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The Mound is a horror/science fictionnovella by American author H. P. Lovecraft, written by him as a ghostwriter from December 1929 to January 1930 after he was hired by Zealia Bishop to create a story about an Indigenous American mound which is haunted by a headless ghost. Lovecraft expanded the story into a tale about a mound that conceals a gateway to a subterranean civilization, the realm of K'n-yan. The story was not published during Lovecraft's lifetime. A heavily abridged version was published in the November 1940 issue of Weird Tales, and the full text was finally published in 1989.

Howard Phillips Lovecraft (August 20, 1890 – March 15, 1937) — known as H. Lovecraft — was an American author of horror, fantasy and science fiction, especially the subgenre known as weird fiction. Lovecraft's guiding aesthetic and philosophical principle was what he termed 'cosmicism' or 'cosmic horror', the idea that. Hp Lovecraft Fonts' title='Hp Lovecraft Fonts' /Bien que le lectorat de Lovecraft ft limit de son vivant, sa rputation volua au fil des dcennies et il est prsent considr comme lun des crivains dhorreur les plus influents du XXe sicle. Avec Edgar Allan Poe, il a une influence considrable sur les gnrations suivantes dcrivains dhorreur 5.

Plot[edit]

The story is narrated by an ethnologist who visits the town of Binger, Oklahoma, in 1928 to investigate certain stories related to a certain nearby mound, which is said to be haunted by a strange Indigenous American man by day and a headless woman by night. The local people avoid the place, and there are strange stories of those who dared to venture there either disappearing, or returning insane and inexplicably altered. Being initially quite skeptical, the narrator brings some archaeological tools and visits the mound, noticing that the man pacing it appears closest to the native Indigenous Americans, but cannot be identified with any known Indigenous American tribe. Through a talisman made of a strange metal given to him by a local chieftain, he unearths a strange cylinder made of the same unidentifiable metal full of hideous engravings and strange hieroglyphics.^[1]

Upon discovering a scroll written in Spanish in the cylinder, the narrator returns to his host and begins to translate it. The contents of the scroll, covering a large part of the narrative, describe the travels of one Pánfilo de Zamacona y Nuñez, an Asturian explorer, almost 400 years prior. Zamacona recounts how he was a part of an expedition from Mexico to North America, and how, through the help of a native Indigenous American, he discovered a vast underground world filled with grotesque temples, and populated by strange beasts and a highly advanced telepathic civilization who worshipped Cthulhu, Yig, Shub-Niggurath, and— until a certain incident— Tsathoggua. The members of the underground race— who lived in what they called the kingdom of K’nyan— welcomed him, but the more Zamacona learned about them the more fearful he became.

The HP Lovecraft Historical Society specialise in creating documents with a vintage feel, and while not free, $20 will buy 50 very well thought out fonts for.

The K'nyanians had attained immortality and subjugated other races before them, had the technology to biologically modify vanquished races and other life-forms and reanimate the dead for use as slaves, and could dematerialize and rematerialize at will. The underground people also engaged in sadism, depraved practices, ritualistic orgies and unspeakable horrors such as random body modifications and mutilations of other slave species as entertainment, in order to gratify their time-dulled senses. The bored inhabitants, desperate for new stimulation, are thrilled to have a visitor from the outer world, and through them, Zamacona discovers the history of the mysterious world. The K'nyanians are not the first advanced civilization of the world, and have in fact built their society on top of another realm, which in turn had been built on another dark world even further beneath. They know little of the previous inhabitants, though its implied that the K'nyanians beasts of burden, a kind of quasi-mammalian quadruped, are the non-sentient degenerate descendants of the previous race, as they had first been found in the ruins of the older civilization. They also tell him of their exploration of the lightless realm, whose inhabitants worshipped a being known as Tsathoggua, a worship the K'nyanians brought back with them, but was eventually outlawed after the discovery of a hideous secret in the dark realm that may have caused the extinction of its inhabitants (the descriptions of which resembles a Shoggoth). The K'nyanians would develop a very advanced civilization, but eventually regressed somewhat after finding no further use for technological advancement, returning to using their vast mental powers and beasts of burden for labour.

