Shoggoth
Encyclopedia
A shoggoth is a fictional monster in the Cthulhu Mythos
. The being was mentioned in passing in sonnet XX ("Night-Gaunts") of H.P. Lovecraft's sonnet cycle
Fungi from Yuggoth
, written in 1929
–30
, and were expounded upon in his novella
At the Mountains of Madness
(1931
).
-like creatures looking like they are made out of tar
, with multiple eyes "floating" on the surface. They are described as "protoplasmic", lacking any default body shape and instead being able to form limbs and organs at will. An average shoggoth measured fifteen feet across when a sphere
, though the story mentions ones of much greater size.
Mythos media most commonly shows them, although intelligent to some degree, dealing with problems using their great size and strength. For instance, the original one mentioned in At the Mountains of Madness simply rolled over and crushed giant albino penguins that were in the way as it pursued the characters.
The character of the Mad Arab, Abdul Alhazred
, found the mere idea of their existence on Earth terrifying.
. Being amorphous, they could take on any shape needed, making them very versatile within their aquatic environment. Though able to "understand" the Elder Things' language, they had no real consciousness and were controlled through hypnotic
suggestion.
The shoggoths built the underwater cities of their masters. Over millions of years of existence, some shoggoths mutated
and gained independent minds. Some time after this, they rebelled. Eventually, the Elder Things succeeded in quelling the insurrection, but thereafter watched them more carefully. By this point, exterminating them was not an option as the Elder Things were fully dependent on them for labor and could not replace them. It was during this time that, despite their masters' wishes, they demonstrated an ability to survive on land.
Within the Mythos, the existence of the shoggoths possibly led to the accidental creation of Ubbo-Sathla, a god-like entity supposedly responsible for the origin of all life on Earth, though At The Mountains of Madness brings up the possibility of the Elder Things being the creators, having made early life as discarded experiments in bioengineering.
Aside from their main appearance in the Mountains of Madness story, shoggoths also appear in other Mythos stories, often as servitors or captives to powerful cults and entities. They are known to endlessly repeat "Tekeli-li", a cry that their old masters used.
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...
. The being was mentioned in passing in sonnet XX ("Night-Gaunts") of H.P. Lovecraft's sonnet cycle
Sonnet cycle
A sonnet cycle is a group of sonnets, arranged to address a particular person or theme, and designed to be read both as a collection of fully realized individual poems and as a single poetic work comprising all the individual sonnets....
Fungi from Yuggoth
Fungi from Yuggoth
Fungi from Yuggoth is a sequence of 36 sonnets by cosmic horror writer H. P. Lovecraft. Most of the sonnets were written between 27 December 1929 – 4 January 1930; thereafter individual sonnets appeared in Weird Tales and other genre magazines...
, written in 1929
1929 in literature
The year 1929 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*Candide by Voltaire is declared obscene by the United States Customs and seized in 1930....
–30
1930 in literature
The year 1930 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*January 6 - The first literary character licensing agreement is signed by A. A. Milne, granting Stephen Slesinger U.S...
, and were expounded upon in his novella
Novella
A novella is a written, fictional, prose narrative usually longer than a novelette but shorter than a novel. The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America Nebula Awards for science fiction define the novella as having a word count between 17,500 and 40,000...
At the Mountains of Madness
At the Mountains of Madness
At 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...
(1931
1931 in literature
The year 1931 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*Cherokee playwright Lynn Riggs' play Green Grow the Lilacs premiers. It would later be adapted by Rodgers and Hammerstein as Oklahoma!....
).
Description
The definitive description of shoggoths comes from the above-quoted story. In it, Lovecraft writes them as massive amoebaAmoeba
Amoeba is a genus of Protozoa.History=The amoeba was first discovered by August Johann Rösel von Rosenhof in 1757. Early naturalists referred to Amoeba as the Proteus animalcule after the Greek god Proteus, who could change his shape...
-like creatures looking like they are made out of tar
Tar
Tar is modified pitch produced primarily from the wood and roots of pine by destructive distillation under pyrolysis. Production and trade in tar was a major contributor in the economies of Northern Europe and Colonial America. Its main use was in preserving wooden vessels against rot. The largest...
