Cthulhu is a fictional cosmic entity created by American writer H.P. Lovecraft, first appearing in 1928 in the short story "The Call of Cthulhu." A monstrous, tentacled deity slumbering in the sunken city of R'lyeh, it embodies cosmic horror and humanity's insignificance before the unknown.
Cthulhu
Cthulhu
5 min read
Frequently asked questions
Key Facts
- Created by H.P. Lovecraft in the short story "The Call of Cthulhu," published in 1928 in *Weird Tales* magazine
- Described as a gigantic entity combining traits of an octopus, a dragon, and a humanoid, with wings
- Lies sleeping in the underwater city of R'lyeh, located in the Pacific Ocean
- Central figure of the "Cthulhu Mythos," a shared universe expanded by many authors after Lovecraft's death in 1937
- Became a major pop culture icon (role-playing games, video games, literature, film) from the late 20th century onward
Works & Achievements
Foundational short story that introduces Cthulhu, R'lyeh, and the concept of cosmic horror.
Antarctic novella that expands the mythology of the Great Old Ones and their pre-human past.
Tale linking sea cults and abyssal creatures to the lineage of Lovecraftian entities.
Posthumous systematization of Lovecraft’s universe, ensuring its editorial survival through Arkham House.
Major gaming adaptation that spread the creature into global popular culture.
Anecdotes
Cthulhu was born from the pen of H.P. Lovecraft in the summer of 1926, but the text "The Call of Cthulhu" was not published until February 1928 in the pulp magazine *Weird Tales*. Lovecraft, little recognized in his lifetime, was paid by the page and remained virtually unknown until his death.
Lovecraft insisted that the name be unpronounceable by a human mouth. In his letters, he suggested an approximation like "Khlûl'-hloo," specifying that the true sounds exceeded the human vocal apparatus — a way of emphasizing the creature's radical strangeness.
The ritual phrase "Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn" ("In his house at R'lyeh, dead Cthulhu waits dreaming") is one of the most famous sentences in weird fiction. Lovecraft invented it from scratch, with no real grammar.
The term "Cthulhu Mythos" is not Lovecraft's: it was coined by his friend August Derleth after 1937 to describe the shared universe born from these stories. Lovecraft encouraged other authors to reuse his creatures, creating a collective mythology.
Today Cthulhu is an icon of popular culture: plush toys, board games, role-playing games, and cameos in films. This posthumous fame contrasts sharply with the poverty in which Lovecraft died in 1937.
Primary Sources
The thing cannot be described — there is no language for such abysses of shrieking and immemorial chaos, for such a contradiction of all matter, force, and cosmic order.
Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn — "In his house at R'lyeh, dead Cthulhu waits dreaming."
The syllables were determined by a physical apparatus quite different from ours; the closest human approximation would be something like "Khlûl'-hloo".
Key Places
Cyclopean metropolis submerged in the South Pacific where Cthulhu sleeps; Lovecraft gives its coordinates as 47°9′S, 126°43′W.
Lovecraft's hometown and the city he loved, a recurring setting and the real birthplace of the entire mythos.
Imaginary city housing Miskatonic University, home of forbidden knowledge in Lovecraft's work.
Swampy region where police discover a cult performing a secret rite to Cthulhu in the story.
