At the Mountains of Madness

Dyer gives an overview of the Old Ones’ history in a “formless, rambling way” (42). The Old Ones came from some distant part of space and could travel through space using their wings. They spent large amounts of time underwater, and their mechanical and scientific knowledge was far beyond anything known to man. The Old Ones created life on Earth—at first for food and later for other purposes. They have created life on other worlds and fought against rival, enemy races of aliens. One of their creations was the Shoggoth: a mass of black slime with many eyes floating on its surface that could form itself at will into any limb or organ required. The Old Ones created the Shoggoths as slaves to help build their vast, complicated cities beneath the sea and on land.

The Old Ones were powerful creatures with extra senses and tentacles capable of performing incredibly complex tasks. Their tough bodies could endure great pressures beneath the sea, and their wings allowed them to fly. They only seemed to die “by violence” (44); because they lived so long, they only bred (via spores) when they needed to colonize a new planet.