As Zamacona observed their decaying social condition and their reactions to his telling them of the surface people, he feared that they would one day decide to invade the outside world, where, given their advanced powers, they would be unstoppable. However, his hosts, who once had settlements on the outside world until the last Ice Age forced them underground, fear it, and refuse to let him leave, out of fear that he would tell his countrymen of their realm, and their boundless greed for gold would attract an invasion, something Zamacona fears is inevitable, as more and more Europeans are arriving in the New World.

Eventually, Zamacona attempted to escape with T'la-yub, a female K'nyanian native who knew of an unguarded entrance to the surface world, carrying with him a cylinder containing a scroll that recorded his story, which he hoped would warn the surface world of the underground threat. However, he was betrayed by one of his biologically modified slave creatures and was captured. T'la-yub was sentenced to unspeakable tortures and mutilations at the amphitheater and ended up as a headless zombie guarding the entrance (the headless woman in Ms. Bishop's brief synopsis), while Zamacona was spared because they wished to extract more of his knowledge. Later on, he attempted another escape, which apparently resulted in the cylinder containing the scroll being deposited on the mound. His narrative ends quite hurriedly and abruptly.

The narrator is shocked by this scroll but remains skeptical, so the next day he goes to the mound again for further investigation, repeatedly telling himself that this is an elaborate hoax. Upon digging in a depression on the mound, he discovers a staircase leading deep underground, where he encounters dematerialized beings patrolling the tunnel (they are prevented from making the narrator one more victim, by the talisman of unidentifiable metal) as well as the remains of equipment brought by explorers before him, some of which now has become partially dematerialized. Driven to near-hysterics already, the narrator finally comes across a fully material entity at the sight of which his nerves completely break down, sending him fleeing wildly back to the surface. That entity is revealed to be the completely mutilated and reanimated corpse of Zamacona with a message inscribed onto his chest in broken Spanish by the underground race. The message reads 'Seized by the will of K’n-yan in the headless body of T’la-yub'.^[1]

Writing[edit]

H. P. Lovecraft wrote the story as a ghostwriter from December 1929 to January 1930 after he was hired by Zealia Bishop to create a story based on the following plot synopsis: 'There is an Indian mound near here, which is haunted by a headless ghost. Sometimes it is a woman.'

Lovecraft did not like this premise of what seemed to be a conventional ghost story. The outline was so brief it allowed for a great deal of license, so he made it into a 29,560 word story about a mound that conceals a gateway to a subterranean civilization, the realm of K'n-yan, which one of the main characters enters and lives in for a while. The story is one of only three by Lovecraft where a non-human culture is described in rich details, the other two being At the Mountains of Madness and The Shadow Out of Time. It is not as well known as the later two, as it was ghostwritten for another author.

Lovecraft refers to the hoax Tucson artifacts in the story. Archaeologist and Lovecraft scholar Marc A. Beherec argues that the Tucson artifacts also influenced some of Lovecraft's other writings.^[2][3]

Location[edit]

The mound in the story is located in Binger in Caddo County, which is a real town about 60 miles (100 km) southwest of Oklahoma City. He places the mound about a third of a mile west of Binger, an area where there are no mounds, which seems to make this geographic detail the only fictional part of its location.

There are several mounds in the area, but not as described in the story. One of them is called the Ghost Mound and according to a local legend is haunted by ghosts. It is located closer to Hydro, rather than Binger. It does not look like how Lovecraft described it, and is a natural formation. This is most likely the mound that inspired Zealia Bishop to present her story idea to Lovecraft. It is possible a second nearby mound, known as Dead Woman Mound, may also have inspired her. Unlike the first, there is no ghost story connected with it, though it gained its name when the buried body of a dead woman was found there.

