What are some ideas for mythos stories you've had? They can be good, bad, or plain foolish.
I have two concepts in mind at the moment.
The first is a compilation of news articles from around the world based on real world events, and some made up, which slowly suggest that the stars are coming into alignment and R'lyeh will rise again. For example, I have it written that after the 2004 tsunami, along with a fabled temple complex that was exposed off the coast of India (this is true) so was a giant black block with inscriptions no one has seen before (Whisperer in the Darkness). In another instance I have a police press conferance transcript about a world wide rise in cult activity, mostly mirroring that of the cult activity in Call of Cthulhu. All in all it culminates up into a new island being spotted in the south pacific (i'll put in the cordinates later), with giant structures on it, thought by many to be Atlantis, the article ends with mention of a megalithic door on the very highest point of the city. The story stops there.
Another concept I've just been thinking of is that a US nuclear submarine sank around the area of R'lyeh for unknown reasons. The US sends a recovery team to retrieve the crew and nuclear missiles and discover the sub has settled on the seabed, from which giant building structures protrude like graves as far as 50 miles in each direction. They recover the missiles, the crew has died from maddess unfortunatly, presumably from cabin fever, and they haul the subback and make an announcment about it to the archeological community. From here an expedition is sent to the site and, eventually, a large door is discovered at the summit... that's about all i have so far.
In the past I've written a story about Nyarlathotep (Ruins in the Earth, soon to be renamed).
Mythos Stories Ideas?
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Mythos Stories Ideas?
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Jesus Prime
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I have this idea lying in a file on my computer -
"‘The Horror in Shallow Water’ or ‘Coils of the Midgard Serpent’
Insane asylum/sanatorium. Once-lucid patients are now each night screaming in archaic Scandinavian and writing on walls in Nordic runes. Fear of larger bodies of water. Will not eat fish. Begin dying one by one. Drowned, in own cells - no water. Not even in lungs. Arkford professor notified and translates some of the scrawls. Mention of ‘Midgard serpent’ and ‘deep ones’. Last survivor - Norwegian man. Monitored closely. One night, guard walk past when screaming is in full swing. Sees the room mysteriously fill with water, up to half way. Not leaking. Man is fighting some unseen marine assailant. Screams of ‘Iormangand’ or ‘Jormungandr’. Horrible gurgling croaking noise. Guard transfixed. Opens door eventually, water is not there. No sign of anything but man, dead. Drowned. Ophidian teeth marks in leg, wounds filled with highly caustic poison. Doctor eventually finds connection. All afflicted were descended from line in Norse times supposed to be mortal sons of Thor."
"‘The Horror in Shallow Water’ or ‘Coils of the Midgard Serpent’
Insane asylum/sanatorium. Once-lucid patients are now each night screaming in archaic Scandinavian and writing on walls in Nordic runes. Fear of larger bodies of water. Will not eat fish. Begin dying one by one. Drowned, in own cells - no water. Not even in lungs. Arkford professor notified and translates some of the scrawls. Mention of ‘Midgard serpent’ and ‘deep ones’. Last survivor - Norwegian man. Monitored closely. One night, guard walk past when screaming is in full swing. Sees the room mysteriously fill with water, up to half way. Not leaking. Man is fighting some unseen marine assailant. Screams of ‘Iormangand’ or ‘Jormungandr’. Horrible gurgling croaking noise. Guard transfixed. Opens door eventually, water is not there. No sign of anything but man, dead. Drowned. Ophidian teeth marks in leg, wounds filled with highly caustic poison. Doctor eventually finds connection. All afflicted were descended from line in Norse times supposed to be mortal sons of Thor."
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also see this thread
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Maxmillian
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I was going to suggest a neurologist that is blessed with increasing omniscience by a Lovecraftian entity, and goes insane as a result, but the more I think about it, the stupider it sounds.
This is what I have sofar:
Norton awoke that morning to the faint smell of coffee. His day was beginning. Content-ness was in the air. He had always been thankful for the pervading sense of bliss accompanying him everywhere. His, and my own, neurology studies had been going particularly well that week, our research into the cause of Parkinson's - we had reached the consensus as the cause being a malfunction of the golgi apparatus of neurons in the motor cortex - was gaining momentum, and Boston university recently received a generous research grant from an anonymous philanthropic.
However, May Eve was approaching, and in New England, that meant a medley of strange goings-on. My associates at Miskatonic University in Arkham were literally shivering from the mere thought of hearing those unholy chants for even one night. One even arranged a train out of town to escape the weird enchantments that were undoubtedly going to occur.
