The Call of Cthulhu

By H. P. Lovecraft

(Found Among the Papers of the Late Francis Wayland Thurston, of Boston)

Of such great po ers or !eings there may !e concei"a!ly a sur"i"al # # # a sur"i"al of a hugely remote
period hen # # # consciousness as manifested, perhaps, in shapes and forms long since ithdra n !efore the tide of ad"ancing humanity # # # forms of hich poetry and legend alone ha"e caught a flying memory and called them gods, monsters, mythical !eings of all sorts and $inds# # # #% &Algernon Blac$ ood#

'# The Horror in Clay. The most merciful thing in the orld, ' thin$, is the ina!ility of the human mind to correlate all its contents# We li"e on a placid island of ignorance in the midst of !lac$ seas of infinity, and it as not meant that e should "oyage far# The sciences, each straining in its o n direction, ha"e hitherto harmed us little( !ut some day the piecing together of dissociated $no ledge ill open up such terrifying "istas of reality, and of our frightful position therein, that e shall either go mad from the re"elation or flee from the deadly light into the peace and safety of a ne dar$ age# Theosophists ha"e guessed at the a esome grandeur of the cosmic cycle herein our orld and human race form transient incidents# They ha"e hinted at strange sur"i"als in terms hich ould free)e the !lood if not mas$ed !y a !land optimism# But it is not from them that there came the single glimpse of for!idden aeons hich chills me hen ' thin$ of it and maddens me hen ' dream of it# That glimpse, li$e all dread glimpses of truth, flashed out from an accidental piecing together of separated things&in this case an old ne spaper item and the notes of a dead professor# ' hope that no one else ill accomplish this piecing out( certainly, if ' li"e, ' shall ne"er $no ingly supply a lin$ in so hideous a chain# ' thin$ that the professor, too, intended to $eep silent regarding the part he $ne , and that he ould ha"e destroyed his notes had not sudden death sei)ed him# *y $no ledge of the thing !egan in the inter of +,-./-0 ith the death of my grand1uncle 2eorge 2ammell Angell, Professor 3meritus of 4emitic Languages in Bro n 5ni"ersity, Pro"idence, 6hode 'sland# Professor Angell as idely $no n as an authority on ancient inscriptions, and had fre7uently !een resorted to !y the heads of prominent museums( so that his passing at the age of ninety1t o may !e recalled !y many# Locally, interest as intensified !y the o!scurity of the cause of death# The professor had !een stric$en hilst returning from the 8e port !oat( falling suddenly, as itnesses said, after ha"ing !een 9ostled !y a nautical1loo$ing negro ho had come from one of the 7ueer dar$ courts on the precipitous hillside hich formed a short cut from the aterfront to the deceased:s home in Williams 4treet# Physicians ere una!le to find any "isi!le disorder, !ut concluded after perple;ed de!ate that some o!scure lesion of the heart, induced !y the !ris$ ascent of so steep a hill !y so elderly a man, as responsi!le for the end# At the time ' sa no reason to dissent from this dictum, !ut latterly ' am inclined to onder&and more than onder# As my grand1uncle:s heir and e;ecutor, for he died a childless ido er, ' as e;pected to go o"er his papers ith some thoroughness( and for that purpose mo"ed his entire set of files and !o;es to my 7uarters in Boston# *uch of the material hich ' correlated ill !e later pu!lished !y the American Archaeological 4ociety, !ut there as one !o; hich ' found e;ceedingly pu))ling, and hich ' felt much a"erse from she ing to other eyes# 't had !een loc$ed, and ' did not find the $ey till it occurred to me to e;amine the personal ring hich the professor carried al ays in his poc$et# Then indeed ' succeeded in opening it, !ut hen ' did so seemed only to !e confronted !y a greater and more closely loc$ed !arrier# For hat could !e the meaning of the 7ueer clay !as1relief and the dis9ointed 9ottings, ram!lings, and cuttings hich ' found< =ad my uncle, in his latter years, !ecome credulous of the most superficial impostures< ' resol"ed to search out the eccentric sculptor responsi!le for this apparent distur!ance of an old man:s peace of mind# The !as1relief as a rough rectangle less than an inch thic$ and a!out fi"e !y si; inches in area( o!"iously of modern origin# 'ts designs, ho e"er, ere far from modern in atmosphere and suggestion( for although the "agaries of cu!ism and futurism are many and ild, they do not often reproduce that cryptic regularity hich lur$s in prehistoric riting# And riting of some $ind the !ul$ of these designs seemed certainly to !e( though my memory, despite much familiarity ith the papers and collections of my uncle, failed in any ay to identify this particular species, or e"en to hint at its remotest affiliations# A!o"e these apparent hieroglyphics as a figure of e"idently pictorial intent, though its impressionistic e;ecution for!ade a "ery clear idea of its nature# 't seemed to !e a sort of monster, or sym!ol representing a monster, of a form

hich only a diseased fancy could concei"e# 'f ' say that my some hat e;tra"agant imagination yielded simultaneous pictures of an octopus, a dragon, and a human caricature, ' shall not !e unfaithful to the spirit of the thing# A pulpy, tentacled head surmounted a grotes7ue and scaly !ody ith rudimentary ings( !ut it as the general outline of the hole hich made it most shoc$ingly frightful# Behind the figure as a "ague suggestion of a >yclopean architectural !ac$ground# The riting accompanying this oddity as, aside from a stac$ of press cuttings, in Professor Angell:s most recent hand( and made no pretence to literary style# What seemed to !e the main document as headed >T=5L=5 >5LT% in characters painsta$ingly printed to a"oid the erroneous reading of a ord so unheard1of# The manuscript as di"ided into t o sections, the first of hich as headed +,-?&@ream and @ream Wor$ of =# A# Wilco;, 0 Thomas 4t#, Pro"idence, 6#'#%, and the second, 8arrati"e of 'nspector Aohn 6# Legrasse, +-+ Bien"ille 4t#, 8e Orleans, La#, at +,BC A# A# 4# *tg#&8otes on 4ame, D Prof# We!!:s Acct#% The other manuscript papers ere all !rief notes, some of them accounts of the 7ueer dreams of different persons, some of them citations from theosophical !oo$s and maga)ines (nota!ly W# 4cott13lliot:s Atlantis and the Lost Lemuria ), and the rest comments on long1sur"i"ing secret societies and hidden cults, ith references to passages in such mythological and anthropological source1!oo$s as Fra)er:s Golden Bough and *iss *urray:s Witch-Cult in Western Europe. The cuttings largely alluded to outrE mental illnesses and out!rea$s of group folly or mania in the spring of +,-?# The first half of the principal manuscript told a "ery peculiar tale# 't appears that on *arch +st, +,-?, a thin, dar$ young man of neurotic and e;cited aspect had called upon Professor Angell !earing the singular clay !as1relief, hich as then e;ceedingly damp and fresh# =is card !ore the name of =enry Anthony Wilco;, and my uncle had recognised him as the youngest son of an e;cellent family slightly $no n to him, ho had latterly !een studying sculpture at the 6hode 'sland 4chool of @esign and li"ing alone at the Fleur1de1Lys Building near that institution# Wilco; as a precocious youth of $no n genius !ut great eccentricity, and had from childhood e;cited attention through the strange stories and odd dreams he as in the ha!it of relating# =e called himself psychically hypersensiti"e%, !ut the staid fol$ of the ancient commercial city dismissed him as merely 7ueer%# 8e"er mingling much ith his $ind, he had dropped gradually from social "isi!ility, and as no $no n only to a small group of aesthetes from other to ns# 3"en the Pro"idence Art >lu!, an;ious to preser"e its conser"atism, had found him 7uite hopeless# On the occasion of the "isit, ran the professor:s manuscript, the sculptor a!ruptly as$ed for the !enefit of his host:s archaeological $no ledge in identifying the hieroglyphics on the !as1relief# =e spo$e in a dreamy, stilted manner hich suggested pose and alienated sympathy( and my uncle she ed some sharpness in replying, for the conspicuous freshness of the ta!let implied $inship ith anything !ut archaeology# Foung Wilco;:s re9oinder, hich impressed my uncle enough to ma$e him recall and record it "er!atim, as of a fantastically poetic cast hich must ha"e typified his hole con"ersation, and hich ' ha"e since found highly characteristic of him# =e said, 't is ne , indeed, for ' made it last night in a dream of strange cities( and dreams are older than !rooding Tyre, or the contemplati"e 4phin;, or garden1 girdled Ba!ylon#% 't as then that he !egan that ram!ling tale hich suddenly played upon a sleeping memory and on the fe"ered interest of my uncle# There had !een a slight earth7ua$e tremor the night !efore, the most considera!le felt in 8e 3ngland for some years( and Wilco;:s imagination had !een $eenly affected# 5pon retiring, he had had an unprecedented dream of great >yclopean cities of titan !loc$s and s$y1flung monoliths, all dripping ith green oo)e and sinister ith latent horror# =ieroglyphics had co"ered the alls and pillars, and from some undetermined point !elo had come a "oice that as not a "oice( a chaotic sensation hich only fancy could transmute into sound, !ut hich he attempted to render !y the almost unpronouncea!le 9um!le of letters, Cthulhu fhtagn%# This "er!al 9um!le as the $ey to the recollection hich e;cited and distur!ed Professor Angell# =e 7uestioned the sculptor ith scientific minuteness( and studied ith almost frantic intensity the !as1relief on hich the youth had found himself or$ing, chilled and clad only in his night1clothes, hen a$ing had stolen !e ilderingly o"er him# *y uncle !lamed his old age, Wilco; after ard said, for his slo ness in recognising !oth hieroglyphics and pictorial design# *any of his 7uestions seemed highly out1of1place to his "isitor, especially those hich tried to connect the latter ith strange cults or societies( and Wilco; could not understand the repeated promises of silence hich he as offered in e;change for an admission of mem!ership in some idespread mystical or paganly religious !ody# When Professor Angell !ecame con"inced that the sculptor as indeed ignorant of any cult or system of cryptic lore, he !esieged his "isitor ith demands for future reports of dreams# This !ore regular fruit, for after the first inter"ie the manuscript records daily calls of the young man, during hich he related startling fragments of nocturnal imagery hose !urden as al ays some terri!le >yclopean "ista of dar$ and dripping stone, ith a su!terrene "oice or intelligence shouting monotonously in enigmatical sense1impacts uninscri!a!le sa"e as gi!!erish# The t o sounds most fre7uently repeated are those rendered !y the letters Cthulhu% and R lyeh%# On *arch -Gd, the manuscript continued, Wilco; failed to appear( and in7uiries at his 7uarters re"ealed that he had !een stric$en ith an o!scure sort of fe"er and ta$en to the home of his family in Waterman 4treet# =e had cried out in the night, arousing se"eral other artists in the !uilding, and had manifested since then only alternations of unconsciousness and delirium# *y uncle at once telephoned the family, and from that time for ard $ept close atch of the case( calling often at the Thayer 4treet office of @r# To!ey, hom he learned to !e in charge# The youth:s fe!rile mind, apparently, as d elling on strange things( and the doctor shuddered no and then as he spo$e of them# They included not only a repetition of hat he had formerly dreamed, !ut touched ildly on a gigantic thing miles high% hich al$ed or lum!ered a!out# =e at no time fully descri!ed this o!9ect, !ut occasional frantic ords, as repeated !y @r#

