Old One
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Old One is a term used to refer periphrastically to God or a deity. It is also widely used in fantasy and horror fiction.
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[edit] Referring to God
Albert Einstein, the famous 20th-century physicist, famously said:
- Quantum mechanics is certainly imposing. But an inner voice tells me it is not yet the real thing. The theory says a lot, but does not really bring us any closer to the secret of the Old One. I, at any rate, am convinced that He does not throw dice.
This quotation is widely condensed into the short sentence I cannot believe that God plays dice, or God does not play dice (with the Universe).
Certain followers of Pagan religions may believe that Old Ones are the beings that created the universe and everything in it, equal to a god or deity or possibly considered to have come before gods. It is an uncommon term for a creator being but not completely unheard of, though it should be noted that Old One would be the English term for a number of words in other languages.
[edit] Fantasy
[edit] Cthulhu Mythos
In H. P. Lovecraft's fiction, the term Old Ones is used in different contexts. In his short story "The Call of Cthulhu" (1928), Lovecraft used "Old Ones" to refer to Cthulhu's spawn.[1] Lovecraft also mentioned the Old Ones in "The Dunwich Horror" (1929), naming them as mysterious entities associated with the Outer God Yog-Sothoth. In "The Shadow Over Innsmouth" (1936), the Old Ones (whoever they were) had the power to keep the Deep Ones in check. In Lovecraft's revision story "The Mound" (1940), "Old Ones" referred to the denizens of K'n-yan.
In Lovecraft's novella At the Mountains of Madness (1936), "Old Ones" was another name for a fictional alien species, the Elder Things, which were described in vivid detail in the story. These aliens built cities around the world during prehistory but were eventually relegated to Antarctica. At the end of their reign, they were all but destroyed by the shoggoths, a slave race of their own creation.
Old Ones can also refer to the Great Old Ones, alien beings of immense power. Along with the previous definition, these two uses of the term are the most popular among Cthulhu Mythos authors.[2]
[edit] Dresdenverse
In the Dresden Files the Old Ones are demons, or dark gods who ruled the world before mankind. They were apparently banished from our reality. The Fifth Law of Magic prohibits the summoning of both the Old Ones, and their foot soldiers the Walkers, or Outsiders.
[edit] Buffyverse
In the fictional Buffyverse established by the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel, the Old Ones are the powerful pure-breed demons that once dominated earth before humankind appeared and during its first years.
[edit] Babylon 5
In the television series Babylon 5, a range of beings known as the first ones appear during the course of the show. In the shows lore, these powerful entities were the first civilizations to develop in the galaxy.
[edit] Warhammer
Within Games Workshops fantasy and sci-fi settings there is reference to the Old Ones; these are implied to be the same creatures though they have been presented in slightly different ways.
[edit] Warhammer 40,000
In the fictional universe of Warhammer 40,000, the Old Ones traveled through space manipulating minor species on several planets and growing them into tools for their battle against the C'tan. The Slann were probably their servants.
[edit] Warhammer Fantasy
Though less prevalent, the Old Ones also appeared in the background material for the Warhammer Fantasy setting and the Slann are the rulers of the Lizardmen. Before the Lizardmen Army book was released, the race now known as the Old Ones were called the Slann (primary referenced in the High Elf rulebook); after the book was released, they were renamed the Old Ones allowing the name Slann to be assigned to the Mage-Priests of the Lizardmen. No current allusions are made as to the physical appearance of the Old Ones, although it is assumed they were bipedal - as was the race that served them (the Slann, who in turn presided over the Saurus and Skinks. The Saurus being the warriors, the Skinks being in charge of work requiring more finesse; pottery, scribing etc..). Some materials (Drachenfels) referred to them as the "toad men" from the stars. The Old Ones were the ones who set up the warp gates at either pole of the planet and shifted it into a more favorable orbit before encouraging the development of the native species.
