Nyarlathotep

“ And where Nyarlathotep went, rest vanished, for the small hours were rent with the screams of nightmare. „
-H.P. Lovecraft, about Nyarlathotep.

Nyarlathotep, known to many by his epithet The Crawling Chaos, is an Outer God in the Cthulhu Mythos. He is the spawn of Azathoth. He is the creation of H. P. Lovecraft and first appeared in his prose poem "Nyarlathotep" (1920).

Nyarlathotep appears in numerous subsequent stories by Lovecraft, and is also featured in the works of other authors, as well as in role-playing games based on the Cthulhu Mythos.

Description

“ -a tall, lean man of dead black colouration but without the slightest sign of negroid features: wholly devoid of either hair or beard, and wearing as his only garment a shapeless robe of some heavy black fabric. His feet were indistinguishable because of the table and bench, but he must have been shod, since there was a clicking whenever he changed position. The man did not speak, and bore no trace of expression on his small, regular features. He merely pointed to a book of prodigious size which lay open on the table.... „

Nyarlathotep differs from the other deities in the Mythos in a number of ways. Most of the Outer Gods are exiled to the stars, like Yog-Sothoth and Azathoth, and most of the Great Old Ones are sleeping and dreaming like Cthulhu; Nyarlathotep, however, is active and frequently walks the Earth in the guise of a human being, usually a tall, slim, joyous man. He has "a thousand" other forms and manifestations, most reputed to be quite horrific and sanity-blasting.

Most of the Outer Gods have their own cults serving them; Nyarlathotep seems to serve as He serves several cults and takes care of their affairs in the other Outer Gods' absence. Most Outer Gods use strange alien languages, while Nyarlathotep uses human languages and can easily pass for a human being if he chooses to do so. Finally, most of them are all-powerful yet evidently without clear purpose or agenda, yet Nyarlathotep seems to be deliberately deceptive and manipulative, and even uses propaganda to achieve his goals. In this regard, he is probably the most human-like among the Outer Gods.

Nyarlathotep enacts the will of the Outer Gods, and is their "messenger, heart and soul", "the immemorial figure of the deputy or messenger of hidden and terrible powers" He is also the servant of Azathoth, whose fitful, spastic wishes he immediately fulfills. Unlike the other Outer Gods, spreading madness is more important and enjoyable than death and destruction to Nyarlathotep. It is suggested by some that he will destroy the human race and possibly the earth as well.

In the Mythos

“ Don't fail to see Nyarlathotep if he comes to Providence. He is horrible — horrible beyond anything you can imagine — but wonderful. He haunts one for hours afterward. I am still shuddering at what he showed. „

Nyarlathotep's first appearance is in the eponymous short story by Lovecraft (1920), in which he is described as a "tall, swarthy man" who resembles an Egyptian Pharaoh. In this story he wanders the earth, gathering legions of followers through his demonstrations of strange and seemingly magical instruments, the narrator of the story among them. These followers lose awareness of the world around them, and through the narrator's increasingly unreliable accounts the reader gets a sense of the world's utter collapse. The story ends with the narrator as part of an army of servants for Nyarlathotep.

Nyarlathotep, again manifested in the form of an Egyptian Pharaoh when he confronted Randolph Carter as an avatar of the Other Gods, executing their will on Earth and in Dreamland (HPL: The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath).

Nyarlathotep meets Walter Gilman and witch Keziah Mason (who has made a pact with the entity) in the form of "the 'Black Man' of the witch-cult," a black-skinned avatar with the appearance of the Christian Devil (His footprints suggest cloven hooves instead of feet) associated with New England witchcraft lore (HPL: "The Dreams in the Witch-House").

The being of pure darkness dwelling, possessing a "three-lobed eye", in the steeple of the Starry Wisdom sect's church is identified as another form, or manifestation of, Nyarlathotep (HPL: "The Haunter of the Dark").

Nyarlathotep's name is spoken frequently by the fungi from Yuggoth in a reverential or ritual sense, indicating that they worship or honor the entity (HPL: "The Whisperer in Darkness").

According to certain sources he is currently living or imprisoned on the planet Abbith.

The Masks of Nyarlathotep

“ No Nyarlathotep, know peace. Know Nyarlathotep, no peace. „

Nyarlathotep, the Crawling Chaos, the Black Pharaoh, the God of a Thousand Forms, the Faceless God, the Haunter of the Dark, Nyarko-san, Randall Flagg, Sauron, The White Man, the Howler in the Night... it has many forms. All of them infinitely powerful. All of them dangerous to any who would oppose its goals. Whether it plays by any rules or not depends on the incarnation, but there's one very important thing to remember. There is only one Nyarlathotep. Even if multiple versions of it meet, they're all the same one. Even if they're fighting, they're the same being.

