An Annotated “The History of the Necronomicon”
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The Nameless City
• The Nameless City by H. P. Lovecraft January 1921 • hen I drew nigh1 the nameless city I knew Wit was accursed.2 I was travelling in a parched3 and terrible valley under the moon, and afar4 I saw it protruding5 uncannily6 above the sands as parts of a corpse may protrude from an ill-made grave.7 Fear spoke from the age-worn stones of this hoary8 survi- vor of the deluge,9 this great-grandmother of the eldest pyramid; and a viewless aura repelled me and bade me retreat from antique and sinister secrets that no man should see, and no man else had ever dared to see. Remote in the desert of Araby10 lies the nameless city, crumbling and inarticulate, its low walls nearly hid- den by the sands of uncounted ages. It must have been thus before the first stones of Memphis11 were laid, and while the bricks of Babylon12 were yet unbaked. There is no legend so old as to give it a name, or to recall that 1) Near, archaic. 2) Cursed, archaic. 3) Dried. 4) Far away. 5) Sticking out. 6) Uncanny: strange, and mysteriously unsettling (as if supernatu- ral); weird. 7) From “The Festival” (Oct. 1923): “... and I saw that it was a bury- ing-ground where black gravestones stuck ghoulishly through the snow like the decayed fingernails of a gigantic corpse.” 8) White or gray with age. 9) A deluge is a great flood. In this case, he is referring to the bibli- cal flood of Noah as a way of indicating great age. -
GUÍA De Creación De Personaje CTHULHU
Foundation for Archeological Research Guía para nuevos miembros Una guía no-oficial para crear investigadores para el juego de rol “La Llamada de Cthulhu” ” publicado en España por Edge Entertainment bajo licencia de Chaosium. Para ser utilizado principalmente en “Los Misterios de Bloomfield”-“The Bloomfield Mysteries”, una adaptación de “La Sombra de Saros”, campaña escrita por Xabier Ugalde, para su uso en las aulas de Primaria en las áreas de Ciencias Sociales, Lengua Castellana y Lengua Extranjera: Inglés Adaptado para Educación Primaria por: ÓscarRecio Coll [email protected] https://jueducacion.com/ El Copyright de las ilustraciones de La Llamada de Cthulhu y de La Sombra de Saros además de otras presentes en este material así como la propiedad intelectual/comercial/empresarial y derechos de las mismas son exclusiva de sus autores y/o de las compañías y editoriales que sean propietarias o hayan comprado los citados derechos sobre las obras y posean sobre ellas el derecho a que se las elimine de esta publicación de tal manera que sus derechos no queden vulnerados en ninguna forma o modo que pudiera contravenir su autoría para particulares y/o empresas que las hayan utilizado con fines comerciales y/o empresariales. Esta compilación no tiene ningún uso comercial ni ánimo de lucro y está destinada exclusivamente a su utilización dentro del ámbito escolar y su finalidad es completamente didáctica como material de desarrollo y apoyo para la dinamización de contenidos en las diferentes áreas que componen la Educación Primaria. Bienvenidos/as a la F.A.R. (Fundación de Investigaciones Arqueológicas), en este sencillo manual encontrarás las instrucciones para ser parte de nuestra fundación y completar tu registro como miembro. -
Queer Geometry and Higher Dimensions: Mathematics in the Fiction of H.P. Lovecraft
Queer Geometry and Higher Dimensions: Mathematics in the fiction of H.P. Lovecraft Daniel M. Look St. Lawrence University Introduction My cynicism and skepticism are increasing, and from an entirely new cause – the Einstein theory. The latest eclipse observations seem to place this system among the facts which cannot be dismissed, and assumedly it removes the last hold which reality or the universe can have on the independent mind. All is chance, accident, and ephemeral illusion - a fly may be greater than Arcturus, and Durfee Hill may surpass Mount Everest - assuming them to be removed from the present planet and differently environed in the continuum of space-time. All the cosmos is a jest, and fit to be treated only as a jest, and one thing is as true as another. 1 Howard Philips Lovecraft lived in a time of great scientific and mathematical advancement. The late 1800s to the early 1900s saw the discovery of x-rays, the identification of the electron, work on the structure of the atom, breakthroughs in the mathematical exploration of higher dimensions and alternate geometries, and, of course, Einstein's work on relativity. From his work on relativity, Einstein postulated that rays of light could be bent by celestial objects with a large enough gravitational pull. In 1919 and 1922 measurements were made during two eclipses that added support to this notion. This left Lovecraft unsettled, as seen in the above quote from a 1923 letter to James F. Morton. Lovecraft's distress is that it seems we can no longer trust our primary means of understanding the world around us. -
Arkham House Forthcoming List.Wpd