To!ey, con"inced the professor that it must !e identical ith the nameless monstrosity he had sought to depict in his dream1sculpture# 6eference to this o!9ect, the doctor added, as in"aria!ly a prelude to the young man:s su!sidence into lethargy# =is temperature, oddly enough, as not greatly a!o"e normal( !ut his hole condition as other ise such as to suggest true fe"er rather than mental disorder# On April -nd at a!out G p#m# e"ery trace of Wilco;:s malady suddenly ceased# =e sat upright in !ed, astonished to find himself at home and completely ignorant of hat had happened in dream or reality since the night of *arch --nd# Pronounced ell !y his physician, he returned to his 7uarters in three days( !ut to Professor Angell he as of no further assistance# All traces of strange dreaming had "anished ith his reco"ery, and my uncle $ept no record of his night1 thoughts after a ee$ of pointless and irrele"ant accounts of thoroughly usual "isions# =ere the first part of the manuscript ended, !ut references to certain of the scattered notes ga"e me much material for thought&so much, in fact, that only the ingrained scepticism then forming my philosophy can account for my continued distrust of the artist# The notes in 7uestion ere those descripti"e of the dreams of "arious persons co"ering the same period as that in hich young Wilco; had had his strange "isitations# *y uncle, it seems, had 7uic$ly instituted a prodigiously far1flung !ody of in7uiries amongst nearly all the friends hom he could 7uestion ithout impertinence, as$ing for nightly reports of their dreams, and the dates of any nota!le "isions for some time past# The reception of his re7uest seems to ha"e !een "aried( !ut he must, at the "ery least, ha"e recei"ed more responses than any ordinary man could ha"e handled ithout a secretary# This original correspondence as not preser"ed, !ut his notes formed a thorough and really significant digest# A"erage people in society and !usiness&8e 3ngland:s traditional salt of the earth%&ga"e an almost completely negati"e result, though scattered cases of uneasy !ut formless nocturnal impressions appear here and there, al ays !et een *arch -Gd and April -nd&the period of young Wilco;:s delirium# 4cientific men ere little more affected, though four cases of "ague description suggest fugiti"e glimpses of strange landscapes, and in one case there is mentioned a dread of something a!normal# 't as from the artists and poets that the pertinent ans ers came, and ' $no that panic ould ha"e !ro$en loose had they !een a!le to compare notes# As it as, lac$ing their original letters, ' half suspected the compiler of ha"ing as$ed leading 7uestions, or of ha"ing edited the correspondence in corro!oration of hat he had latently resol"ed to see# That is hy ' continued to feel that Wilco;, someho cognisant of the old data hich my uncle had possessed, had !een imposing on the "eteran scientist# These responses from aesthetes told a distur!ing tale# From Fe!ruary -Cth to April -nd a large proportion of them had dreamed "ery !i)arre things, the intensity of the dreams !eing immeasura!ly the stronger during the period of the sculptor:s delirium# O"er a fourth of those ho reported anything, reported scenes and half1sounds not unli$e those hich Wilco; had descri!ed( and some of the dreamers confessed acute fear of the gigantic nameless thing "isi!le to ard the last# One case, hich the note descri!es ith emphasis, as "ery sad# The su!9ect, a idely $no n architect ith leanings to ard theosophy and occultism, ent "iolently insane on the date of young Wilco;:s sei)ure, and e;pired se"eral months later after incessant screamings to !e sa"ed from some escaped deni)en of hell# =ad my uncle referred to these cases !y name instead of merely !y num!er, ' should ha"e attempted some corro!oration and personal in"estigation( !ut as it as, ' succeeded in tracing do n only a fe # All of these, ho e"er, !ore out the notes in full# ' ha"e often ondered if all the o!9ects of the professor:s 7uestioning felt as pu))led as did this fraction# 't is ell that no e;planation shall e"er reach them# The press cuttings, as ' ha"e intimated, touched on cases of panic, mania, and eccentricity during the gi"en period# Professor Angell must ha"e employed a cutting !ureau, for the num!er of e;tracts as tremendous and the sources scattered throughout the glo!e# =ere as a nocturnal suicide in London, here a lone sleeper had leaped from a indo after a shoc$ing cry# =ere li$e ise a ram!ling letter to the editor of a paper in 4outh America, here a fanatic deduces a dire future from "isions he has seen# A despatch from >alifornia descri!es a theosophist colony as donning hite ro!es en masse for some glorious fulfilment% hich ne"er arri"es, hilst items from 'ndia spea$ guardedly of serious nati"e unrest to ard the end of *arch# Hoodoo orgies multiply in =ayti, and African outposts report ominous mutterings# American officers in the Philippines find certain tri!es !othersome a!out this time, and 8e For$ policemen are mo!!ed !y hysterical Le"antines on the night of *arch --/-G# The est of 'reland, too, is full of ild rumour and legendry, and a fantastic painter named Ardois1Bonnot hangs a !lasphemous @ream Landscape% in the Paris spring salon of +,-.# And so numerous are the recorded trou!les in insane asylums, that only a miracle can ha"e stopped the medical fraternity from noting strange parallelisms and dra ing mystified conclusions# A eird !unch of cuttings, all told( and ' can at this date scarcely en"isage the callous rationalism ith hich ' set them aside# But ' as then con"inced that young Wilco; had $no n of the older matters mentioned !y the professor# ''# The Tale of !nspector Legrasse. The older matters hich had made the sculptor:s dream and !as1relief so significant to my uncle formed the su!9ect of the second half of his long manuscript# Once !efore, it appears, Professor Angell had seen the hellish outlines of the nameless monstrosity, pu))led o"er the un$no n hieroglyphics, and heard the ominous sylla!les hich can !e rendered only as Cthulhu%( and all this in so stirring and horri!le a conne;ion that it is small onder he pursued young Wilco; ith 7ueries and demands for data# The earlier e;perience had come in +,BC, se"enteen years !efore, hen the American Archaeological 4ociety held its annual meeting in 4t# Louis# Professor Angell, as !efitted one of his authority and attainments, had had a prominent