Nyarlathotep	Nyarlathotep Nya	Nyarlathotep Nyarko-san	Nyarlathotep	Nyarlathotep

Nyarlathotep Cain Murasame	Nyarlathotep Chaos Knight	Nyarlathotep Creeping Chaos	Nyarlathotep Hiraga Gennai	Nyarlathotep Hunbun

Nyarlathotep Lula	Nyarlathotep Sasami-san	Nyarlathotep Satan	Nyarlathotep The M James Moriarty	Nyarlathotep Ticktock Man

Trivia

Ooh boy.
Nyarlathotep sometimes appears or is referred to in literature outside the Cthulhu Mythos genre of horror:

   *In Stephen King's The Stand and his Dark Tower series of books, the character Randall Flagg was known (among many other names) as Nyarlathotep. His short story "Crouch End" features the name spelled "Nyarlahotep". In The Dark Tower VII: The Dark Tower, a fictional version of King himself mentions Nyarlathotep.
   *The children's horror writer Brad Strickland used Nyarlathotep as the main antagonist in his book The Wrath of the Grinning Ghost.
   *Nyarlathotep is a student in Harry Turtledove's short story "The Genetics Lecture."
  * The Book of the SubGenius briefly mentions an entity called "Nyardim Thothep"
   *Pulp novelist Barry Reese uses Nyarlathotep in several of his Rook Universe stories. Nyarlathotep appears in "Kingdom of Blood" and "The Gasping Death". Nyarlathotep also appears under the guise Mr. Blackman in the short story "The Great Work" which was printed in both Thrilling Adventures and the fifth edition of Startling Stories
  * In A Night in the Lonesome October by Roger Zelazny, Nyarlathotep and other gods are referred to and are part of the main plot.
  * In the novel The Arcanum, a case involving Nyarlathotep is said to have been solved by Lovecraft himself.
   *Nyarlathotep appears in the novel Johannes Cabal: The Fear Institute, by Jonathan L. Howard, as the main antagonist, in the guise of Fear Institute member Gardner Bose.
   *In Once Upon a Time in the Weird West, part of Edward M. Erdelac's Merkabah Rider series of books, Nyarlathotep and the Dark Lord Sauron from J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle Earth mythology are revealed to be the same entity.

Comics

  *Nyarlathotep is a French comic book by Rotomago and J. Noirel, a literal adaptation of the Lovecraft short story.
   *Magic spells in the comic book Conan the Barbarian feature invocations to "Nyarla Thotep".
   *In Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Loki summons Nyarlathotep, "tearer of souls, ripper of flesh".
   *Nyarlathotep (also called Priest of the Ether, Chaos Made Flesh, etc.) is a character in the webcomic Friendly Hostility.
   *Ethan Kostabi in the Caballistics, Inc. series has been hinted to be Nyarlathotep.
   *In Unspeakable Vault (of Doom), Nyarlathotep regularly appears as what looks like a living tentacle with arms and legs.
   *Is briefly featured, along with other Great Old Ones, in the dream world the lead characters visit in Roger Zelazny's A Night in the Lonesome October.
   *In Serenity Rose, Skarsdayle is the former lead singer of a band named Nyarlathotep.
   *Nyarlathotep appears at the end of The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: Black Dossier as an emissary sent from Yuggoth to negotiate a truce with Prospero of the Blazing World.
   *Nyarlathotep is the main antagonist in the Fall of Cthulhu series by Boom! Studios
   *Nyarlathotep is the true form of Space Hojo, one of the main characters in the webcomic Twisted Kaiju Theater.
   *Nyarlathotep is the primary antagonist of the Lovely Lovecraft web-comic.

Light novels

   *A series of light novels in Japan started in 2009 called Haiyore! Nyaruko-san about Nyarlathotep, amassing 9 volumes by 2012.
   *Nyarlathotep appears as a character in Magical Girl Lulu R'lyeh in the guise of Megumi Urushiharao, an air-headed Japanese teacher.

Manga

In 2011, two series of manga written by Manta Aisora debuted:

   *May 2011 illustrated by Kei Okazaki began running in Miracle Jump
   *October 2011 illustrated by Sōichirō Hoshino, Haiyore! Super Nyaruko-chan Time began running in Flex Comic Blood.

