Hounds of Tindalos

The Hounds of Tindalos are fictional creatures created by Frank Belknap Long and later incorporated into the Cthulhu Mythos when it was codified by August Derleth.^[1] They first appeared in Long's short story "The Hounds of Tindalos", first published in the March 1929 issue of Weird Tales.^[2] Lovecraft mentions the creatures in his short story "The Whisperer in Darkness" (1931).

Hounds of Tindalos
Artist impression of a hound of Tindalos
First appearance	"The Hounds of Tindalos"
Created by	Frank Belknap Long
In-universe information
Species	Pseudocanis tindalosi
Type	Extraterrestrial life form

Description

In Frank Belknap Long's original story, which deals with the main character experimenting in time travel with the help of psychedelic drugs and esoteric artifacts, the Hounds are said to inhabit the angles of time, while other beings (such as humankind and all common life) descend from curves.

Though the Hounds are sometimes pictured as canine, probably because of the evocative name, their appearance is unknown, since neither Long nor Lovecraft describe them, arguing they are too foul to ever be described.^[3] Long's story states that their name "veils their foulness". It is said that they have long, hollow tongues or proboscises to drain victims' body-fluids, and that they excrete a strange blue pus or ichor. They can materialize through any corner if it is fairly sharp—120° or less. When a Hound is about to manifest, it materializes first as smoke pouring from the corner, and finally the head emerges followed by the body. It is said that once a human becomes known to one of these creatures, a Hound of Tindalos will pursue the victim through anything to reach its quarry. A person risks attracting their attention by traveling through time.

In other media

The Wolves, perennial antagonists of the four-season horror comic series Witch Creek Road (2017–2021) and its spin-off Witch Creek High (2023; on hiatus) by Garth Matthams and Kenan Halilović, were based on the Hounds of Tindalos.^[4][5][6][7]

The Hounds appear briefly as an enemy in The Dresden Files series by Jim Butcher, in the 2020 novel Peace Talks.

The song "All Nightmare Long", from Metallica's 2008 album Death Magnetic, is written about the Hounds of Tindalos.

The concept of Tindalos Hounds is referenced in a YouTube series called "The Mirror" also known as "Children of The Mirror" By Wham City Comedy.