Cultes des Goules

Today, a new look at one of the Mythos mainstays...

*****

This is a ghastly and secretive work surrounded by mystery. Its creation has been linked to a particular noble house of France; however the exact author cannot be determined with complete accuracy. The writer published under his title, the Comte d’Erlette, ruler of titular lands near Vyonne in France. Apart from this, time, myth, censorship and a degree of mendacity have served only to muddy the waters surrounding ownership of the work. Three main contenders have been identified, but any, none, or all of them may be responsible. A look at what the book contains is warranted, before sifting the pros and cons of authorship:

Like many French novels of this era, the book begins as a comedy of manners, with a sextet of high-born individuals retiring from an outbreak of the plague to a chateau just outside Paris. The scene is set for an extended duration filled with capricious wit, sly innuendo and erotic liaisons; in this regard, the work does not disappoint. However, the book goes further: the main facilitator of the trysts in the story is an older footman, who, as the tale progresses, proves to be of ghoul extraction and leads the three couples into the nightmare world of his kind, taking them beneath Paris to a realm of depravity, murder and cannibalism. Step by step, he leads them into his debauched worship of Nyogtha and Shub-Niggurath until finally, two of them are transformed into werewolves and let loose upon the streets to be slain by a mob; two more are consumed by darkness; and the remaining pair are devoured alive by the footman and his brethren. In a final dramatic twist, the footman reveals himself to be the author of the work which the reader is perusing, the Comte d’Erlette himself! Within the storytelling are recipes for poisons and other potions; detailed descriptions of arcane rituals; recipes for cooking human flesh; and many sub-plots containing information about a multitude of other Mythos concepts. The book has been likened to the works of the Marquis de Sade - only worse - and it may well have served him as inspiration for his own material.

As to the author of the Cultes des Goules, there are three main contenders. The first is an individual known as Paul Henri d’Erlette. Little is known to corroborate his claim, apart from the fact that he lived during a plausible period of time and held the title. Family legend has it that he was a prodigious writer who never published and that he was refused Last Rites by the priest after his death-bed confession. His main claims to authorship then, are notoriety and timeliness. Amongst those who are convinced that the book was never published before being circulated amongst the nobility in manuscript form, his claim is seen as more than plausible.

The second contender is Antoine-Marie Augustin de Montmorency-les-Roches (1635–c.1693). This title-holder was a great student and explorer in his youth, studying the history and traditions of his country, especially the regions around the Pyrenees. Putting aside his studies for life as a courtier, he became notorious for his peculiar views of religion, loosely classified as ‘anti-Catholic’. He was finally censured by Royal edict and banished from Paris for leading several court members into ‘devil worship’; according to the records of a gaol in Lyons, he – or someone using his name – died of ‘prison-sickness’ around 1693. If the Cultes des Goules is his work, then it was most likely written, but not published, around 1665 and circulated amongst the Comte’s acquaintance, to his ultimate detriment.

The final (or is he?) possibility is François-Honoré Balfour (died 1724). This highly eccentric holder of the title led a very peculiar life within the bounds of Paris; again not much is known, but he was excommunicated for ‘heresy’ according to records in the parish of Notre Dame and attended a duel as a result of a pamphlet published about him accusing him– amongst a wide variety of other charges, including ‘adultery’, ‘simony’ and the ‘raising of pigs on an upper storey within the City limits’ – of ‘cannibalism’. The Comte won the duel by virtue of the fact that his accuser trod on an adder while crossing a field to begin the engagement. Balfour’s journals note that he had paid a large sum of money to publish a book in 1703; no such book has been located, but since the event fell shortly before his excommunication, whatever was printed (the Cultes des Goules, perhaps?) may have been destroyed by the Church before circulation. After this, the Comte retired from the world, going into seclusion in the Ardennes, where he lived as a virtual hermit until his death in 1724.

However the book came to be – whether printed or not – an expurgated edition was released shortly afterwards and it is this which is most often encountered, sometimes in manuscript form, translated into Italian or Spanish. Only fourteen copies of this work are currently known to exist; no-one in recent history has ever seen the original version, although there have been claims. Even here there is some doubt, as the year and publisher of this expurgated edition have been deliberately left off the publication. A later auction catalogue claimed that the edited version was produced in Rouen in 1737; however, this catalogue itself has fallen into disrepute, given that it was printed by a known forger.

