Cecil

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Anyone who knows me knows that I have been unwell about this for over the course of two years and I’ve finally complied all the evidence into one neat dossier. I am the yog truther supreme, walk with me.

The Theory

Yog-Sothoth has a presence within the wider Malevolent narrative. I claim no further prediction on how he’s going to be incorporated but his involvement is strongly implied and I believe it may come to a head in Malevolent: Threshold. 

Who is Yog-Sothoth? 

Yog-Sothoth, Past, Present, Future, the Lurker in the Threshold, is a deity within the Lovecraftian and Call of Cthulhu universe. He is often depicted as a huge sticky mass of orbs that pulse with oilslick lights. He is an Outer God, one of the most powerful beings in existence, rivaled only by Azathoth himself, and often thought to be locked outside of existence, existing in the places Inbetween, cursed to only watch and never interact. He functions as the connective tissue of the universe, is coterminous with all of space and time, and thought to be omnipotent and perhaps benevolent. Or at the least, uncaring. He does seem to show a soft spot for sorcerers and will bestow spells and mystical knowledge among those he deems worthy of it. His avatars take the form of Aforgomon, the Time Eater, and Tawil at’Umr, The Guardian of the Ultimate Gate. 

The Evidence 

The story begins with a gateway. Opened by Antoine de Foile in the basement hall beneath the house at 58 Pelican Lane, a gateway was opened, intended for another. Here, the King in Yellow was initially fractured and trapped within a book by Anna Stanczyk, an event that kickstarted the entire series. Gateways are by no means exclusive to Yog-Sothoth, as Kayne can open them at will, but this is likely because they are both Outer Gods and at a higher power threshold than others we have met. It is also possible Kayne can only move through dimensions thanks to the information he gained from touching the Greystone but the specifics of this are largely unconfirmed (Intermezzo 13:30). We do know, however, that Lilith, a Great Old One, (Threshold 1, 36:34) outright states that she is unable to open portals and travel like her father can (Part 59, 1:07:35). This is evident from the fact that she is forced to seek the aid of the Fake Edward William Allan (FEWA) to free her from the Nightmare Realm, as well as co-opting Kayne’s portal to Frangland instead of making her own. The King in Yellow, also a Great Old One, also requires the thin spot present on the Plateau to open the gateway to Addison, implying his control over the gates is also finite. 

The gateways may be a strech or coincidence, but Yog-Sothoth’s presence has already been confirmed within canon, at least as an entity that exists within the narrative. In Part 8 (19:50) right after John reads out “The King in Yellow” from the book annotated by Sarah/Amanda Cummings, a sound like a PA chime plays, and then quietly in the background, a garbled message plays that reads: 

“Past, present, future, all are one in Yog-Sothoth. He knows where the Old Ones broke through of old, and where They shall break through again. He knows where They have trod earth's fields, and where They still tread them, and why no one can behold Them as They tread.”

This chant originates from Lovecraft’s story The Dunwich Horror, translated from Latin by Wilbur Whateley (more on the Whateleys later) from within the Necronomicon.

The chant also appears in the non-canonical Malevolent trailer titled: A Message for You. “But worry not. You will learn exactly what it means to be malevolent. See you soon.” (2:40). The chant plays for a moment before the spot ends. 

Symbology has always had its place in malevolent, and it’s highly possible we have already seen Yog-Sothoth’s symbol. The symbol etched into the floor in the secret room at Marie’s (which contains the desiccated body of FEWA) is described as “circular, with a pattern that repeats into its center” (Part 32). This symbol is also found on the bestiary, (which also sports Shub-Niggurath’s symbol among four others) as well as the floor of the barn at the farm where the “Tear” is. Three instances, two of which were known locations where gateways were summoned, whether they were successful or not. (Note also that at both scenes, the skull of a rodent was present and likely a necessary component of the gateways FEWA was conjuring.) 

There is a possible connection to Aldrich Ward, who is revealed later to be one of if not the only face behind the smuggler persona of Charon. Within the Call of Cthulhu grimoire, Charon is a moniker that can be called upon during a ritual to summon Yog-Sothoth ( p38). The surname Ward is also present in Lovecraft’s story, The Case of Charles Dexter Ward, which is the first of his works to introduce and heavily feature Yog-Sothoth.