Dr. David Norton, and his insatiable appetite for knowledge, led us both to the hallowed streets of Arkham, where we would stay for the duration of the daemonic festivals. I agreed to go with him, not only because of my duty to him as his protégé, but also my own curiosity as to the neurological and psychological undertones that radiate from those perverse celebrations. We agreed to leave on April 25th to allow adequate time to prepare. Needless to say, we packed the usual: clothing, toiletries, a Rorschach Inkblot Test, recorders, notebook, and several books on cult psychology. It was I who suggested bringing a copy of the dreaded Necronomicon, but David passed on this, suggesting we try a secular approach to our weeklong study. I retorted that study of the forbidden tome would give us insight into the ravings of these horrifying cultists, and he predictably seemed to take disgust at the mere thought of reading it. The book, with its terrifyingly inscribed cover and heavy pages, seemed to stir a deep-seated fear within him.
We left, as planned, on the 25th of April, to Arkham. On our arrival after travelling through the dark New England countryside, was met with a xenophobic repulsion by the Arkham residents. It seemed, to me and Norton, that the Arkhamites did not particularly like the idea of so-called “tourists” visiting Arkham simply for it’s infamous reputation of arcane magic and strange happenings. We lodged at the local motel, with a generic name (“Arkham City Inn”) and generic beds, completed the unwelcome experience. Now came the preparations.
The next day we spent walking and chatting, sometimes with people on the street and often with various merchants and business owners. We were trying to find out the best place where we could view, hear, or perhaps even take part in the awful rituals of May Eve. Our inquiries were met with, at best, cold responses. We did, however, garnish one morsel of information that would play a fundamental role in this tale. A ceremony, dedicated to the entity “Nyarlathotep”, would be held on the Eve approximately 2 kilometres West of Alderman Hill. David’s eyes lit up at this revelation. I could picture it too: an article in international psychology journals, perhaps one in Scientific American Mind, and a bit more added to David Norton’s already impressive collection of knowledge. In the 10 years I knew him, there was one bit of his character that drove him to such extremes (like going to Arkham on May Eve); his very acute monomania, his seemingly endless quest towards omniscience. His library was enormous. He went on travels every year. He spend inordinate amounts of time at his computer looking up anything his scatterbrain could think of, with one thing in common - they were all bits of knowledge, which he needed more than oxygen itself.
I'm assuming you can see where this is going.
I'm going to be a self-aggrandizing asshole for once in my self-depreciating life, and say that was pretty good, for a youngfolk's work.
This is what I have sofar:
Norton awoke that morning to the faint smell of coffee. His day was beginning. Content-ness was in the air. He had always been thankful for the pervading sense of bliss accompanying him everywhere. His, and my own, neurology studies had been going particularly well that week, our research into the cause of Parkinson's - we had reached the consensus as the cause being a malfunction of the golgi apparatus of neurons in the motor cortex - was gaining momentum, and Boston university recently received a generous research grant from an anonymous philanthropic.
However, May Eve was approaching, and in New England, that meant a medley of strange goings-on. My associates at Miskatonic University in Arkham were literally shivering from the mere thought of hearing those unholy chants for even one night. One even arranged a train out of town to escape the weird enchantments that were undoubtedly going to occur.
Dr. David Norton, and his insatiable appetite for knowledge, led us both to the hallowed streets of Arkham, where we would stay for the duration of the daemonic festivals. I agreed to go with him, not only because of my duty to him as his protégé, but also my own curiosity as to the neurological and psychological undertones that radiate from those perverse celebrations. We agreed to leave on April 25th to allow adequate time to prepare. Needless to say, we packed the usual: clothing, toiletries, a Rorschach Inkblot Test, recorders, notebook, and several books on cult psychology. It was I who suggested bringing a copy of the dreaded Necronomicon, but David passed on this, suggesting we try a secular approach to our weeklong study. I retorted that study of the forbidden tome would give us insight into the ravings of these horrifying cultists, and he predictably seemed to take disgust at the mere thought of reading it. The book, with its terrifyingly inscribed cover and heavy pages, seemed to stir a deep-seated fear within him.
We left, as planned, on the 25th of April, to Arkham. On our arrival after travelling through the dark New England countryside, was met with a xenophobic repulsion by the Arkham residents. It seemed, to me and Norton, that the Arkhamites did not particularly like the idea of so-called “tourists” visiting Arkham simply for it’s infamous reputation of arcane magic and strange happenings. We lodged at the local motel, with a generic name (“Arkham City Inn”) and generic beds, completed the unwelcome experience. Now came the preparations.
