Halpin Chalmers (1891–July 3, 1928) is a fictional character created by Frank Belknap Long in the 1929 short story "The Hounds of Tindalos". He is notable for being the first victim in literature of the titular creatures, among the most prominent in the Cthulhu Mythos bestiary.
In the story, Chalmers is depicted as a journalist and "the author of several recondite books on occult themes," including The Secret Watcher, published by London's Charnel House Press. He is said to have "the soul of a medieval ascetic", one that has "always scoffed at modern science". He describes himself as "a rebel, a champion of originality and lost causes"--one with a "superhuman" intellect.
Physically, Chalmers is described as having a "long nose and slightly receding chin".
Said to be originally from Brooklyn, at the time of the story Chalmers lives in the town of Partridgeville, where he has an apartment at 24 Central Square, above the Smithwick and Isaacs jewelry store. It is there he enlists his friend Frank--evidently Frank Belknap Long, the author appearing in his own story--to record his experiences with the esoteric drug liao, in an effort to prove that "time is an illusion and does not exist". His successful psychic journey to before the beginning of time unfortunately attracts the attention of the Hounds of Tindalos, leading to his gruesome death on July 3, 1928--deemed an unsolved homicide by the Partridgeville police. (CIRCLE: "The Hounds of Tindalos")
In his 1931 novel The Horror From the Hills, Long mentions "the late Halpin Chalmers" as having retired from the position of curator of archaeology at the Manhattan Museum of Fine Arts in New York City. He was succeeded by the young Algernon Harris. (CIRCLE: The Horror from the Hills)