part in all the deli!erations( and as one of the first to !e approached !y the se"eral outsiders ho too$ ad"antage of the con"ocation to offer 7uestions for correct ans ering and pro!lems for e;pert solution# The chief of these outsiders, and in a short time the focus of interest for the entire meeting, as a commonplace1 loo$ing middle1aged man ho had tra"elled all the ay from 8e Orleans for certain special information uno!taina!le from any local source# =is name as Aohn 6aymond Legrasse, and he as !y profession an 'nspector of Police# With him he !ore the su!9ect of his "isit, a grotes7ue, repulsi"e, and apparently "ery ancient stone statuette hose origin he as at a loss to determine# 't must not !e fancied that 'nspector Legrasse had the least interest in archaeology# On the contrary, his ish for enlightenment as prompted !y purely professional considerations# The statuette, idol, fetish, or hate"er it as, had !een captured some months !efore in the ooded s amps south of 8e Orleans during a raid on a supposed "oodoo meeting( and so singular and hideous ere the rites connected ith it, that the police could not !ut realise that they had stum!led on a dar$ cult totally un$no n to them, and infinitely more dia!olic than e"en the !lac$est of the African "oodoo circles# Of its origin, apart from the erratic and un!elie"a!le tales e;torted from the captured mem!ers, a!solutely nothing as to !e disco"ered( hence the an;iety of the police for any anti7uarian lore hich might help them to place the frightful sym!ol, and through it trac$ do n the cult to its fountain1head# 'nspector Legrasse as scarcely prepared for the sensation hich his offering created# One sight of the thing had !een enough to thro the assem!led men of science into a state of tense e;citement, and they lost no time in cro ding around him to ga)e at the diminuti"e figure hose utter strangeness and air of genuinely a!ysmal anti7uity hinted so potently at unopened and archaic "istas# 8o recognised school of sculpture had animated this terri!le o!9ect, yet centuries and e"en thousands of years seemed recorded in its dim and greenish surface of unplacea!le stone# The figure, hich as finally passed slo ly from man to man for close and careful study, as !et een se"en and eight inches in height, and of e;7uisitely artistic or$manship# 't represented a monster of "aguely anthropoid outline, !ut ith an octopus1li$e head hose face as a mass of feelers, a scaly, ru!!ery1loo$ing !ody, prodigious cla s on hind and fore feet, and long, narro ings !ehind# This thing, hich seemed instinct ith a fearsome and unnatural malignancy, as of a some hat !loated corpulence, and s7uatted e"illy on a rectangular !loc$ or pedestal co"ered ith undeciphera!le characters# The tips of the ings touched the !ac$ edge of the !loc$, the seat occupied the centre, hilst the long, cur"ed cla s of the dou!led1up, crouching hind legs gripped the front edge and e;tended a 7uarter of the ay do n to ard the !ottom of the pedestal# The cephalopod head as !ent for ard, so that the ends of the facial feelers !rushed the !ac$s of huge fore pa s hich clasped the croucher:s ele"ated $nees# The aspect of the hole as a!normally life1li$e, and the more su!tly fearful !ecause its source as so totally un$no n# 'ts "ast, a esome, and incalcula!le age as unmista$a!le( yet not one lin$ did it she ith any $no n type of art !elonging to ci"ilisation:s youth&or indeed to any other time# Totally separate and apart, its "ery material as a mystery( for the soapy, greenish1 !lac$ stone ith its golden or iridescent flec$s and striations resem!led nothing familiar to geology or mineralogy# The characters along the !ase ere e7ually !affling( and no mem!er present, despite a representation of half the orld:s e;pert learning in this field, could form the least notion of e"en their remotest linguistic $inship# They, li$e the su!9ect and material, !elonged to something horri!ly remote and distinct from man$ind as e $no it( something frightfully suggesti"e of old and unhallo ed cycles of life in hich our orld and our conceptions ha"e no part# And yet, as the mem!ers se"erally shoo$ their heads and confessed defeat at the 'nspector:s pro!lem, there as one man in that gathering ho suspected a touch of !i)arre familiarity in the monstrous shape and riting, and ho presently told ith some diffidence of the odd trifle he $ne # This person as the late William >hanning We!!, Professor of Anthropology in Princeton 5ni"ersity, and an e;plorer of no slight note# Professor We!! had !een engaged, forty1eight years !efore, in a tour of 2reenland and 'celand in search of some 6unic inscriptions hich he failed to unearth( and hilst high up on the West 2reenland coast had encountered a singular tri!e or cult of degenerate 3s7uimau; hose religion, a curious form of de"il1 orship, chilled him ith its deli!erate !loodthirstiness and repulsi"eness# 't as a faith of hich other 3s7uimau; $ne little, and hich they mentioned only ith shudders, saying that it had come do n from horri!ly ancient aeons !efore e"er the orld as made# Besides nameless rites and human sacrifices there ere certain 7ueer hereditary rituals addressed to a supreme elder de"il or tornasu"# and of this Professor We!! had ta$en a careful phonetic copy from an aged ange"o" or i)ard1priest, e;pressing the sounds in 6oman letters as !est he $ne ho # But 9ust no of prime significance as the fetish hich this cult had cherished, and around hich they danced hen the aurora leaped high o"er the ice cliffs# 't as, the professor stated, a "ery crude !as1relief of stone, comprising a hideous picture and some cryptic riting# And so far as he could tell, it as a rough parallel in all essential features of the !estial thing no lying !efore the meeting# This data, recei"ed ith suspense and astonishment !y the assem!led mem!ers, pro"ed dou!ly e;citing to 'nspector Legrasse( and he !egan at once to ply his informant ith 7uestions# =a"ing noted and copied an oral ritual among the s amp cult1 orshippers his men had arrested, he !esought the professor to remem!er as !est he might the sylla!les ta$en do n amongst the dia!olist 3s7uimau;# There then follo ed an e;hausti"e comparison of details, and a moment of really a ed silence hen !oth detecti"e and scientist agreed on the "irtual identity of the phrase common to t o hellish rituals so many orlds of distance apart# What, in su!stance, !oth the 3s7uimau i)ards and the Louisiana s amp1priests had chanted to their $indred idols as something "ery li$e this&the ord1di"isions !eing guessed at from traditional !rea$s in the phrase as chanted aloudI $h nglui mgl% nafh Cthulhu R lyeh %gah nagl fhtagn.& Legrasse had one point in ad"ance of Professor We!!, for se"eral among his mongrel prisoners had repeated to him hat older cele!rants had told them the ords meant# This te;t, as gi"en, ran something li$e thisI

