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| “ | “No words in our language can describe them!” He spoke in a hoarse whisper. “They are symbolized vaguely in the myth of the Fall, and in an obscene form which is occasionally found engraved on ancient tablets. The Greeks had a name for them, which veiled their essential foulness. The tree, the snake and the apple—these are the vague symbols of a most awful mystery.” | „ |
| ~ Frank and Chalmers in their conversation of depicting Hounds of Tindalos. |
The Hounds of Tindalos are a hostile species of inter-dimensional dog-like creatures created by Frank Belknap Long and later incorporated into the Cthulhu Mythos when it was codified by August Derleth. They first appeared in Long's short story "The Hounds of Tindalos". HP Lovecraft mentions the creatures in his short story "The Whisperer in Darkness". These creatures they are ruled by the most powerful member of their species, a mighty entity known as Mh'ithrha.
Overview[]
The Hounds are said to inhabit Tindalos, a dreadful dimension located at the angles of time, while other beings (such as humankind and all common life on Earth) descend from curves. They were given the title 'hounds' not because they are truly canine in appearance, but due to their tenacity of hounds. They also don't appear to worship any deities and moved only by their predatory instincts.
Though the Hounds are sometimes pictured as canine, probably because of the evocative name, their appearance is unclear, arguing that they are too foul to ever be described. Also not that anyone lived to provide detailed depiction of them. It is said that they have long, hollow blue tongues or proboscises to drain victims' body fluids, and that they excrete a strange blue pus or ichor. They can materialize through any corner if it is fairly sharp—120° or less. When a Hound is about to manifest, it materializes first as smoke pouring from the corner, and finally the head emerges followed by the body. It is said that once a human becomes known to one of these creatures, a Hound of Tindalos will target and pursue the victim through anything to reach its quarry. A person risks attracting their attention by travelling through time.
Appearances In Other Media[]
- The Hounds are referenced twice in the anime Haiyore! Nyaruko-san. In one episode, Nyaruko offers to make Mahiro a hot dog using Hound of Tindalos meat; Mahiro angrily responds "Go bang your head on the angles of time!" In another episode, the corners of Hasuta's bedroom are shown to be covered with putty (presumably to proof his room against the Hounds).
- The Hounds chase the time travelers Titus Crow and Henri-Laurent de Marigny, respectively, in Brian Lumley's horror novels The Transition of Titus Crow and Elysia.
- Lawrence Santoro's Bram Stoker-nominated novella God Screamed and Screamed, Then I Ate Him, features the Hounds of Tindalos. The story was worked into Santoro's 2007 novel Just North of Nowhere.
- A series of Yu-Gi-Oh! cards, the "Tindangles", are based on the Hounds of Tindalos, and appear in the Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS anime.
- A hound of Tindalos appears in Michael Cisco's short story The Firebrands of Torment in such a way as to suggest that the protagonist might actually be its offspring.
