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A Brief History

Very Early Stirrings

Back in the 1940s, decades before the Internet boom, decades before Xerox machines making copying easier, those working within the Mythos or feeling the Call of Cthulhu were an odd lot, even when it came to science fiction fandome. They were finding others of like mind when they could, either by personally knowing them locally, or through irregularly published occult "zines" and Lovecraft literary journals, communicating among themselves via postal mail and phone calls. Some of these people wrote stories and some were published in what became known as early Mythos Fanzines.

There is no way to know all of what was going on in those days unless someone comes forth. Likewise, there is no way to know of all the groups that may have formed, unless they come forth. Many occultists are still, to this day, very private people. Of course, there are also many theories about Lovecraft's original inner-circle, too, but without any hard proof.

In the early 1950s and 1960s small groups of people formed and met at each other's homes to discuss occult, science fiction, and creative matters. Wayne C, (Brother Zond Malek) and other students at Pennsylvania State University had the Solectus Societus in the mid 1960s, but Lin Carter (The Mysterious Mr. N. aka Count Zarnak) had business cards made up for this group presumably before Wayne had it. However, Wayne C. and Lin Carter knew each other. He may have gotten the cards from Carter in the first place.

Tani J. also knew Lin Carter in the late 1960s and through the early 1970s and then lost touch. Much later, Tani J. knew Wayne C. It is Tani J.'s opinion that Lin had the business cards as a semi-joke, for fun, for shock value, but that Lin was definitely very strict about what "is" or "is not" Mythos back then. Lin obviously changed later on when he was ill, though Tani J. did not know Lin when he was ill. This assessment is based on what Lin wrote and published when he was ill. At that time, quite a few people not involved in any esoteric groups at all, but writers and/or publishers hated Lin Carter's guts for various reasons. In the mid to late 1970s, Tani J. and Philip M. met Wayne C. and affirm that he was a serious occultist.

From what can be seen on hindsight, Lin Carter used all of this to get material, material gathered by researchers and also material that was creative, written/invented by others, to put into stories that he wrote or that he "wrote" and published. He didn't give anyone credit, nor was any credit promised even though some did expect some form of credit when he used their research and/or ideas, especially without telling them!

Some that knew Lin Carter in those early days insist that he was, indeed, a practicing occultist. One old time publisher and Lovecraft scholar stated that Lin Carter was a Satanist. This impression could have easily been gotten from those business cards. However, those that knew him in his later days, when he was ill, notably the Christian Reverend Robert M. Price who knew him well at that time, claim he was extensively knowledgable about the occult, but not a believer or practitioner. Perhaps he used to be and then changed his mind.

Regardless, while Lin Carter’s own work is generally not well-reviewed, he did much for the genre by reintroducing dozens of early fantasy classics to the general public via Ballantine Books, which had an enormous impact on the acceptance of fantasy in the 1970s, leading the way for much better authors to follow. Due to the efforts of Lin Carter and August Derleth, and later Reverend Robert M. Price, all of the formerly hard-to-find stories were made available in reprints.

Later Early Stirrings

In the early-1960s, Steven M and Juni McA had the Starry Wisdom Sect in New Jersey. In the mid to late 1960s, Zoltan K and his two cousins had their Esoteric Order of Dagon in Massachusettes. Then later in New Jersey where they moved during the early 1970s, they ran into members of the Starry Wisdom Sect, with whom they hooked up. Both Zoltan K. and Steven M. knew Tani J. who was also in that EOD in a very limited capacity and in the SWS in a more serious capacity.

Next, in the early to mid 1970s, Robert K. and his wife Flora and others, including Tani J., Philip M., Wayne H., Eugene "Jackson-11" B., Robert L., Gerard G, and quite a few others that came and went at various times over the next decade, formed the Kishite group, an offshoot of the Starry Wisdom Sect with a little Esoteric Order of Dagon mixed in.

Most of these groups were involved in serious research of mythemes from around the world, specifically mythemes that the Mythos writers said they read about themselves and were familiar with, even if what they read has since been proven to be faulty (such as Egyptian history - the point was, this faulty version was what these authors did read and did have access to). These people in these groups also wrote quite a few stories that were circulated among themselves. Only a few were ever sent in to anyone for publication.

