Chaugnar Faugn - The Horror from the Hills

Chaugnar Faugn made his first appearance in the short story "The Horror from the Hills" by Frank Belknapp Long.

He is a hyper dimensional entity spawned at the beginning of the Universe. According to some texts, it is possible that it is even older, having arisen in an earlier period the existence of the current Universe in a time / space line was broken before the beginning of the current chronology and continuum. The origin of Chaugnar Faugn is unknown, the little that is known about him, refers to the period in which he began to be worshiped by primitive races of pre-humans at the dawn of our planet.

According to the scarce existing records, when Chaugnar Faugn came to Earth, the most advanced forms of life were amphibians. Desiring to have a race of servants, he used tissue extracted from these amphibians, to create the Miri Nigri, dark-skinned dwarves endowed with a rudimentary intelligence who would fulfill all their desires. Throughout ages the Miri Nigri remained faithful to Chaugnar Faugn worshiping him as a Living God. The Miri Nigri crossed with the first species of hominids giving rise to a hybrid race, that eventually becoming the ancestors of the Tcho-Tcho people.

In ancient times, Chaugnar Faugn and his "brethren," some God-like beings with less power, settled in the mountainous region of the Pyrenees in the actual northern Spain. During the period of Roman occupation there are records that the city of Pompelo was tormented by descendants of the Miri-Nigri who lived in the nearby mountains and used to kidnap villagers to sacrifice them in their rituals. These Miri Nigri after many years of miscegenation could pass as humans, even if they had strange peculiarities. They were cultists of Chaugnar Faugn to whom they devoted the most bestial ceremonies, conducted on escarpments and deep caverns. Some documents note that the Governor General of the Roman Province ordered a military expedition to the Pyrenees to end the proliferation of "worshipers of vile gods in the vicinity of Pompelo." Although the Miri Nigri has destroyed this force, priests instructed by Chaugnar Faugn, ordered that the cult be transferred to another place, far from the threat of the Romans.

The Miri Nigri

Obeying this command, the cultists began their long pilgrimage to the east, crossing the continent in all its length, transposing the Balkans, crossing the Black Sea and the cold deserts of Central Asia. The journey consumed decades, having cultists settled temporarily in some regions where they spread the name of their God. In most places, their horrible beliefs were repulsed, but in a few localities, Chaugnar Faugn's seed found fertile soil to grow. It is known that the cult was implanted in Afghanistan, present-day Pakistan and northern India (where the God became associated with Hindu divinity Ganesha), but the final destination of the pilgrims' journey took them to the heart of Asia where finally Chaugnar Faugn ordered them to settle permanently.

The site chosen by Chaugnar Faugn, which has become its new center of power, is located on the outskirts of the Plateau of Tsang, on the mountainous border between China and Tibet. It is in this almost insurmountable place that the priests built in the interior of a complex of caves the great temple devoted to their God.

In the center of this magnificent Temple erected with marble, a grand statue of Chaugnar Faugn rests on a pedestal of onyx, adorned with gold offerings and musk incense illuminated by thousands of candles that punctuate the darkness of the great chamber. The grotesque statue the size of three men is a stunning sight, which happened to be known as "The Horror of the Hills." The representation of Chaugnar Faugn is capable of provoking waves of aversion, nausea and terror in those who contemplate it for the first time.

O ídolo de Chaugnar Faugn

The image is described as an anthropomorphic abomination, with the body of an obscenely obese man, sitting as if it were a detestable caricature of a Buddha. The short legs remain crossed in a meditative position, the atrophied arms lying on the lap and the skeletal hands with the palms facing upwards. The creature's shoulders are broad and rigid, with a titanic chest and a wide rounded stomach that gives it a look of a decadent appetite. The greatest horror of Chaugnar Faugn, however, is his bizarre face. Some refer to him as an elephant god, yet a more careful observation realizes that it is not really an elephantine being, but something much more bizarre and disconcerting.

