The Cthulhu Mythos is a mythopoeia and shared fictional universe that originated in the work of American horror writer H. P. Lovecraft. The term was coined by August Derleth, a correspondent and protege of Lovecraft, to describe the settings, tropes and lore that Lovecraft and the writers who followed him employed. The name Cthulhu comes from the creature at the center of Lovecraft's short story The Call of Cthulhu, first published in the pulp magazine Weird Tales in 1928. Writer Richard L. Tierney later coined the term Derleth Mythos to separate Lovecraft's own stories from Derleth's later work, which altered some of the Mythos's key ideas. Writers of Lovecraftian horror frequently draw on elements of the Cthulhu Mythos in their own fiction.
Facts
Place of OriginUnited States; H. P. Lovecraft, who originated the mythos, was born and based in Providence, Rhode Island. 1 Notable ExampleThe Call of Cthulhu (1928) 2 Defining TraitA mythopoeia and shared fictional universe originating in the work of American horror writer H. P. Lovecraft, later expanded by other authors into a shared pantheon of cosmic entities. 2 Sources
1. H. P. Lovecraft (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia Foundation (Wikipedia)Lead paragraph, birthplace sentenceQuote, Lead paragraph, birthplace sentence
Born in Providence, Rhode Island, Lovecraft spent most of his life in New England.
2. Cthulhu Mythos (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia Foundation (Wikipedia)Lead paragraph
The Cthulhu Mythos is a mythopoeia and a shared universe, originating in the works of American horror writer H. P. Lovecraft.
Lead paragraph, naming sentence
Lovecraft's seminal short story "The Call of Cthulhu", first published in the pulp magazine Weird Tales in 1928.
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