# Where can I find an FAQ on Cthulhu? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 12, 2005, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-can-i-find-an-faq-on-cthulhu/289689 "2005-02-12T01:58:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2005, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-can-i-find-an-faq-on-cthulhu/289689/1 "2005-02-12T01:58:22Z")
I’m reading _Tales of the Cthulhu Mythos_, a collection of stories by and inspired by H. P. Lovecraft. So far, I’m up to _The Dweller in Darkness_ and I’m seriously loving it. However, all the different names are confusing at times, so I wondered if there was an internet Cthulhu encyclopedia-esque site, similiar to [The Encyclopedia of Arda](http://www.glyphweb.com/arda/default.htm), or [The Harry Potter Lexicon](http://www.hp-lexicon.org/). Thanks! _Cthulhu fhtagn!_ ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2005, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-can-i-find-an-faq-on-cthulhu/289689/2 "2005-02-12T01:59:28Z")
There was one, but it drove the webmaster mad… ---
**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2005, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-can-i-find-an-faq-on-cthulhu/289689/3 "2005-02-12T02:01:45Z")
[http://www.cthulhu.org/](http://www.cthulhu.org/) is a good place to start. Be sure to check out the alt.sex.cthulhu archives. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2005, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-can-i-find-an-faq-on-cthulhu/289689/4 "2005-02-12T02:13:04Z")
Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2005, 7:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-can-i-find-an-faq-on-cthulhu/289689/5 "2005-02-12T07:33:31Z")
That’s Volume 1, right? EXCELLENT book! The unfortunate part (as I recall from 1973 or 4) is that those guys, to be frank and speaking as a Lovecraft fan, could, almost to a man, write rings around ol’ Howie. ---
**Author:** ![Skott](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Skott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skott)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2005, 7:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-can-i-find-an-faq-on-cthulhu/289689/6 "2005-02-12T07:52:18Z")
I think [wikipedia.org](http://wikipedia.org) has some pretty good articles about Cthulhu. ---
**Author:** ![pinkfreud](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pinkfreud/32/17603_2.png) [@pinkfreud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pinkfreud)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2005, 8:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-can-i-find-an-faq-on-cthulhu/289689/7 "2005-02-12T08:07:16Z")
There’s an excellent Cthulhu Mythos FAQ [here](http://www.necfiles.org/mythos.htm) that should be helpful. Part 2 has a lot of good info about The Great Old Ones and other arcane horrors. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2005, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-can-i-find-an-faq-on-cthulhu/289689/8 "2005-02-12T17:21:20Z")
[The complete works of the Master](http://www.dagonbytes.com/thelibrary/lovecraft/index.html) ---
**Author:** ![Skott](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Skott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skott)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2005, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-can-i-find-an-faq-on-cthulhu/289689/9 "2005-02-12T18:55:10Z")
Here’s the link at wikipedia… sorry, I couldn’t get it last night: > **[Cthulhu Mythos](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cthulhu_Mythos)** > > The Cthulhu Mythos is a mythopoeia and a shared fictional universe, originating in the works of American horror writer H. P. Lovecraft. The term was coined by August Derleth, a contemporary correspondent and protégé of Lovecraft, to identify the settings, tropes, and lore that were employed by Lovecraft and his literary successors. The name Cthulhu derives from the central creature in Lovecraft's seminal short story "The Call of Cthulhu", first published in the pulp magazine Weird Tales in 1928.\[... It has a link for an “official FAQ” but it doesn’t work. Plenty of other resources to play with though 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2005, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-can-i-find-an-faq-on-cthulhu/289689/10 "2005-02-12T19:05:34Z")
Lovecraft let his friend, Robert E. Howard, creator of _Conan The Barbarian_, write in the Mythos, too. His writings are considered canon. His best are gathered here [http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1568821301/qid=1108235811/sr=1-1/ref=sr\_1\_1/103-9174402-2143801?v=glance&s=books](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1568821301/qid=1108235811/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/103-9174402-2143801?v=glance&s=books) Yes, you are interested. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2005, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-can-i-find-an-faq-on-cthulhu/289689/11 "2005-02-13T03:00:36Z")
Well, so far my favorite story is _The Black Stone_ by Howard. I’m up to _Notebook Found in a Deserted House_, by Robert Bloch. BTW, do the other books have stories that tell about Innsmouth and Arkham? These stories kick serious ass. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2005, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-can-i-find-an-faq-on-cthulhu/289689/12 "2005-02-13T04:40:29Z")