!n his house at R lyeh dead Cthulhu %aits dreaming.& And no , in response to a general and urgent demand, 'nspector Legrasse related as fully as possi!le his e;perience ith the s amp orshippers( telling a story to hich ' could see my uncle attached profound significance# 't sa"oured of the ildest dreams of myth1ma$er and theosophist, and disclosed an astonishing degree of cosmic imagination among such half1castes and pariahs as might !e least e;pected to possess it# On 8o"em!er +st, +,B0, there had come to the 8e Orleans police a frantic summons from the s amp and lagoon country to the south# The s7uatters there, mostly primiti"e !ut good1natured descendants of Lafitte:s men, ere in the grip of star$ terror from an un$no n thing hich had stolen upon them in the night# 't as "oodoo, apparently, !ut "oodoo of a more terri!le sort than they had e"er $no n( and some of their omen and children had disappeared since the male"olent tom1tom had !egun its incessant !eating far ithin the !lac$ haunted oods here no d eller "entured# There ere insane shouts and harro ing screams, soul1chilling chants and dancing de"il1flames( and, the frightened messenger added, the people could stand it no more# 4o a !ody of t enty police, filling t o carriages and an automo!ile, had set out in the late afternoon ith the shi"ering s7uatter as a guide# At the end of the passa!le road they alighted, and for miles splashed on in silence through the terri!le cypress oods here day ne"er came# 5gly roots and malignant hanging nooses of 4panish moss !eset them, and no and then a pile of dan$ stones or fragment of a rotting all intensified !y its hint of mor!id ha!itation a depression hich e"ery malformed tree and e"ery fungous islet com!ined to create# At length the s7uatter settlement, a misera!le huddle of huts, ho"e in sight( and hysterical d ellers ran out to cluster around the group of !o!!ing lanterns# The muffled !eat of tom1toms as no faintly audi!le far, far ahead( and a curdling shrie$ came at infre7uent inter"als hen the ind shifted# A reddish glare, too, seemed to filter through the pale undergro th !eyond endless a"enues of forest night# 6eluctant e"en to !e left alone again, each one of the co ed s7uatters refused point1 !lan$ to ad"ance another inch to ard the scene of unholy orship, so 'nspector Legrasse and his nineteen colleagues plunged on unguided into !lac$ arcades of horror that none of them had e"er trod !efore# The region no entered !y the police as one of traditionally e"il repute, su!stantially un$no n and untra"ersed !y hite men# There ere legends of a hidden la$e unglimpsed !y mortal sight, in hich d elt a huge, formless hite polypous thing ith luminous eyes( and s7uatters hispered that !at1 inged de"ils fle up out of ca"erns in inner earth to orship it at midnight# They said it had !een there !efore @:'!er"ille, !efore La 4alle, !efore the 'ndians, and !efore e"en the holesome !easts and !irds of the oods# 't as nightmare itself, and to see it as to die# But it made men dream, and so they $ne enough to $eep a ay# The present "oodoo orgy as, indeed, on the merest fringe of this a!horred area, !ut that location as !ad enough( hence perhaps the "ery place of the orship had terrified the s7uatters more than the shoc$ing sounds and incidents# Only poetry or madness could do 9ustice to the noises heard !y Legrasse:s men as they ploughed on through the !lac$ morass to ard the red glare and the muffled tom1toms# There are "ocal 7ualities peculiar to men, and "ocal 7ualities peculiar to !easts( and it is terri!le to hear the one hen the source should yield the other# Animal fury and orgiastic licence here hipped themsel"es to daemoniac heights !y ho ls and s7ua $ing ecstasies that tore and re"er!erated through those nighted oods li$e pestilential tempests from the gulfs of hell# 8o and then the less organised ululation ould cease, and from hat seemed a ell1drilled chorus of hoarse "oices ould rise in sing1song chant that hideous phrase or ritualI $h nglui mgl% nafh Cthulhu R lyeh %gah nagl fhtagn.& Then the men, ha"ing reached a spot here the trees ere thinner, came suddenly in sight of the spectacle itself# Four of them reeled, one fainted, and t o ere sha$en into a frantic cry hich the mad cacophony of the orgy fortunately deadened# Legrasse dashed s amp ater on the face of the fainting man, and all stood trem!ling and nearly hypnotised ith horror# 'n a natural glade of the s amp stood a grassy island of perhaps an acre:s e;tent, clear of trees and tolera!ly dry# On this no leaped and t isted a more indescri!a!le horde of human a!normality than any !ut a 4ime or an Angarola could paint# Hoid of clothing, this hy!rid spa n ere !raying, !ello ing, and rithing a!out a monstrous ring1shaped !onfire( in the centre of hich, re"ealed !y occasional rifts in the curtain of flame, stood a great granite monolith some eight feet in height( on top of hich, incongruous ith its diminuti"eness, rested the no;ious car"en statuette# From a ide circle of ten scaffolds set up at regular inter"als ith the flame1girt monolith as a centre hung, head do n ard, the oddly marred !odies of the helpless s7uatters ho had disappeared# 't as inside this circle that the ring of orshippers 9umped and roared, the general direction of the mass motion !eing from left to right in endless Bacchanal !et een the ring of !odies and the ring of fire# 't may ha"e !een only imagination and it may ha"e !een only echoes hich induced one of the men, an e;cita!le 4paniard, to fancy he heard antiphonal responses to the ritual from some far and unillumined spot deeper ithin the ood of ancient legendry and horror# This man, Aoseph @# 2al"e), ' later met and 7uestioned( and he pro"ed distractingly imaginati"e# =e indeed ent so far as to hint of the faint !eating of great ings, and of a glimpse of shining eyes and a mountainous hite !ul$ !eyond the remotest trees&!ut ' suppose he had !een hearing too much nati"e superstition# Actually, the horrified pause of the men as of comparati"ely !rief duration# @uty came first( and although there must ha"e !een nearly a hundred mongrel cele!rants in the throng, the police relied on their firearms and plunged determinedly into the nauseous rout# For fi"e minutes the resultant din and chaos ere !eyond description# Wild !lo s ere struc$, shots ere fired, and escapes ere made( !ut in the end Legrasse as a!le to count some forty1se"en

sullen prisoners, hom he forced to dress in haste and fall into line !et een t o ro s of policemen# Fi"e of the orshippers lay dead, and t o se"erely ounded ones ere carried a ay on impro"ised stretchers !y their fello 1 prisoners# The image on the monolith, of course, as carefully remo"ed and carried !ac$ !y Legrasse# 3;amined at head7uarters after a trip of intense strain and eariness, the prisoners all pro"ed to !e men of a "ery lo , mi;ed1!looded, and mentally a!errant type# *ost ere seamen, and a sprin$ling of negroes and mulattoes, largely West 'ndians or Bra"a Portuguese from the >ape Herde 'slands, ga"e a colouring of "oodooism to the heterogeneous cult# But !efore many 7uestions ere as$ed, it !ecame manifest that something far deeper and older than negro fetichism as in"ol"ed# @egraded and ignorant as they ere, the creatures held ith surprising consistency to the central idea of their loathsome faith# They orshipped, so they said, the 2reat Old Ones ho li"ed ages !efore there ere any men, and ho came to the young orld out of the s$y# Those Old Ones ere gone no , inside the earth and under the sea( !ut their dead !odies had told their secrets in dreams to the first men, ho formed a cult hich had ne"er died# This as that cult, and the prisoners said it had al ays e;isted and al ays ould e;ist, hidden in distant astes and dar$ places all o"er the orld until the time hen the great priest >thulhu, from his dar$ house in the mighty city of 6:lyeh under the aters, should rise and !ring the earth again !eneath his s ay# 4ome day he ould call, hen the stars ere ready, and the secret cult ould al ays !e aiting to li!erate him# *ean hile no more must !e told# There as a secret hich e"en torture could not e;tract# *an$ind as not a!solutely alone among the conscious things of earth, for shapes came out of the dar$ to "isit the faithful fe # But these ere not the 2reat Old Ones# 8o man had e"er seen the Old Ones# The car"en idol as great >thulhu, !ut none might say hether or not the others ere precisely li$e him# 8o one could read the old riting no , !ut things ere told !y ord of mouth# The chanted ritual as not the secret&that as ne"er spo$en aloud, only hispered# The chant meant only thisI 'n his house at 6:lyeh dead >thulhu aits dreaming#% Only t o of the prisoners ere found sane enough to !e hanged, and the rest ere committed to "arious institutions# All denied a part in the ritual murders, and a"erred that the $illing had !een done !y Blac$ Winged Ones hich had come to them from their immemorial meeting1place in the haunted ood# But of those mysterious allies no coherent account could e"er !e gained# What the police did e;tract, came mainly from an immensely aged mesti)o named >astro, ho claimed to ha"e sailed to strange ports and tal$ed ith undying leaders of the cult in the mountains of >hina# Old >astro remem!ered !its of hideous legend that paled the speculations of theosophists and made man and the orld seem recent and transient indeed# There had !een aeons hen other Things ruled on the earth, and They had had great cities# 6emains of Them, he said the deathless >hinamen had told him, ere still to !e found as >yclopean stones on islands in the Pacific# They all died "ast epochs of time !efore men came, !ut there ere arts hich could re"i"e Them hen the stars had come round again to the right positions in the cycle of eternity# They had, indeed, come themsel"es from the stars, and !rought Their images ith Them# These 2reat Old Ones, >astro continued, ere not composed altogether of flesh and !lood# They had shape&for did not this star1fashioned image pro"e it<&!ut that shape as not made of matter# When the stars ere right, They could plunge from orld to orld through the s$y( !ut hen the stars ere rong, They could not li"e# But although They no longer li"ed, They ould ne"er really die# They all lay in stone houses in Their great city of 6:lyeh, preser"ed !y the spells of mighty >thulhu for a glorious resurrection hen the stars and the earth might once more !e ready for Them# But at that time some force from outside must ser"e to li!erate Their !odies# The spells that preser"ed Them intact li$e ise pre"ented Them from ma$ing an initial mo"e, and They could only lie a a$e in the dar$ and thin$ hilst uncounted millions of years rolled !y# They $ne all that as occurring in the uni"erse, !ut Their mode of speech as transmitted thought# 3"en no They tal$ed in Their tom!s# When, after infinities of chaos, the first men came, the 2reat Old Ones spo$e to the sensiti"e among them !y moulding their dreams( for only thus could Their language reach the fleshly minds of mammals# Then, hispered >astro, those first men formed the cult around small idols hich the 2reat Ones she ed them( idols !rought in dim aeras from dar$ stars# That cult ould ne"er die till the stars came right again, and the secret priests ould ta$e great >thulhu from =is tom! to re"i"e =is su!9ects and resume =is rule of earth# The time ould !e easy to $no , for then man$ind ould ha"e !ecome as the 2reat Old Ones( free and ild and !eyond good and e"il, ith la s and morals thro n aside and all men shouting and $illing and re"elling in 9oy# Then the li!erated Old Ones ould teach them ne ays to shout and $ill and re"el and en9oy themsel"es, and all the earth ould flame ith a holocaust of ecstasy and freedom# *ean hile the cult, !y appropriate rites, must $eep ali"e the memory of those ancient ays and shado forth the prophecy of their return# 'n the elder time chosen men had tal$ed ith the entom!ed Old Ones in dreams, !ut then something had happened# The great stone city 6:lyeh, ith its monoliths and sepulchres, had sun$ !eneath the a"es( and the deep aters, full of the one primal mystery through hich not e"en thought can pass, had cut off the spectral intercourse# But memory ne"er died, and high1priests said that the city ould rise again hen the stars ere right# Then came out of the earth the !lac$ spirits of earth, mouldy and shado y, and full of dim rumours pic$ed up in ca"erns !eneath forgotten sea1!ottoms# But of them old >astro dared not spea$ much# =e cut himself off hurriedly, and no amount of persuasion or su!tlety could elicit more in this direction# The si'e of the Old Ones, too, he curiously declined to mention# Of the cult, he said that he thought the centre lay amid the pathless deserts of Ara!ia, here 'rem, the >ity of Pillars, dreams hidden and untouched# 't as not allied to the 3uropean itch1cult, and as "irtually un$no n !eyond its mem!ers# 8o

