Chthonian

Chthonians are fictional creatures in the Cthulhu Mythos. The species is the creation of Brian Lumley and was first featured in his short story Cement Surroundings (1969)—though the creature never made a direct appearance. The chthonians had a more prominent role in Lumley's novel The Burrowers Beneath (1974).

Summary

Flowing tentacles and pulpy gray-black, elongated sack of a body...no distinguishing features at all other than the reaching, groping tentacles. Or was there—yes—a lump in the upper body of the thing...a container of sorts for the brain, basal ganglia, or whichever diseased organ governed this horror's loathsome life!
—Brian Lumley, The Burrowers Beneath

Chthonians are described as immense squids, with elongated worm-like bodies coated with slime. Despite their squid-like appearance, chthonians are land-dwellers and are even harmed by water. Chthonians are powerful burrowers, live for more than a thousand years, and are protective of their young. It is said that a chanting sound accompanies every chthonian, and that by such they can be detected while underground and unseen.

The most important individual chthonian is the gigantic Shudde M'ell, which is worshiped by the rest.

In Greek mythology, chthonians (pronounced /ˈ(k)θoʊniənz/, from the root chthon "earth") inhabit the underworld and are the dark, shadowy complement to the Olympians.^[1] See chthonic entry.

Other appearances

• In the original Alone in the Dark, a Chthonian is encountered when first entering the underground area. It is mentioned by name in a book that can be discovered shortly thereafter, verifying it is indeed a Chthonian. It is mentioned in it that he is the only creature that resists the evil master of Derceto.
• In the popular anime and card game Yu-Gi-Oh, some cards that had "Hell" in their names were changed to Chthonian in America.
• In Charles Stross' novel The Jennifer Morgue, Chthonians (code-named "Deep Seven" by British Intelligence) are locked in a Cold War-type struggle against the Deep Ones. K-129 is stated as having been sunk when attempting to make contact with a Chthonian, and the Glomar Explorer is used in an attempt to retrieve a Chthonian weapon.
• In Deadlands, the creatures exist, but are called "rattlers".
• In Sherrilyn Kenyon's fantasy novel, Acheron, the Cthonians are a race of primal, higher beings, all of which are more powerful than either the Atlantean or Olympian gods. These beings act as the arbitrators of the cosmos, and their edicts are strictly adhered to by all beings, most especially the taboo forbidding one god from slaying another. The absolutism of their rule is stated early in the novel, when Apollymi, the Atlantean goddess of destruction and the mother of the protagonist, refrains from attacking and destroying her husband, the god Archon, out of fear of the Cthonians and their retribution. Later in the story, the main character, Acheron, is mentored by a Cthonian named Savitar, the only such being to make an appearance and who is described as having a deep connection with the ocean.

References