Lovecraft transcribed the pronunciation of Cthulhu as Khlûl′-hloo, and said, 'the first syllable pronounced gutturally and very thickly. The chthonic, or earth-dwelling, spirit has precedents in numerous ancient and medieval mythologies, often guarding mines and precious underground treasures, notably in the Germanic dwarfs and the Greek Chalybes, Telchines, or Dactyls. Invented by Lovecraft in 1928, the name Cthulhu was probably chosen to echo the word chthonic (Ancient Greek 'of the earth'), as apparently suggested by Lovecraft himself at the end of his 1923 tale ' The Rats in the Walls'. The Lovecraft-inspired universe, the Cthulhu Mythos, where it exists with its fellow entities, is named after it.Įtymology, spelling, and pronunciation Lovecraft depicts it as a gigantic entity worshipped by cultists, in the shape of a green octopus, dragon, and a caricature of human form. Considered a Great Old One within the pantheon of Lovecraftian cosmic entities, this creature has since been featured in numerous popular culture references. It was first introduced in his short story ' The Call of Cthulhu', published by the American pulp magazine Weird Tales in 1928. Cthulhu is a cosmic entity created by writer H.
