragedy that Kirowan never overcame. Seeking revenge against the wizard who had killed her, he travelled to Zimbabwe, Mongolia, and the South Pacific to learn occult lore. He was so shocked by what he discovered that he gave up practice forever and returned to his home near San Francisco. There he took up teaching anthropology and attending the Wanderers’ Club. Rumor has it that he left one hundred million dollars to Duke University upon his death to establish an occult investigation team.

  During this period, a “Stanley Kirowan” edited a controversial magazine called “The Cloven Hoof”, which published articles, poetry, and stories of the occult. It is uncertain whether there is a link between this person and John Kirowan, though John was a friend of its one-time editor, Mr. Clemants.

  (“Screaming in Silence”, Henderson and Gehweiler; “The Children of the Night”, Howard (O); “Dermond’s Bane”, Howard; “Dig Me No Grave”, Howard; “The Haunter of the Ring”, Howard; Chronicle of the Black Labyrinth, Inabinet.)

  KISH. 1) Catacombs where the Pharaoh Nephren-Ka held the Shining Trapezohedron and the mysterious mirror later connected with Nitocris. After he was dethroned, the Black Pharaoh dug these catacombs in the space of only a few days and hiding there until the time of his resurgence. It was in these labyrinths that he did the horrible deed that caused later generations to strike his name from every monument.

  [This “Kish” is probably not the same as the Sumerian city of the same name, as Egypt never controlled the area in which the remains of that city are located.]

  See Hadoth; Kish, Sign of; Nephren-Ka; Nitocris; Shining Trapezohedron. (“The History of Nephren-Ka”, Harris; “At the Mountains of Madness”, Lovecraft (O); “The Mirror of Nitocris”, Lumley.)

  2) High priest of the city of Sarnath. When Sarnath was young, this holy man railed against the people of Ib, inciting the people of Sarnath to destroy them. Afterward, the Elder Gods took him away to live with them.

  A thousand years later, a prophet claiming to be Kish came to Sarnath. He called upon people to escape the city and its doom, but few believed him. Just before his city’s destruction, Kish and his congregation escaped the city, bearing with them the star-stones of Mnar. It may be that Kish and his followers escaped to Egypt, constructing the catacombs that bear the hierophant’s name. Before his death, Kish wrote a book called the “Testament of Kish” (now lost) which told of Sarnath’s destruction. A collection of his sayings later became part of the Pnakotic Manuscripts.

  See Book of Eibon; Elder Sign; Kish, Sign of; Necronomicon (appendices). (“The Book of Dismissals”, Carter; “Zoth-Ommog”, Carter (O); “The Shunpike”, Price.)

  3) God worshiped in a temple close to the city of Shand, which may lie in the Dreamlands. (“The Keeper of the Flame”, Myers (O).)

  KISH, SIGN OF. Another name for the Elder Sign. Its name is derived from that of Kish, high priest of Sarnath, who used the Sign to escape his doomed city. It may also appear as a sign made with the hand.

  See Elder Sign; Kish. (“Zoth-Ommog”, Carter; The Trail of Cthulhu, Derleth (O); Necronomicon, Hay.)

  KITAB AL-AZIF. See Al Azif.

  KITAB RASUL AL-AKBARIN. See Rasul Al-Akbarin.

  KLARKASH-TON. High priest of Atlantis credited with preserving the Commoriom myth-cycle of Hyperborea. He is believed to have been a high priest of Tsathoggua. Favored by the king of Atlantis, he met his end after an experiment involving astral projection and the wives and concubines of the most prominent men of the land.

  In the Sussex Manuscript, Klarkash-Ton is said to be Yog-Sothoth himself. This might mean that Klarkash-Ton was a manifestation of the Outer God, as it was revealed to Randolph Carter by Umr at’Tawil. The Sussex Manuscript also states that Klarkash-Ton was the original speaker of Alhazred’s famous quote (“That is not dead …”).

