The Ultimate Guide to Lovecraftian Gods and Cosmic Creatures
Cosmic horror is a subgenre of horror fiction that does not aim to frighten readers with monsters that can be defeated, ghosts that can be exorcised, killers who can be caught, or anything else you might expect from a traditional horror story. Its fear comes from somewhere else entirely: the realisation that the universe is vast, indifferent, impossible for the human mind to comprehend, and that humanity holds no special place within it.
The creator of the genre and its most influential writer was H.P. Lovecraft (1890–1937). During the 1920s and 1930s, the American author established the central ideas that define this form of horror:
Human insignificance: humanity is a cosmic accident, and not the centre of existence.
The unknown as the threat: the horror comes not from what we understand, but from what exists beyond the limits of human comprehension.
Madness as the consequence: characters who come into contact with the cosmic truth often lose their sanity because the human mind was never meant to process such knowledge.
Indifferent entities: the cosmic beings do not hate humanity; they simply don’t notice it, much as we pay no attention to ants as we walk past them.
Lovecraft summarised this philosophy in the opening of his most famous story, “The Call of Cthulhu” (1928), where he wrote that the greatest mercy in the world is the inability of the human mind to correlate all its contents.
The Cthulhu Mythos
The Cthulhu Mythos (a term coined by later writers, as Lovecraft himself never used it) refers to the collection of gods, entities, forbidden books, and fictional locations created by Lovecraft and later expanded by other authors into a shared fictional universe.
One of its most enjoyable and distinctive features is that Lovecraft treated his own setting as an “open mythology”. He encouraged friends and fellow writers, including Robert E. Howard, Clark Ashton Smith, and August Derleth, to use his gods, books, and ideas in their own stories, allowing the mythology to grow through collaboration.
That tradition continues today, making the Cthulhu Mythos arguably the only major modern mythological system built collectively by multiple authors.
The Outer Gods: Ultimate Cosmic Entities
Within the Mythos, the Outer Gods are entities that exist beyond the Solar System, outside the Milky Way, or even in a realm that predates material reality itself. Because of this, they are older and more powerful than the Great Old Ones. Even so, drawing a clear line around what qualifies as an Outer God can be difficult. Lovecraft himself never used that term in his fiction, referring to them simply as the ‘Other Gods’.
Azathoth – The Blind Idiot God
Azathoth is the supreme primordial being and the origin of the entire universe, existing before and above every other god and creature in the Mythos. According to the lore, Azathoth exists on a completely separate plane that predates reality itself. At some point, the entity fell into an endless sleep and began to dream, bringing the universe into existence.
In other words, all of reality is nothing more than the dream of an indifferent god. This is why Azathoth is known as ‘The Blind Idiot God’.
Azathoth has no consistent physical description and is, in most cases, only mentioned by name.
- The Dreams in the Witch House
- The Thing on the Doorstep
- The Haunter of the Dark
- Fungi from Yuggoth
Nyarlathotep – The Crawling Chaos
Nyarlathotep is one of the most important gods in the Mythos and appears throughout many of Lovecraft’s stories. Created by Azathoth himself, this being acts as a kind of messenger for the gods. Nyarlathotep is the most active of the Outer Gods, although he almost always appears disguised as one of his many avatars or manifestations. The best-known are The Black Man and The Haunter in the Dark.
Because he possesses countless avatars, Nyarlathotep is described in many different ways, while very little is known about his true form.
- The Rats in the Walls
- The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath
- The Last Test
- The Mound
- Fungi from Yuggoth
- The Whisperer in Darkness
- The Dreams in the Witch House
- The Man of Stone
- The Shadow out of Time
- The Haunter of the Dark
Nyog’Sothep – Nameless Mist
Nyog’Sothep was also created by Azathoth but has far less presence in Lovecraft’s work, despite being the progenitor of Yog-Sothoth. Lovecraft referred to the character only as the Nameless Mist, or simply as the ‘Not-to-be-Named One’, and any descriptions of the entity are vague, if they exist at all.
- The Whisperer in Darkness
The Darkness
Like Nyog’Sothep, The Darkness exists mainly to fill a place in the family tree of the Outer Gods, completing the trio of Azathoth’s offspring. The Darkness is the progenitor of Shub-Niggurath and has no other known traits, role, or description beyond that. It’s never mentioned in any of Lovecraft’s stories.
Yog-Sothoth – The All-in-One and One-in-All
Yog-Sothoth is one of the main antagonists of the Mythos and one of its most important figures, beginning with the fact that he is the progenitor of the Great Cthulhu.
