Leng
Encyclopedia
Leng is a fictional cold arid plateau
in the Cthulhu Mythos
, whose location seems to vary entirely from story to story. The Plateau of Tsang, referenced by H. P. Lovecraft
and other authors, is probably a region of Leng.
Abdul Alhazred
describes it as a place where different realities converge, which might explain why its precise location cannot be pinned down.
Plateau
In geology and earth science, a plateau , also called a high plain or tableland, is an area of highland, usually consisting of relatively flat terrain. A highly eroded plateau is called a dissected plateau...
in the Cthulhu Mythos
Cthulhu Mythos
The Cthulhu Mythos is a shared fictional universe, based on the work of American horror writer H. P. Lovecraft.The term was first coined by August Derleth, a contemporary correspondent of Lovecraft, who used the name of the creature Cthulhu - a central figure in Lovecraft literature and the focus...
, whose location seems to vary entirely from story to story. The Plateau of Tsang, referenced by H. P. Lovecraft
H. P. Lovecraft
Howard Phillips Lovecraft --often credited as H.P. Lovecraft — was an American author of horror, fantasy and science fiction, especially the subgenre known as weird fiction....
and other authors, is probably a region of Leng.
Abdul Alhazred
Abdul Alhazred
Abdul Alhazred is a fictional character created by American horror writer H. P. Lovecraft. He is the so-called "Mad Arab" credited with authoring the imaginary book Kitab al-Azif , and as such an integral part of Cthulhu Mythos lore....
describes it as a place where different realities converge, which might explain why its precise location cannot be pinned down.
Appearances in Lovecraft's work
- Lovecraft first described Leng in "The Hound" (19221922 in literatureThe year 1922 in literature involved some significant events and new books.Under the current U.S. copyright law, all works published before January 1, 1923 with a proper copyright notice entered the public domain no later than 75 years from the date of the copyright...
) in which the dreaded NecronomiconNecronomiconThe Necronomicon is a fictional grimoire appearing in the stories by horror writer H. P. Lovecraft and his followers. It was first mentioned in Lovecraft's 1924 short story "The Hound", written in 1922, though its purported author, the "Mad Arab" Abdul Alhazred, had been quoted a year earlier in...
places it in Central AsiaCentral AsiaCentral Asia is a core region of the Asian continent from the Caspian Sea in the west, China in the east, Afghanistan in the south, and Russia in the north...
and says it is inhabited by a human corpse-eating cult. - In The Dream-Quest of Unknown KadathThe Dream-Quest of Unknown KadathThe Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath is a novella by H. P. Lovecraft. It was completed in 1927 and was unpublished in his lifetime. It is both the longest of the stories that comprise his Dream Cycle and the longest to feature protagonist Randolph Carter, and can thus be considered a culminating...
, (19261926 in literatureThe year 1926 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*Bread Loaf Writers' Conference is founded in Middlebury, Vermont....
) the Plateau of Leng is located in the north of the Dreamlands, an alternate dimension accessible only in sleep. It is inhabited by the High Priest Not to Be DescribedHigh Priest Not to Be DescribedThe High Priest Not to Be Described is a fictional character in H. P. Lovecraft's Dream Cycle. He first appeared in the Lovecraft short story "Celephaïs" .-Summary:...
, who dwells alone in a prehistoric monastery, and by a race of degenerate humans who are feared by all other men. - In At the Mountains of MadnessAt the Mountains of MadnessAt the Mountains of Madness is a novella by horror writer H. P. Lovecraft, written in February/March 1931 and rejected that year by Weird Tales editor Farnsworth Wright on the grounds of its length. It was originally serialized in the February, March and April 1936 issues of Astounding Stories...
, an expedition from Miskatonic UniversityMiskatonic UniversityMiskatonic University is a fictional university located in Arkham; a fictitious town which is said to exist in Essex County, Massachusetts. It is named after the Miskatonic River . After first appearing in the H. P...
explores a plateau in Antarctica and discovers an ancient and apparently abandoned city built by the Elder ThingElder ThingThe Elder Things are fictional extraterrestrials in the Cthulhu Mythos. The beings first appeared, although not named in H. P. Lovecraft's short story "The Dreams in the Witch-House"...
s. One member of the expedition, who has encountered references to the Plateau of Leng in ancient texts, forms the hypothesis that the plateau they are exploring is Leng. In common with the High Priest's abode in The Dream-Quest of Unknown KadathThe Dream-Quest of Unknown KadathThe Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath is a novella by H. P. Lovecraft. It was completed in 1927 and was unpublished in his lifetime. It is both the longest of the stories that comprise his Dream Cycle and the longest to feature protagonist Randolph Carter, and can thus be considered a culminating...