  [“Klarkash-Ton” was actually Lovecraft’s joke-name for his friend Clark Ashton Smith.]

  See Commoriom; Hyperborea; Luveh-Keraphf. (Selected Letters III, Lovecraft (O); “Through the Gates of the Silver Key”, Lovecraft; “The Whisperer in Darkness”, Lovecraft; The Sussex Manuscript, Pelton; “The Incubus of Atlantis”, Price.)

  KLED. Dreamlands jungle near the river Oukranos. This orchid-filled forest contains many ivory palaces once inhabited by forgotten kings. Though the gods have preserved these temples for their future needs, the merchants of the elephant caravans who pass them do not stop, for fear of what guards them.

  See Yibb-Tstll. (“The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath”, Lovecraft; “The Silver Key”, Lovecraft (O).)

  K’LU-VHO. See Glyu-Vho.

  K’N-YAN (also XINAIAN). Blue-lit cavern beneath Oklahoma. This immense underground land contains an amazing variety of plant and animal life, as well as a highly developed though decadent civilization of human-like beings.

  The natives of K’n-yan appear to the untrained eye much like the Native Americans of the surface region; only their curious garb and tools set them apart from the surface-dwellers. According to their legend, they came down to earth with their god Tulu (or Cthulhu) from the Black Nebula of Yl’glhuh, though many consider this to be untrue. (These people may have been the ancestors of the Aztec people, since that tribe’s mythology told of their origin in caverns to the north of their lands.) The underground dwellers also possess three other abilities unavailable to those on the surface. First, they use telepathy for communication, with spoken language almost being a thing of the past. Second, they are able to dematerialize themselves (and other objects) so that they
may pass through solid objects almost effortlessly. Finally, the people of K’n-yan have the secret of immortality, so that death is an almost unheard-of occurrence among them.

  The people of K’n-yan cut themselves off from the upper world after the sinking of Atlantis and Lemuria. At one time they boasted many great works of art, technology, and science, but the last recorded visitor to K’n-yan, Pánfilo Zamacona, reported that the inhabitant’s civilization had stagnated, and the people had forgotten much of their former science. The people of the land put more value on experiencing new sensations than on their former pursuits. They still possessed many technological artifacts, however, such as disintegrating-ray projectors and various forms of transportation, which they used in their day-to-day life.

  According to Zamacoma, most of the population of K’n-yan lived in the central city of Tsath, whose inhabitants spent much of their time looking for novel experiences and emotions. To help them achieve these aims, they held gladiatorial games, conducted ritual torture, dreamed, experimented with intoxicating substances, and held religious ceremonies to various deities. Of these gods, Yig and Tulu (Cthulhu) were the most important, but they also held rites in honor of Hastur, Shub-Niggurath, Ghatanothoa, Nug, and Yeb. At one time, most of K’n-yan’s people revered Tsathoggua, but after they discovered the true nature of his worship, they destroyed all of his temples and images.

  Several passage connecting K’n-yan with the surface. Once in a while, a surface-dweller finds their way into the world of K’n-yan. The natives usually treat these people kindly, but forbid them from leaving the caverns. In more recent years, the people of K’n-yan have posted guards at these entrances to discourage the people on the surface from entering their land.

  We have heard nothing of K’n-yan since the sixteenth century, and if the older accounts are any indication, it would be unwise to investigate and remind its people of the surface world.

  See Brothers of the Yellow Sign; Cthulhu; Ghatanothoa; gyaa-yothn; Hastur; Nug and Yeb; Old Ones; Sansu; Tsath; Tsathoggua; y’m-bhi; Zamacona y Nuñez, Pánfilio de; Zuchequon. (“The Mound”, Lovecraft and Bishop (O); Keeper’s Compendium, Herber; Selected Letters III, Lovecraft; “Out of the Aeons”, Lovecraft and Heald; “The Epistles of Eibon”, Price and Cornford; “The Cthulhu Mythos in Mesoamerican Religion”, Tierney.)

