By: EDWARD O’TOOLE
By: Phenomena Esotericist-at-Large
From the insane depths of Lovecraft’s Mythos comes the dark and satanic sect
The
Cult of Cthulhu. Phenomena’s Esotericist-at-Large Edward O’Toole takes a plunge
into the Abyss to visit them, and also find out just who wrote the Necronomicon.
“That is not dead which can eternal lie,
And with strange æons, even death may die.”
Howard Phillips Lovecraft (1890 – 1937) was a genius. Legend has it that he
never laughed or even smiled. Ever. With the eldritch horrors that he wrote
about floating around in his head that is quite understandable. Unlike Edgar
Allen Poe, from whom his writing was greatly inspired, Lovecraft described his
tortured nightmares in his writings – his Unconscious screamed through his pen
and the memories of a childhood with an institutionalized syphilitic and
psychotic father combined with an alternate reality in the vein of Lord Dunsany
led to the creation of one of the most famous genres of fiction – the Cthulhu
Mythos (a term coined posthumously by fellow Mythos writer August Derleth). Like
Arthur Machen (1863 – 1947), Lovecraft dreamed of ancient terrors, a subsistent
evil that lurked beneath the thin veil of everyday reality – an evil visible in
nightmares and to the insane.
But, as some would argue, is that where it begins? Solely in the imagination of
an early 20th Century pulp fiction writer? How could one man have envisioned so
much? Surely he must have got his ideas from somewhere – he couldn’t have
invented them all. Skeptics will quickly assert that Lovecraft’s creations were
bastardizations of Sumerian and Babylonian mythology and that as his preferred
method of introducing a Horror was through implication rather than overt
description, he merely set the scene for others of his group (e.g. August
Derleth, Robert Bloch, Frank Belknap Long, Henry Kuttner, Clark Ashton Smith,
and Robert E. Howard) to build upon and develop the complex Mythos as is known
today.
But what about the Necronomicon, the fabled book of the Mad Arab Abdul Alhazred
(written in 730 CE in Damascus and previously known as Al Azif, according to the
propagated legend)? Skeptics would state that Abdul Alhazred was Lovecraft’s
childhood pen name and that the version widely available in bookstores today
(the ‘Simon’ version) was written in 1977 by Peter Levenda, Herman Slater, Jim
Wasserman, Larry Barnes and 'Khem Set Rising' in order to cash in on the
pop-culture occultism of the period; or, they could mention a handful of other
hoaxes such as those written by L. Sprague DeCamp, Colin Wilson and Lin Carter.
They might also point out that Lovecraft’s lack of classic Greek means that his
intended meaning of Necronomicon actually more closely translates as ‘A
Classification of the Dead’ rather than ‘The Image of The Law of The Dead’
(which would be Necronomoeikon) and does in fact sounds far creepier (src. The
Straight Dope).
Brushing such Skepticism, and approximately half a century, aside, The
Necronomicon – and the Mythos – remerged in popular horror movies such as The
Evil Dead and also at a time when the Church of Satan was getting a good footing
in popular occulture, especially as an alternative to Wicca. This re-emergence
fuelled interest not only in the fiction of Lovecraft but also in Mesopotamian,
Babylonian, Sumerian and Egyptian mythologies and the early medieval esoteric
texts such as the Lemegeton and Agrippa’s (which had, a century earlier, been
the province of the idle rich and unheard of by the masses).
Lovecraft’s creations can be seen as a step along a route that includes
Hieronymus Bosch, HR Giger, Clive Barker, EA Poe and other writers and artists
who have examined the darker aspects of the imagination for their Muse. Like the
German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche, Lovecraft’s concept of The Woman in his
writings was a stark and unforgiving one – no romance, no beauty, no femininity.
The setting of his tales in New England and Massachusetts, especially confined
to fictional small, otherwise normal towns like Arkham and Dunwich is echoed
greatly in Stephen King’s Castle Rock, and it is this setting of unmentionable
terror and evil in a location the Everyman can associate with that has ensured
both the fiction and the Mythos persevere. Chaosium’s amazingly popular Role
Playing game ‘Call of Cthulhu’, brought an entirely new generation of fans and
adherents into contact with the great Lovecraft in the 1980s and 90s (I myself
was an avid player as it was one game where when the Keeper, the CoC GamesMaster,
was good as it was terrifying).
“ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn”
(In his house at R'lyeh dead Cthulhu waits dreaming)
And from the world of fiction and fantasy into the very real and evil world of
the Cult of Cthulhu. Founded by High Priest Darrick Dishaw, aka Venger Satanis,
and combining the 4th way, the writings of HP Lovecraft and Thomas Ligotti,
Laveyan Satanism and Chaos magic, the Cult of Cthulhu proudly asserts itself as:
“a religion of darkness, slime, and tentacles. It is a key for designing the
universe and becoming God. The paradigm of flowing, inky blackish green ichor is
here…”
Phenomena Magazine is the first to interview this dark and twisted sect.
Ed: When did you form the Cult of Cthulhu and what was your inspiration?