Publication[edit]

The story was not published during Lovecraft's lifetime. After his death, August Derleth abridged the story radically, and it was published in the November 1940 issue of Weird Tales. This abbreviated version was reprinted by Arkham House over the years until the original text was finally published in 1989 in The Horror in the Museum and Other Revisions,^[4] although some Lovecraft anthologies such as The Loved Dead by Wordsworth Editions continue to use the abridged Derleth version.

See also[edit]

• The Phantom Empire — film serial on a similar theme
• Richard Shaver — claimed to know of a civilization such as that depicted in The Mound

References[edit]

1. ^ ^abH. P. Lovecraft and Zealia Bishop. 'The Mound'. Retrieved 2010-10-07.
2. ^Stevens, Kristina (1990) 'A Cold Trail,' Zocalo Magazine, Tucson.
3. ^Beherec, Marc A. 2008. 'H. P. Lovecraft and the Archaeology of 'Roman' Arizona.' Lovecraft Annual 2: 192-202.
4. ^Joshi, S.T.; Schultz, David E. (2004). An H.P. Lovecraft Encyclopedia. Hippocampus Press. p. 174. ISBN978-0974878911.

External links[edit]

• Works related to The Mound at Wikisource

Games are more fun when you play with good toys, and we here at the HPLHS really like detailed props. We offer a complete prop collection in our online store: here we are happy to provide a sampling of 1920s/30s era gaming prop documents that you can download for free, customize and print. Whether you play live-action or around the table, these props will intensify your role-playing games.

The prop software in the HPLHS Collection is protected by copyright and remains the exclusive property of HPLHS Inc. The HPLHS Prop Documents are for entertainment purposes only. They are intended for personal use in role-playing games, and users are free to customize and print copies for such purposes. Any commercial or illegal use of the digital files or the props you can make with them is entirely prohibited.

PLEASE NOTE: The PDFs are meant to be opened in Adobe Acrobat, because when anyone tries to open them in Photoshop, Illustrator or other applications all kinds of font substitution and other things occur that tend to destroy the designs. Since there are many different computer platforms, operating systems and versions of applications, the only way to try to make sure the props look the way they’re supposed to for the largest number of people is to make them openable only in Acrobat, which can be downloaded for free. Many of the props can be customized from within Acrobat using form fields.

The PDFs are copyrighted by HPLHS Inc. and licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 International License. To view a copy of this license, click this link, or send a letter to Creative Commons, 171 Second Street, Suite 300, San Francisco, CA 94105, USA.

This is a replica of an authentic Western Union telegram from the late 1920s through early 1960s. It needs a separate envelope, which we regret we cannot provide. Click the image at left to download the PDF with printing and finishing instructions.(The PDF includes form fields for typing your message.)

This is a generic style prop telegram created exclusively for this website. It folds up to become its own envelope. Click the image at left to download the PDF with printing and finishing instructions.(The message shown at left is just an example: the prop itself is customizable.)

Detailed replicas of real vintage postcards from Providence, with views of the city at the time when Lovecraft lived there. He might have sent notes on postcards just like these! Choose from the list below to download the corresponding PDF with printing and finishing instructions. (Vintage postage stamps included!) PDFs range from 6 to 8 megabytes.

H.P.Lovecraft is as famous in some circles for his prodigious correspondence as he is for his horror fiction. He was a man who knew the value of a postage stamp. In honor of HPL's spirit of epistolarianism, we've created a series of HPLHS 'postage stamps' for you to download, print, and use on your own correspondence. NOTE: THESE ARE NOT VALID FOR U.S. POSTAGE. They are novelty items. Use them as postage on prop letters in your own live-action Cthulhu games, or decorate a letter to a Lovecraft fan. Clicking on the image will open up a 2-page PDF which you can download and print. Some stamps are color, some are black and white. We hope you enjoy them. Send us a postcard with one of the stamps!

