Shoggoth

Latest revision as of 04:21, 17 April 2024

Shoggoths are a species that feature in the Cthulhu Mythos.

History

Shoggoths were genetically engineered creatures that were created by the extraterrestrial race known as the Elder Things. They were initially bred to build the cities of their masters on Earth and were controlled through hypnotic suggestion as they lacked any true consciousness. Over millions of years, some of the Shoggoth's came to mutate where they developed independent minds and they sought to rebel against their makers. The Elder Things were ultimately able to quell their creation's insurrection but extermination of the Shoggoth's was not an option as they had become dependent on the beasts for labour. Eventually, they overthrew the Elder Things and killed them, and built their own cities that mimicked the style of their creators.

Though rare, some shoggoths have managed to survive into the modern era, most notably in Antarctica and in the deepest parts of the world's oceans. The race of humanoid amphibious beings known as the Deep Ones were known to make use of shoggoths, sometimes referred to as 'Sea Shoggoths'.

Throughout the millennia, Shoggoths have been occasionally encountered by humans, who have inadvertently stumbled upon their lairs or become entangled in their schemes. These encounters have often ended in madness and destruction, as the mere presence of a Shoggoth is enough to induce a sense of cosmic dread in even the most stalwart individuals. Their existence serves as a chilling reminder of the insignificance of humanity in the face of ancient, unfathomable forces. By the modern age, an enclave of Shoggoth Lords came to reside in Los Angeles. Under the leadership of one called Fat Face, they began to prey on the strays of the city, both animal and human.

Overview

In appearance, Shoggoths were described as being vaster than a subway train where they were shapeless protoplasmic masses that were faintly self-luminous with numerous temporary eyes forming as well as un-forming within the pustules of its indescribable body. A greenish light emanated from its body with the entity slithering over its environment and left it glistening as a result. They were said to be composed of formless protoplasm able to mock and reflect all forms and organs and processes - viscous agglutinations of bubbling cells - rubbery fifteen-foot spheroids infinitely plastic and ductile.

Originally created to be nothing more than a mindless workforce controlled through hypnotic suggestion, over the next few millions of years the Shoggoths slowly evolved a certain sentience, became dissatisfied with their place in society, and rose up against their masters. Whilst this rebellion was quickly put down by the Elder Things and their advanced technology, the destruction of the Shoggoths was by this point not an option; the Elder Things had come to rely too heavily on their creations for their civilization to function without them.

They had been slaves of suggestion, builders of cities - more and more sullen, more and more intelligent, more and more amphibious, more and more imitative. The shoggoths were originally bred as servitor creatures by the Elder Things, who used them for underwater construction. Their ability to shape their bodies as needed made them ideal living construction machinery. Although created to be mindless, the shoggoths mutated through the aeons and slowly developed consciousness, and even became periodically rebellious. Eventually, they overthrew the Elder Things and killed them, and built their own cities.

The shoggoth can kill its enemies by enveloping them and generating enough suction-force to decapitate their victims.

One class of such creatures were the Shoggoth Lords who in their true form resembled most Shoggoths. However, they were both more intelligent and had the ability to mimic the human form, although they use specially-crafted suits to assist in maintaining the shape. The only parts of their body which Shoggoth Lords will not allow to revert to its original form is the head, a precaution to ensure that they do not replicate the face imperfectly and rouse suspicion amongst the human population.

Members

• Fat Face : an evolved Shoggoth Lord who operated in a human guise that led an enclave of their kin in Los Angeles.

Notes

• Shoggoths were created by H. P. Lovecraft where they made their first appearance in At the Mountains of Madness (1931).

In other media

Television

• In Lovecraft Country, Shoggoth's appeared in the setting of the 2020 live-action television series based on the books of the same name. These appeared different from other takes on the creatures where they were large four legged beasts with multiple eyes all over their body along with large maws filled with teeth. They were shown to have traits of vampires as they had an aversion to light and their bites could transform another being into a new shoggoth.

Video games

• In Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth, Shoggoth's appeared in the setting of the 2005 survival horror video game.
• In Bloodborne, though not appearing a named the Brain of Mensis bore a resemblance to a Shoggoth and featured in the setting of the Souls-like video game.

RPGs

• In Call of Cthulhu, the Shoggoths appeared in the setting of the role-playing game produced by Chaosium. One variety introduced were the Shoggoth-Twsha that were identical to other Shoggoths, they only differentiation being that they are servants of the Deep Ones, whose priests control them using pulsating orbs of grey slime. One Shoggoth Lord introduced in the "At Your Door" RPG module was Mr. Albert Shiny who aimed to increase the human population for their eventual harvest.

Comics

• In Conan the Savage v1 #4 (1995), Shoggoths appeared in the setting of the comic published by Marvel Comics. At least one Shoggoth remained in the Mountains of Madness during the Hyborian Age. The albino-skinned people that inhabited the lower city of the Old Ones in the mountains in the land of Leng used the Shoggoth's cry as word for "death" where it was seemingly destroyed by Conan.
• In Dresden Files: War Cry (2014), Shoggoths appeared in the setting of the comic written by Jim Butcher and Mark Powers published by Dynamite Comics. Shoggoths were said to be the spawn of the Outsiders who bred them to sapience. They appeared to be spirals of meat-colored substance, studded with mouths, teeth and fangs. Drawn to sapience, they can only subsist on sapient beings. According to Harry Dresden, shoggoths are doomsday devices, able to consume the population of Manhattan in one day, growing exponentially in the process. Catherine Taylor thinks the release of one would usher an era of horror and carnage as yet unknown to man. The Red Court is trying to get a hold on one of them, something Harry Dresden and Catherine Taylor disagree to. Taylor has been magically bound to it, to keep it dormant. Dresden suspects the involvement of a high-ranked member of the White Council, but has no idea about who he is. In a flashback, a shoggoth has been shown to destroy Akkadia and King Hammurabi's Babylon.

Novels

• In Phantoms, an entity called the Ancient Enemy appeared in the setting of the 1983 novel written by Dean R. Koontz. The creature bore a resemblance to a Shoggoth with further suggestions that he was the Lovecraftian god Nyarlathotep.
• In A Colder War, Shoggoth's appeared in the alternate history setting of Charles Stross 2000 novel. They were shown as being biological weapons of mass destruction within the world.

Appearances

• At the Mountains of Madness: (1931)
• Fat Face:

External Links

• Lovecraft Wiki Entry
• Wikipedia Entry

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