, with multiple eyes "floating" on the surface. They are described as "protoplasmic", lacking any default body shape and instead being able to form limbs and organs at will. An average shoggoth measured fifteen feet across when a sphere
Sphere
A sphere is a perfectly round geometrical object in three-dimensional space, such as the shape of a round ball. Like a circle in two dimensions, a perfect sphere is completely symmetrical around its center, with all points on the surface lying the same distance r from the center point...
, though the story mentions ones of much greater size.
Mythos media most commonly shows them, although intelligent to some degree, dealing with problems using their great size and strength. For instance, the original one mentioned in At the Mountains of Madness simply rolled over and crushed giant albino penguins that were in the way as it pursued the characters.
The character of the Mad Arab, 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....
, found the mere idea of their existence on Earth terrifying.
Origin and history
The shoggoths were created by the Elder ThingsElder Thing
The 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"...
. Being amorphous, they could take on any shape needed, making them very versatile within their aquatic environment. Though able to "understand" the Elder Things' language, they had no real consciousness and were controlled through hypnotic
Hypnosis
Hypnosis is "a trance state characterized by extreme suggestibility, relaxation and heightened imagination."It is a mental state or imaginative role-enactment . It is usually induced by a procedure known as a hypnotic induction, which is commonly composed of a long series of preliminary...
suggestion.
The shoggoths built the underwater cities of their masters. Over millions of years of existence, some shoggoths mutated
Mutation
In molecular biology and genetics, mutations are changes in a genomic sequence: the DNA sequence of a cell's genome or the DNA or RNA sequence of a virus. They can be defined as sudden and spontaneous changes in the cell. Mutations are caused by radiation, viruses, transposons and mutagenic...
and gained independent minds. Some time after this, they rebelled. Eventually, the Elder Things succeeded in quelling the insurrection, but thereafter watched them more carefully. By this point, exterminating them was not an option as the Elder Things were fully dependent on them for labor and could not replace them. It was during this time that, despite their masters' wishes, they demonstrated an ability to survive on land.
Within the Mythos, the existence of the shoggoths possibly led to the accidental creation of Ubbo-Sathla, a god-like entity supposedly responsible for the origin of all life on Earth, though At The Mountains of Madness brings up the possibility of the Elder Things being the creators, having made early life as discarded experiments in bioengineering.
Other connections
When the Elder Things retreated to the oceans, they took the shoggoths with them, but also out of desperation let them develop the ability to exist on land. In contrast to their failing society, the shoggoths began to imitate their art and voices, taking over the cavern city underneath Antarctica and creating a twisted imitation of the society of their masters.Aside from their main appearance in the Mountains of Madness story, shoggoths also appear in other Mythos stories, often as servitors or captives to powerful cults and entities. They are known to endlessly repeat "Tekeli-li", a cry that their old masters used.
Other appearances
- Shoggoths are mentioned in the Lovecraft short stories "The Shadow Over InnsmouthThe Shadow Over InnsmouthThe Shadow Over Innsmouth is a novella by H. P. Lovecraft. Written in November-December 1931, the story was first published in April 1936; this was the only fiction of Lovecraft's published during his lifetime that did not appear in a periodical....
" (19311931 in literatureThe year 1931 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*Cherokee playwright Lynn Riggs' play Green Grow the Lilacs premiers. It would later be adapted by Rodgers and Hammerstein as Oklahoma!....
) and "The Thing on the DoorstepThe Thing on the Doorstep"The Thing on the Doorstep" is a short story written by H. P. Lovecraft, part of the so-called Cthulhu Mythos universe of horror fiction. It was written in August 1933, and first published in the January 1937 issue of Weird Tales.-Inspiration:...
" (19331933 in literatureThe year 1933 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:* February 17 - The magazine Newsweek is published for the first time.* James Joyce's Ulysses is allowed into United States.-New books:...
).
- Shoggoths appear in both the ChaosiumChaosiumChaosium is one of the longer lived publishers of role-playing games still in existence. Founded by Greg Stafford, its first game was actually a wargame, White Bear and Red Moon, which later mutated into Dragon Pass and its sequel, Nomad Gods...
and the Wizards of the CoastWizards of the CoastWizards of the Coast is an American publisher of games, primarily based on fantasy and science fiction themes, and formerly an operator of retail stores for games...
