# Why is Cthulhu all that? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 22, 2013, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-cthulhu-all-that/674539 "2013-11-22T17:18:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2013, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-cthulhu-all-that/674539/21 "2013-11-22T23:43:09Z")
> [@John\_DiFool](#): > > Has there ever been a truly mythic scale Lovecraftian film which has done full homage and honor to the mythos in question? Seems like most of them use the mythos as a flimsy backdrop for some cheap and obvious horror… The Last Lovecraft uses it more for some cheap and obvious horror comedy. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2013, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-cthulhu-all-that/674539/22 "2013-11-22T23:48:40Z")
Perhaps it’s just because “The Call of Cthulhu” (1926) is the first of the major Cthulhu-Mythos stories Lovecraft published. And, it contains all the thematic elements of the mythos, including (1) exiled dark-gods waiting to take back the Earth and (2) a cult of deluded and degenerate humans worshipping same. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2013, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-cthulhu-all-that/674539/23 "2013-11-22T23:51:55Z")
> [@Chimera](#): > > I gotta say that if I saw that, and that being “[hundreds of meters tall](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cthulhu)”, I’d completely lose my shit. Fail my Sanity Check in the game venacular. That’s why [this](http://theunclean.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/cthulhu-rlyeh-rising.jpg) has always been my favorite Cthulhu drawing. Because if I saw _that_ in real life, I’m pretty sure I’d be gibbering madly myself. While soiling my pants :D. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2013, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-cthulhu-all-that/674539/24 "2013-11-22T23:56:07Z")
> [@John\_DiFool](#): > > Has there ever been a truly mythic scale Lovecraftian film which has done full homage and honor to the mythos in question? Seems like most of them use the mythos as a flimsy backdrop for some cheap and obvious horror… [_Dagon_](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dagon_(film)) comes close. ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2013, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-cthulhu-all-that/674539/25 "2013-11-22T23:58:04Z")
> [@John\_DiFool](#): > > Has there ever been a truly mythic scale Lovecraftian film which has done full homage and honor to the mythos in question? Seems like most of them use the mythos as a flimsy backdrop for some cheap and obvious horror… > [@TBG](#): > > The Last Lovecraft uses it more for some cheap and obvious horror comedy. There’s also bunch of comedy anime series, with very little horror, under the general title of [Haiyore! Nyaruko-san](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haiyore!_Nyaruko-san). In that Nyarlathotep is one of the protagonists, in the form of a teenage girl called Nyaruko. ---
**Author:** ![G0sp3l](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c68b51/32.png) [@G0sp3l](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/G0sp3l)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2013, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-cthulhu-all-that/674539/26 "2013-11-23T00:11:05Z")
The real reason is Cthulhu got blowed up real good by a boat. Humans like believing we’re the center of the universe. We have aircraft carriers now and quite a few more nautical looking negroes. We can tell ourselves we might survive. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2013, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-cthulhu-all-that/674539/27 "2013-11-23T00:17:54Z")
> [@G0sp3l](#): > > We have aircraft carriers now and quite a few more nautical looking negroes. A few what now? :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Greg\_Charles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/839c29/32.png) [@Greg\_Charles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Greg_Charles)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2013, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-cthulhu-all-that/674539/28 "2013-11-23T00:19:40Z")
> [@Chimera](#): > > I gotta say that if I saw that, and that being “[hundreds of meters tall](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cthulhu)”, I’d completely lose my shit. Fail my Sanity Check in the game venacular. Hmm, **Chimera** is afraid of Cthulhu. OK, now we just need to get **Scylla** , **Sauron** , and (Candid) Gamera to weigh in to figure out who’s the baddest of the fictional monsters. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Q](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/898d66/32.png) [@Johnny\_Q](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Q)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2013, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-cthulhu-all-that/674539/29 "2013-11-23T00:43:05Z")
> [@G0sp3l](#): > > The real reason is Cthulhu got blowed up real good by a boat. Humans like believing we’re the center of the universe. We have aircraft carriers now and quite a few more nautical looking negroes. We can tell ourselves we might survive. And then he started regenerating again right afterward. Any “victory” we could achieve would be temporary. And this was when the stars weren’t “right” and he wasn’t truly awake. When his time truly comes, nukes will only make him mad. ---
**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:** [November 23, 2013, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-cthulhu-all-that/674539/30 "2013-11-23T00:54:36Z")
> [@Chimera](#): > > A few what now? :dubious: It’s from “The Call of Cthulhu.” Do try to pretend you belong reading this thread. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Penfeather](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penfeather/32/384_2.png) [@Penfeather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Penfeather)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2013, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-cthulhu-all-that/674539/31 "2013-11-23T01:09:41Z")