He is most often described as a mass of glowing orbs, sometimes depicted as spheres covered with eyes. Yog-Sothoth possesses all knowledge of existence and is occasionally regarded as a rival to Azathoth in terms of power. For that reason, he is frequently the focus of summoning rituals.
- The Last Test
- History of the Necronomicon
- The Dunwich Horror
- The Electric Executioner
- The Whisperer in Darkness
- At the Mountains of Madness
- The Horror in the Museum
- Through the Gates of the Silver Key
- The Haunter of the Dark
Shub-Niggurath – The Black Goat of the Woods
Unlike the other gods, Shub-Niggurath is referred to with feminine titles, including ‘All-Mother’ and ‘Mother Goddess’. Although she is never physically described, she is frequently invoked in rituals, especially through her famous epithet, ‘The Black Goat of the Woods with a Thousand Young’. She is also associated with fertility and nature and is possibly the consort of Yog-Sothoth.
- The Dunwich Horror
- The Last Test
- The Mound
- Medusa’s Coil
- The Whisperer in Darkness
- The Dreams in the Witch House
- The Man of Stone
- The Horror in the Museum
- Out of the Aeons
- The Thing on the Doorstep
- The Diary of Alonzo Typer
Tulzscha – The Green Flame
Tulzscha is the later name given to the entity known as The Green Flame, which appears during rituals when summoned by humans. What little is known is that Tulzscha belongs to the Lesser Outer Gods within Azathoth’s court.
- The Festival
The Great Old Ones: Ancient Terrors of Earth and Space
The Great Old Ones are beings of immense power, immense age, and great malevolence, ranking below the Outer Gods in the Mythos cosmology. At some point in the distant past, these entities arrived on Earth and ruled it for countless ages, even constructing vast cities. In time, however, most of the Great Old Ones lost their dominion and were cast into an endless slumber, where they remain to this day, leaving behind only their ruined cities and their lingering influence over humanity.
Although the term Great Old Ones is widely recognised today, Lovecraft rarely used it and usually did so as a general label for his collection of creatures, without making a clear distinction between them. Later writers adopted the category to separate these beings from the Outer Gods while placing them above less powerful races, such as the Deep Ones. Even so, there is no precise measure for determining where some of these entities belong when compared with one another.
Nug & Yeb – The Twin Blasphemies
Nug and Yeb are two more figures within the Mythos family tree, the offspring of Shub-Niggurath and Yog-Sothoth, and the progenitors of Cthulhu and Tsathoggua. Very little is known about either entity beyond the existence of places of worship dedicated to them. Most of their characteristics come from Lovecraft’s correspondence or later expansions of the Mythos. One such example is the idea that they were once Cxaxukluth, an Outer God who split into two separate beings.
- The Last Test
- Out of the Aeons
Cthulhu – The Sleeper of R'lyeh
Cthulhu is arguably the central figure in Lovecraft’s work and the character most responsible for the popular image of his mythology. He was created for Lovecraft’s most famous story, The Call of Cthulhu, where he first appeared alongside the sunken city of R’lyeh beneath the Pacific Ocean.
Cthulhu is believed to have arrived on Earth in the distant past, supposedly from the planet Vhoorl. At some point, he came into conflict with the Elder Things, who imprisoned him in an endless sleep within the city of R’lyeh, where he remains to this day. Cthulhu also attracts one of the largest followings in the Mythos, with cultists spread across the world, including the Deep Ones and even the alien Mi-Go.
His appearance is one of the most recognisable among the Great Old Ones, largely based on the famous idol described in the story. He possesses the head of a cephalopod, a body combining human and draconic features, enormous claws, vast wings, and a size comparable to that of a mountain.
Like the plans of every Great Old One, Cthulhu’s true intentions remain unknown. His followers believe that, if he is ever freed, he will usher in a new age without laws or civilisation, where humanity will exist in an indescribable state.
- The Call of Cthulhu
- History of the Necronomicon
- The Dunwich Horror
- The Electric Executioner
- The Mound
- Medusa’s Coil
- The Whisperer in Darkness
- At the Mountains of Madness
- The Shadow over Innsmouth
- The Horror in the Museum
- Through the Gates of the Silver Key
- Winged Death
Tsathoggua – The Sleeper of N’kai
Tsathoggua was created by Clark Ashton Smith as part of his Hyperborean Cycle. Even so, the character first appeared in a Lovecraft story, and Lovecraft later mentioned him in several of his own works, making Tsathoggua one of the most frequently referenced deities in the Mythos, second only to Yog-Sothoth despite appearing only by name.