F O R T H C O M I N G P R O J E C T S 2011–2014 2012 The Mission Statement On the Road to Cinnabar: The Fiction of Edward Bryant, Consilio et Sapientia 1970-2010 Collected and edited by Jean-Philippe Gervais. In 1939, two successful authors, August Derleth and Donald Cover and internal art by Laurie Fraser Manifold. Wandrei, decided to publish a hardcover collection of short Hardcover edition limited to 1000. ISBN: 978-0-87954-191-9 stories by their late friend and mentor, H.P. Lovecraft. Since the author’s death in 1937, he was considered by many to be The Arkham Garland: An Anthology of Macabre Fiction the finest horror writer of the 20th century, yet no mainstream A active anthology. Introduced by David Drake. publisher was willing to publish a volume of his short fiction. Cover and endpaper artist John Linton. (See over.) Derleth and Wandrei named their new press Arkham House Hardcover edition limited to 1,000 copies. after the eerie New England village where most of Lovecraft’s ISBN: 978-0-87954-189-6 stories took place. Over the next seven decades, Arkham House published the best horror and supernatural fiction in The Ghostly Fiction of H. Russell Wakefield the world. A brother-in-arms press, Mycroft & Moran, issued Cover artist to be announced. Introduced by Barbara Roden mysteries. with Mystery Commentary by Douglas Greene Hardcover edition limited to 1,000 copies. 2010 – Progress Report ISBN: 978-0-87954-190-2 The Arkham Sampler is selling very well, and the edition is half sold out. -
Pandemic: Reign of Cthulhu Rulebook
Beings of ancient and bizarre intelligence, known as Old Ones, are stirring within their vast cosmic prisons. If they awake into the world, it will unleash an age of madness, chaos, and destruction upon the very fabric of reality. Everything you know and love will be destroyed! You are cursed with knowledge that the “sleeping masses” cannot bear: that this Evil exists, and that it must be stopped at all costs. Shadows danced all around the gas street light above you as the pilot flame sputtered a weak yellow light. Even a small pool of light is better than total darkness, you think to yourself. You check your watch again for the third time in the last few minutes. Where was she? Had something happened? The sound of heels clicking on pavement draws your eyes across the street. Slowly, as if the darkness were a cloak around her, a woman comes into view. Her brown hair rests in a neat bun on her head and glasses frame a nervous face. Her hands hold a large manila folder with the words INNSMOUTH stamped on the outside in blocky type lettering. “You’re late,” you say with a note of worry in your voice, taking the folder she is handing you. “I… I tried to get here as soon as I could.” Her voice is tight with fear, high pitched and fast, her eyes moving nervously without pause. “You know how to fix this?” The question in her voice cuts you like a knife. “You can… make IT go away?!” You wince inwardly as her voice raises too loudly at that last bit, a nervous edge of hysteria creeping into her tone. -
This Paper Examines the Role of Media Technologies in the Horror
Monstrous and Haunted Media: H. P. Lovecraft and Early Twentieth-Century Communications Technology James Kneale his paper examines the role of media technologies in the horror fic- tion of the American author H. P. Lovecraft (1890-1937). Historical geographies of media must cover more than questions of the distri- Tbution and diffusion of media objects, or histories of media representations of space and place. Media forms are both durable and portable, extending and mediating social relations in time and space, and as such they allow us to explore histories of time-space experience. After exploring recent work on the closely intertwined histories of science and the occult in late nine- teenth-century America and Europe, the discussion moves on to consider the particular case of those contemporaneous media technologies which became “haunted” almost as soon as they were invented. In many ways these hauntings echo earlier responses to the printed word, something which has been overlooked by historians of recent media. Developing these ideas I then suggest that media can be monstrous because monstrosity is centrally bound up with representation. Horrific and fantastic fictions lend themselves to explorations of these ideas because their narratives revolve around attempts to witness impossible things and to prove their existence, tasks which involve not only the human senses but those technologies de- signed to extend and improve them: the media. The remainder of the paper is comprised of close readings of several of Lovecraft’s stories which sug- gest that mediation allowed Lovecraft to reveal monstrosity but also to hold it at a distance, to hide and to distort it. -
I STEVE JACKSON GAMES ,; Ancient Howor Crawls Into the Dark Future