For those familiar with the work, Larson’s Child, otherwise known as the mines monster from Addison, bears a striking resemblance to the Dunwich Horror, a creature born to Lavinia Whateley through the machinations of her father, the creature’s grandfather, Wizard Whateley. The father of the Horror is none other than Yog-Sothoth. (Note, The Dunwich Horror is eventually defeated by Henry Armitage, who appears in Part 2. With a return to Arkham, we may consult him again and learn more about his dealings with the Horror). 

While the Child’s origins are murky and mostly guesswork, we know a few things. Rafters, who has been within the mind of the monster, asserts that it is Larson’s child “birthed through [Larson’s] daughter” combined with the many failed attempts to bring about a proper heir to Larson’s name, (Part 27 30:24) the heavily implied incestous nature of which is confirmed in the Face Off Livestream (1:11:32). The parallels between this and the Dunwich horror are plain to see, and it’s highly likely the unknown deity Larson made this deal with was Yog-Sothoth, considering children begotten by Yog-Sothoth are often invisible to the naked eye and may only be observed by magical means (Malleus Monstorum p.165). 

During his eulogy in the Dark World, John very explicitly mentions he did not have a mother to nurture him (Part 54, 32:50). Not a father or a parent, explicitly a mother, and insists that he was created complete. Yog-Sothoth is frequently attributed as being The King in Yellow’s progenitor. Malevolent centers highly on parent and child dynamics, so it would align with established themes if John has to examine his own parentage at some point. 

Threshold 

Yog-Sothoth is a being of many titles: All-In-One, the Key, and the Gate, Opener of the Way, etc etc, but also, most topically, his is often known as the Lurker at the Threshold. Huh. Interesting. 

The first and most glaring piece of evidence is within the name itself. We first learn of Threshold from Kayne in Part 52 the Wager, where he hints at the location of Charlie Dowd. “Let’s just say… he’s standing at the… threshold? A-wink.” (49:02). We hear of it next from Lorick, who also indicates Charlie lay at Threshold, but that he knows nothing else. Threshold is mentioned a third time when Arthur is briefly reunited with Charlie, who, when asked where he is, repeats the word twice before vanishing. Kayne, however, on second usage, uses Threshold as a stand alone, lacking the determiner ‘the’. “And I am going to head to Threshold and carve out Noel’s fucking eyes with broken glass.” Not ‘The’ Threshold. Just Threshold. Charlie also does not use “the” in his pleas. Perhaps just a writer’s quirk, perhaps a clue, perhaps nothing at all. 

Mystic hack Leonard Gilbert, in his visitation to Robert Puckett possesses a pocket watch with an “ancient and powerful sigil” upon its face, which is supposedly “gibberish”. It’s possible, that this is no ordinary trinket and the symbol belongs to Yog-Sothoth, as one of his main domains is that of time. (Overture 12:25). If we meet with him again in the future and John sees the pocketwatch, he may recognize the symbol from New York. 

The QnA Panel

During the 2026 Malevolent QnA panel with Harlan, Yog-Sothoth was brought up in connection with the scrapped metaplot plans for the Booth Entity, a patron exclusive character that introduces each chapter of Malevolent before it is spliced into the larger Part. When asked if Yog Sothoth had any involvement with those scrapped plans, the reply was “No- Ah-? [thinking about it]…No.” 

Which could mean anything. 

He also acknowledges the chanting present in Part 8, which means it’s not a plot point that has simply been forgotten or discarded.

However, immediately afterwards, the interviewer, Ren (shout out Ren ily Ren) segues into the question I submitted, which I have copied here in it’s entirely for clarity:

“In part eight after John reads out the name of the King in Yellow, there’s a quiet chime that plays and whispers the famed chant: “ Past, Present, Future, all are one in Yog-Sothoth”. Paired with the dunwich horror-esque nature of the mines monster in Addison, was Yog-Sothoth ever planned to be a greater part of the narrative before you settled on the Blackstone route?”

This was promptly and immediately eight-balled. (2026 QnA livestream, 55:30)