Whatever the true state of affairs may be, the book is a baleful work indeed and taints all who peruse its contents. Records of the period reveal that it was known and reviled amongst the nobility and literati of the time and its connexion to the d’Erlette household caused them to flee France at the beginning of the French Revolution, changing their name to ‘Derleth’ and settling in Bavaria.

(Source: Robert Bloch, “The Suicide in the Study”)

French; ‘the Comte d’Erlette’; date unknown (Paris, 1703?); 1d8/2d8 Sanity loss; Cthulhu Mythos +15 percentiles; 32 weeks to study and comprehend

Spells: “Rétablissez les Morts!” (Black Binding); “Parlez avec le Dieu Foncé” (Call/Dismiss Nyogtha); “Commune avec la Mère de la Terre” (Call/Dismiss Shub-Niggurath); “Parlez avec les Habitants de Tombeaux” (Contact Ghoul); “La Route à la Vie sans fin!” (Food of Life); “Reconstitution des Morts à la vie!” (Resurrection); “Comment défraîchir le membre de votre ennemi” (Shrivelling); “Rassemblez un cheval de vol” (Summon/Bind Byakhee); “Appelez les Enfants de la Mère de la Terre” (Summon/Bind Dark Young of Shub-Niggurath); “Le Symbole de l'Adepte” (Voorish Sign)

*****

French; ‘the Comte d’Erlette’; expurgated version (Rouen, 1737?); 1d4/1d10 Sanity loss; Cthulhu Mythos +12 percentiles; 22 weeks to study and comprehend

Spells: “Rétablissez les morts!” (Black Binding); “Parlez avec le dieu foncé” (Call/Dismiss Nyogtha); “Commune avec la Mère de la Terre” (Call/Dismiss Shub-Niggurath); “Parlez avec les habitants de tombeaux” (Contact Ghoul); “Reconstitution des morts à la vie!” (Resurrection); “Comment défraîchir le membre de votre ennemi” (Shrivelling); “Rassemblez un cheval de vol” (Summon/Bind Byakhee); “Appelez les Enfants de la Mère de la Terre” (Summon/Bind Dark Young of Shub-Niggurath); “Le Symbole de l'Adepte” (Voorish Sign)

*****

Italian; unknown translator; date unknown; 1d2/1d8 Sanity loss; Cthulhu Mythos +9 percentiles; 18 weeks to study and comprehend

Spells: One of the following: “Convochi il Dio di Nerezza” (Call/Dismiss Nyogtha); “Convochi la Madre di Terra” (Call/Dismiss Shub-Niggurath); Two of the following: “Denomini i Morti per servire” (Black Binding); “Colloquio ai Mangiatori dei Morti” (Contact Ghoul); “Porti i morti a vita” (Resurrection); “Raduni gli Alberi Ambulanti” (Summon/Bind Dark Young of Shub-Niggurath); Two of the following: “Colpisca il vostro Nemico” (Shrivelling); “Convochi una Creatura Alata” (Summon/Bind Byakhee); “Il Segno di Quello Saggio” (Voorish Sign)

*****

Spanish; unknown translator; date unknown; 1d2/1d8 Sanity loss; Cthulhu Mythos +9 percentiles; 18 weeks to study and comprehend

Spells: One of the following: “Convoque a Dios de Brujas” (Call/Dismiss Nyogtha); “Entre en contacto con a la Madre de Tierra” (Call/Dismiss Shub-Niggurath); Two of the following: “Cree a un criado de los Muertos” (Black Binding); “Hable con los Comedores de los Muertos” (Contact Ghoul); “Traiga a los Muertos de nuevo a Vida” (Resurrection); “Llame el Árbol de Serpientes” (Summon/Bind Dark Young of Shub-Niggurath); Two of the following: “Lisie a su enemigo” (Shrivelling); “Convoque a un palo al paseo sobre” (Summon/Bind Byakhee); “Muestra del Místico” (Voorish Sign)