I STEVE JACKSON GAMES ,; Ancient Howor Crawls into the Dark Future By Chris W. McCubbin Edited by Scott D. Haring Cover by Albert Slark Illustrated by Dan Smith GURPS System Design by Steve Jackson Scott Haring, Managing Editor Page Layout, Typography and Interior Production by Rick Martin Cover Production by Jeff Koke Art Direction by Lillian Butler Print Buying by Andrew Hartsock and Monica Stephens Dana Blankenship, Sales Manager Thanks to Dm Smith Additional Material by David Ellis Dickerson Bibliographic information compiled by Chris Jarocha-Emst Proofreading by Spike Y. Jones Playtesters: Bob Angell, Sean Barrett, Kaye Barry, C. Milton Beeghly, James Cloos, Mike DeSanto, Morgan Goulet, David G. Haren, Dave Magnenat, Virginia L. Nelson, James Rouse, Karen Sakamoto, Michael Sullivan and Craig Tsuchiya GURPS and the all-seeing pyramid are registered trademarks of Steve Jackson Games Incorporated. Pyramid and the names of all products published by Steve Jackson Games Incorporated are registered trademarks or trademarks of Steve Jackson Games Incorporated, or used under license. Cull of Cihulhu is a trademark of Chaosium Inc. and is used by permission. Elder Sign art (p. 55) used by permission of Chaosium Inc. GURPS CihuIhuPunk is copyright 0 1995 by Steve Jackson Games Incorporated. All rights reserved. Printed in the U.S.A ISBN 1-55634-288-8 Introduction ................................ 4 Central and South America ..27 Hacker ..................................43 About GURPS ............................4 The Pacific Rim ...................27 -
Catalogue XV 116 Rare Works of Speculative Fiction
Catalogue XV 116 Rare Works Of Speculative Fiction About Catalogue XV Welcome to our 15th catalogue. It seems to be turning into an annual thing, given it was a year since our last catalogue. Well, we have 116 works of speculative fiction. Some real rarities in here, and some books that we’ve had before. There’s no real theme, beyond speculative fiction, so expect a wide range from early taproot texts to modern science fiction. Enjoy. About Us We are sellers of rare books specialising in speculative fiction. Our company was established in 2010 and we are based in Yorkshire in the UK. We are members of ILAB, the A.B.A. and the P.B.F.A. To Order You can order via telephone at +44(0) 7557 652 609, online at www.hyraxia.com, email us or click the links. All orders are shipped for free worldwide. Tracking will be provided for the more expensive items. You can return the books within 30 days of receipt for whatever reason as long as they’re in the same condition as upon receipt. Payment is required in advance except where a previous relationship has been established. Colleagues – the usual arrangement applies. Please bear in mind that by the time you’ve read this some of the books may have sold. All images belong to Hyraxia Books. You can use them, just ask us and we’ll give you a hi-res copy. Please mention this catalogue when ordering. • Toft Cottage, 1 Beverley Road, Hutton Cranswick, UK • +44 (0) 7557 652 609 • • [email protected] • www.hyraxia.com • Aldiss, Brian - The Helliconia Trilogy [comprising] Spring, Summer and Winter [7966] London, Jonathan Cape, 1982-1985. -
The Unspeakable Oath Issues 1 & 2 Page 1
The Unspeakable Oath issues 1 & 2 Page 1 Introduction to The Annotated Unspeakable Oath ©1993 John Tynes This is a series of freely-distributable text files that presents the textual contents of early issues of THE UNSPEAKABLE OATH, the world’s premiere digest for Chaosium’s CALL OF CTHULHU ™ role-playing game. Each file contains the nearly-complete text from a given issue. Anything missing is described briefly with the file, and is missing either due to copyright problems or because the information has been or will be reprinted in a commercial product. Everything in this file is copyrighted by the original authors, and each section carries that copyright. This file may be freely distributed provided that no money is charged whatsoever for its distribution. This file may only be distributed if it is intact, whole, and unchanged. All copyright notices must be retained. Modified versions may not be distributed — the contents belong to the creators, so please respect their work. Abusing my position as editor and instigator of the magazine and this project, I have taken the liberty of adding comments to some of the contents where I thought I had something interesting or historically worth preserving to say. Yeah, right! – John Tynes, editor-in-chief of Pagan Publishing The Unspeakable Oath issues 1 & 2 Page 2 Table of Contents Introduction to The Annotated Unspeakable Oath...................................................................................2 Introduction to TUO 1.........................................................................................................................4 -
Cthulhu Monsters a Field Observer's Handbook of Preternatural Entities
