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| Elder Thing | |
|---|---|
 Fan illustration of a generic Elder Thing specimen | |
| First appearance | At the Mountains of Madness |
| Last appearance | "The Shadow Out of Time" |
| Created by | H. P. Lovecraft |
| In-universe information | |
| Type | Extraterrestrial life form |
The Elder Things (also known as the Old Ones[1] and Elder Ones[2]) are fictional extraterrestrials in the Cthulhu Mythos. The beings first appeared in H. P. Lovecraft's novella, At the Mountains of Madness (published in 1936, but written in 1931), and later appeared, although not named, in the short story "The Dreams in the Witch-House" (1933). Additional references to the Elder Things appear in Lovecraft's short story "The Shadow Out of Time" (1936).[3]
- ^ The term "Old Ones" is ambiguous in the Cthulhu Mythos and can also refer to the Great Old Ones, a separate group of beings described as being enemies of the Elder Things in At the Mountains of Madness.
- ^ In At the Mountains of Madness, Professor Lake dubs the specimens he discovers "Elder Ones" in reference to the Elder Things of the Necronomicon, unaware that they are actually the same beings.
- ^ Joshi, S.T.; Schultz, David E. (2004). An H.P. Lovecraft Encyclopedia. Hippocampus Press. pp. 233–236. ISBN 978-0974878911.