Shugoran is an Avatar of the Outer God Nyarlathotep created by H. P. Lovecraft contemporary Henry Kuttner, although it has since been expanded on by several other authors, including T. E. D. Klein.
Expanded Mythos[]
"Black Man with a Horn"[]
In T. E. D. Klein's 1980 short story, Shugoran is associated with Tcho-tcho artwork of an oversized man with a long horn. However, sightings of the creature give the impression of a fish-like being with webbed feet, a gas mask-like trunk, and wings of some description, although these may in fact be catfish-like fins.
It is also hinted to have some kind of connection with strange yellow snails which are widely feared as supernatural in nature by Malayan tribesfolk.
Chaosium[]
Shugoran was incorporated into Chaosium's Lovecraftian roleplaying game Call of Cthulhu, first appearing in 1992's Escape From Innsmouth by Kevin Ross. It later appeared in the Malleus Monstrorum (2006). It was Chaosium that introduced the idea that Shugoran was an avatar of Nyarlathotep.
"The Boonieman"[]
In Edward M. Erdelac's short story "The Boonieman" (2014), Shugoran lies sleeping beneath a village in South Vietnam until it is woken by a raiding force of North Vietnamese soldiers. Erdelac describes it thus:
| “ | a great dark mound wavering on two thick, indistinct legs . . . it had gathered the corpses of the ’yards and Phom to it, it had also pulled all the burned villagers together, and now wore them, the twisted limbs of charred men, women, and children interlaced like some horrific suit of corpse mail. It had no arms, no features, but in its center there was a deep, swirling fissure, a terrifying throat-like tunnel of glistening dark slime. The hurricane winds that seemed to emit from the throat tore the planks of the wrecked hootches loose. Bamboo and wood were sucked into the black swirl and then swiftly absorbed and distributed to its swelling outer layer. The trees splintered and joined it too. | „ | |
| ~ "The Boonieman" |
However, this description appears to differ somewhat from previous iterations, so it is possible that this is not the same entity.
Appearances[]
- "Black Man with a Horn" (1980)
- "The Boonieman" (2014)
Trivia[]
- In March 2012, Fantasy Flight Games released a pre-painted plastic miniature of Shugeron as part of its Arkham Horror Premium Figures line of game pieces.
Gallery[]
.jpeg "Shugoran (A Mountain Walked).jpeg (266 KB)")