  KN’AA. Kingdom of the sunken continent of Mu, mentioned in von Junzt’s Unaussprechlichen Kulten as the original site of Ghatanothoa’s worship on earth.

  See Ghatanothoa; Yaddith-Gho. (“Out of the Aeons”, Lovecraft and Heald (O).)

  KNYGATHIN ZHAUM. Outlaw of Hyperborea who was the child of Voormi and Sfatlicllp. Recruiting among his fellow Voormis, he assembled a band of robbers and murderers who terrorized the land until the constabulary of Commoriom found him. Due to the excessive plasticity of his body, the headsman Athammaus found it impossible to carry out Knygathin’s execution, and Knygathin’s depredations continued. These events unnerved the people of Commoriom so much that they eventually fled the city.

  (“Family Tree of the Gods”, Smith; “The Testament of Athammaus”, Smith (O).)

  KORVAZ. See Cthugha.

  KOTH. 1) Black cyclopean city. No one knows precisely where this city is, but it is possibly that great city of the gugs sometimes seen by dreamers.

  A Dark Lord whose face is hidden resides in Koth; this might be Nyarlathotep, but this has not been confirmed. If a mortal comes to the city and beseeches him, the Dark Lord may bestow great riches and a lifespan of hundreds of years upon the petitioner. At the end of the person’s life, the Dark Lord takes away their body and soul in exchange for services rendered. Only one mortal is known to have made the bargain.

  See Koth, Tower of. (“The Book of the Gates”, Carter; “Dig Me No Grave”, Howard (O).)

  2) Being who lives in the Dreamlands and is known as the “God of Dreams.” He may also be the Dark Lord of the city of Koth. (“H. P. Lovecraft: The Gods”, Carter; “Dig Me No Grave”, Howard (O).)

  3) Kingdom of the Hyborian Age founded by the Hyborians themselves. It extended across what is today the Mediterranean Sea and Italy, and its people became the Etruscans. See Acheron. (“The Hyborian Age”, Howard; “The Scarlet Citadel”, Howard (O).)

  See Koth, Sign of; Uoht.

  KOTH, SIGN OF. Sigil found on the Tower of Koth in the City of the Gugs and at various physical gates from the waking world to the lands of dream. It may be useful in sealing other gates as well, as it prevents certain nightmares from entering the waking world. If meditated upon, the Sign may be used to project one’s spirit to faraway worlds. Those who view it in a state of fear may find that the world around them alters.

  According to some sources, the Yellow Sign is a specialized representation of the Sign of Koth.

  See Koth; Koth, Tower of; Uoht; Yellow Sign. (“Shaggai”, Carter; The Necronomicon: The Book of Dead Names, Hay; “Terror Rate”, Konaka; “The Case of Charles Dexter Ward”, Lovecraft; “The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath”, Lovecraft (O); “The Lurker in the Crypt”, Miller; House of the Toad, Tierney.)

  KOTH, TOWER OF. Structure which stands in the City of the Gugs in the Dreamlands. The Tower links the Underworld with the upper lands, but the Sign of Koth at its base reminds the gugs of their covenant. Kenneth Grant has linked this with the word “Kotha”, meaning “Thou hollow one”, which appears in Crowley’s writing and suggests certain sex rituals.

  (Nightside of Eden, Grant; “The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath”, Lovecraft (O).)

  KOTH-SERAPIS. Wizard of ancient times. Some say he lived in the kingdom of Acheron, while others maintain that he was the last high priest of Gol-Goroth in Stygia. Koth-Serapis used unholy means to achieve immortality, though in what form he did so is questionable. His knowledge is collected in the Black Rituals of Koth-Serapis.

  (“Black Eons”, Howard and Price (O); “The Burrower Beneath”, Price.)

  KRYPTICON. Book written by Silander, a Greek. Miskatonic holds an illuminated manuscript of this book. Nothing is known of its contents.

  (Ex Libris Miskatonici, Stanley; The New Adam, Weinbaum (O).)