Call of CthulhuCall of Cthulhu (role-playing game)Call of Cthulhu is a horror fiction role-playing game based on H. P. Lovecraft's story of the same name and the associated Cthulhu Mythos.The game, often abbreviated as CoC, is published by Chaosium.-Setting:...
role-playing gameRole-playing gameA role-playing game is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, either through literal acting, or through a process of structured decision-making or character development...
supplements.
- Shoggoths are featured 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 novelette "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...
", in which they are used as weapons of mass destructionWeapons of mass destructionA weapon of mass destruction is a weapon that can kill and bring significant harm to a large number of humans and/or cause great damage to man-made structures , natural structures , or the biosphere in general...
. In The Atrocity ArchivesThe Atrocity ArchivesThe Atrocity Archives contains two stories by British author Charles Stross, consisting of the short novel The Atrocity Archive and The Concrete Jungle, which won the 2005 Hugo Award for Best Novella.The stories are Lovecraftian spy thrillers involving a secret history of the 20th century,...
, the Iraqi Intelligence ServiceIraqi Intelligence ServiceThe Iraqi Intelligence Service , also known as the Mukhabarat, General Directorate of Intelligence, or Party Intelligence, was the main state intelligence organization in Iraq under Saddam Hussein...
was said to be collaborating with Yusuf al-QaradawiYusuf al-QaradawiYusuf al-Qaradawi is a controversial Egyptian Islamic theologian. He is best known for his programme, ash-Shariah wal-Hayat , broadcast on Al Jazeera, which has an estimated audience of 60 million worldwide...
on raising shoggoths for use in combating the West.
- A Shoggoth is a key boss in the multi-platform video game Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the EarthCall of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the EarthCall of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth is a Lovecraftian horror first-person action-adventure game developed by Headfirst Productions and published by Bethesda Softworks in 2005, in conjunction with 2K Games. The game was released for the PC and Xbox systems; the Xbox version is officially...
.
- A shoggoth is in Robert BlochRobert BlochRobert Albert Bloch was a prolific American writer, primarily of crime, horror and science fiction. He is best known as the writer of Psycho, the basis for the film of the same name by Alfred Hitchcock...
's Notebook Found in a Deserted HouseNotebook Found in a Deserted House"Notebook Found in a Deserted House" is a Cthulhu Mythos short story by Robert Bloch. It was first published in a 1951 issue of Weird Tales. Many consider it to be a predecessor to the film The Blair Witch Project.-Sypnosis:...
, though the Lovecraftian RPG company Chaosium adapted the shoggoth into one of Shub-Niggurath's young for purposes of gaming.
- Robert Anton WilsonRobert Anton WilsonRobert Anton Wilson , known to friends as "Bob", was an American author and polymath who became at various times a novelist, philosopher, psychologist, essayist, editor, playwright, poet, futurist, civil libertarian and self-described agnostic mystic...
asserts in his Schrödinger's Cat trilogySchrödinger's Cat trilogyThe Schrödinger's Cat Trilogy is a trilogy of novels by Robert Anton Wilson consisting of The Universe Next Door, The Trick Top Hat, and The Homing Pigeons, each illustrating a different interpretation of quantum physics...
that it is not a "shaggy shoggoth story," a play on the phrase "Shaggy dog story," implying that the book is indeed a rambling series of nonsequiturs dealing with otherworldly concepts. The Shoggoth also plays its role in the 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...
, in which it is linked to the Law of Fives and the Necronomicon, and it is a Shoggoth that consumes crimeboss Robert Putney Drake after he has betrayed the Illuminati.
- The online game Lost SoulsLost Souls (online game)Lost Souls is a MUD, a text-based online role-playing game set in a medieval fantasy world. It has an extensive history of technical innovation in its field and has received critical praise....
features a detailed model of shoggoths (which it pluralizes "shoggothim"), and potentially allows the player to play as a shoggoth.
- In the board game Arkham HorrorArkham HorrorArkham Horror is an adventure board game designed by Richard Launius, originally published in 1987 by Chaosium and most recently published in 2005 and revised in 2007 by Fantasy Flight Games. In both editions, players take on the role of investigators in H. P. Lovecraft's Massachusetts town of...
, the Shoggoth is one of the many monsters from Cthulhu and the H. P. Lovecraft books that roam the streets of Arkham.
