Y'golonac (The Defiler) is a Great Old One in the expanded Cthulhu Mythos. The character was originally created by Ramsey Campbell for his short story "Cold Print".
Background[]
Y'golonac is the god of perversion and depravity – not just "average" human perversions or depravities, but any that can be conceived of by a sapient being (sane or otherwise). His demeanor is much like that of Nyarlathotep, but he is even more perverse and sadistic. Y'golonac can sometimes be summoned merely by reading his name in the The Revelations of Glaaki.
Y'golonac is imprisoned behind a wall of bricks in unknown ruins. His true form is uncertain, but when he possesses a human host to manifest, he appears as a grotesquely obese man, lacking a head or neck, with a mouth in the palm of each hand. Unlike other deities, Y'golonac is clearly capable of understanding humans, to the point of being able to conduct a conversation in English through his human host.
Y'golonac seeks humans who read perverse and forbidden literature to become his servants. When he is summoned, Y'golonac will offer to grant the summoner the dubious honor of becoming his priest, or simply kills them for food. (EXP: "Cold Print")
In Other Media[]
- In the light novel series Ultimate Antihero, Y'golonac is one of the Evil Gods that Homura Kamishiro has the ability to summon. Unless they have a considerable amount of self-restraint, anyone who hears Y'golonac's voice will be consumed by hatred and malice, causing them to attack their own allies. Because of this, Y'golonac is very effective when fighting against a large group of enemies.
- In the mobile game Tower of Saviors, Y'golonac was spawned by the destructive nature of Azathoth. Due to the entity instinctively following its creator, Y'golonac was dedicated to causing destruction but this brought it less and less joy overtime, until having a confrontation with Mordiggian. After learning that its true desire was to destroy the "forever truth" (the balance between Daoloth's creation and Azathoth's destruction), Y'golonac and Mordiggian teamed up to initiate an evil scheme that would break the fate of the universe together, making an impossible annihilation possible through pure destruction.
- In the dark fantasy film Pan's Labyrinth, the Pale Man appears to be at least partially inspired by Y'golonac. Both of them are malformed humanoid monsters that were sealed away in a brick wall lair and are known to devour their victims. However, the Pale Man has eyes on his hands, instead of mouths.
- In the animated series Justice League, some of Icthultu's minions bear a strong resemblance to Y'golonac.
- Y'golonac appears in the trading card game Z/X Zillions of enemy X.
- Y'golonac appears in the role-playing video game Shadow Hearts: From the New World. However, the character's name was changed to "Igornak" in the English version due to a translation error.
- The brutal death metal band Putryphemus has a song featuring Y'golonac. In the song, he is described as being more overtly malevolent than Nyarlathotep and devours his followers when summoned.
- New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick was said to be a disciple of Y'golonac in The Onion article “Bill Belichick Credits Victory to His God."[1]
Gallery[]
- Main article: Y'golonac/Gallery
References[]
- ↑ Bill Belichick Super Bowl article at The Onion