Guys--you know what time it is--because as it seems, your insatiable hunger for the horrifying
eldritch creations of the Cthulhu Mythos is more ravenous than the gluttonous maw of Shub-Niggurath
herself, the Black Goat of the Woods with a Thousand Young.
Truth be told, if we could--we’d continue this list for as long as Azathoth himself
remained in eternal slumber, because there’s nothing more enriching and entertaining than
arduously attempting to pronounce the names of some of the most bizarre creations in Lovecraftian
fiction, whilst having some horror fueled fun in the process.
And believe it or not--if you’ve been a fan of this series since its inception, there’s
much more where that came from.
Hello horror fans--what’s going on, and once again welcome back to the scariest channel
on YouTube--Top 5 Scary Videos.
As per usual, I’ll be your horror host Jack Finch--as today, we curiously take a look
at the Top 5 Scariest Lovecraftian Monsters--Part 5.
Roll the clip.
For the curious amongst you, that scene was from John Carpenter’s 1995 classic--In The
Mouth of Madness--and whilst it’s not Lovecraftian per se--it served to inspire one of the most
accurate depictions of cosmic anomalous creation in the whole of horror cinema.
After all, do you read Sutter Cane?
Nevertheless, it serves to set the foreboding scene for this Top 5 Scary Lovecraftian list--and
if you’re in the mood for some cosmic horror, then there’s so much to be enjoyed In The
Mouth of Madness.
Oh, and as always--there’ll be no Cthuhlhu on this list in particular, because if we
can do 4 parts already without him, then five should be a breeze.
Anyway--on that note, on with the show.
Kicking off at Number 5 - Shaurash-ho
And whilst we’ve previously plunged into some of the more horrifying monstrous races
in Lovecraftian fiction, we have to also give note to the terrifying Ghouls--and their even
more ravenous and grotesque progenitor--Shaurash-ho, the Father of All Ghouls--also known as the
Prowler Among the Tombs.
In the expanded universe of the Cthulhu Mythos--little is described about the nature of the Elder
Gods--who are thought to have served as the deities of many Earthly religions, but are,
in fact--eldritch abominations themselves.
Now, there’s a lot of incestuous crossover when it comes to the lineage of Cosmic Horrors,
but it is thought that Shaurash-ho is a direct descendent of Cthulhu himself--who then went
on to mate with another descendent of Cthulhu, the Elder God Bast--in order to create the
cultish race of Ghouls, who now lurk in the shadows of the Earth, and the Tumultous Dreamlands--worshiping
whichever Cosmic Horror that can get their hands on.
Yeah.
It’s pretty messed up.
Although his appearance has never been outwardly described, Lovecraft himself penned mention
of Shaurash-ho in many of his correspondences--and tied the relentless progenitor to many other
vile creations of the mythos, such as K’baa the Serpent--and Ghoth the Burrower, who was
alluded to have been created after Shaurash-ho seduced and mated with a Roman Noblewoman--Viburnia--an
actual historical figure, who just so happened to be the legendary ancestor of Lovecraft
himself.
Again.
Yes.
It’s pretty damn messed up.
I mean, I’m not entirely sure whether I want to know more about Shaurash-ho--or whether
I’m thankful that he never made it out of the confines of Lovecraft’s letters.
Either way…
Shaurash-ho, in fictional-terms or otherwise, just so happens to be the distant ancestor
of Howard Phillips Lovecraft.
Yeah.
Coming in at Number 4 - The Flying Polyps
Which is a fun phrase to say, isn’t it?
And no, these guys aren’t a miraculous group of trapeze artists and tight-rope-walkers,
travelling the world in a pop-up circus--but instead, one of the most inherently vile races
of aliens in the wider Lovecraftian Universe.
As described in The Shadow Out of Time--in their first and only appearance, they were
a horrible elder race of half-polypous, utterly alien entities which had come through space
from immeasurably distant universes, to dominate earth alongside three other solar planets
about 600 million years ago.