  KSAKSA-KLUTH. See Cxaxukluth.

  KTHANID. The mightiest of all the Elder Gods. Kthanid is a tentacled horror much like Cthulhu, differing in appearance only in his golden, peaceful eyes. This Elder God dwells in Elysia, where he presides over the entire land from his iceberg palace. Kthanid bears a special hatred for the Great Old Ones, who killed his mate and children while he lay sleeping.

  See Elder Gods; Tiania. (The Transition of Titus Crow, Lumley (O); Nightmare’s Disciple, Pulver.)

  KTHULHUT. See Cthulhu.

  K’THUN, a being whose odor or vapor is considered particularly abhorrent. Mating with Noth-Yidik, it spawned the hideous Hounds of Tindalos.

  See Noth-Yidik; Zarnak, Anton. (“The Madness Out of Time”, Carter; “The Horror in the Museum”, Lovecraft and Heald (O).)

  KTYNGA. Comet near the star Arcturus. It will journey past our own world some four centuries from now. This body possesses some peculiar traits: It travels between solar systems instead of maintaining a steady orbit around a star, makes inexplicable changes in its trajectory, and may at times move faster than the speed of light.

  When more closely observed, the comet seems to have a curious reddish-blue tinge and an extremely high surface temperature. Upon Ktynga rests a tremendous building which houses the fire-being Fthaggua and his fire vampires, who guide the comet and use it to transport themselves between the stars.

  See fire vampires; Fthaggua. (“Zoth-Ommog”, Carter; “The Fire-Vampires”, Wandrei (O).)

  KUEN-YUIN. Cabal of Chinese sorcerers who worship Cthulhu. Each member of the Kuen-Yuin separates himself into two bodies, one of which is covered with Aklo inscriptions and pierced with numerous needles. The other may travel about at will, doing the will of the god. They are said to control a hundred million people in China from their capital city of Yian. In one recent scheme, the Kuen-Yuin attempted to destroy the U.S.
economy through the manufacture of gold.

  (“The Maker of Moons”, Chambers (O); Cthulhu Live: Lost Souls, Salmon et. al.).

  (KING) KULL. (100000 BC?) Barbarian from the continent of Atlantis. After Kull’s tribe cast him out, Lemurians captured him and forced him to serve on a galley for two years. He later became an outlaw until captured by Valusians, who made him into a gladiator and later a soldier. With the support of the foreign mercenaries in Valusia’s army, Kull killed the old king and took the throne. With the aid of his companion Brule the Spear-slayer, he beat off the serpent people’s attempt to retake their ancestral kingdom.

  See Shining Trapezohedron; Valusia. (“By This Axe I Rule!”, Howard; “Exile of Atlantis”, Howard; “Kings of the Night”, Howard; “The Shadow Kingdom”, Howard (O).)

  (KING) KURANES. Former author and king of Celephaïs. Kuranes (whose real-world name is unknown) at one time lived at Trevor Towers in Innsmouth, but fell on hard times and moved to London. He was one of the world’s foremost dreamers; he created the city of Celephaïs at an early age, and was one of three dreamers to visit the court of Azathoth (and the only one to return sane). He wrote of his dreams, but ceased to do so when others laughed at his works. Kuranes met his earthly end when he fell over the cliffs of Innsmouth, but he lives on in the Dreamlands as the king of Celephaïs and Serannian. Recently, Kuranes has begun to yearn for the waking world that he will never see again.

  See Celephaïs; Dreamlands; Eldin; Ooth-Nargai; Serannian; S’ngac. (“Celephaïs”, Lovecraft (O); “The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath”, Lovecraft.)

  KUTHCHEMES. City of the emperor of Acheron that lay near the present-day site of the Suez Canal. Invaders destroyed it, and for much of the later Hyborian Age, it lay in ruins. Nearby is the Black Mountain beneath which, some claim, Yog-Sothoth was once imprisoned.