The entity first has a rough trunk that appears in the center of its face and descends through the chest ending nested in the height of the belly. This proboscis is a fusion of the nose and upper lip that descends for about a meter and a half, ending in a bulging nasal disc. The ears are like a branch of fine cartilage that extends on the sides of your huge head, spread like wings. The small mouth appears underneath the trunk, with two crystalline greenish tusks one on each side that project like sharp teeth. The eyes of the creature are small and deep, buried in the face full of creases, furrows and wrinkles; they stand out as two black and sparkling orbs.

With the exception of the cristaline tusks, the statue appears to have been entirely carved into a single block of dark stone. Notwithstanding the horror it evokes, the work clearly denotes being carved by an artist of remarkable talent for the uncommon or by someone capable of extracting from the stone the most repulsive nightmare.

The most terrifying secret about this extravagant statue is that it is not merely a representation of God, but the God Itself. For long periods of time, decades or even centuries, Chaugnar Faugn adopts this inert form as if it were just a solid stone sculpture. However, when certain ancient rituals are performed at his feet, the figure gradually animates itself, with the rock taking on life contours, breathing and pulsing. Once alive, Chaugnar Faugn behaves like a wrathful deity, who attacks voraciously over anyone approaching her. For this reason, cultists always offer sacrifices to quench the hunger of the god at times when he is summoned to walk

Chaugnar Faugn is a vampire entity. It feeds on fresh blood, extracted from the body of its victims through the disk-shaped structure at the end of its trunk. Once in contact with its prey, the disc is fixed by suction, while filaments penetrate the skin and begin to suck the blood like a siphon. In a few minutes, the Horror of the Hills is able to completely drain the liquids from the body of an adult man, leaving an empty shell of bones, tissues and parched organs. After being satisfied, the God sometimes shares with his faithful a gift, sprinkling on them a spray of black blood which, according to the cultists, prolongs life and constitutes a kind of sacrosanct communion.

Chaugnar Faugn is a fearsome opponent if forced to fight. His robust body moves with undeniable speed to a creature with its dimensions. He is also incredibly strong, being able to easily crush the bones of a man under his paws, pluck his limbs with his bare hands or impale an enemy with its crystalline tusks. In turn, his flesh is almost impenetrable and can not be wounded, pierced or lacerated by any hand weapon or firepower. On occasions when he is not furious or hungry, the God has fun in simply play with his captives, burying his nails in them, tearing his flesh or tearing off whole pieces of skin, until he tires. Facing this colossus physically, for obvious reasons, is not a bright idea.

If Chaugnar Faugn is somehow seriously injured, he simply reverses to his rocky form by becoming static. To return to life, he will need a series of sacrifices and rituals capable of returning his majesty.

In addition to his physical abilities, Chaugnar Faugn is endowed with powerful psychic faculties. He is able to send dreams to certain sensitive individuals by making these chosen people experience visions of distant ages and interact amidst important events. He is also able to hypnotize a victim by implanting in his mind the uncontrollable desire to offer himself as a sacrifice. Finally, the Horror of the Hills can physically affect a person causing an effect similar to a fulminating heart attack. An individual assaulted by this attack has his heart crushed by a relentless force that seems to sit on his chest.

According to tradition, Chaugnar Faugn respects courage, even in his opponents and potencial victims. If a person supports the unspeakable tortures performed by the Tcho-Tcho for three consecutive days, Chaugnar Faugn recognizes his bravery and in some circumstances allows that person to be released. The demonstration of courage, however, must be remarkable to the point of awakening the attention of a God.

The Deity seems to dislike or even fear areas with large bodies of water, and tries to avoid them at all costs. It does not cross rivers or lakes, and people on the run can seek refuge in these areas to escape their persecution. Despite this granting a certain degree of protection, Chaugnar Faugn would hardly forget a provocation and ignore someone who crossed his path.

There exist theories that conjecture the existence of other statues of Chaugnar Faugn and that the God is able to inhabit them, granting them life. If this is possible, Chaugnar Faugn can awaken in different parts of the world.