Tsathoggua is described as a toad-like creature with bat-like features and a tongue long enough to hang from its mouth. The entity is also capable of changing shape. Like many Great Old Ones, Tsathoggua came from another world, first dwelling beneath the subterranean realm of N’kai before later settling beneath Mount Voormithadreth in Hyperborea.
- The Whisperer in Darkness
- At the Mountains of Madness
- The Man of Stone
- The Horror in the Museum
- Through the Gates of the Silver Key
- Winged Death
- Out of the Aeons
- The Shadow out of Time
Dagon and Hydra – Patrons of The Deep Ones
Dagon is one of the best-known entities in the Mythos, recognised as the great progenitor of the Deep Ones and worshipped by the Esoteric Order of Dagon. He appears to dwell near the town of Innsmouth, where his influence transformed many of the inhabitants into hybrid beings with fish-like features. Dagon also appears to have some connection with Cthulhu, almost as though he were one of his servants.
He is described as a gigantic amphibious humanoid and has been worshipped as a fish god since ancient times, as hinted at by the ruins found upon a remote island.
Mother Hydra is regarded as Dagon’s consort and shares his rule over the society of the Deep Ones.
- Dagon
- The Shadow over Innsmouth
Brokug – The Great Water Lizard
Bokrug is a creature that dwells within great lakes. It slept peacefully until the people of Sarnath stole one of its sacred idols and massacred the inhabitants of Ib. In retaliation, Bokrug destroyed the entire city of Sarnath. After that event, the deity was never seen again.
Bokrug is described as a gigantic lizard with humanoid characteristics.
- The Doom That Came to Sarnath
Yig – Father of Serpents
Yig is one of the ancient gods worshipped on the lost continent of Mu and is credited with aiding humanity against the Great Old One Ghatanothoa. Unlike many beings in the Mythos, Yig appears to show little hostility towards humans unless they provoke him. Ancient civilisations still performed rituals and offerings in an attempt to keep him away.
His current whereabouts remain unknown, and he seems to intervene only when one of his serpents is harmed. Otherwise, he remains isolated, existing little more than a legend.
- The Curse of Yig
- The Mound
- The Whisperer in Darkness
- Out of the Aeons
Ghathanatoa – The Dark God
Ghatanothoa is a sinister entity that was brought to Earth from its home world of Yuggoth before being imprisoned atop Mount Yaddith-Gho on the continent of Mu. Long afterwards, humans living nearby began worshipping the imprisoned deity, forming a powerful cult that eventually spread to other lands. Some believed Ghatanothoa was so malevolent that even other Great Old Ones would oppose him, placing themselves on humanity’s side.
Ghatanothoa is described as a colossal, misshapen being combining features of an octopus, an elephant, and a reptile covered in scales. Anyone who looks directly upon the entity is frozen forever, fully conscious but unable to move.
- Out of The Aeons
Gloon – Master of The Temple
Very little is known about Gloon. Its defining characteristic is its resemblance to a statue of the god Dionysus, while possessing the ability to drive people insane. Gloon is also associated with a temple beneath the sea.
The name Gloon and the idea of the entity guarding an interdimensional gateway were introduced in later Mythos expansions. In Lovecraft’s original story, however, it is simply a sinister statue with a corrupting influence.
- The Temple
‘Umr at-Tawil – The Most Ancient One
‘Umr at-Tawil is an ancient and mysterious entity created by Lovecraft and E. Hoffmann Price. He is linked to the Ultimate Gate, where he awaits those who manage to pass through the First Gate. ‘Umr is the leader of the Ancient Ones, beings connected to Yog-Sothoth, making him one of the Outer God’s servants.
He is described as a towering humanoid, far taller than any ordinary person, completely concealed beneath flowing robes and moving while floating above the ground.
- Through the Gates of the Silver Key
Hastur – The Unspeakable / The King in Yellow
Hastur has become one of the best-known figures in the Cthulhu Mythos, although the character predates Lovecraft. He was originally created by Ambrose Bierce, who portrayed Hastur as a benevolent deity associated with shepherds and introduced the city of Carcosa.
The character later appeared in The King in Yellow by Robert W. Chambers, where Hastur’s nature became far more ambiguous while retaining references to Bierce’s original creation.
Lovecraft admired the concept and incorporated Hastur into the Mythos, where later writers continued to expand the character.