They first colonized Earth before the arrival of the Great Race of Yith--the only cosmic
entities to keep records of the terrifying alien mysteries--who were notably evasive
on describing them, making fearful references but shying away from actual description.
We know that they are capable of flight--despite having no wings or appendages to do so--and
seemed to demonstrate an innate propensity to control air currents for offensive manipulation
purposes.
Although airborne--they also seemed to leave behind a strange, five-toed radial footprint
wherever they went--a disturbing footnote that features in the Shadow out of Time.
The Flying Polyps first build immense and vast cities out of basalt in their new territory
of Earth--where they dominated the planet as an aggressive and predatory species--before
coming into contact with the technologically superior Yithians millions of years later.
After a bloody and violent war, the Great Race of Yith prevailed--although they only
managed to force the polyps back to their subterranean catacombs that lay deep beneath
their basalt cities--sealing off the tunnels in an eternal tomb.
Where they now, presumably wait… to be released.
Yeah, that’s often the case with Lovecraftian fiction, isn’t it?
Don’t look down.
Next up at Number 3 - Kaalut
And if you have a particular fear for giant-earwigs and centipedes--then you’re probably going
to want to look away for this fleshy Lovecraftian entity.
Also known as The Ravenous One--Kaalut is a gigantic insectoid larva-like horror, that
dwells deep within the nebulous realm of K’gil’mnon--a galaxy of pure cosmic nightmare that was first
introduced in the 1998 publication, His Hour Upon The Stage by J.B. Lee.
Although written outside the timeline of most of the Lovecraftian Expanded Universe--Kaalut
seems to exist in stark opposition to the Outer Gods of Azathoth and his brood, and
also seems to suggest that the lifeforms progenited by the Nuclear Chaos weren’t the only creations
in the infinite mystery of the Universe--which is a terrifying notion in itself, isn’t
it?
After all, if Kaalut wasn’t created by Azathoth, the origin of all cosmic horror--where did
it come from?
Kaalut is an alien entity of unimaginable power--with it’s most prominent abilities
being mind manipulation, telepathy, omniscience, immortality--and perhaps even the potency
to warp reality itself.
In the pantheon of the Yog-sothothery--it is suggested that Kaalut may even rival Nyarlathotep
in power--and it is thought that The Ravenous One is as old as reality itself, giving light
to the fact that Kaalut may be a Lovecraftian Entity like no other--opening up the pathway
to an infinite realm of terrifying possibilities.
In his nightmare galaxy, Kaalut is worshipped by an insectoid race known as the Gharoides--alien
parasites that seem to possess a diminished supernatural portion of their gods power.
It is thought that Kaalut created the insectoid servant race from his own flesh, purely to
serve him--as the Gharoides are one of the only cultist races in the Cthulhu Mythos that
thrive alongside the god that they worship.
Swinging in at Number 2 - Daoloth
And this one is a pretty difficult horror concept to accurately portray, and like many
of these Lovecraftian entities--as well as the wider anomalies of the Cthulhu Mythos
that have expanded upon them--the true fear of Daoloth lies in the implication of its
design.
Also known as The Render of Veils, or The Parter of Veils--Daoloth is a member of the
Outer Gods--a collection of perhaps the most powerful cosmic horrors in the universe, brothers
and sisters of the all-knowing and all-slumbering Azathoth, the Blind-Idiot God.
And much like Azathoth, as well as the Nameless Mist--Daoloth dwells within a dimension beyond
that of our comprehension.
Daoloth’s worship is incredibly rare on earth--as even the most fanatical of cultists
have never even heard whispers of his name, but instead The Outer God is worshipped by
a small sect of astrologer-priests in the forgotten corners of the cosmos, and their
zealtory and devotion him reward an unimaginable power.
Those that successfully worship Daoloth are said to be able to see the past, the future--and
even the minute gateways where objects extend and travel between different dimensions.
Where that power comes from--is anyone’s guess entirely, because the actual eldritch
function of Daoloth is of immeasurable complexity.