, the walls of the buildings atop the plateau are covered with detailed frescos that are disturbing to read. However, it is never explicitly stated in the text — or in any of Lovecraft's later works — that this Antarctic city actually is Leng. In fact, it seems more likely that the city is simply an outpost of the Elder Things which came to Earth not to conquer but to live in isolation. - Wilmarth briefly mentions Leng in "The Whisperer in DarknessThe Whisperer in Darkness"The Whisperer in Darkness" is a short story by H. P. Lovecraft. Written February–September 1930, it was first published in Weird Tales, August 1931. Similar to "The Colour Out of Space" , it is a blend of horror and science fiction...
". - Leng is also mentioned in "The Horror in the MuseumThe Horror in the Museum"The Horror in the Museum" is a short story ghostwritten by H. P. Lovecraft for Hazel Heald in October 1932. The story has been reprinted in several collections, such as The Horror in the Museum and Other Revisions.- Plot :...
" and "CelephaïsCelephaïs"Celephaïs" is a fantasy story by American horror fiction writer H. P. Lovecraft, written in early November 1920 and first published in the May 1922 issue of the Rainbow.The title refers to a fictional city that later appears in H. P...
".
Other mentions
- In Stephen KingStephen KingStephen Edwin King is an American author of contemporary horror, suspense, science fiction and fantasy fiction. His books have sold more than 350 million copies and have been adapted into a number of feature films, television movies and comic books...
's novel Needful ThingsNeedful ThingsNeedful Things is a 1991 horror novel by American author Stephen King. According to the cover, it is "The Last Castle Rock Story." However, the town later served as the setting for the short story "It Grows on You," published in King's 1993 collection Nightmares and Dreamscapes which, according to...
, Mr. Gaunt gives Ace Merril some cocaine said to be fabricated in "the plains of Leng", though no other explanations are given. The novel also contains other references to Lovecraft's work. It is mentioned again in his novel The Eyes of the DragonThe Eyes of the DragonThe Eyes of the Dragon is a novel by Stephen King published in 1987. Previously, it was published as a limited edition hardcover by Philtrum Press in 1984. The mass-market version had been slightly revised for publication. At the time it was a surprising deviation from the norm for King, who is...
, where it is described as the place where Flagg's spellbook was written, by a man named Alhazred. This implies that Flagg's spellbook is the Necronomicon itself. - In Brian LumleyBrian LumleyBrian Lumley is an English horror fiction writer.Born in County Durham, he joined the British Army's Royal Military Police and wrote stories in his spare time before retiring with the rank of Warrant Officer Class 1 in 1980 and becoming a professional writer.He added to H. P...
's Cthulhu Cycle Deities Novels the plains of Leng are supposed to be located in Earth's dreamland. - In the Pathfinder Roleplaying GamePathfinder Roleplaying GameThe Pathfinder Roleplaying Game is a fantasy role-playing game first published in 2009 by Paizo Publishing...
, Leng is a demi-plane, or pocket dimension, that exists adjacent to the world of Golarion. It closely resembles the Leng described in The Dream-Quest of Unknown KadathThe Dream-Quest of Unknown KadathThe Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath is a novella by H. P. Lovecraft. It was completed in 1927 and was unpublished in his lifetime. It is both the longest of the stories that comprise his Dream Cycle and the longest to feature protagonist Randolph Carter, and can thus be considered a culminating...
. - In the CCG Magic: The GatheringMagic: The GatheringMagic: The Gathering , also known as Magic, is the first collectible trading card game created by mathematics professor Richard Garfield and introduced in 1993 by Wizards of the Coast. Magic continues to thrive, with approximately twelve million players as of 2011...
, there are two cards named Library of Leng and Candles of Leng. - In August DerlethAugust DerlethAugust William Derleth was an American writer and anthologist. Though best remembered as the first publisher of the writings of H. P...
's short story "The Thing That Walked on Wind", Two characters claim to be have been taken "...to Leng. lost Leng. Hidden Leng. Whence sprung Wind-Walker." - In Kim NewmanKim NewmanKim Newman is an English journalist, film critic, and fiction writer. Recurring interests visible in his work include film history and horror fiction—both of which he attributes to seeing Tod Browning's Dracula at the age of eleven—and alternate fictional versions of history...