- The Whisperer in Darkness
Rhan-Tegoth – Terror of The Hominids
Rhan-Tegoth is another of the Great Old Ones who once inhabited Yuggoth before travelling to Earth. During a remote age, the entity settled in what is now Alaska, where it entered a state of hibernation. It was the last Great Old One to fall asleep, and many believe it will be the first to awaken.
The creature was once worshipped by the Gnophkehs, a pre-human race. After disappearing for countless ages, its preserved body was discovered and placed in a museum before mysteriously vanishing once again.
Rhan-Tegoth is described as a gigantic insect-like creature with a cylindrical body, tentacled trunks, clawed limbs, and thick fur.
- The Horror in the Museum
Oorn
Oorn is a creature created by Lovecraft in collaboration with R. H. Barlow. Unlike many beings in the Mythos, Oorn is not considered dangerous. Its defining ability is to imitate the human voice, a trait exploited by priests who elevated the creature to the status of a god.
- The Hoard of the Wizard-Beast
Eldritch Races and Alien Monsters
The Eldritch Races and Alien Creatures section brings together the beings that rank below the Great Old Ones and do not possess the same level of power. Although some of them display abilities beyond human comprehension, they are generally treated as a separate category from the higher-ranking entities.
The Elder Things
The Elder Things, also known as the Old Ones, are one or more alien species that inhabited the Earth during its earliest ages. They were the first great colonisers of the planet, constructing vast cities and, quite possibly, creating the earliest forms of terrestrial life.
As the planet gradually cooled, most of the Elder Things migrated to enormous cities beneath the sea, where they are believed to remain. Their settlements on the surface were abandoned, leaving their ruins buried beneath the Antarctic ice or hidden in remote corners of the world.
The Elder Things resemble plants as much as animals and even reproduce through spores. They are enormous beings with numerous tentacles and tubular appendages, multiple limbs, and wings similar to those of a bat. They are equally capable of surviving on land, beneath the ocean under immense pressure, and even in the vacuum of space.
- At the Mountains of Madness
- The Dreams in the Witch House
Deep Ones
The Deep Ones are a race of amphibious humanoids with features resembling those of fish. They dwell beneath the ocean and are sometimes referred to as the Sea People. Within the Mythos, they appear to be the offspring of ancient entities, particularly Dagon, although neither their true origin nor their age is ever made clear.
One of the most distinctive aspects of the Deep Ones is their ability to transform ordinary humans. Through prolonged contact with Dagon, interbreeding, or exposure to their influence, humans gradually develop Deep One characteristics and pass those traits on to future generations. As this transformation progresses, hybrids often feel an irresistible urge to travel to the underwater city of Y’ha-nthlei, believed to be ruled by Dagon and Mother Hydra.
Deep Ones are described as humanoids with amphibious or fish-like features. They possess bulging eyes, scales, gills, shark-like mouths, clawed hands, and webbed fingers.
- Dagon
- The Shadow over Innsmouth
- The Thing on the Doorstep
Shoggoths
Shoggoths are amorphous creatures genetically engineered by the Elder Things to act as servants, primarily assisting with the construction of their vast cities. At first, they possessed no independent thought and carried out their tasks without question. Over time, however, they developed intelligence and self-awareness, eventually rebelling against their creators and slaughtering many of them.
Few Shoggoths appear to have survived into the present day. Those that remain are believed to exist beneath the Antarctic ice or in the deepest parts of the oceans.
A Shoggoth is described as a gigantic mass of black, gelatinous protoplasm capable of reshaping itself into almost any form.
- At the Mountains of Madness
- The Shadow over Innsmouth
- The Thing on the Doorstep
- Fungi from Yuggoth
Mi-Go
The Mi-Go, also known as the Fungi from Yuggoth, are an alien civilisation devoted to exploration and colonisation, including the settlement of Yuggoth itself. Their technology is extraordinarily advanced, and they can be viewed as brilliant cosmic scientists. They are capable of altering living bodies, removing and preserving brains, engineering entirely new species, and creating technology far beyond human understanding.
Like several other alien races, the Mi-Go visited Earth thousands of years ago for scientific research. Their arrival led to a conflict with the Elder Things, forcing the two civilisations to occupy different regions of the planet. The Mi-Go eventually established themselves in the Himalayas and the hills of Vermont.
Perhaps their greatest invention is the Brain Cylinder, a device capable of transporting a person’s brain across immense distances, even to another planet.
The Mi-Go are winged creatures resembling a mixture of crustaceans and fungi. They cannot be photographed because of the unusual way their bodies reflect light, and they feed exclusively on fungi instead of terrestrial food.
