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“ | The Thing cannot be described - there is no language for such abysms of shrieking and immemorial lunacy, such eldritch contradictions of all matter, force, and cosmic order. A mountain walked or stumbled. If I say that my somewhat extravagant imagination yielded simultaneous pictures of an octopus, a dragon, and a human caricature, I shall not be unfaithful to the spirit of the thing. A pulpy, tentacled head surmounted a grotesque and scaly body with rudimentary wings; but it was the general outline of the whole which made it most shockingly frightful. |
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~ H. P. Lovecraft's description for Cthulhu |
“ | It was a terrible, indescribable thing vaster than any subway train—a shapeless congeries of protoplasmic bubbles, faintly self-luminous, and with myriads of temporary eyes forming and un-forming as pustules of greenish light all over the tunnel-filling front that bore down upon us, crushing the frantic penguins and slithering over the glistening floor that it and its kind had swept so evilly free of all litter. | „ |
~ A description of a Shoggoth. |
Howard Phillips Lovecraft, or H. P. Lovecraft (August 20, 1890 – March 15, 1937) was an American horror writer who influenced the genre greatly. Instead of traditional villains, he created "horrors": indescribable, indefinable and inconceivable beings whose existence contradicts the laws of physics and whose aspect alone is beyond human logic; as such, they can induce madness by their mere presence.
Although malevolent by human standards, most of Lovecraft's "horrors" are beings that are either insane or too alien for humans to understand. Very few of them are desirable to be around, however and thus are similar to villains in the sense of being harmful and generally a threat to the world at large.
The term "Lovecraftian Horrors", also known as Eldritch Abominations or Cosmic Horrors applies to otherworldly entities beyond rationalization, too alien from "normal" flesh-and-blood beings to be described properly, and most often madness-inducing. Alternatively, beings whose aspect is clearly stated to be an approximation of what they really are, something that humans can process while their real form is inconceivable
They can have been mortals who were transformed into atrocious, unfathomable beings way beyond the usual demonic "True Form" of a Final Boss, willingly or not. They might be slightly lower scale, closer to what can be concieved in appearance by still unfathomable. But they always be way beyond normal existence and understanding. At the very least, they must be as close as possible to such beings.
No matter how nightmarish they are, villains who are merely gigantic and hideous, an amalgamation of creatures and/or are cataclysmic aliens (e.g. GOLB) do NOT fit in this category. However, some Aliens can still be Lovecraftian horrors (e.g. Galactus and Evolt). Cosmic Entities and Energy Beings can (and frequently do) overlap with Lovecraftian Horrors, but are distinct types of villains. The difference with them is their true form can not be known, unlike the two others.
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- A-Yanga
- Abaddon (Guild Wars)
- Abaddon (Torchwood)
- Abeloth
- Abhoth
- Aboleths
- Absolute Hades God N Ma
- Abyss (Paladins)
- Abyss (Rivals of Aether)
- Adam (Evangelion)
- ADR-01: Jeri Type
- Agron (SaGa)
- Ahriman (Prince of Persia)
- Akasha (Dragalia Lost)
- Akhaten
- Akron
- Akuro
- Aldia
- Alien God
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- Alioth
- Alioth (Marvel Cinematic Universe)
- Allura
- Alternates
- Alucard (Hellsing)
- Amanda the Adventurer
- Amatsu-Mikaboshi
- Ambassador of Alagadda
- Amon (StarCraft)
- Amygdala (Bloodborne)
- Ancient Enemy
- Ancient Master Org
- Ancient Ones
- Ancitif
- Angels of Paradiso
- Animus (Doctor Who)
- Annona
- Anti-God
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- Anti-Spiral
- Aparoids
- Aphoom Zhah
- Apocryphos
- Apostles
- Apothicon
- Arael
- Archons (SCP Foundation)
- Arfoire
- Argomon
- Argosax
- Arioch
- Arkadimon
- Armageddon (Chaos!)