Anime

The light novel series was adapted into 4 anime series:

   *2009: nine episodes of 3-minute OVAs called Haiyoru! Nyaruani
   *2010: twelve episodes of 5-minute TV shorts called Haiyoru! Nyaruani: Remember My Mr. Lovecraft
   *2012: twelve episodes of 25-minute full TV episodes called Haiyore! Nyaruko-san
   *2013: twelve episodes of 24-minute full TV episodes called Haiyore! Nyaruko-san W
   *A 12 episode series known as Demonbane.

Tabletop Games

   *In the Pathfinder role-playing game, Nyarlathotep is the god of conspiracies, dangerous secrets, and forbidden magic. His cult is centered on Aucturn and his symbol is a black ankh upside down. This Outer God is said to have a thousand different forms, with each one being associated with a different cult, but the one he uses the most is that of the Empty Traveler. Others he usually uses are those of the Black Pharaoh and the Haunter of the Dark. Some say that Carsai the King can be his herald or avatar. Unlike other of his colleagues, he enjoys wreaking chaos among mortals on a personal basis rather than leaving it to his cultists. The scholars of the Dark Tapestry believe that it is the vanguard of the Greatt Old Ones, affecting small details that will trigger other events, to the point that it is possible to see its hand in every great disaster and in every fall of great civilizations. He is the one behind the death of leaders to plunge everyone into chaos. His faithful (among whom there are those who seek occult knowledge - such as cultists and scholars - and those who seek to undo societies such as serial killers and violent revolutionaries) believe that he is the Outer God that unites the cult of the Great Old Ones, and that he will be the one who open the doors to the stars.

Video Games

   *Nyarlathotep appears in the Persona series of PlayStation games as a god symbolic of the destructive potential of Carl Jung's collective unconscious, although, thus far, he only plays a significant role in the first title, and both parts of the second title.
   *As "Nylonathatep, the laddering horror" in the Discworld game Discworld Noir.
   *As the Thing Outside Time and Space in the trading card game Hecatomb.
   *Also as Outer God Nyarla in the trading card game Yu-Gi-Oh.
   *Nyarlathotep is the main antagonist of the Demonbane series which spans games, comics, novels, and a TV series, in which it is trying to free its father Azathoth from the Shining Trapezohedron. It has taken on four named forms so far: Nya, an owner of a mysterious bookstore filled with dangerous grimoires, Nyarla, a maid to Augusta Derleth, Father Ny, the leader of the Church of Starry Wisdom, and the Tick-Tock Man, technology incarnate. It has also taken on the forms of an unnamed black man "from Egypt," and a talking black rat, among others. Its "true" form is depicted as a great shadow filled with fangs and claws and tentacles with three flaming eyes.
   *In the Derelict campaign mod of the game FreeSpace 2, the Nyarlathotep is the designation of a Shivan Lucifer class destroyer which was found floating in subspace for centuries.
   *His name and title (crawling chaos) is mentioned in Ice Station Santa, the first episode of season 2 of the Sam and Max adventure game series by Telltale Games. When attempting to exorcize a demon, Nyarlathotep's name is one of the incorrect guesses of the demon's true name.
   *Bloodborne, a 2015 videogame by From Software known for its Lovecraft-inspired story, has an optional final boss, "The Moon Presence", that was likely inspired by and modeled after Nyarlathotep.
   *Nyarlathotep appears in Sundered as the player's guide throughout the story. later on he either becomes one of the bosses or your ally depending on your choices.
   *In Dragalia Lost, Nyarlathotep appears as a playable adventurer, summonable dragon and event antagonist. It is described as the incarnation of chaos, emissary of the Ancient One. It exists simultaneously in different forms, the known ones being eyeless dragons, one white and one black, and Lathna, the daughter of cultists of the Ancient One. Although sharing a goal, their approach to it varies. They're also able to individually change their forms, like Lathna being able to change into the white dragon.
   *Nyarlathotep appears as the Final boss in the Retro FPS Dusk. In which he is voiced by Stephan Weyte who played Caleb within the "Blood" series.
   *Nyarlathotep is vaguely mentioned in Fate/Grand Order, through the summonable Servant BB's biography text from her summer alt, which implies that it is the "being not of this Earth, but an entity from the depths of space" that BB fused with in her 3rd Ascension. It is also referenced in the nickname BB gives herself during her 3rd Ascension dialogue: "BB-hotep."
   *Nyarlathotep from Tokyo Afterschool Summoners is a popular yet elusive Tokyo DJ who wields a blasphemous box that can warp space. He often influences the 3 most powerful guilds so that the game in Tokyo becomes more "fun".