- The Fungi from Yuggoth
The Great Race of Yith
The Great Race of Yith, or simply the Yithians, are an alien civilisation capable of exchanging minds with members of other species across space and time. This unique ability effectively allows them to travel through history.
The Yithians take their name from their original home world, Yith, which they escaped by transferring their minds into beings that inhabited prehistoric Earth. Here they established the city of Pnakotus, where they devoted themselves to collecting, preserving, and recording knowledge.
During their time on Earth, they fought a war against the Flying Polyps, eventually defeating and imprisoning them.
Much later, the Yithians foresaw the Flying Polyps escaping and destroying their civilisation. To avoid extinction, they once again transferred their minds into another species living in the distant future.
The appearance of the original Yithians is unknown. Their Earth-bound bodies are described as towering cone-shaped beings with several tentacles extending from the top of their bodies, clawed appendages, and a trumpet-like feeding organ. They communicate through clicking sounds, telepathy, and written language.
- The Shadow out of Time
The Elder Gods
The Elder Gods concepts were not created by Lovecraft but were introduced in the expanded Mythos to classify divine beings that do not comfortably fit among the Outer Gods or the Great Old Ones. Like those entities, they originate from beyond Earth, often from other dimensions or distant regions of space.
In general, the Elder Gods are ancient deities from real-world mythologies reinterpreted through the lens of the Cthulhu Mythos. They are commonly portrayed as allies of humanity and enemies of the Great Old Ones.
The concept also provides an explanation for how the immensely powerful Great Old Ones came to be imprisoned or subdued before the events of Lovecraft’s stories.
The only Elder Gods created directly by Lovecraft are:
Hypnos, the Greek god of sleep. In the expanded Mythos, he guards the entrance to the Dreamlands.
Nodens, a Celtic god of healing. He is portrayed as an enemy of Nyarlathotep, a ruler within the Dreamlands, and the master of the Night-gaunts.
- Hypnos
- The Strange High House in The Mist
- The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath
The Dreamlands and the Great Ones
The Dreamlands are a mystical parallel world in Lovecraft’s fiction that humans can enter through exceptional dreams. As expected, this realm follows very different rules from the waking world and is populated by its own unique inhabitants.
The Dreamlands appear throughout many of Lovecraft’s stories, particularly those belonging to the Dream Cycle, and provide the setting for many of his most fantastical tales.
Among the best-known locations are the cities of Ulthar, Celephaïs, and Kadath, home to the gods known as the Great Ones.
Most of the Dreamlands’ inhabitants receive very little attention in Lovecraft’s fiction and are mentioned only briefly.
Lilith
Lilith appears as a being similar to one of the Great Old Ones who was banished to the Dreamlands, where she became one of the Great Ones.
- The Horror at Red Hook
Nath-Horthath
Nath-Horthath is one of the Great Ones who dwells within the Dreamlands and is recognised as the chief god of Celephaïs.
- Celephaïs
Lobon
Lobon is one of the Great Ones residing in Kadath within the Dreamlands. He was once worshipped as a god in the city of Sarnath and is described as a humanoid figure carrying a spear.
- The Doom That Came to Sarnath
Tamash
Tamash is another Great One who dwells in Kadath and possesses the power to create illusions. Like Lobon, he was once worshipped in the city of Sarnath.
- The Doom That Came to Sarnath
Zo-Kalar
Zo-Kalar is another of the Great Ones living within the Dreamlands. He was worshipped alongside Lobon and Tamash in Sarnath.
- The Doom That Came to Sarnath
Night-gaunts
The Night-gaunts inhabit the Dreamlands and serve the god Nodens. They are winged humanoid creatures with horns and completely featureless faces.
- The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath
Ghasts
Ghasts are inhabitants of the Dreamlands with vaguely humanoid bodies but no foreheads or noses. They communicate through harsh, guttural coughing sounds and are hunted by the Gugs.
- The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath
Zoogs
Zoogs are small, curious creatures resembling rodents that live within the forests of the Dreamlands. They are the sworn enemies of cats.
- The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath
Moon-Beasts
The Moon-Beasts inhabit the moon of the Dreamlands, where they are involved in the slave trade. They are described as squat, toad-like beings of immense strength, with tentacles extending from their snouts and pale, rubbery skin.
- The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath
Lobon
Gugs are extradimensional creatures that dwell within the Dreamlands. They are enormous, beast-like beings with limbs divided into four separate sections. They once worshipped the Great Ones who lived upon the mountain of Kadath.
- The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath
