Cthulhu in the 1960s?

[BishopofB&W]

I am looking for ideas for supernatural horror(wierd cults, etc.) but in the 1960s. The closest I've seen is Children of the Night by Mercedes Lackey and it's set at the end of the Vietnam War.

I'm looking for books, films, and games. I think it' s very strange that there isn't anything in Call of Cthulhu considering all the alternative religions that sprung up at the time. Any suggestions?

[Doug McCrae]

Hammer horror films? Most of em are set earlier though, I think. And invariably in Transylvania.

[Peregrine]

For the late 60's, look no farther than the original Scooby-Doo cartoons...

[Lord Liaden]

How about Charles Manson and his family? Check out the book "Helter Skelter" - That kind of worldview could easily have been inspired by contact with Things Unnamed, and the murder of Sharon Tate could be part of a summoning ritual.

The book "The Dimwich Cuckoos" by (IIRC) John Wyndham, and the film inspired by it, "Village of the Damned" (not the remake, but the 1960's British original). Emotionless blond glowing eyed mind-controlling children; it really doesn't get much creepier.

[Brandi]

Actually, Quatermass and the Pit might be a good source... also Horror Hotel and Burn, Witch Burn.

[Kevin Scrivner]

There's the novel "Darker Than You Think" set in the late '40s or 1950s but could easily be moved up a decade. Witches, actually a psychic human subspecies which evolved in prehistory, really do walk among us and are preparing to seize the reigns of power once again! A team of anthropologists think they've figured out a way to stop the new dark age, but will they make it in time?

[Lord Liaden]

Originally posted by Brandi
Actually, Quatermass and the Pit might be a good source... also Horror Hotel and Burn, Witch Burn.

Oooo, Quatermass novels - good suggestion. A good filmic adaptation of a Quatermass story was "Five Million Years to Earth": Martians experiment on primitive humans to advance their evolution and give them potential mental powers.

[RevHooligan]

How about "The Wicker Man"? Take out the Earth Goddess stuff, add Tenticled Horror. Stir. Chill for 30 min.

(serves six)

[Crimson Arrow]

How about the Hammer version of "The Devil Rides Out", complete with psychic attacks and a satanist cult summoning up (IIRC) the Goat of Mendes? Probably Nyarlathotep in (yet) another guise. The book was from the 20s or 30s (I think), but the film version is a little "timeless" (ie, I can't recall anything that made you think it was the 30s or the 60s, when it was made).

"The Wicker Man" ws early 70s, but a great suggestion. Shub-Niggurath cult, I'd say (whether or not they knew it).

There was a Quatermass tv series in th 70s in the UK. My recollection of it is dim, but I think it involved a hippy-like cult worshipping at standing stones and using crystals (it being Quatermass, aliens were responsible, of course). Perhaps the crytals (with their many facets), operate like a minor Shining Trapezohedron. They could also be conduits to Yog-Sothoth or Hastur. Perhaps cult members often commit suicide due to the latter's influence (or rather that of the King in Yellow).

I think some of Ramsey Campbell's mythos stories were written in the 60s and often featured cults. They were set in Britain, but you could adapt them.

[dbsousa]

Rosemary's Baby came out in 68. The book is probably set earlier...

All those Atomic Horrors must surely have an origin in dimensions Man Was Not Meant To Visit, Not Even For The Funnel Cakes...

[death tribble]

All the Quatermass stuff which was made into films were originally BBC TV stuff in the 1950s. The first two series were made into films in the 50s by Hammer.

The second which involves something nasty and plantlike in a refinery controlling people is ideal Cthulhu stuff.
The other John Wyndham book that could be done as well with a 60s base is Day of the Triffids. Spawn of Shub Niggurath anyone ?

The last Quatermass series about some form of space race destroying hippies as they gathered at standing stones was done in the 80s and starred John Mills and Simon McCorkindale. It featured Toyah Wilcox (for those who know)

[Crimson Arrow]

It was called The Quatermass Conclusion - 1979, but with the hippy theme, it could easily have been the 1960s.

Another idea - what if LSD trips allowed people access to other realms of existence? What lurks behind the doors of perception?

[BishopofB&W]

Thanks. I had forgotten about The Wicker Man. I've been reading some Dennis Wheatley(Gateway to Hell, The Devil Rides Out, et al), but I can only find them in the library because they are out of print. Ramsey Campbell sounds promising. There's so much written about the hippies but surely some of the mods had to be into it as well. Evil doesn't have to look scruffy and unwashed.:)

[Brandi]

Originally posted by Lord Liaden
Oooo, Quatermass novels - good suggestion. A good filmic adaptation of a Quatermass story was "Five Million Years to Earth": Martians experiment on primitive humans to advance their evolution and give them potential mental powers.

Yep, that was the one I was thinking of under an alternate title, which, given the idea that the Martians unconsciously influenced our notions of heaven and hell isn't a bad title at all...

[allen]

Originally posted by Lord Liaden
The book "The Dimwich Cuckoos" by (IIRC) John Wyndham, and the film inspired by it, "Village of the Damned" (not the remake, but the 1960's British original).

The Midwich Cuckoos

i think that's it... can't remember how to spell the author's name, but it sounds like John Wyndham...

["V"]

The Monkees...

[McCoy]

What about The Blob? Maybe a baby shuggoth?

Space race may have had hidden agenda, possibly Something exiled on Earth may have been advancing it to get a ride back home.

The Red Scares were more the 50's, but there was some left in the 60's. Invasion of the Body Snatchers and other "the enemy walks among us undetected" plots.

The Creature from the Black Lagoon cycle. Basicly a deep one.

As V suggested, The Monkeys and other rock groups. Maybe the British Invasion was a cover for another Invasion from elsewhere?

["V"]

McCoy could be right. All those hairy Brit rockers getting teenaged girls hyped up into hysterical frenzies. Perhaps they were attempting to harvest the emotional energies known to the wise as 'nomos' which could then be used later in evil rituals involving confectionary and groupies.

It's a well known fact that the Rolling Stones gathered nomos.

[ChuckB]

You could try a variant of the 60's comedy , "It's A Mad , Mad , Mad World" , except that everyone's out for some sort of Cthulhoid treasure.

[Catacomb]

Originally posted by BishopofB&W
I am looking for ideas for supernatural horror(wierd cults, etc.) but in the 1960s. The closest I've seen is Children of the Night by Mercedes Lackey and it's set at the end of the Vietnam War.

I'm looking for books, films, and games. I think it' s very strange that there isn't anything in Call of Cthulhu considering all the alternative religions that sprung up at the time. Any suggestions?

Rosemary's Baby anyone? Also I believe that Ramsey Campbell's(sp?) stories are set in the 1960's. Don't go too far with the whole 'social effect' in the 60's with Cthulu though because the game is all about atmosphere and 'Beach Blanket Bingo' + hippies may = scary but not for this game.

[BishopofB&W]

Originally posted by Catacomb
Rosemary's Baby anyone? Also I believe that Ramsey Campbell's(sp?) stories are set in the 1960's. Don't go too far with the whole 'social effect' in the 60's with Cthulu though because the game is all about atmosphere and 'Beach Blanket Bingo' + hippies may = scary but not for this game.

I reserved some Ramsey Campbell books at the local library. I'm not really looking for the Scooby Doo scene. I'm thinking more like the backplot of Dracula 1972 A.D. where decadent Old Guard works with youthful rebellion to promote evil and dance the night away. Sort of "I dress like Lord Byron, speak like Lenin, and thirst for absolute power like a Caligula".