Miskatonic University is the jumping-off point for many of HPL's stories and Cthulhu adventures. We're pleased to offer Miskatonic letterheads from various departments, including the Antarctic Expedition, with built-in vintage typewriter font for composing your letter. Click the image at right to download the PDF with printing and finishing instructions. (The page shown here is just one of several in the PDF.)

Characters who have paid with their sanity for the knowledge they've gained should have something to hang on the wall. Click the image at right to download the PDF with printing and finishing instructions. (The character info shown here is just an example: the prop itself is customizable.)

We offer other Miskatonic diplomas in our complete prop collection in the online store, including advanced degrees, and we also offer the Miskatonic University combo, which comes with a printed diploma and library card, student ID, course book, t-shirt, mug, and decals.

To fill out your investigator's wallet, this card might come in handy. It is created especially for this site. Click the image at left to download the PDF with printing and finishing instructions. (The character info shown here is just an example: the prop itself is customizable.)

A customized, printed version of this library card is included with the Miskatonic University Combo available in our online store.

Turn any book into a book from the stacks of Miskatonic University Library! The PDF is complete with a library pocket, three types of due date cards (both blank and pre-stamped) and various labels for the spine of your book. Just add a call number! Click the image at right to download the 4-page PDF with printing and finishing instructions. (2.5 MB) (The book info shown here is just an example: the prop itself is customizable, and includes a guide to the Dewey Decimal system.)

Lovecraft Symbol

Not an M.U. student? Never fear: they've got interlibrary loan. Click the image at right to download the PDF with printing and finishing instructions.(The character info shown here is just an example: the prop itself is customizable.)

Handy for when the bodies start piling up, this prop is inspired by several original authentic documents, and created just for the site. It features a convenient tear-off mortician receipt to speed your way to the graveyard. Click the image at right to download the PDF with printing and finishing instructions.

This prop is based on an actual 1930s automobile registration card. Click the image at right to download the PDF with printing and finishing instructions. (The details shown here are just for example: the prop itself is customizable.)

Sometimes the only way to identify a dead body is to go through its pockets and find a drivers license... Click the image at right to download the PDF with printing and finishing instructions.(The character info shown here is just an example: the prop itself is customizable.)

This card is offered in two varieties: one from Massachusetts and one from New York. Click the image at right to download the PDF with printing and finishing instructions.

This prop is a replica of the Treasury Department ID card of Eliot Ness. (Thanks to Greg Barrett for the suggestion and the research.) Click the image to download the PDF with printing and finishing instructions.(The character info and photo shown here are just for example: users must provide their own photo.)

This prop is a replica of the credentials issued to Special Agents of the U.S. Department of State. We don't know if that's a polite way of saying 'spy', but they are authorized to make investigations for the federal government and that might come in handy! (Thanks to N.R. Jenzen-Jones for the suggestion and the research.) Click the image to download the PDF with printing and finishing instructions.

If you've paid for your knowledge of the Cthulhu Mythos with your sanity, you might as well get a receipt. In response to requests from website visitors, we are pleased to provide these handsome documents you can use to certify yourself or your loved ones insane. One is from Sefton Asylum, which appears in Lovecraft's Herbert West tales. The other, more ornate certificate is from Arkham Asylum for the Insane. Both are fully customizable if you are using the most recent version of the Adobe Acrobat reader.Choose from the links below to download the corresponding PDF with printing and finishing instructions.(The character info shown is just an example: the prop itself is customizable.)

Hp Lovecraft Font

We also offer pre-printed and customized Insanity Certificates in our online store.

Hp Lovecraft Font

This prop is based on actual vintage death certificates. It is completely customizable and comes in a fancy version as shown here and a plain version that you can print on certificate paper. Click the image at left to download the PDF with printing and finishing instructions.(The character info shown here is just an example: the prop itself is customizable.)