"The Call of Cthulhu" is one of H. P. Lovecraft's best known short stories. It is the only story penned by Lovecraft in which Cthulhu himself makes an appearance. It is a story composed of two major narratives linked by a third, the voice of the "author." Only the author pieces together the whole truth and significance of the information he has in his possession, and he recounts it to the audience in the way that he discovered it.

It begins with an account of the death of a prominent professor at Miskatonic University and a study of his papers. These papers include the account of a raid on a supposed Satanic cult. A study of the cultists brings to light clues about the hideous creature that they worship, Cthulhu. The Cthulhu creature, said to have come with his alien followers from the stars millions of years before the dawn of Man, now rests in a death-like sleep in their sunken city of R'lyeh.

The second part of the story picks up here with the recounting of the log of a first mate on a ship that discovers the sunken city, now risen to the surface of the Pacific Ocean. The city has resurfaced because "the stars are right" and the time for the awakening of Cthulhu and his spawn is at hand. Cthulhu emerges from his tomb and almost all of the crewmen are slain. But the stars are not quite right, after all, and Cthulhu and R'lyeh return to the deep after the first mate makes a harrowing escape. The story concludes with the death of the first mate under mysterious circumstances, and the author's fear that he, too, will perish by the hands of the Cthulhu cultists.

Legacy

This story gave birth to the so-called Cthulhu Mythos, stories and novels based on the idea of the other-worldly creatures who wish to re-inhabit Earth. All of these stories are written by other authors—most of the early ones friends or acquaintances of Lovecraft's. However, "The Call of Cthulhu" is the only Cthulhu story written by Lovecraft himself.

Call of Cthulhu is the title of a popular role-playing game based on the Cthulhu Mythos.

There are many musical references to Cthulhu and the Mythos, especially in the genres of Heavy Metal, Gothic Rock and Filk music:

• Metallica, "The Call of Ktulu" from Ride The Lightning
• Metallica, "The Thing That Should Not Be" from "Master of Puppets"
• Fields of the Nephilim, multiple references on self-titled album
• Samael, "The Rite of Cthulhu" from Worship Him
• Cradle of Filth, "Cthulhu Dawn" from "Midian", and other references throughout their work
• Tom Smith, "Cthulhu Child Care" [1]
• The Darkest of the Hillside Thickets, multiple references

The H.P. Lovecraft Historical Society is producing a film adaptation of the story, to be released in Spring 2005.

See also

• Call of Cthulhu (role-playing game)

External links

• Online copy of the story
• The Ultimate Cthulhu Mythos Book List - Listing of all mythos novels, anthologies, collections, comic books, and more.