- Armisael
- Armus
- Astaroth (Shadow Hearts)
- Asteroidean
- Asteroth
- Atman
- Az Atorse
- Azathoth
- Bacterians
- Bacterion
- Baoht Z'uqqa-mogg
- Bardiel
- Barktholomew
- Barrow Wights (Middle-earth)
- Basement Demon
- Battleship Ta-Class
- BB
- Beached Thing
- Beast from the Cereal Aisle
- Beelzebubs
- Behemecoatyl
- Behemoth (Hellboy)
- Beholders
- Bel'Veth
- Bellum (Manga)
- Bellum (The Legend of Zelda)
- Beyonders
- Bhunivelze
- Big Bad (Hanazuki: Full of Treasures)
- Biomass (Metro 2033)
- Bittercold
- Black Cross Führer
- Black Doom
- Black Goo
- Black Guardian
- Black Hole (Pretty Cure All Stars)
- Black Mercies
- Black Moon
- Black Shadow (Fate)
- Black Signal
- Black Slime Behemoth
- Black Thing
- Black Winter
- Blood Guardian
- Blood Red Glister
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- Bobble the Clown
- Bokrug
- Boogeyman (Stephen King)
- The Boss (Reimagine: the game:)
- Bottom
- Broadcaster
- Brother Moons
- Brotherhood of the Beast
- Brotherhood of the Dark Rapture
- Brown Jenkin
- Bugglesworth
- Byatis
- Bydo
- Bydo Core
- C'thun
- Calamity Ganon
- Calasmos
- Cathulhu
- Cerberus (Dante's Inferno)
- Cerebulon (War Of The Monsters)
- Chaos (AdventureQuest Worlds)
- Chaos (Castlevania)
- Chaos (Girls x Battle 2)
- Chaos (mythology)
- Chaos (Sailor Moon)
- Chaos (The Power of Five)
- Chaos (Vampirella)
- Chaos Beasts
- Chaos Gods (Warhammer)
- Chaos Header
- Chaos Kin
- Charybdis (Percy Jackson)
- Chattur'gha
- Chernobog (mythology)
- Chesuncook Witch Coven
- Chet (Supernatural)
- Chorazos Cult
- Chthon
- Cjopaze
- Clarence (Penumbra)
- The Clone
- Clotho
- Clover (Cloverfield)
- Clown Animatronic
- Cluster (Steven Universe)
- Colour Out of Space
- Cometmon
- Conqueror Worm
- Conrad (Berserk)
- Crawling Eyes
- Crayak
- Creation Prime
- Creatures (Bird Box)
- Creatures (Local 58)
- Creep
- Crimson King
- Crom Cruach (Lovecraft)
- Crom Cruach (Secret of Kells)
- Crown
- Cryptids (Call of Duty)
- Cthugha
- Cthulhu
- Cthulhu (Billy and Mandy)
- Cthulhu (Dark Dungeons)
- Cthulhu (Love, Death & Robots)
- Cthulhu (Lovecraft Girls)
- Cthulhu (Lovecraft)
- Cthulhu (Pray for Death)
- Cthulhu (South Park)
- Cthulhu (TGWTG)
- Cthulhu (Underwater)
- Cthulhu Cult
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- Cthylla
- Cult of the Bloody Tongue
- Cxaxukluth
- Cyäegha
- D-Reaper
- Daedric Princes
- Daemites
- Dagger Morse
- Dagon (Ben 10)
- The Damned Thing
- Dandelo
- Daoloth
- Dark Destroyer
- Dark Falz
- Dark Gaia
- Dark Genie
- Dark King (Futari wa Pretty Cure)
- Dark Matter (Kirby)
- Dark Matter (Pokémon)
- Dark Ones (Super Robot Monkey Team Hyper Force Go!)
- Dark Ones (The Evil Dead)
- Dark Overlords of the Universe
- Dark Samus
- Dark Underlord
- Darkness (Paladins)