Daoloth can only be summoned in pitch-black darkness by his cultists--as his vast and
indescribable shape causes even the most devout worshippers to go mad at the sight of him.
If that’s not as existentially terrifying enough--if he’s not held within the confines
of some kind of magical containment, the Render of Veils will continue to expand--perhaps
even at an infinite rate, and those enveloped by the god are transported to bizarre remote
worlds of impossible design, where they quickly die a horrible death.
Created by Ramsey Campbell and appearing in his short story, The Render of Veils--Daoloth
is perhaps one of the most mysterious entities in Lovecraftian fiction.
And that’s saying something.
And finally, coming in at our Number 1 spot -- The High Priest Not To Be Described
Which, although it sounds like a pretty unnecessary title--perhaps may be one of *the* most mysterious
creatures in Lovecraftian fiction.
And I know that I’ve said that quite a bit through this mystery inducing video--but you’ll
soon find out just exactly why.
In Lovecraft’s 1926 novella, the Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath--Randolph Carter finds himself
thrust into the chaotic and horrifying world of the Dreamlands--as he flicks between eldritch
realities, stumbling upon a whole host of horrifying and bizarre creations.
At one point, Carter is captured and taken to the Plateau of Leng--where he is taken
down through a labyrinth of tunnels, deep beneath the bowels of the Dreamlands--and
is forced into an audience with a creature known only as The High Priest Not To Be Described.
Although in direct disregard for its title, the creature is described by Lovecraft as
a lumpish figure robed in yellow silk wearing a similar silken mask--that communicates only
through a bizarre and unsettling ivory flute.
Instantly, Randolph Carter knows that the creature he is staring at is a horror of unimaginable
power--and quickly loses his mind after fleeing and throwing one of the High Priest’s servant's
down an impossibly deep pit.
Although only brief in appearance, many have speculated as to the true origin of this High
Priest--with the majority suggesting that Hastur, the King in Yellow is the prime suspect.
However, that doesn’t explain the fact that this story was written before August Derleth
made the connection between Hastur and the Yellow King--and the High Priest’s yellow
silken robes are thought to be merely a coincidence.
Others have claimed that the most likely suspect is the Crawling Horror himself, Nyarlathotep--although
to counter that, it’s important to note that Nyarlathotep appears elsewhere in the
novella, directly described in his pharoah form--leaving us to scratch our heads as to
who the hell this horrifying High Priest actually is, and what Randolph Carter saw to inspire
such unfathomable fear.
It seems that in the Dreamlands, there may be entities that are more unimaginable and
terrifying than even the Outer Gods themselves.
Well, there we have it horror fans--our list for the Top 5 Scariest Lovecraftian Monsters--Part
5.
Look how far we’ve come, eh?
What did you guys think?
Do you agree with our picks?
Or do you even have a Top 5 List of your own?
Let us know your thoughts down in the comment section below.
Before we depart from today’s video though, let’s first take a quick look at some of
your more creative comments from Part 4 of this Lovecraftian series.
First up, Bernard Mulligan says--
Well done on the names Jack, I usually don’t even bother when I read the stories.
I just think “fleshy thing” or “insect fish.”
-- Well, that seems like a pretty decent tactic Mr. Mulligan--I’ll have to give that one
a try when an outer god has a name longer than 20 characters.
Next up, John Marbles says --
Love as always.
You could make a whole channel for Lovecraft and then I would basically just explode.
-- Well, that’s much appreciate John--thank you, but please don’t explode.
On that note, unfortunately that’s all we’ve got time for in today’s video--cheers for
sticking around all the way until the end.
If you were a fan of this video, or just Top 5 Scary Videos in general, then please be
a dear and hit that thumbs up button, as well as that subscribe bell, and I’ll be seeing
you in the next one.
As per usual, I’ve been your horror host Jack Finch--you’ve been watching Top 5 Scary
Videos--and until next time, you take it easy.