"Cthulhu fhtagn"

My first exposure to the Cult of Cthulhu came through a friend, a psychology graduate student in Seattle who told me about a patient he had in the winter of 2004-05. At the time I dismissed the cult and the man's story about Obama, then a rising star in the Democratic party, to be merely the ravings of a madman, a fantastic story to tell over dinner among friends discussing our work. I dismissed it entirely until last month, when I discovered the book that I referenced in my last posting -- the book that not only proved in my mind the existence of the Cult, but also corroborated the most fantastic parts of the story. I asked my friend to give me the case report -- he was perplexed, but complied. I'm afraid I can tell you only a little about the identity of the subject, since my friend is not one to breach medical ethics. Know only that I now believe every word to be true, though the man is no doubt very disturbed by what he's seen and been a part of.

The subject is described as a male, an Hawaiian native of advanced age. In his waning years, he had taken to telling his family and friends strange tales of bizarre rituals, of other fishermen dancing, screeching, and chanting around a fire--repeating strange syllables that cause the tongue to contort and turn the stomach of those who hear.

"Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn."

The poor soul who had to transcribe his chanting during one of his reveries gave a valiant effort and quite nearly reproduced the phrase I would encounter cataloging volumes bequested to our library. The man's family, which was split between the Hawaiian islands and the Pacific Northwest, allowed him to stay on the islands where he had spent his whole life bringing in the bounty of the sea as long as they could bear to. The final straw came in the fall of 2004 when, as Barack Obama became a name recognized in households across America, the old man claimed to have met him as a boy during these occult gatherings.

The group of worshipers was not described as exceedingly large, so a young new face in the crowd was remarked by the man the first time he spotted the slender youth in the crowd. He at first kept his distance from the center of the ring they danced and chanted in, using a quiet and reserved voice. But he returned the next time a ceremony was held, and the next. Gradually, he became caught up in the spirit of the event, and bellowed out the syllables "Cthulhu fhtagn" as he danced in a mad, animalistic manner in the light of the flame. He says he saw Obama at every meeting and every ritual, becoming more and more fervent in his devotion, for two years.

It's quite a charge, I realize. But it does make sense. Barack Obama did live in Hawaii, right up until he graduated high school and went to college in Los Angeles. So the place and the time are right. Now that I know of the reality of the Cult, I know it would likely have flourished in Hawaii, as it has always been practiced most among fishermen and those who make their life in the high seas. I do not know what might have drawn Obama into the rituals, but I can guess that it might have had something to do with the deep crisis of faith and self he describes in "Dreams of My Father." As a young man, he no doubt would have been vulnerable to the call -- the Old Ones have been known to call out in the dreams of those who are vulnerable -- perhaps they reached him as he slept. Whatever the case, I didn't believe it either until the Cult and Obama turned up together again. This story informs that one, in which I will describe to you what I discovered among the dusty old books I was charged with cataloging. It is getting late now though, and I must be moving on. I have not stayed in one place long for the past several weeks, as I fear for my safety. I will write some more when I feel it's safe to do so.