> [@DrFidelius](#): > > And “Hastur” just doesn’t sound eldritch enough. Hastur la vista, baby. ---
**Author:** ![Claverhouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/13edae/32.png) [@Claverhouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Claverhouse)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2013, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-cthulhu-all-that/674539/32 "2013-11-23T01:18:03Z")
Really… no-one yet has mentioned the greatest of all Cthulhu tributes. How soon we forget. **[Hello…](http://www.hello-cthulhu.com/?date=2006-12-24)** It changed lives. ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2013, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-cthulhu-all-that/674539/33 "2013-11-23T01:19:12Z")
> [@dracoi](#): > > But once Cthulhu wakes up… well, he’s going to be _right here_. So what ? We’ll just brain him with a cargo ship again, and it’s back to nappy time. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2013, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-cthulhu-all-that/674539/34 "2013-11-23T01:21:44Z")
> [@Johnny\_Q](#): > > And this was when the stars weren’t “right” and he wasn’t truly awake. Yeah, sure, we haven’t heard that one before. Wasn’t quite ready, it happens to every eldritch abomination once in a while, it’s not him it’s the stars, yadda yadda. ---
**Author:** ![Barking\_Dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ccd318/32.png) [@Barking\_Dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barking_Dog)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2013, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-cthulhu-all-that/674539/35 "2013-11-23T02:22:32Z")
> [@DrFidelius](#): > > And “Hastur” just doesn’t sound eldritch enough. I dunno. Looks kind of oblong to me. ---
**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:** [November 23, 2013, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-cthulhu-all-that/674539/36 "2013-11-23T02:38:38Z")
He waits and dreams in the deep and the cities of man shall fall before him! On a more Euclidean note Besides all that has been said, Cthulhu has a well-described form that’s easy to draw and sculpt. OTTOMH Shub Nigurrauth is vaguely described as tentacles and legs coming out of a cloud. Yog Sothoth is often described as a ‘congerie of iridescent bubbles’. Cthulhu is big and bad, but you just need to make a fat, green guy with an octopus for a head and wings. ---
**Author:** ![Hermione](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/cdc98d/32.png) [@Hermione](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hermione)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2013, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-cthulhu-all-that/674539/37 "2013-11-23T03:33:10Z")
I’ve mentioned [RinkWorks.com](http://RinkWorks.com) and its Book-A-Minute and Movie-A-Minute sites before. I love Thomas Deeny’s summing up of The Complete Works of H.P. Lovecraft: > [@](#): > > Narrator > I will tell you about something horrific I witnessed. > > (Narrator discusses MUNDANE experiences which supposedly lead up to something HORRIFIC.) > > Narrator > We’re almost at the horrific bit. > > (Narrator talks about more stuff that might be SPOOKY if he’d only GET ON WITH IT.) > > Narrator > We’re very close now. > > (Narrator draws it out MORE.) > > Narrator > This time I swear we’re just about at the horrific thing almost. > > (Narrator FINALLY gets to the HORRIFIC thing which is HUGE and POWERFUL and EVIL and LAME.) > > THE END There was also a parody of Lovecraft’s style somewhere which included the line: “It was a horror beyond description. I will describe it for you in detail.” ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2013, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-cthulhu-all-that/674539/38 "2013-11-23T03:39:19Z")
> [@DocCathode](#): > > Shub Nigurrauth is vaguely described as tentacles and legs coming out of a cloud. Ah, that would be like what I saw. Waking vision during an overcast day with dark, low clouds below the top of a 39 story condo building and just above the top of a 17 story building across the street. Saw vast tentacles dropping down from those clouds to envelop the smaller building, then the larger building. ---
**Author:** ![G0sp3l](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c68b51/32.png) [@G0sp3l](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/G0sp3l)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2013, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-cthulhu-all-that/674539/39 "2013-11-23T04:25:55Z")
> [@Johnny\_Q](#): > > And then he started regenerating again right afterward. Any “victory” we could achieve would be temporary. > > And this was when the stars weren’t “right” and he wasn’t truly awake. When his time truly comes, nukes will only make him mad. Well, I did say we like to THINK we could survive. > [@Tamerlane](#): > > That’s why [this](http://theunclean.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/cthulhu-rlyeh-rising.jpg) has always been my favorite Cthulhu drawing. Because if I saw _that_ in real life, I’m pretty sure I’d be gibbering madly myself. While soiling my pants :D. That’s what I use as my desktop wallpaper. > [@dropzone](#): > > It’s from “The Call of Cthulhu.” Do try to pretend you belong reading this thread. 😉 😃 ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2013, 6:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-cthulhu-all-that/674539/40 "2013-11-23T06:41:21Z")
> [@Kobal2](#): > > Yeah, sure, we haven’t heard that one before. Wasn’t quite ready, it happens to every eldritch abomination once in a while, it’s not him it’s the stars, yadda yadda. Fortunately they now have such abominable blasphemous fruits of the furtive and degenerate alchemist’s dark arts as V’iaghhra’a and C’iyalitsz. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-cthulhu-all-that/674539.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-cthulhu-all-that/674539.md?page=3)