Are Werewolves really Cthulhu related?

[Dolmot]

The introduction post of LPC says

Being in specific, an attempted categorization of the various creatures associated with the Mythos of Howard Philips Lovecraft and other authors in his circle. Participants will provide photographic evidence of a creature, be it squamous, plastic or rubbery and are encouraged to use supporting text for clarification.

If you are not familiar with the scope, browse through a few board pages or have a read of a story from Lovecraft, Blackwood, Machen, Howard and a countless number more (The mythos is ever growing...)

We've already seen Chthonians, allegedly introduced by Lumley in 1969, and Y'golonac (Campbell 1969), both good 32 years after HPL's death. Nobody batted an eye and why should we, because the extended circle was explicitly allowed. If there is a membership system for The Circle authors with cards, robes and all that, it's probably secret so we'll never know what's officially in.

Meanwhile, HPL's own early works were repeatedly much like gothic horror until they gradually turned more cosmic. The Tomb (1917), The Statement of Randolph Carter (1919), The Picture in the House (1920), The Hound (1922) and In the Vault (1925) are essentially just macabre stories about life, death and graveyards. In The Beast in the Cave (1905), Facts Concerning the Late Arthur Jermyn and His Family (1920), The Outsider (1921), The Lurking Fear (1922) and Pickman's Model (1926) we meet creatures that are very much flesh and blood, playing a role comparable to werewolves. It took a while until he really got to the themes we now consider the essence of mythos, such as Great Old Ones, Outer Gods, The Dreamlands etc.

Also, it might be worth noting that relatively few entities appear repeatedly in HPL's works. Unlike some fantasy authors who first spend years creating a consistent world, Lovecraft wrote a bit about everything, creating the horror element from unknown and unseen. It's not like modern CoC gaming where everyone knows about fishmen and other "canonical" creatures to the point of their statlines and traits. Had Lovecraft written another gothic-style story, it could have been about werewolves in turn, not a repetition of something previously used.

And yet I think you should find something more iconic this time and save that werewolf for the Gothic Painting Clan.

[Plynkes]

It took a while until he really got to the themes we now consider the essence of mythos, such as Great Old Ones, Outer Gods, The Dreamlands etc.

I don't particularly feel the Dreamlands to be the essence of the mythos. Those tales feel to me like we're in an entirely different and separate mythos to the one with aliens carrying people's brains around in jars, Shoggoths and cone-shaped creatures whose minds travel in time. That's why I'm not particularly keen on the idea of a mythos at all. It's just a marketing tool. 

[LidlessEye]

If there is a membership system for The Circle authors with cards, robes and all that, it's probably secret so we'll never know what's officially in.

Sounds very much like The Cult of the Black Goat, though membership isn't required for entry, of course 

And I should point towards Wolfshead, by Robert E. Howard.  It's a straight-up gothic horror piece written very early in Howard's career (before he began corresponding with HPL, I believe), but it can't be argued that werewolves weren't represented in the works of HPL's 'inner circle'.

[ced1106]

No, tho Cthulhu Mythos has in truth been so stretched and diluted that a lot of folks think everything goes as long as you someone shouts "Iä! Iä!" at some point. Not really Lovecraftean either, although his ghouls are somewhat close to werewolves. One of strengths of the Mythos stories is that in them, HPL did away with traditional, anthropocentric horrors and replaced them with something alien and ultimately totally uncaring.

That's my thoughts as well. Of course, you could always put a Lovecraftian spin on werewolves to make them "fit" the alien science of the mythos. Goodman Game's "Age of Cthulhu" RPG adventure has Mi-Go altering Earth life forms as bipedal slaves. I, Vampire,gave a scientific meaning to vampires. And, of course, the werewolf legend may be a misinterpretation of Lovecraftian element. And the Arkham Horror boardgame has all sorts of conventional horrors: vampires, skeletons, zombies, ghosts, and werewolves.

[EndTransmission]

And, of course, the werewolf legend may be a misinterpretation of Lovecraftian element.

And that's a great point too.
One of the things I liked about the recent Donnybrook rules were that they are a historical skirmish, but there are some "magical" or "mystical" effects that can influence other models on the board because the others believe that it is real, not that it actually is. I liked this concept a lot and it can be extended to this too if you wanted to.

For example, the wolfman legend may have sprung from an overly hairy man living in the woods with some wild dogs as company, driven mad by past experiences or interactions with otherworldly beings. If you choose to represent this on the table with an actual werewolf, that is what the locals "believe" he is, rather than what he actually is.

[Cubs]

I used to be a werewolf.

But I'm alright noooooooooooow!

[EndTransmission]

I would groan, but you might take that as a sign of weakness and go for my throat

[FramFramson]

I used to be a werewolf.

But I'm alright noooooooooooow!

Was that you drinking a pina colada at Trader Vic's? If so, your hair was perfect.

[Mr. Peabody]

I'd like to meet his tailor..

[Bob Murch]

Now I find myself blissfully lost amidst my stacks of books as I continue to follow these threads...

Of marginal relevance:

Friend of H.P., H. Warner Munn, wrote a couple of werewolf stories for Weird Tales that were collected in a volume titled 'The Werewolf of Ponkert. The stories were inspired by a letter by Lovecraft published in WT that asked, 'Why someone had not attempted a werewolf story narrated by the werewolf himself?' Munn dedicated the book to Lovecraft.

The stories are apparently Gothic in nature so not particularly part of the Mythos but the connections are interesting.

[Uncle Mike]

The thing I love about the 'mythos' is that it is kinda beyond the usual scope of a setting or grouping of stories with certain monsters. It has grown to include some of the authors that brought it about. It is amazingly self-referential as well, not to mention ranging from super-pre-history all the way into the future. 'Mythos' gags and hat tips can be found almost anywhere..when you start looking. Pop culture is full of them and with good reason. This stuff is about more than we as mortal men can ever hope to comprehend, by it's very nature it defies categorization. Werewolves, Vampires, Zombies all that sort of stuff can be found in the stories...but there is also so much more. Great unexplainable things that make all these 'normal' monsters seem puny in comparison.

Also, little old lady got mutilated late last night. 

[D@rth J@ymZ]

This stuff is about more than we as mortal men can ever hope to comprehend, by it's very nature it defies categorization. Werewolves, Vampires, Zombies all that sort of stuff can be found in the stories...but there is also so much more. Great unexplainable things that make all these 'normal' monsters seem puny in comparison.

I must admit that I am in this camp.  Our human need to categorize those things that cannot, by their nature, be classified seems an ultimately fruitless and often frustrating endeavour. 

I'll expect your essays on my desk Monday morning before 9 am.

I copied off of Uncle Mike's paper and then the dog ate my homework 

[Doomsdave]

Was that you drinking a pina colada at Trader Vic's? If so, your hair was perfect.

Excellent work Sir.