Dhole

Dhole
S. Petersen's Field Guide to Lovecraftian Horrors
General Information
Other names	Bhole
Homeworld	Yaddith Earth's Dreamlands
Habitat	Subterranean
Body type	Vermiform
Length	Hundreds of meters
Locomotion	Slithering Burrowing
Diet	Carnivorous
Sapience level	Unknown
Behind the Scenes
Universe	Cthulhu Mythos
Created by	H. P. Lovecraft

The Dholes, a.k.a. Bholes, are a race of huge, viscous, burrowing creatures which can be found on the planet Yaddith, in a quintuple star system within another galaxy.

In the distant past, they represented a constant threat to the dominant species of the planet, the advanced Yaddithians. Thousands of years before the advent of the Human race on Earth, the Dholes had successfully taken over, turning Yaddith into a "dead world" where they could rule unchallenged.

Dholes can also be found in the Vale of Pnath within the Earth's Dreamlands, where it's said that they hide so persistently in the darkness that no one has ever seen one, and that they're only known for the rustling sound they make and the slimy trails they leave in the mountains, where they hunt for prey.

Appearances

• "Through the Gates of the Silver Key", by H. P. Lovecraft and E. Hoffmann Price (1934)
• The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath, by H. P. Lovecraft (1943)

Notes

• Some have speculated upon a connection between the Dholes and the creatures called "Dôls" mentioned briefly in Arthur Machen's The White People, and/or the Doels mentioned in Frank Belknap Long's "The Space-Eaters" and later in Lovecraft's own "The Whisperer in Darkness". However, the connection may be flawed since the Dholes were originally called Bholes, and the name "Dhole" seems to have originated from a transcription error. While some insist on interpreting Bholes and Dholes as distinct, their descriptions suggest that they're identical and the author almost certainly intended them to be the same.
  • The Doels, however, remain distinct, and are not described within the stories of Long or Lovecraft, although Long later implied them to be the same as the Space-Eaters.
  • Additionally, a book referred to as "the Dhol chants" is briefly mentioned in Lovecraft's "The Horror in the Museum", which may or may not be related to this species.
  • Meanwhile, the fact that there is a real animal called Dhole (Cuon alpinus, a canine species from the Asian continent) is almost certainly a coincidence.