[edit] The Dark Tower series
In The Dark Tower series written by Stephen King, the Old Ones (also sometimes called Great Old Ones) were a highly advanced civilization, called the Imperium, that ruled the All-World many centuries, or possibly millennia ago. They were obsessed with technological development and saw their inventions as a solution to everything; replacing the immortal, magical essence of creation with mortal machinery. The Imperium borrowed the magic of the Dark Tower, using its rooms into the worlds to travel to horrible times in history and revel in the destruction and death. Susannah notices a particularly sadistic advertisement poster under Castle Discordia and remarks on how awful the ancients were: On a dry stretch of wall she saw one that depicted a man who had just lost an arena battle to a tiger. The big cat was yanking a bloody snarl of intestines from the screaming man's belly while the crowd went nuts. There was one line of copy in half a dozen different languages. English was second from the top. Visit Circus Maxiumus! You will cheer! it said. "Christ, Roland", Susannah said. "Christ almighty, what were they?" (The Dark Tower pg 566)In their hubris, they thought they could rule the time-space continuum, but in order to do this, they had to rebuild the Dark Tower. When they arrived in End-World, where the Tower resides, they attempted to knock the Tower down. No sooner had they hit the wall of the Tower when great cracks appeared in the earth, allowing a thick mist infested with monsters to escape from the Outer Dark. These mists spread all over Mid-World and the Old Ones blamed each other for this and soon war started. In one final battle, the ancient people managed to destroy themselves, leaving Mid-world a radioactive hell. Technological relics of the Old Ones' era can still be found scattered throughout the world.[citation needed]
[edit] The Dark Is Rising series
In The Dark Is Rising series by the British author Susan Cooper, the Old Ones are timeless wizards whose task is to prevent the Powers of the Dark from taking control of the world. They are capable of extra-sensory perception, immortality, time-travel, transcendence of what humans perceive to be reality, psychokinesis, control of people's memories, and negotiation with such beings as Oceans and Stars. There are five books in the series: Over Sea, Under Stone; The Dark Is Rising; Greenwitch; The Grey King; and Silver On The Tree.
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[edit] Forgotten Realms
In the Forgotten Realms universe of Dungeons & Dragons, the Old Ones are an extinct race of extremely powerful, cruel, reptilian humanoids (likely the sarrukh) who had enslaved the "warm blood" races in ages past. The original Neverwinter Nights story revolves around their queen's attempt to resurrect the race - also called the "Creator Race" - and reestablish its dominance on Faerûn.
[edit] Wrath of the Immortals
In the D&D supplement book, Wrath of the Immortals, the Old Ones are portrayed as super-powerful beings, more powerful than even the gods themselves. The Old Ones live in the Vortex Dimension, and are in charge of almost everything in the multiverse. In this campaign setting, it is believed that if a mortal achieves immortality, and rises to the ranking Hierarch (level 52), then gives up his immortality, becoming mortal once more, then again achieving immortality, and again rising to level 52, then the blackballs (servants of the Old Ones) come from the mystical vortexes and spirit the hapless immortal away, either destroying him, or making him into an Old One.
[edit] Starcraft
In Blizzard Entertainment's universe of Starcraft, the Xel'Naga are beings who are said to have been responsible for the creation of all of the sentient beings in the universe and nurturing their civilizations. These included the Terrans (Humans), however, only the Zerg and Protoss had ever come into contact with the Xel'Naga. The Xel'Naga are beings of supposedly unsurpassed wisdom and power, though it has been noted that the Zerg became uncontrollable for them and decimated their fleets.
[edit] Other appearances
- There is a filk entitled The Old Ones by Zander Nyrond that was inspired by the Cthulhu Mythos.
- A theocratic group of Martians mentioned by the main character in Robert A. Heinlein's Stranger in a Strange Land are called the Old Ones.
- In Marvel Comics, Cthulhu-esque Old Ones appear as extradimensional demons who once ruled the Earth tens of thousands of years ago. They serve largely as a backstory, the only one of note being the Dr Strange enemy Shuma-Gorath.
- The Old Ones make an appearance in Anthony Horowitz's series, The Power of Five.
- Old Ones appear in Madeleine L'Engle's series of science fantasy books about the Murry family, notably in A Swiftly Tilting Planet. These Old Ones are similar to the ones in Susan Cooper's The Dark Is Rising series -- humans born with unusual mystical powers and dedicated to a never-ending struggle against the powers of darkness and evil. In both series, the Old Ones are associated with an Old Music.
- In the novel "Shadow Scourge", part of the Outlanders series by Mark Ellis, the villain, Ocajinik, is suspected of being an Old One.
- In the universes and dimensions that collectively make up the Palladium Books Megaverse, the Old Ones are a group of extradimensionally imprisoned Alien Intelligences that were responsible for the creation of the "science" of Magic.
- In the novel "Earthfall", part of the Homecoming Saga by Orson Scott Card, humans are referred to as "the Old Ones" by the two sentient, indigenous species of the Earth.
[edit] References
- Harms, Daniel. The Encyclopedia Cthulhiana (2nd ed.), Oakland, CA: Chaosium, 1998. ISBN 1-56882-119-0.
[edit] Notes
See John Carpenter's In the Mouth of Madness also:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_the_Mouth_of_Madness
[edit] External links
- "Who Were The Old Ones?" by Daniel Harms, an essay about H. P. Lovecraft's "Old Ones"