DD: Let's see... I guess you could say that I was forming the Cult of Cthulhu
way back when I first started reading HPL and delving into Satanism. Lovecraft's
stories crystallized something inside me; it gave me a new version of "reality."
A paradigm of grotesque servitors and monstrous demonic gods behind the scenes
of a terribly bleak, nihilistic, yet fantastical universe.
However, I started pouring my energies into this idea, the Cult of Cthulhu, in
the summer of 2004. I performed a ritual during a midnight rainstorm surrounded
by green illumination; I stood facing the night in my 12th story apartment. That
was the "conception" of this Lovecraftian occult lodge, and it was "born" on the
following Walpurgisnacht 2005 during the Cthulhu One convention I organized in
Madison, WI. The ritual's date was inspired by Anton LaVey's May Eve ritual
which gave birth to the modern Satanist movement.
Ed: Where are your headquarters?
DD: I work, write, paint, practice magic, and meet with Cultists, out of my home
in Madison, WI. I'm planning on moving into bigger, grander digs this fall. And
I hope this will be one of the focal points of the Cult of Cthulhu.
Ed: How many members do you have and do you have branches?
DD: Before the restructuring, the Cult of Cthulhu didn't have any official
members; those who felt connected to the idea of a Cthulhu Cult would discuss
various topics in the Yahoo group, email me personally, and conduct rituals on
their own. So it's hard to tell how many "members" we actually had. Now that we
have a structure, we can count official members. Although, this new order has
just begun, so it's tough to say how many will join in the next few weeks,
months, or years. Eventually, I plan on the Cult of Cthulhu members numbering in
the thousands.
Ed: How does one join the Cult of Cthulhu?
DD: On the cult’s website: www.CultofCthulhu.net , there are instructions on how
to join. Right now, all you have to do is fill out an application and mail it in
with a $30 money order. This is the discounted rate, basically the price for 2
people going to dinner for an evening. I wanted to initially keep it very low
for those who have supported the Cult of Cthulhu since the beginning. In 2007,
the lifetime membership will go to $50. This cost pays for the System of Dark
Occult Science, the annual Cult of Cthulhu newsletter, and for the time and
money it costs to run the organization itself, the website, etc.
To join one needs a basic knowledge of H.P. Lovecraft, sorcery, the desire to
learn and eventually do things... to change one's life.
Ed: What is the pantheon of the Cult of Cthulhu? Are you restricted solely to
the Cthulhu Mythos?
DD: Obviously, we include all of Lovecraft's many hideous Gods, servitors,
monsters, etc. However, since the Old Ones and their minions are fairly unknown
and vague, we also include Satan. Satanism, as outlined by Anton LaVey, has
always been a huge inspiration to me. I identified with it 15 years ago and
still do.
Really, nothing is fixed in the Cult of Cthulhu, or at least not much. So, if a
Cultist wants to worship Set or Space Ghost, then he's welcome to. As you can
see, I've also taken on a lot of Chaos Magic in my philosophy. And in Chaos
Magic, it doesn't matter what or who one focuses their energy on. If you create
your own "reality", then that is the universe you live in.
Ed: Do you believe the Cthulhu Mythos is real and if so why?
DD: Yes. I believe the Cthulhu Mythos is real. Partially because I choose to put
my belief into it, and also because it makes sense to me. I feel a kinship with
those entities, how they are described and what they are about.
I favor a religion that sees humanity as a kind of mistake. An abnormality which
has potential (at times), but is mostly worthless and repugnant.
Ed: What is the aim of your Cult? What are your goals?
DD: Our goals are to bring the Old Ones back. To awaken the Ancient Things from
outside of space and time. And also to awaken them inside ourselves.
The Cult of Cthulhu believes strongly in bettering one's life; making real life
changes that affect the magician and those close to him.
And eventually, of course, we want to destroy "reality" and take over the world.
Ed: Ah. Would you say your Cult was evil and if so why?
DD: Yes, the Cult of Cthulhu is evil. Why? Because we create our own morality
and ethics. We choose for ourselves and do what we must to benefit ourselves.
Cultists are admittedly selfish beings, all humans are. The Will To Power is a
singular philosophy which drives us.
Ed: What is your opinion on magic and how is it used in the Cult of Cthulhu?
DD: I've been practicing magic all my life. I always had this feeling that there
were certain barriers and obstacles which didn't necessarily have to be there.
I've always disliked authority, and I see the generally accepted views of
"reality" as the greatest authority of all. And I laugh in its face. It only has
power because everyone, more or less, agrees with it.
I've created a lot of good things in my life. Hard work and magic have been
instrumental in these changes.
Magic is evolution, change which comes from outside... and that's what the Cult
of Cthulhu is all about.
Ed: Thank you for the interview.
To summarize, it is clear that while HP Lovecraft’s writings live on in the
hearts of fiction lovers the world over, his insane visions of the horror that
lurks beneath the surface of reality also live on – and are even worshipped. It
is difficult to find one single occult forum that has not at some point debated
the veracity of the Necronomicon, or find a daemonologist who has not explored
the temptation of summoning beings that should never be evoked – those that lie
not dead, but sleeping and waiting.
