The Black Winged Ones, also known as "bat-winged devils", are a species of winged creatures that inhabit the swamps of New Orleans and are allied with the human cultists of the alien god Cthulhu.
Biology[]
Very little is known about these bat-winged creatures, except that they fly out of their caverns at midnight to worship a white polypous thing that lives in a lake. In 1907, a policeman named Joseph D. Galvez heard the sound of flapping wings while investigating the activities of the Cult of Cthulhu in the area. When the cultists were apprehended, they denied any part in the ritual murder of the sacrificial victims, claiming that the killings had been performed by the Black Winged Ones.
According to the cultists, the Black Winged Ones are distinct from the Spawn of Cthulhu (referred by them as the "Great Old Ones"), since the latter are imprisoned in R'lyeh and have never been sighted by humans.
It's possible that the Black Winged Ones might be the same as (or descendants of) the "black-snouted winged creatures" that lived in crude villages in the Mesozoic era, and became the dominant race of the Earth after the Great Race of Yith fled into the future, about 50 million years ago.
Alternatively, it's possible that the Black Winged Ones might be simply another name for the alien Mi-Go, which are also known as the "Winged Ones", have membranous wings, are strictly nocturnal, and are known to worship Cthulhu (among other gods). However, it should be noted that the Mi-Go evolved on a different world and can't fly properly on Earth, as their wings are almost useless in our atmosphere, making this idea unlikely.
Appearances[]
- "The Call of Cthulhu", by H. P. Lovecraft (1928)
- The Shadow Out of Time, by H. P. Lovecraft (1936) (possibly)
- Fungi from Yuggoth, by H. P. Lovecraft (1941) (possibly)
Notes[]
- In "The House on Curwen Street", by August Derleth, the alien Byakhee are described as "black-winged bat-like creatures". However, they are unlikely to be the same as the Black Winged Ones, as the Byakhee are enemies of Cthulhu.
- The Black Winged Ones might also be the black winged creatures that the wizard John Whateley spoke to in Fungi from Yuggoth.