The Independent Drive of Yog-Sothery: The Tindalosi and the Lloigor

Two early cases are excellent examples of the power of H.P. Lovecraft's indirect ability to drive creativity for the Cthulhu Mythos sub-genre: Frank Long's Hounds of Tindalos (called by some--including myself--Tindalosi) and the Lloigor of Colin Wilson. Oddly, both entities end up having a great deal to do with extra-dimensional abilities. Though this might be said for all Mythos beings, created by Lovecraft or others, it also suggests the furtherance of extra-dimensional powers from popular science fiction creeping into the Cthulhu Mythos after Lovecraft's death. While this is an interesting study in its own right, this isn't the focus of this brief post--instead, the origins of independent creativity in the Cthulhu Mythos are the point of focus.

The Tindalosi, despite popular misconception, were actually first mentioned by Frank Belknap Long. Their transportation through the subtle curves of space-time using angles is described in Long's tale, "The Hounds of Tindalos." This was explicitly written by Long as an early Cthulhu Mythos story for bolstering Lovecraft's fledgling cycle of alien monstrosities and ancient horrors. Interestingly enough, this manipulation of space-time via angles may well have been a source of inspiration for Lovecraft's mind-bending mix of magic and advanced mathematics employed by the hideous witch and her familiar in his "Dreams in the Witch House." The story was, after all, written a year after Long's "Hounds of Tindalos" in 1931.

The Tindalosi were mentioned by Lovecraft himself only in "The Whisperer in Darkness," where he wrote, "I learned whence Cthulhu first came, and why half the great temporary stars of history had flared forth...The nature of the Doels was plainly revealed, and I was told the essence (though not the source) of the Hounds of Tindalos." This scant official mention by HPL himself, and Long's decision to tailor his Hounds to Lovecraft's literary experiment ended up generating one of the most mysterious and interesting side monstrosities of Lovecraftiana. Lovecraft's apparent decision not to elaborate on the features of the Tindalosi also seems a conscious decision to keep them fair game for other authors.

The Lloigor, on the other hand, were wholly creations of Mythos writers well after Lovecraft's death. Unlike other pastiche creatures, however, something about the Lloigor has secured their place very firmly in Yog-Sothery the last forty years. Despite mention of a tentacled god-like Lloigor (singular) by Derleth in the 1930s, the alien beings we know today first appeared in Colin Wilson's 1969 Mythos tale, "The Return of the Lloigor." This story can be said to have appeared at an intermediary history in the fate of the Cthulhu Mythos--between the rougher pastiches of the 1940s and 1950s, and the (debatably) more innovative tales of the last few decades. The Lloigor are mostly non-material psychic beings who occasionally manifest as reptilian monstrosities. They feed off humans in modern times like psychic vampires, though virtual possession of material minds is also a supportable power too. Formerly masters of human slaves in ancient Mu, the creatures suffered some unknown loss of power that drove them into obscurity and meekness (at least, compared to their former glory). From this inception by Wilson, the Lloigor went on to take a prominent place in the Mythos--appearing as references and in direct roles in other stories, and as a central point of some campaigns in Chaosium's Call of Cthulhu Role Playing Game.

What both the Tindalosi and the Lloigor illustrate is the inchoate ability of Lovecraft's universe to take on its own designs with very limited influence from the master himself. Frank Long's Tindalosi reveal this was a trait inherent from early in the history of the Mythos--when Lovecraft himself still lived. And Colin Wilson's Lloigor are definitely in the posthumous era of Lovecraftian creations, taking even fewer direct cues from Lovecraft's own definite legends and history in the Mythos. Those they do take even flesh out vague references by HPL himself--like the murky legends of Mu. Thankfully, the contemporary Cthulhu Mythos continues to be driven by innovation and parallel creations to HPL's default artistry. And for that, we have these two early examples, among others, to help understand why that's the case, and to rest assured that it will continue to be!

-Grim Blogger