!oo$ had e"er really hinted of it, though the deathless >hinamen said that there ere dou!le meanings in the (ecronomicon of the mad Ara! A!dul Alha)red hich the initiated might read as they chose, especially the much1 discussed coupletI

That is not dead %hich can eternal lie)

And %ith strange aeons e*en death may die.& Legrasse, deeply impressed and not a little !e ildered, had in7uired in "ain concerning the historic affiliations of the cult# >astro, apparently, had told the truth hen he said that it as holly secret# The authorities at Tulane 5ni"ersity could shed no light upon either cult or image, and no the detecti"e had come to the highest authorities in the country and met ith no more than the 2reenland tale of Professor We!!# The fe"erish interest aroused at the meeting !y Legrasse:s tale, corro!orated as it as !y the statuette, is echoed in the su!se7uent correspondence of those ho attended( although scant mention occurs in the formal pu!lications of the society# >aution is the first care of those accustomed to face occasional charlatanry and imposture# Legrasse for some time lent the image to Professor We!!, !ut at the latter:s death it as returned to him and remains in his possession, here ' "ie ed it not long ago# 't is truly a terri!le thing, and unmista$a!ly a$in to the dream1sculpture of young Wilco;# That my uncle as e;cited !y the tale of the sculptor ' did not onder, for hat thoughts must arise upon hearing, after a $no ledge of hat Legrasse had learned of the cult, of a sensiti"e young man ho had dreamed not only the figure and e;act hieroglyphics of the s amp1found image and the 2reenland de"il ta!let, !ut had come in his dreams upon at least three of the precise ords of the formula uttered ali$e !y 3s7uimau dia!olists and mongrel Louisianans< Professor Angell:s instant start on an in"estigation of the utmost thoroughness as eminently natural( though pri"ately ' suspected young Wilco; of ha"ing heard of the cult in some indirect ay, and of ha"ing in"ented a series of dreams to heighten and continue the mystery at my uncle:s e;pense# The dream1narrati"es and cuttings collected !y the professor ere, of course, strong corro!oration( !ut the rationalism of my mind and the e;tra"agance of the hole su!9ect led me to adopt hat ' thought the most sensi!le conclusions# 4o, after thoroughly studying the manuscript again and correlating the theosophical and anthropological notes ith the cult narrati"e of Legrasse, ' made a trip to Pro"idence to see the sculptor and gi"e him the re!u$e ' thought proper for so !oldly imposing upon a learned and aged man# Wilco; still li"ed alone in the Fleur1de1Lys Building in Thomas 4treet, a hideous Hictorian imitation of se"enteenth1 century Breton architecture hich flaunts its stuccoed front amidst the lo"ely colonial houses on the ancient hill, and under the "ery shado of the finest 2eorgian steeple in America# ' found him at or$ in his rooms, and at once conceded from the specimens scattered a!out that his genius is indeed profound and authentic# =e ill, ' !elie"e, some time !e heard from as one of the great decadents( for he has crystallised in clay and ill one day mirror in mar!le those nightmares and phantasies hich Arthur *achen e"o$es in prose, and >lar$ Ashton 4mith ma$es "isi!le in "erse and in painting# @ar$, frail, and some hat un$empt in aspect, he turned languidly at my $noc$ and as$ed me my !usiness ithout rising# When ' told him ho ' as, he displayed some interest( for my uncle had e;cited his curiosity in pro!ing his strange dreams, yet had ne"er e;plained the reason for the study# ' did not enlarge his $no ledge in this regard, !ut sought ith some su!tlety to dra him out# 'n a short time ' !ecame con"inced of his a!solute sincerity, for he spo$e of the dreams in a manner none could mista$e# They and their su!conscious residuum had influenced his art profoundly, and he she ed me a mor!id statue hose contours almost made me sha$e ith the potency of its !lac$ suggestion# =e could not recall ha"ing seen the original of this thing e;cept in his o n dream !as1relief, !ut the outlines had formed themsel"es insensi!ly under his hands# 't as, no dou!t, the giant shape he had ra"ed of in delirium# That he really $ne nothing of the hidden cult, sa"e from hat my uncle:s relentless catechism had let fall, he soon made clear( and again ' stro"e to thin$ of some ay in hich he could possi!ly ha"e recei"ed the eird impressions# =e tal$ed of his dreams in a strangely poetic fashion( ma$ing me see ith terri!le "i"idness the damp >yclopean city of slimy green stone& hose geometry) he oddly said, as all %rong&and hear ith frightened e;pectancy the ceaseless, half1mental calling from undergroundI Cthulhu fhtagn%, Cthulhu fhtagn%# These ords had formed part of that dread ritual hich told of dead >thulhu:s dream1"igil in his stone "ault at 6:lyeh, and ' felt deeply mo"ed despite my rational !eliefs# Wilco;, ' as sure, had heard of the cult in some casual ay, and had soon forgotten it amidst the mass of his e7ually eird reading and imagining# Later, !y "irtue of its sheer impressi"eness, it had found su!conscious e;pression in dreams, in the !as1relief, and in the terri!le statue ' no !eheld( so that his imposture upon my uncle had !een a "ery innocent one# The youth as of a type, at once slightly affected and slightly ill1mannered, hich ' could ne"er li$e( !ut ' as illing enough no to admit !oth his genius and his honesty# ' too$ lea"e of him amica!ly, and ish him all the success his talent promises# The matter of the cult still remained to fascinate me, and at times ' had "isions of personal fame from researches into its origin and conne;ions# ' "isited 8e Orleans, tal$ed ith Legrasse and others of that old1time raiding1party, sa the frightful image, and e"en 7uestioned such of the mongrel prisoners as still sur"i"ed# Old >astro, unfortunately, had !een dead for some years# What ' no heard so graphically at first1hand, though it as really no more than a detailed confirmation of hat my uncle had ritten, e;cited me afresh( for ' felt sure that ' as on the trac$ of a "ery real, "ery secret, and "ery ancient religion hose disco"ery ould ma$e me an anthropologist of note# *y attitude as still one of a!solute materialism, as ! %ish it still %ere) and ' discounted ith almost ine;plica!le per"ersity the coincidence of the dream notes and odd cuttings collected !y Professor Angell#