Speaking of Arkham, how is it that the authorities of Gotham City think that a site so steeped in the psychic vibrations of Elder Gods, Nameless Ones, and various and sundry eldritch horrors is likely to have a therapeutic effect on the criminally insane? ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2005, 6:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-can-i-find-an-faq-on-cthulhu/289689/13 "2005-02-13T06:28:14Z")
**Kaylasdad99** The asylum is named after its founder. Following the family tradition, the current scion of the Arkham line has become a psychiatrist. To really follow family tradition, he’ll have to become insane and be locked up in the asylum. BTW I loaned one of my favorite mythos books to a friend who seems to have skipped town. Does anybody know where I can get another copy of The King In Yellow? ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2005, 9:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-can-i-find-an-faq-on-cthulhu/289689/14 "2005-02-13T09:38:13Z")
All sorts of authors wrote in the Mythos and it was a running in-joke that they’d kill each other off in the stories. Some authors not so far named are August Derleth, Henry Kuttner, Robert Bloch, Lin Carter, Robert Price, Ramsey Campbell, and many more. Iä! ---
**Author:** ![RandomLetters](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8edcca/32.png) [@RandomLetters](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RandomLetters)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2005, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-can-i-find-an-faq-on-cthulhu/289689/15 "2005-02-13T13:33:16Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > Speaking of Arkham, how is it that the authorities of Gotham City think that a site so steeped in the psychic vibrations of Elder Gods, Nameless Ones, and various and sundry eldritch horrors is likely to have a therapeutic effect on the criminally insane? Well, if the psychic vibrations of various eldritch horrors can drive a sane man mad, then obviously those same forces can drive an insane man back to sanity. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2005, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-can-i-find-an-faq-on-cthulhu/289689/16 "2005-02-13T15:32:12Z")
I would just add that in the “Night Gallery” vignette, “Professor Peabody’s Last Lecture,” Professor Peabody (played by Carl Reiner) gives a rather good rundown of the major players, despite some interruptions by students H.P. Lovecraft and August Derleth. ---
**Author:** ![gobear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8dc957/32.png) [@gobear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gobear)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2005, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-can-i-find-an-faq-on-cthulhu/289689/17 "2005-02-13T16:13:45Z")
I would also recommend going to [cthulhulives.org](http://cthulhulives.org) where you can pick up a CD of a musical pastiche of Lovecraft and a certain Broadway classic, [A Shoggoth on the Roof](http://www.cthulhulives.org/Musical/cdinfo.html). I got mine and have not been able to stop listening to it. So far, I’m no madder than usual, but I’m sure the eldritch dreams of dead R’lyeh will ensue in no time. ---
**Author:** ![scotandrsn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a4c791/32.png) [@scotandrsn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scotandrsn)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2005, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-can-i-find-an-faq-on-cthulhu/289689/18 "2005-02-13T16:17:54Z")
There used to be a Lovecraft search engine called Cthuugle, but it seems to have been taken down. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2005, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-can-i-find-an-faq-on-cthulhu/289689/19 "2005-02-13T19:15:00Z")
> [@Earl Snake-Hips Tucker](#): > > I would just add that in the “Night Gallery” vignette, “Professor Peabody’s Last Lecture,” Professor Peabody (played by Carl Reiner) gives a rather good rundown of the major players, despite some interruptions by students H.P. Lovecraft and August Derleth. Is that the one where they’re in class and he’s mentioning all the different players (Cthulhu, Shub-Niggurath, Hastur, Azathoth), and then all of a sudden a giant storm kicks up and finally it ends when his face becomes a horrid mess of tentacles and eyes? Now I’m reading _Rising With Surtsey_ by Brian Lumley. (One neat thing about discovering different fandoms like Lovecraft and Tolkien and others is that you start recognizing various Doper member names!!!) ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2005, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-can-i-find-an-faq-on-cthulhu/289689/20 "2005-02-13T21:50:04Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > Is that the one where they’re in class and he’s mentioning all the different players (Cthulhu, Shub-Niggurath, Hastur, Azathoth), and then all of a sudden a giant storm kicks up and finally it ends when his face becomes a horrid mess of tentacles and eyes? Yep. Professor Peabody made the mistake of mentioning the ineffable name of Hastur not once, but twice! [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-can-i-find-an-faq-on-cthulhu/289689.md?page=2)