The next day we spent walking and chatting, sometimes with people on the street and often with various merchants and business owners. We were trying to find out the best place where we could view, hear, or perhaps even take part in the awful rituals of May Eve. Our inquiries were met with, at best, cold responses. We did, however, garnish one morsel of information that would play a fundamental role in this tale. A ceremony, dedicated to the entity “Nyarlathotep”, would be held on the Eve approximately 2 kilometres West of Alderman Hill. David’s eyes lit up at this revelation. I could picture it too: an article in international psychology journals, perhaps one in Scientific American Mind, and a bit more added to David Norton’s already impressive collection of knowledge. In the 10 years I knew him, there was one bit of his character that drove him to such extremes (like going to Arkham on May Eve); his very acute monomania, his seemingly endless quest towards omniscience. His library was enormous. He went on travels every year. He spend inordinate amounts of time at his computer looking up anything his scatterbrain could think of, with one thing in common - they were all bits of knowledge, which he needed more than oxygen itself.
I'm assuming you can see where this is going.
I'm going to be a self-aggrandizing asshole for once in my self-depreciating life, and say that was pretty good, for a youngfolk's work.
Re: Mythos Stories Ideas?
Enkil wrote:The US sends a recovery team to retrieve the crew and nuclear missiles and discover the sub has settled on the seabed, from which giant building structures protrude like graves as far as 50 miles in each direction. They recover the missiles, the crew has died from maddess unfortunatly, presumably from cabin fever, and they haul the subback and make an announcment about it to the archeological community.
um...the crew would die from the massive sea pressure crushing them. that area (the canonical area of where R'lyeh rests) is DEEP. any US sub that is capable of carrying nukes can't go that deep. trust me on this one, i was a submariner for 11 years. i would have the sub go too deep (but not so deep that it gets crushed) and have the crew all go stark-raving mad upon return to port. THEN have someone investigate the place where they went deep and find the monolith city.
um...i'm working on a Mythos idea. and PLEASE, stop me if you've heard this one: there are rumored to be 999 aspects of Nyarlathotep, but what happens if they combine? i'm planning a fifteen part short story cycle called The Joining about an aspect of Nyarlathotep trying to re-absorb (i guess) with other aspects. the first story (called Come Together) has already been sent to Elder Sign Press for consideration in the Nyarlathotep anthology. the main characters for the pieces are a nameless P.I. and Simon d'Argent (see also: Twilight, in the Selected Tales section of this site), the P.I.'s wizardesque-cousin Io and Simon's ex-partner from when he was a cop, Johnny Chang.
it sounds cumbersome, and maybe trite...but i think i can make it work.
not me.. i was waiting to see an excerpt or something
A monkey riding a dog is probably the awesomest thing that could ever happen.
Contributors wanted! Fantastic Horror — Original Works of Disturbing Imagination
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Eternities End
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fair enough
A monkey riding a dog is probably the awesomest thing that could ever happen.
Contributors wanted! Fantastic Horror — Original Works of Disturbing Imagination
Contributors wanted! Fantastic Horror — Original Works of Disturbing Imagination
Re: Mythos Stories Ideas?
Great! I like this idea, is very sick and unique. Go!Enkil wrote:What are some ideas for mythos stories you've had? They can be good, bad, or plain foolish.
I have two concepts in mind at the moment.
The first is a compilation of news articles from around the world based on real world events, and some made up, which slowly suggest that the stars are coming into alignment and R'lyeh will rise again. For example, I have it written that after the 2004 tsunami, along with a fabled temple complex that was exposed off the coast of India (this is true) so was a giant black block with inscriptions no one has seen before (Whisperer in the Darkness). In another instance I have a police press conferance transcript about a world wide rise in cult activity, mostly mirroring that of the cult activity in Call of Cthulhu. All in all it culminates up into a new island being spotted in the south pacific (i'll put in the cordinates later), with giant structures on it, thought by many to be Atlantis, the article ends with mention of a megalithic door on the very highest point of the city. The story stops there.
Though not a story idea, I've been kicking around in my head how The Crawling Chaos is really a metaphor for the Islamic jihad against the West and East, and how it threatens all our ways of life, Western, Eastern and Middle Eastern.
I also continue to develop my theory that the pantheon of the Cthulhu Mythos is a reverse illustration of the Semetic religions. It's coming to fruition now more than ever and I 100% believe that it is possible, and more over, true.
I also continue to develop my theory that the pantheon of the Cthulhu Mythos is a reverse illustration of the Semetic religions. It's coming to fruition now more than ever and I 100% believe that it is possible, and more over, true.
"If you must break the law, do it to seize power: in all other cases observe it." ~ Caesar
[America] [Scotland] ||| The Truth will stand when the World is on fire.