These groups were usually kept small since they met at each other's homes. If they got too big, another group would form with a new name: The Dholes, the Shantaks, The Sarnathians, etc.

What these particular groups formulated from the Mythos was summarized by Tani Jantsang in a very short, concise article. This summary can be read here: Beyond Mythos. This article was published in an occult magazine in an even shorter form and may have been published in a Cthulhu Mythos fanzine as well.

It was the Kishites that made the "Trip to Innsmouth" that is documented with photos of every site found: here.

As you can see from the introduction, which explains the Trip, this information was seen personally by Crispin Burnham, publisher of "Eldritch Tales Magazine," in 1976. He wanted to publish it. However, it was never published by him because most of the piece consisted of color photographs, which Crispin was unable to duplicate for his Fanzine. Doing them in Black and White with what was available back then, just wouldn't do. The photos and the details of the trip were also seen by a great many others and anyone that ever read the notorious "EOD apa" material.

A collection of Lovecraftian photographs is also the work of the Kishite group and shows where Lovecraft lived, the places he wrote about in his tales and other Lovecraftian items. It may be possible to date these photographs by the appearances of the sites and foliage shown. This work was done in the mid 1970s. The photos can be seen here: Lovecraft Was Here.

Notably, and very importantly, none of these early groups used anything from what is commonly known as Western Occultism or "neo-occultism." They actively avoided that. Lovecraft stated quite clearly where his inspiration came from and/or what he borrowed from when it came to mythology. So did other early writers.

A BIZZAR HISTORY

By the simple minded the E.O.D is thought of as a debase, quasi-pagan thing, but we have a noble history. It is claimed by elder members that we came from the East. Our history can be tracted back to ancient Babylon and Sumaria when our first initiates met the shape shifting marine creature Oannes when he emerged from the ocean and transmited his stellar gnosis to them. Oannes was called Lord of the Waves, by the Babylonians, and was said to be amphibious, that is having the torso and head of a man with his bottom half resembling that of a fish, complete with scales. Some texts suggest he lived at the bottom of the Apsu or Abyss in fresh water. It has also been said that he was the same entity as Enki or Ea. He is given credit by the Sumerians for giving civilization to man. The Philistines called him Dagon. Dagon is sometimes identified with Matsya, the fish avatar of Visnu. Also the Indo-European root Vish is the same root that the word witch and the name Visnu are both derived from. The root Vish has the sense of that what prevades. Vishnu prevades the world,where as sea witchs prevade the night sea effecting all with their magick, therefore Vish and fish seem to reveal the phonetic cabalistic connection which connects our Order with the Elderitch Sea Witchs which prevade the worlds coastlines and seas. A statue of Matsyaavtar/Dagon can be found at Keshava Temple at Somnathpur, India. 

 

The existence of the E.O.D was scryed in the work called The Shadow Over Innsmouth by the dark visionary Howard Philps Lovecraft, born in in Providence, Rhode Island, August 20^th 1890 and Left His Body/Took Mahaasamadhi on March 15^th in poverty and obscurity,1937.He was a sickly, precocious child whose parents died insane. From 1908 to 1923 he eked out a living from occasional stories in magazines such as Weird Tales. His storys never earned him much, but decade after his passing, with the greater chasm of the void of meaninglessness of modern life yawning ever wider threatening to swallow all, with civilization leaping head long into the abyss having lost all sanity. Lovecraft's work began to receive serious attention from the science and ecclesiastical communities. His tales tell of ghoul changelings, beautiful evil, thought transference of alein beings from the deep past, multidemensional worlds in which time and space dislocate. Not only has his work influenced occultists, fantasy writters, and is considered by many to be the very precursor to modern science fiction, but many versions of the E.O.D. whose presence is first revealed in the Shadow Over Innsmouth has spawned many hideous imitators of the Cult. Dagon Rite Masonry has existed from the earliest establishing of the Craft in the American Colonies. And in New England there was a degenerate and decadent group called the Dagonists in the late 1700s.The Muraya, aquatic shamans on the Upper Amazons, have rites involving swiming down to the gateway at the bottom of the watery underworld and passing beyond Abyss...We are everywhere!

[ Introduction ]  [ A Brief History ]  [ Offices ]