# Nyarlathotep — Short Fiction character guide

> Nyarlathotep in Short Fiction by H. P. Lovecraft.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Nyarlathotep Nyarlathotep

**First appearance:** 0006-nyarlathotep

## Snapshot

A swarthy showman out of Egypt who demonstrates impossible sciences, empties the small hours of sleep, and leaves cities screaming.

## Who they are

Nyarlathotep arrives in the civilized world buying strange instruments of glass and metal, speaking of electricity and psychology, and drawing crowds who shudder even as they queue. Where he goes, rest vanishes and nightmares become a public problem. The narrator attends one of his exhibitions expecting fraud and leaves marching through ruined streets with strangers, which is precisely the point: Nyarlathotep does not argue, he simply takes.

## In the story

### [Nyarlathotep](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_26_se/chapters/nyarlathotep)

The central figure, a swarthy, slender, sinister being from Egypt who performs terrifying demonstrations and embodies the crawling chaos.

### [The Rats in the Walls](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_26_se/chapters/the-rats-in-the-walls)

Mentioned as the mad faceless god howling in the darkness at the center of the earth.

### [The Festival](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_26_se/chapters/the-festival)

The amorphous flute-player that pipes in the darkness, associated with the horror of the ritual.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_26_se/characters/nyarlathotep
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_26_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_26_se/characters