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The basis of Cthulu
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Religion
Dread Cthulhu
Cthulhu (other spellings: Kutulu, Ktulu, Cthulu, Kthulhut, Thu Thu, Tulu, and many others) is a fictional entity created by horror author H.P. Lovecraft. Cthulhu is often preceded by the epithet Great, Dead, or Dread.
Lovecraft transcribed the pronunciation of Cthulhu as "Khlûl'hloo" or "Kathooloo” S.T. Joshi points out, however, that Lovecraft gave several differing pronunciations on different occasions. According to Lovecraft, however, this is merely the closest that the human vocal apparatus can come to reproducing the syllables of an alien language.
Cthulhu debuted in Lovecraft's short story "The Call of Cthulhu" (1928) — though he makes minor appearances in a few of Lovecraft's other works. August Derleth used the creature's name to describe the system of lore employed by Lovecraft and his literary successors, the Cthulhu Mythos.
The most detailed descriptions of Cthulhu in "The Call of Cthulhu" are based on statues of the creature.