One thing ' !egan to suspect, and hich ' no fear ' "no%) is that my uncle:s death as far from natural# =e fell on a narro hill street leading up from an ancient aterfront s arming ith foreign mongrels, after a careless push from a negro sailor# ' did not forget the mi;ed !lood and marine pursuits of the cult1mem!ers in Louisiana, and ould not !e surprised to learn of secret methods and poison needles as ruthless and as anciently $no n as the cryptic rites and !eliefs# Legrasse and his men, it is true, ha"e !een let alone( !ut in 8or ay a certain seaman ho sa things is dead# *ight not the deeper in7uiries of my uncle after encountering the sculptor:s data ha"e come to sinister ears< ' thin$ Professor Angell died !ecause he $ne too much, or !ecause he as li$ely to learn too much# Whether ' shall go as he did remains to !e seen, for ' ha"e learned much no # '''# The +adness from the ,ea. 'f hea"en e"er ishes to grant me a !oon, it ill !e a total effacing of the results of a mere chance hich fi;ed my eye on a certain stray piece of shelf1paper# 't as nothing on hich ' ould naturally ha"e stum!led in the course of my daily round, for it as an old num!er of an Australian 9ournal, the ,ydney Bulletin for April +C, +,-?# 't had escaped e"en the cutting !ureau hich had at the time of its issuance !een a"idly collecting material for my uncle:s research# ' had largely gi"en o"er my in7uiries into hat Professor Angell called the >thulhu >ult%, and as "isiting a learned friend in Paterson, 8e Aersey( the curator of a local museum and a mineralogist of note# 3;amining one day the reser"e specimens roughly set on the storage shel"es in a rear room of the museum, my eye as caught !y an odd picture in one of the old papers spread !eneath the stones# 't as the ,ydney Bulletin ' ha"e mentioned, for my friend has ide affiliations in all concei"a!le foreign parts( and the picture as a half1tone cut of a hideous stone image almost identical ith that hich Legrasse had found in the s amp# 3agerly clearing the sheet of its precious contents, ' scanned the item in detail( and as disappointed to find it of only moderate length# What it suggested, ho e"er, as of portentous significance to my flagging 7uest( and ' carefully tore it out for immediate action# 't read as follo sI +-,TER- .EREL!CT /01(. AT ,EA 2igilant Arri*es With Helpless Armed (e% 3ealand -acht in To%. 0ne ,ur*i*or and .ead +an /ound A4oard. Tale of .esperate Battle and .eaths at ,ea. Rescued ,eaman Refuses $articulars of ,trange E5perience. 0dd !dol /ound in His $ossession. !n6uiry to /ollo%. The *orrison >o#:s freighter 2igilant) !ound from Halparaiso, arri"ed this morning at its harf in @arling =ar!our, ha"ing in to the !attled and disa!led !ut hea"ily armed steam yacht Alert of @unedin, 8# J#, hich as sighted April +-th in 4# Latitude GKL -+M, W# Longitude +?-L +0M ith one li"ing and one dead man a!oard# The 2igilant left Halparaiso *arch -?th, and on April -nd as dri"en considera!ly south of her course !y e;ceptionally hea"y storms and monster a"es# On April +-th the derelict as sighted( and though apparently deserted, as found upon !oarding to contain one sur"i"or in a half1delirious condition and one man ho had e"idently !een dead for more than a ee$# The li"ing man as clutching a horri!le stone idol of un$no n origin, a!out a foot in height, regarding hose nature authorities at 4ydney 5ni"ersity, the 6oyal 4ociety, and the *useum in >ollege 4treet all profess complete !afflement, and hich the sur"i"or says he found in the ca!in of the yacht, in a small car"ed shrine of common pattern# This man, after reco"ering his senses, told an e;ceedingly strange story of piracy and slaughter# =e is 2ustaf Aohansen, a 8or egian of some intelligence, and had !een second mate of the t o1masted schooner Emma of Auc$land, hich sailed for >allao Fe!ruary -Bth ith a complement of ele"en men# The Emma) he says, as delayed and thro n idely south of her course !y the great storm of *arch +st, and on *arch --nd, in 4# Latitude K,L ?+M, W# Longitude +-CL GKM, encountered the Alert) manned !y a 7ueer and e"il1loo$ing cre of Nana$as and half1castes# Being ordered peremptorily to turn !ac$, >apt# >ollins refused( hereupon the strange cre !egan to fire sa"agely and ithout arning upon the schooner ith a peculiarly hea"y !attery of !rass cannon forming part of the yacht:s e7uipment# The Emma:s men she ed fight, says the sur"i"or, and though the schooner !egan to sin$ from shots !eneath the aterline they managed to hea"e alongside their enemy and !oard her, grappling ith the sa"age cre on the yacht:s dec$, and !eing forced to $ill them all, the num!er !eing slightly superior, !ecause of their particularly a!horrent and desperate though rather clumsy mode of fighting# Three of the Emma:s men, including >apt# >ollins and First *ate 2reen, ere $illed( and the remaining eight under 4econd *ate Aohansen proceeded to na"igate the captured yacht, going ahead in their original direction to see if any reason for their ordering !ac$ had e;isted# The ne;t day, it appears, they raised and landed on a small island, although none is $no n to e;ist in that part of the ocean( and si; of the men

