Nycrama is a cosmic entity first mentioned by Clark Ashton Smith in his unfinished story "The Infernal Star" and expanded upon by John W. Patterson. It made its first actual appearance in his Cthulhu Mythos story "Priestess of Nycrama", published in the December 1999 edition of Edward P. Berglund's online fanzine Nightscapes.
History[]
Nycrama was once a human brujo, or sorcerer, in Central America who commanded a large following amongst the native peoples. Coming into possession of a powerful alien artefact, he began his descent into darkness, using the stone's power to consume the souls of young men in order to extend his own lifespan. When the creators of the stone discovered this, they destroyed his human body and banished his soul to a small pocket dimension.
Creating a new body for itself, an enormous, disgusting amalgamation of slug and maggot, it proceeded to use its influence over its former followers, coercing them into sending it more souls to increase its power as it sought a way to break free. Eventually, an alien woman named Endura, with the aid of intended human sacrifice Dr. Claude Farnsworth, was able to destroy the creature utterly, this time imprisoning its soul in the centre of the dark star Yuzh.
Behind the Mythos[]
In his afterword for the digital chapbook containing "Priestess of Nycrama", Patterson states that:
| “ | Avalzant, Pnidleethon, Yamil Zacra, Yuzh, and N(y)ecrama are fantastic names and places, inspiring me to write, first used by Clark Ashton Smith in his unfinished tale, "The Infernal Star", begun in 1933. | „ |