“That is not dead which can eternal lie,
And with strange aeons even death may die.”
These are the words that Howard Phillips Lovecraft, one of the most important horror authors of the 20th century, set down in his version of the myth of Cthulhu. During his lifetime, he was a marginally successful author whose stories were published only in magazines. It was only following his death that his creepy stories achieved worldwide fame and popularity.
Lovecraft was strongly inspired by Edgar Allan Poe and William Chambers, and he developed his own authentic style. Over time, he created an entire cosmos of scary horror stories, all filled with strange, evil and sometimes almost godlike creatures.
One of the central demons in his world of terror is Cthulhu, an incredibly powerful creature. He allegedly slumbers on the ocean ground in the sunken city of R’lyeh, waiting for the stars to assemble themselves into the correct constellation, such that he may wake up and rule the world again. When this happens, every living creature will be devoured by death and chaos.
Cthulhu’s body is largely that of a human. However, he also has the wings of dragon and the head of an octopus. Cthulhu is horrifically massive… but he’s already one of the less unattractive creatures in Lovecraft’s creepy and disgusting cosmos.
In general, Lovecraft is known for dealing with sunken and forgotten worlds, shady and seedy creatures from another world and shadowy sects that worship evil and forbidden gods. Cthulhu, however, is a real classic – he is Lovecraft’s flagship monster. Countless stories have been devoted to this monster, who dozes on in his sunken house…