--- S. PETERSEN'S FIELD GUIDE TO Cthulhu Monsters A Field Observer's Handbook Of Preternatural Entities Paintings and Descriptions From the Cthulhu Mythos As Created by H.P. Lovecraft, With Augmentations for Today Sandy Petersen Tom Sullivan Lynn Willis with Peter Dannseys E.C. Fallworth L.N. Isinwyll Ivan Mustoll Chaosium Inc. Publication 5105 The 27 Most Frequently Encountered Monsters Howard Phillips Lovecraft 1890 - 1937 t PETERSEN'S Field Guide To Cthulhu :Monsters A Field Observer's Handbook Of Preternatural Entities Sandy Petersen conception and text TOIn Sullivan 27 original paintings, most other drawings Lynn ~illis project, additional text, editorial, layout, production Chaosiurn Inc. 1988 The FIELD GUIDe is p «blished by Chaosium IIIC . • PETERSEN'S FIELD GUIDE TO CfHUU/U MONSTERS is copyrighl e1988 try Chaosium IIIC.; all rights reserved. _ Similarities between characters in lhe FIELD GUIDE and persons living or dead are strictly coincidental . • Brian Lumley first created the ChJhoniwu . • H.P. Lovecraft's works are copyright e 1963, 1964, 1965 by August Derleth and are quoted for purposes of ilIustraJion_ • IflCide ntal monster silhouelles are by Lisa A. Free or Tom SU/livQII, and are copyright try them. Ron Leming drew the illustraJion of H.P. Lovecraft QIId tlu! sketclu!s on p. 25. _ Except in this p«blicaJion and relaJed advertising, artwork. origillalto the FIELD GUIDE remains the property of the artist; all rights reserved . • Tire reproductwn of material within this book. for the purposes of personal. or corporaJe profit, try photographic, electronic, or other methods of retrieval, is prohibited . • Address questions WId commel11s cOlICerning this book. -
Mi-Go 1 Mi-Go
Mi-go 1 Mi-go An interpretation of the Mi-Go by Ruud Dirven Mi-go ("The Abominable Ones") is a Himalayan nickname for a race of extraterrestrials in the Cthulhu Mythos created by H. P. Lovecraft and others. The name was first applied to the creatures in Lovecraft's short story "The Whisperer in Darkness" (1931), elaborating on a reference to 'What fungi sprout in Yuggoth' in his sonnet cycle Fungi from Yuggoth (1929–30) which described the contrasting vegetation on alien dream-worlds. Summary The "Mi-go" are large, pinkish, fungoid, crustacean-like entities the size of a man; where a head would be, they have a "convoluted ellipsoid" composed of pyramided, fleshy rings and covered in antennae. According to two reports in the original short story, their bodies consist of a form of matter that does not occur naturally on Earth; for this reason, they do not register on ordinary photographic film. They are capable of going into suspended animation until softened and reheated by the sun or some other source of heat. They are about five feet (1.5 m) long, and their crustacean-like bodies bear numerous sets of paired appendages. They possess a pair of membranous bat-like wings which are used to fly through the "aether" of outer space (a scientific concept which is now discredited). The wings do not function well on Earth. Several other races in Lovecraft's Mythos also have wings like these. The Mi-go can transport humans from Earth to Pluto (and beyond) and back again by removing the subject's brain and placing it into a "brain cylinder", which can be attached to external devices to allow it to see, hear, and speak. -
The Weird and Monstrous Names of HP Lovecraft Christopher L Robinson HEC-Paris, France
names, Vol. 58 No. 3, September, 2010, 127–38 Teratonymy: The Weird and Monstrous Names of HP Lovecraft Christopher L Robinson HEC-Paris, France Lovecraft’s teratonyms are monstrous inventions that estrange the sound patterns of English and obscure the kinds of meaning traditionally associ- ated with literary onomastics. J.R.R. Tolkien’s notion of linguistic style pro- vides a useful concept to examine how these names play upon a distance from and proximity to English, so as to give rise to specific historical and cultural connotations. Some imitate the sounds and forms of foreign nomen- clatures that hold “weird” connotations due to being linked in the popular imagination with kabbalism and decadent antiquity. Others introduce sounds-patterns that lie outside English phonetics or run contrary to the phonotactics of the language to result in anti-aesthetic constructions that are awkward to pronounce. In terms of sense, teratonyms invite comparison with the “esoteric” words discussed by Jean-Jacques Lecercle, as they dimi- nish or obscure semantic content, while augmenting affective values and heightening the reader’s awareness of the bodily production of speech. keywords literary onomastics, linguistic invention, HP Lovecraft, twentieth- century literature, American literature, weird fiction, horror fiction, teratology Text Cult author H.P. Lovecraft is best known as the creator of an original mythology often referred to as the “Cthulhu Mythos.” Named after his most popular creature, this mythos is elaborated throughout Lovecraft’s poetry and fiction with the help of three “devices.” The first is an outlandish array of monsters of extraterrestrial origin, such as Cthulhu itself, described as “vaguely anthropoid [in] outline, but with an octopus-like head whose face was a mass of feelers, a scaly, rubbery-looking body, prodigious claws on hind and fore feet, and long, narrow wings behind” (1963: 134).