someho died ashore, though Aohansen is 7ueerly reticent a!out this part of his story, and spea$s only of their falling into a roc$ chasm# Later, it seems, he and one companion !oarded the yacht and tried to manage her, !ut ere !eaten a!out !y the storm of April -nd# From that time till his rescue on the +-th the man remem!ers little, and he does not e"en recall hen William Briden, his companion, died# Briden:s death re"eals no apparent cause, and as pro!a!ly due to e;citement or e;posure# >a!le ad"ices from @unedin report that the Alert as ell $no n there as an island trader, and !ore an e"il reputation along the aterfront# 't as o ned !y a curious group of half1castes hose fre7uent meetings and night trips to the oods attracted no little curiosity( and it had set sail in great haste 9ust after the storm and earth tremors of *arch +st# Our Auc$land correspondent gi"es the Emma and her cre an e;cellent reputation, and Aohansen is descri!ed as a so!er and orthy man# The admiralty ill institute an in7uiry on the hole matter !eginning tomorro , at hich e"ery effort ill !e made to induce Aohansen to spea$ more freely than he has done hitherto# This as all, together ith the picture of the hellish image( !ut hat a train of ideas it started in my mindO =ere ere ne treasuries of data on the >thulhu >ult, and e"idence that it had strange interests at sea as ell as on land# What moti"e prompted the hy!rid cre to order !ac$ the Emma as they sailed a!out ith their hideous idol< What as the un$no n island on hich si; of the Emma:s cre had died, and a!out hich the mate Aohansen as so secreti"e< What had the "ice1admiralty:s in"estigation !rought out, and hat as $no n of the no;ious cult in @unedin< And most mar"ellous of all, hat deep and more than natural lin$age of dates as this hich ga"e a malign and no undenia!le significance to the "arious turns of e"ents so carefully noted !y my uncle< *arch +st&our Fe!ruary -Cth according to the 'nternational @ate Line&the earth7ua$e and storm had come# From @unedin the Alert and her noisome cre had darted eagerly forth as if imperiously summoned, and on the other side of the earth poets and artists had !egun to dream of a strange, dan$ >yclopean city hilst a young sculptor had moulded in his sleep the form of the dreaded >thulhu# *arch -Gd the cre of the Emma landed on an un$no n island and left si; men dead( and on that date the dreams of sensiti"e men assumed a heightened "i"idness and dar$ened ith dread of a giant monster:s malign pursuit, hilst an architect had gone mad and a sculptor had lapsed suddenly into deliriumO And hat of this storm of April -nd&the date on hich all dreams of the dan$ city ceased, and Wilco; emerged unharmed from the !ondage of strange fe"er< What of all this&and of those hints of old >astro a!out the sun$en, star1!orn Old Ones and their coming reign( their faithful cult and their mastery of dreams7 Was ' tottering on the !rin$ of cosmic horrors !eyond man:s po er to !ear< 'f so, they must !e horrors of the mind alone, for in some ay the second of April had put a stop to hate"er monstrous menace had !egun its siege of man$ind:s soul# That e"ening, after a day of hurried ca!ling and arranging, ' !ade my host adieu and too$ a train for 4an Francisco# 'n less than a month ' as in @unedin( here, ho e"er, ' found that little as $no n of the strange cult1mem!ers ho had lingered in the old sea1ta"erns# Waterfront scum as far too common for special mention( though there as "ague tal$ a!out one inland trip these mongrels had made, during hich faint drumming and red flame ere noted on the distant hills# 'n Auc$land ' learned that Aohansen had returned %ith yello% hair turned %hite after a perfunctory and inconclusi"e 7uestioning at 4ydney, and had thereafter sold his cottage in West 4treet and sailed ith his ife to his old home in Oslo# Of his stirring e;perience he ould tell his friends no more than he had told the admiralty officials, and all they could do as to gi"e me his Oslo address# After that ' ent to 4ydney and tal$ed profitlessly ith seamen and mem!ers of the "ice1admiralty court# ' sa the Alert) no sold and in commercial use, at >ircular Puay in 4ydney >o"e, !ut gained nothing from its non1committal !ul$# The crouching image ith its cuttlefish head, dragon !ody, scaly ings, and hieroglyphed pedestal, as preser"ed in the *useum at =yde Par$( and ' studied it long and ell, finding it a thing of !alefully e;7uisite or$manship, and ith the same utter mystery, terri!le anti7uity, and unearthly strangeness of material hich ' had noted in Legrasse:s smaller specimen# 2eologists, the curator told me, had found it a monstrous pu))le( for they "o ed that the orld held no roc$ li$e it# Then ' thought ith a shudder of hat old >astro had told Legrasse a!out the primal 2reat OnesI They had come from the stars, and had !rought Their images ith Them#% 4ha$en ith such a mental re"olution as ' had ne"er !efore $no n, ' no resol"ed to "isit *ate Aohansen in Oslo# 4ailing for London, ' reQm!ar$ed at once for the 8or egian capital( and one autumn day landed at the trim har"es in the shado of the 3ge!erg# Aohansen:s address, ' disco"ered, lay in the Old To n of Ning =arold =aardrada, hich $ept ali"e the name of Oslo during all the centuries that the greater city mas7ueraded as >hristiana%# ' made the !rief trip !y ta;ica!, and $noc$ed ith palpitant heart at the door of a neat and ancient !uilding ith plastered front# A sad1 faced oman in !lac$ ans ered my summons, and ' as stung ith disappointment hen she told me in halting 3nglish that 2ustaf Aohansen as no more# =e had not sur"i"ed his return, said his ife, for the doings at sea in +,-? had !ro$en him# =e had told her no more than he had told the pu!lic, !ut had left a long manuscript&of technical matters% as he said& ritten in 3nglish, e"idently in order to safeguard her from the peril of casual perusal# @uring a al$ through a narro lane near the 2othen!urg doc$, a !undle of papers falling from an attic indo had $noc$ed him do n# T o Lascar sailors at once helped him to his feet, !ut !efore the am!ulance could reach him he as dead# Physicians found no ade7uate cause for the end, and laid it to heart trou!le and a ea$ened constitution# ' no felt gna ing at my "itals that dar$ terror hich ill ne"er lea"e me till ', too, am at rest( accidentally% or other ise# Persuading the ido that my conne;ion ith her hus!and:s technical matters% as sufficient to entitle me

to his manuscript, ' !ore the document a ay and !egan to read it on the London !oat# 't as a simple, ram!ling thing& a nai"e sailor:s effort at a post1facto diary&and stro"e to recall day !y day that last a ful "oyage# ' cannot attempt to transcri!e it "er!atim in all its cloudiness and redundance, !ut ' ill tell its gist enough to she hy the sound of the ater against the "essel:s sides !ecame so unendura!le to me that ' stopped my ears ith cotton# Aohansen, than$ 2od, did not $no 7uite all, e"en though he sa the city and the Thing, !ut ' shall ne"er sleep calmly again hen ' thin$ of the horrors that lur$ ceaselessly !ehind life in time and in space, and of those unhallo ed !lasphemies from elder stars hich dream !eneath the sea, $no n and fa"oured !y a nightmare cult ready and eager to loose them on the orld hene"er another earth7ua$e shall hea"e their monstrous stone city again to the sun and air# Aohansen:s "oyage had !egun 9ust as he told it to the "ice1admiralty# The Emma) in !allast, had cleared Auc$land on Fe!ruary -Bth, and had felt the full force of that earth7ua$e1!orn tempest hich must ha"e hea"ed up from the sea1 !ottom the horrors that filled men:s dreams# Once more under control, the ship as ma$ing good progress hen held up !y the Alert on *arch --nd, and ' could feel the mate:s regret as he rote of her !om!ardment and sin$ing# Of the s arthy cult1fiends on the Alert he spea$s ith significant horror# There as some peculiarly a!omina!le 7uality a!out them hich made their destruction seem almost a duty, and Aohansen she s ingenuous onder at the charge of ruthlessness !rought against his party during the proceedings of the court of in7uiry# Then, dri"en ahead !y curiosity in their captured yacht under Aohansen:s command, the men sight a great stone pillar stic$ing out of the sea, and in 4# Latitude K0L ,M, W# Longitude +-.L KGM come upon a coast1line of mingled mud, oo)e, and eedy >yclopean masonry hich can !e nothing less than the tangi!le su!stance of earth:s supreme terror&the nightmare corpse1city of 6:lyeh, that as !uilt in measureless aeons !ehind history !y the "ast, loathsome shapes that seeped do n from the dar$ stars# There lay great >thulhu and his hordes, hidden in green slimy "aults and sending out at last, after cycles incalcula!le, the thoughts that spread fear to the dreams of the sensiti"e and called imperiously to the faithful to come on a pilgrimage of li!eration and restoration# All this Aohansen did not suspect, !ut 2od $no s he soon sa enoughO ' suppose that only a single mountain1top, the hideous monolith1cro ned citadel hereon great >thulhu as !uried, actually emerged from the aters# When ' thin$ of the e5tent of all that may !e !rooding do n there ' almost ish to $ill myself forth ith# Aohansen and his men ere a ed !y the cosmic ma9esty of this dripping Ba!ylon of elder daemons, and must ha"e guessed ithout guidance that it as nothing of this or of any sane planet# A e at the un!elie"a!le si)e of the greenish stone !loc$s, at the di))ying height of the great car"en monolith, and at the stupefying identity of the colossal statues and !as1reliefs ith the 7ueer image found in the shrine on the Alert) is poignantly "isi!le in e"ery line of the mate:s frightened description# Without $no ing hat futurism is li$e, Aohansen achie"ed something "ery close to it hen he spo$e of the city( for instead of descri!ing any definite structure or !uilding, he d ells only on !road impressions of "ast angles and stone surfaces&surfaces too great to !elong to any thing right or proper for this earth, and impious ith horri!le images and hieroglyphs# ' mention his tal$ a!out angles !ecause it suggests something Wilco; had told me of his a ful dreams# =e had said that the geometry of the dream1place he sa as a!normal, non13uclidean, and loathsomely redolent of spheres and dimensions apart from ours# 8o an unlettered seaman felt the same thing hilst ga)ing at the terri!le reality# Aohansen and his men landed at a sloping mud1!an$ on this monstrous Acropolis, and clam!ered slipperily up o"er titan oo)y !loc$s hich could ha"e !een no mortal staircase# The "ery sun of hea"en seemed distorted hen "ie ed through the polarising miasma elling out from this sea1soa$ed per"ersion, and t isted menace and suspense lur$ed leeringly in those cra)ily elusi"e angles of car"en roc$ here a second glance she ed conca"ity after the first she ed con"e;ity# 4omething "ery li$e fright had come o"er all the e;plorers !efore anything more definite than roc$ and oo)e and eed as seen# 3ach ould ha"e fled had he not feared the scorn of the others, and it as only half1heartedly that they searched&"ainly, as it pro"ed&for some porta!le sou"enir to !ear a ay# 't as 6odrigue) the Portuguese ho clim!ed up the foot of the monolith and shouted of hat he had found# The rest follo ed him, and loo$ed curiously at the immense car"ed door ith the no familiar s7uid1dragon !as1relief# 't as, Aohansen said, li$e a great !arn1door( and they all felt that it as a door !ecause of the ornate lintel, threshold, and 9am!s around it, though they could not decide hether it lay flat li$e a trap1door or slant ise li$e an outside cellar1 door# As Wilco; ould ha"e said, the geometry of the place as all rong# One could not !e sure that the sea and the ground ere hori)ontal, hence the relati"e position of e"erything else seemed phantasmally "aria!le# Briden pushed at the stone in se"eral places ithout result# Then @ono"an felt o"er it delicately around the edge, pressing each point separately as he ent# =e clim!ed intermina!ly along the grotes7ue stone moulding&that is, one ould call it clim!ing if the thing as not after all hori)ontal&and the men ondered ho any door in the uni"erse could !e so "ast# Then, "ery softly and slo ly, the acre1great panel !egan to gi"e in ard at the top( and they sa that it as !alanced# @ono"an slid or someho propelled himself do n or along the 9am! and re9oined his fello s, and e"eryone atched the 7ueer recession of the monstrously car"en portal# 'n this phantasy of prismatic distortion it mo"ed anomalously in a diagonal ay, so that all the rules of matter and perspecti"e seemed upset# The aperture as !lac$ ith a dar$ness almost material# That tene!rousness as indeed a positi*e 6uality# for it o!scured such parts of the inner alls as ought to ha"e !een re"ealed, and actually !urst forth li$e smo$e from its aeon1long imprisonment, "isi!ly dar$ening the sun as it slun$ a ay into the shrun$en and gi!!ous s$y on flapping mem!raneous ings# The odour arising from the ne ly opened depths as intolera!le, and at length the 7uic$1eared