[America] [Scotland] ||| The Truth will stand when the World is on fire.
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cultistofvertigo
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Re: Mythos Stories Ideas?
First off, Cthulhu's weakness (from the freakin' Necronomicon, a little more credible source than Derleth, even I admit that) is the colour of the stars, not the alignment. The colour of the stars is determined by what elements they burn, and i'm guessing yellow is worse than red, but neither is too bad. However, a nuclear bomb sitting in r'lyeh has GOT to be Cthulhu's worst nightmare, so if that sub pops, you start off with either a Derleth pastiche or a dead Cthulhu, and neither of those go anywhere interesting (anymore).Grendelvs wrote:Enkil wrote:The US sends a recovery team to retrieve the crew and nuclear missiles and discover the sub has settled on the seabed, from which giant building structures protrude like graves as far as 50 miles in each direction. They recover the missiles, the crew has died from maddess unfortunatly, presumably from cabin fever, and they haul the subback and make an announcment about it to the archeological community.
um...the crew would die from the massive sea pressure crushing them. that area (the canonical area of where R'lyeh rests) is DEEP. any US sub that is capable of carrying nukes can't go that deep. trust me on this one, i was a submariner for 11 years. i would have the sub go too deep (but not so deep that it gets crushed) and have the crew all go stark-raving mad upon return to port. THEN have someone investigate the place where they went deep and find the monolith city.
um...i'm working on a Mythos idea. and PLEASE, stop me if you've heard this one: there are rumored to be 999 aspects of Nyarlathotep, but what happens if they combine? i'm planning a fifteen part short story cycle called The Joining about an aspect of Nyarlathotep trying to re-absorb (i guess) with other aspects. the first story (called Come Together) has already been sent to Elder Sign Press for consideration in the Nyarlathotep anthology. the main characters for the pieces are a nameless P.I. and Simon d'Argent (see also: Twilight, in the Selected Tales section of this site), the P.I.'s wizardesque-cousin Io and Simon's ex-partner from when he was a cop, Johnny Chang.
it sounds cumbersome, and maybe trite...but i think i can make it work.
BUT that thing about Nyarlathotep combining his forms sounds so fucking cool that ima go ahead and tell you an idea I had so long as you dont blatantly copy my version of it.
See, I hear all about Nyarlathotep living on planet Abbith, but never in what form. So, I decided to give him two forms, one at each pole, called "the lower jaw" and "the upper jaw." The bloody tongue used to live along the equator but was banished by a pissy... either Cthugha or Shub-Niggurath (Shubbie is good friends with most forms of big N, and can be connected to Abbith easily, but Cthugha has a bigger grudge although I can't fit him in that particular star system as easily).
Point is that all three forms are supposed to form like Voltron and make a massive mask about 50 meters high and destory Abbith or whatever planet he happens to manifest as.
But combining all 1,000 forms....
Holy shit, dude, that sounds so fucking unbelievably cool!!!!
You HAVE to do that. I'll be happy to help if you get stuck or something, but you have to do it!
look at the time... with your eyeballs.
go on now, do it.
go on now, do it.
regarding Cthulhu, one of the things i was reading about in HPL's own stories is that the bodies of those fellas here on earth is formed by the power of their minds. so like in The Call of Cthulhu when the boat rams him, he turns to mist and then reconstitutes himself. and i also think that bombing R'lyeh could be the worst thing ever, since it's his prison, not his summer-house.
regarding Narlathotep, that does sound like a kick-ass idea, with the mask thing. and of course, any and all references to Voltron are gnarly. to the max.
i still haven't heard any official word about the story i sent in to ESP, but then again, nobody has. i have a good feeling about it, though, as i got an email with some suggested edits, which is always a good sign. even if you don't like the suggestions. har.
the next story in that cycle is a sub-story about that PI and Simon in Chicago, where the old train system is lousy with ghouls and a dormant Shoggoth is missing...that one's for HardBoiled Cthulhu 2, whenever that opens up for subs.
regarding Narlathotep, that does sound like a kick-ass idea, with the mask thing. and of course, any and all references to Voltron are gnarly. to the max.
i still haven't heard any official word about the story i sent in to ESP, but then again, nobody has. i have a good feeling about it, though, as i got an email with some suggested edits, which is always a good sign. even if you don't like the suggestions. har.
the next story in that cycle is a sub-story about that PI and Simon in Chicago, where the old train system is lousy with ghouls and a dormant Shoggoth is missing...that one's for HardBoiled Cthulhu 2, whenever that opens up for subs.