The Great Old Ones (1989) is a collection of new adventures that came out around the same time as Call of Cthulhu’s fourth edition. Just one feels like standard Call of Cthulhu fare: an out of hand competition between occult book collectors. The rest are an odd bunch of tales. There is one about copper mining, a snake god, worker’s rights and Cthonians. Another sees the King in Yellow showing up for Mardi Gras (that tentacled swamp tumor is a favorite CoC illustration of mine). Another is a weird intersection between the Cthulhu mythos and organized crime. One puts investigators up against Ramsey Campbell’s super gross Eihort – I see that one wiping out most parties, one way or another (see the gnarly illustration of the poor guy birthing Eihort’s brood).

The last scenario is either absolutely ridiculous or a stroke of delirious genius. After all these years, I am still undecided. It involves a coal mine, a teleportation gate, some diving suits and the 1927 British Lunar Expedition. Yes, some miners found a magic gate to the moon and the Brits use underwater diving equipment to explore. They find a city of the Great Race of Yith and hijinks ensue. I’ve never run it because it doesn’t seem right for Call of Cthulhu. However, the new Pulp Cthulhu rules…I can see it really working with them.

Tom Sullivan handled all the art for the book. The cover painting, which verges on gonzo, is one of my favorite pieces of Call of Cthulhu art.