=a $ins thought he heard a nasty, slopping sound do n there# 3"eryone listened, and e"eryone as listening still hen 't lum!ered slo!!eringly into sight and gropingly s7uee)ed 'ts gelatinous green immensity through the !lac$ door ay into the tainted outside air of that poison city of madness# Poor Aohansen:s hand riting almost ga"e out hen he rote of this# Of the si; men ho ne"er reached the ship, he thin$s t o perished of pure fright in that accursed instant# The Thing cannot !e descri!ed&there is no language for such a!ysms of shrie$ing and immemorial lunacy, such eldritch contradictions of all matter, force, and cosmic order# A mountain al$ed or stum!led# 2odO What onder that across the earth a great architect ent mad, and poor Wilco; ra"ed ith fe"er in that telepathic instant< The Thing of the idols, the green, stic$y spa n of the stars, had a a$ed to claim his o n# The stars ere right again, and hat an age1old cult had failed to do !y design, a !and of innocent sailors had done !y accident# After "igintillions of years great >thulhu as loose again, and ra"ening for delight# Three men ere s ept up !y the fla!!y cla s !efore any!ody turned# 2od rest them, if there !e any rest in the uni"erse# They ere @ono"an, 2uerrera, and Rngstrom# Par$er slipped as the other three ere plunging fren)iedly o"er endless "istas of green1crusted roc$ to the !oat, and Aohansen s ears he as s allo ed up !y an angle of masonry hich shouldn:t ha"e !een there( an angle hich as acute, !ut !eha"ed as if it ere o!tuse# 4o only Briden and Aohansen reached the !oat, and pulled desperately for the Alert as the mountainous monstrosity flopped do n the slimy stones and hesitated floundering at the edge of the ater# 4team had not !een suffered to go do n entirely, despite the departure of all hands for the shore( and it as the or$ of only a fe moments of fe"erish rushing up and do n !et een heel and engines to get the Alert under ay# 4lo ly, amidst the distorted horrors of that indescri!a!le scene, she !egan to churn the lethal aters( hilst on the masonry of that charnel shore that as not of earth the titan Thing from the stars sla"ered and gi!!ered li$e Polypheme cursing the fleeing ship of Odysseus# Then, !older than the storied >yclops, great >thulhu slid greasily into the ater and !egan to pursue ith "ast a"e1raising stro$es of cosmic potency# Briden loo$ed !ac$ and ent mad, laughing shrilly as he $ept on laughing at inter"als till death found him one night in the ca!in hilst Aohansen as andering deliriously# But Aohansen had not gi"en out yet# Nno ing that the Thing could surely o"erta$e the Alert until steam as fully up, he resol"ed on a desperate chance( and, setting the engine for full speed, ran lightning1li$e on dec$ and re"ersed the heel# There as a mighty eddying and foaming in the noisome !rine, and as the steam mounted higher and higher the !ra"e 8or egian dro"e his "essel head on against the pursuing 9elly hich rose a!o"e the unclean froth li$e the stern of a daemon galleon# The a ful s7uid1head ith rithing feelers came nearly up to the !o sprit of the sturdy yacht, !ut Aohansen dro"e on relentlessly# There as a !ursting as of an e;ploding !ladder, a slushy nastiness as of a clo"en sunfish, a stench as of a thousand opened gra"es, and a sound that the chronicler ould not put on paper# For an instant the ship as !efouled !y an acrid and !linding green cloud, and then there as only a "enomous seething astern( here&2od in hea"enO&the scattered plasticity of that nameless s$y1spa n as ne!ulously recom4ining in its hateful original form, hilst its distance idened e"ery second as the Alert gained impetus from its mounting steam# That as all# After that Aohansen only !rooded o"er the idol in the ca!in and attended to a fe matters of food for himself and the laughing maniac !y his side# =e did not try to na"igate after the first !old flight, for the reaction had ta$en something out of his soul# Then came the storm of April -nd, and a gathering of the clouds a!out his consciousness# There is a sense of spectral hirling through li7uid gulfs of infinity, of di))ying rides through reeling uni"erses on a comet:s tail, and of hysterical plunges from the pit to the moon and from the moon !ac$ again to the pit, all li"ened !y a cachinnating chorus of the distorted, hilarious elder gods and the green, !at1 inged moc$ing imps of Tartarus# Out of that dream came rescue&the 2igilant) the "ice1admiralty court, the streets of @unedin, and the long "oyage !ac$ home to the old house !y the 3ge!erg# =e could not tell&they ould thin$ him mad# =e ould rite of hat he $ne !efore death came, !ut his ife must not guess# @eath ould !e a !oon if only it could !lot out the memories# That as the document ' read, and no ' ha"e placed it in the tin !o; !eside the !as1relief and the papers of Professor Angell# With it shall go this record of mine&this test of my o n sanity, herein is pieced together that hich ' hope may ne"er !e pieced together again# ' ha"e loo$ed upon all that the uni"erse has to hold of horror, and e"en the s$ies of spring and the flo ers of summer must e"er after ard !e poison to me# But ' do not thin$ my life ill !e long# As my uncle ent, as poor Aohansen ent, so ' shall go# ' $no too much, and the cult still li"es# >thulhu still li"es, too, ' suppose, again in that chasm of stone hich has shielded him since the sun as young# =is accursed city is sun$en once more, for the 2igilant sailed o"er the spot after the April storm( !ut his ministers on earth still !ello and prance and slay around idol1capped monoliths in lonely places# =e must ha"e !een trapped !y the sin$ing hilst ithin his !lac$ a!yss, or else the orld ould !y no !e screaming ith fright and fren)y# Who $no s the end< What has risen may sin$, and hat has sun$ may rise# Loathsomeness aits and dreams in the deep, and decay spreads o"er the tottering cities of men# A time ill come&!ut ' must not and cannot thin$O Let me pray that, if ' do not sur"i"e this manuscript, my e;ecutors may put caution !efore audacity and see that it meets no other eye#