's Richard JepersonRichard JepersonRichard Jeperson is a fictional 1970s psychic investigator created by British horror / fantasy author Kim Newman. He appears in many of Newman's short stories as both a central and background character, and is the focal point of a collection of short stories entitled The Man from the Diogenes...
short story "Soho Golem", an occultist and priest of NyarlathotepNyarlathotepNyarlathotep, also known as the Crawling Chaos, is a malign deity in the Cthulhu Mythos fictional universe created by H. P. Lovecraft. First appearing in Lovecraft's 1920 prose poem of the same name, he was later mentioned in other works by Lovecraft and by other writers and in the tabletop...
holds the noble title "Lord Leaves of Leng". - Leng is mentioned by an IranIranIran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
ian agent in "A Colder WarA Colder War"A Colder War" is an English-language, alternate history novelette by Charles Stross written circa 1997.The story fuses the Cold War and the Cthulhu Mythos by exploring the consequences of a follow-up to the expedition in H. P. Lovecraft's At the Mountains of Madness...
" (1997) by Charles StrossCharles StrossCharles David George "Charlie" Stross is a British writer of science fiction, Lovecraftian horror and fantasy. He was born in Leeds.Stross specialises in hard science fiction and space opera...
. - In Charles StrossCharles StrossCharles David George "Charlie" Stross is a British writer of science fiction, Lovecraftian horror and fantasy. He was born in Leeds.Stross specialises in hard science fiction and space opera...
's short story "PimpfThe Jennifer MorgueThe Jennifer Morgue is the second collection of stories by Charles Stross featuring Bob Howard, containing the title novel The Jennifer Morgue, the short story "Pimpf", and an essay titled "The Golden Age of Spying"...
", the "Language of Leng" is inserted into the programming code of Neverwinter NightsNeverwinter NightsNeverwinter Nights , produced by BioWare and published by Infogrames , is a third-person perspective computer role-playing game that is based on third edition Dungeons & Dragons and Forgotten Realms rules. It was originally to be published by Interplay Entertainment, but the publisher's financial...
in order to ensnare the souls of players. - In The Illuminatus! TrilogyThe Illuminatus! TrilogyThe Illuminatus! Trilogy is a series of three novels written by Robert Shea and Robert Anton Wilson first published in 1975. The trilogy is a satirical, postmodern, science fiction-influenced adventure story; a drug-, sex-, and magick-laden trek through a number of conspiracy theories, both...
, Leng is mentioned as being the home of an order of cannibal priests. - In Marion Zimmer BradleyMarion Zimmer BradleyMarion Eleanor Zimmer Bradley was an American author of fantasy novels such as The Mists of Avalon and the Darkover series. Many critics have noted a feminist perspective in her writing. Her first child, David R...
's "Saga of the Renunciates", a character refers to a road that goes "across the Plateau of Leng" being "impassable and haunted by monsters" - High On FireHigh on FireHigh on Fire is a stoner metal band from Oakland, California, that was formed in 1998. Matt Pike, the band's frontman and founder, previously played guitar for the influential stoner doom band Sleep.-History:...
's 2010 song "Frost Hammer" contains the lyric "Plateau of Leng". - In the novella "Voluntary Committal", collected in 20th Century Ghosts20th Century Ghosts20th Century Ghosts is American author Joe Hill's first published book-length work. An anthology of short stories, it was first published in October 2005 in the United Kingdom and released in October 2007 in the United States.-Publication history:...
, by Joe Hill (writer)Joe Hill (writer)Joseph Hillstrom King , better known by the pen name Joe Hill, is an American author and comic book writer. He has published two novels—Heart Shaped Box and Horns—and a collection of short stories entitled 20th Century Ghosts. He is also the author of the graphic novel series Locke & Key...
, it appears in the song lyrics "The ants go marching two-by-two, They walked across the Leng plateau". - In the Tales of Heresy collection of short stories, published by the Black LibraryBlack LibraryThe Black Library is a division of Games Workshop which is devoted to publishing novels and audiobooks set in the Warhammer Fantasy Battle and Warhammer 40,000 fictional universes...
, the Hall of Leng is mentioned in the short story "Blood Games". It is described as a location within the Imperial Palace in the Himalaya region of Terra.