The Haunter of the Dark is an avatar of Nyarlathotep who appears in the homonymous story by Howard Phillips Lovecraft.
Appearance
The Haunter is a gigantic black entity, similar to a bat, but its body is only partially material, being composed of a corrosive substance capable of dissolving human skin on contact. Its most characteristic feature is its brilliant trilobed eye.
History
The Haunter of the Dark is linked to a cursed item, the Glowing Trapezohedron. The Glowing Trapezohedron appears to come from a very remote location, possibly another planet, although the first testimony related to the Trapezohedron's presence in our world placed it in Valusia. From there it went to Lemuria, Atlantis and finally Egypt. In this last place he had to be invoked by Nefrén-Ka and later by Nitocris, who benefited on multiple occasions from his contact with Nyarlathotep.
The Trapezohedron would be rediscovered in 1843 by archaeologist Enoch Bowen, who would use it as the sacred object around which he would found the Church of Starry Wisdom. Using the Trapezohedron, The Haunter of the Dark was led to Providence, specifically into the interior of the ancient church where the Sect was based. Since the Haunter does not withstand light, he made his dwelling in a dark corner of the building and, even after the official closure of the Sect in 1877, the creature would remain there, remaining with the passage of time practically forgotten. However, in 1936 a notable stir was formed by the death of Robert Harrison Blake, caused by the Haunter of the Dark and, feeling threatened by the expectation generated, the creature escaped from the church possessing the body of Dr. Ambrose Dexter. Later he would take advantage of the influence of this scientist to quickly close the investigation of death and keep the population away from the truth of the case.
In parallel, the Haunter of the Dark would have been revered in Australia by the Cult of Sand Bat, linked to the Aboriginal people. These referred to the Haunter of the Dark as "Father of All Bats", who believed that at the beginning of time he had faced the Rainbow Serpent, avatar of the god Yig. They also say that the Father of all bats manifests as a sandstorm that arises from a cave that is in the sky.
Other names given to this being by the aborigines are Dark Wing and The Dining Room of Faces, the latter being related to the ability of this creature to melt human skin only on contact, which would allow it to decompose the faces of its victims, giving the impression of having devoured it.