- Shoggoths appear as major foes in the novel The Spiraling WormThe Spiraling WormThe Spiraling Worm is a science fiction and Lovecraftian horror novel written in the style of a spy thriller, by authors David Conyers and John Sunseri and published in 2007. The novel went on to receive an Honourable Mention for Best Australian Horror Novel in the 12th Annual Aurealis Award and...
by David ConyersDavid ConyersDavid Conyers writes predominantly science fiction and Lovecraftian horror.Most of his childhood was spent in the Adelaide Hills, before moving to Melbourne. There he achieved a bachelor's degree in civil engineering at the University of Melbourne in 1993...
and John SunseriJohn SunseriJohn Sunseri is a horror writer from Portland, Oregon in the United States. As well as writing traditional horror fiction he also writes Lovecraftian horror. John spent two years at Yale University studying a major in English. Today he manages a restaurant.Writing since 2001, John has published...
.
- Shoggoths appear alongside Cthulhu in both of the ScribblenautsScribblenautsScribblenauts is an emergent puzzle action video game developed by 5th Cell for the Nintendo DS published by WB Games. The game was released September 15, 2009 in North America, September 30, 2009 in Australia, and October 9, 2009 in Europe. Konami released the game in Japan under the name on...
games.
- Elizabeth Bear's novelette "Shoggoths in BloomShoggoths in Bloom"Shoggoths in Bloom" is a science fiction novelette by Elizabeth Bear, originally published in the March 2008 issue of Asimov's Science Fiction. It was the winner of the 2009 Hugo Award for Best Novelette.-Plot summary:...
" explores the themes of volition and slavery suggested by the shoggoth origin.
- In the graphical MUD/MMORPG Wyvern, Shoggoths appear as a monster.
- A shoggoth named "Mr. Trash Bags" by the character Julie Shackleford was featured in the Larry CorreiaLarry CorreiaLarry Correia is a New York Times bestselling novelist who originally self-published in 2008. His self-published novel, Monster Hunter International, reached the Entertainment Weekly bestseller list in April 2008. He then received a publishing contract with Baen Books...
novel Monster Hunter: Vendetta.
- The Lovecraft-inspired Fiddler on the RoofFiddler on the RoofFiddler on the Roof is a musical with music by Jerry Bock, lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, and book by Joseph Stein, set in Tsarist Russia in 1905. It is based on Tevye and his Daughters by Sholem Aleichem...
parody-musical A Shoggoth on the RoofA Shoggoth on the RoofA Shoggoth on the Roof is a parody musical of Fiddler on the Roof based on the works of H. P. Lovecraft. Published by the H. P. Lovecraft Historical Society, it is credited to a member of the society who is referred to only as "He Who Must Not Be Named".There have been many legal difficulties in...
has, well...a shoggoth on the roof.
- In Japanese Light NovelLight novelA is a style of Japanese novel primarily targeting junior high and high school students . The term "light novel" is a wasei-eigo, or a Japanese term formed from words in the English language. Light novels are often called or for short...
My Maid is an Amorphous Blob (うちのメイドは不定形) by Shizukawa Tasso. The maid "Tekeli" is Shoggoth with human shape.
- American cyberpunk science fiction author Rudy RuckerRudy RuckerRudolf von Bitter Rucker is an American mathematician, computer scientist, science fiction author, and philosopher, and is one of the founders of the cyberpunk literary movement. The author of both fiction and non-fiction, he is best known for the novels in the Ware Tetralogy, the first two of...
writes of the shoggoth in his books Saucer Wisdom and Frek and the Elixir. Rucker talks about his interpretations of the creatures with the slightly different spelling "shuggoth" and states that they are "Sluglike creatures, a glued-together hodgepodge of many other kinds of creatures. (H. P. Lovecraft sometimes wrote about shuggoths, although not precisely in the same sense.)"
- In the Japanese Eroge/Visual Novel game DemonbaneDemonbaneis a series by Nitroplus with mecha and Cthulhu Mythos elements. Beginning as an eroge for the PC, it was ported into a PlayStation 2 non-eroge remake, a sequel visual novel, a prequel novel, a television anime adaptation and a conversion to manga...
, Al Azif (a humanoid embodiment of the 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...
) is sometimes seen either sitting or sleeping on a squishy, large, and orange Shoggoth with a single eye, named Dunsany.