At the Mountains of Madness: who's who, timeline and places
Everyone in At the Mountains of Madness, what happens when, and where, without spoilers: tell us how far you have read and we show only what you already know.
- The narratorAn unnamed geologist who recounts his Antarctic expedition to discourage another journey.First seen in part 1
- LakeAn expedition member who urges northwestward exploration after finding a strange marking in ancient slate.First seen in part 1
- PabodieAn expedition member who remains with the narrator while Lake explores northwestward.First seen in part 2
- GedneyA colleague of the narrator whose name appears during the search of Lake’s camp.First seen in part 3
- DanforthAn explorer who accompanies the narrator on a flight toward a mountain pass.First seen in part 4
- Old OnesAncient beings from the stars who build the city and create and enslave earthly life.First seen in part 6
- ShoggothsBeings bred by the Old Ones to perform heavy work.First seen in part 7
- Part 1
The narrator opposes a planned Antarctic expedition and begins recounting his own party’s journey.
- Part 1
A strange marking in ancient slate leads Lake to urge northwestward exploration.
- Part 2
Lake discovers immense mountains and a fossil cavern containing fourteen strange organisms.
- Part 2
Lake’s dissection challenges familiar divisions between animals and plants, while a rising gale delays the narrator’s arrival.
- Part 3
After repeated radio failures, the narrator organizes a flight to Lake’s camp.
- Part 3
The rescuers find eleven dead men, Gedney missing, six buried specimens, and disturbed equipment.
- Part 4
The narrator describes mutilated bodies and missing specimens, then flies with Danforth toward a mountain pass.
- Part 5
Beyond the mountains, the narrator and Danforth discover an immense ruined city and land to investigate.
- Part 6
Carvings identify the city’s builders as the extraterrestrial Old Ones, who create and enslave earthly life.
- Part 7
The explorers read records describing the Old Ones’ creation of Shoggoths for heavy work and wars with servants and invaders.
- Part 8
Later carvings describe feared western mountains and the Old Ones’ retreat from advancing cold toward an underground sea.
- Part 9
The explorers discover a recent camp containing Lake’s supplies and drawings they attribute to the Old Ones.
- Part 9
Following the drawings, they find stolen sledges carrying the frozen bodies of Gedney and the missing dog.
- Part 10
The explorers follow penguin cries and encounter enormous blind albino birds before descending toward the abyss.
- Part 11
Four decapitated Old Ones coated in slime alert the explorers to the danger of Shoggoths.
- Part 11
The explorers flee a vast Shoggoth that imitates its creators’ voices.
- Part 12
The narrator and Danforth return through the ruined city to their plane and take off.
- Part 12
Danforth screams after an unexplained glimpse overhead, and his later hints leave the source of his terror unresolved.
Hidden until you have read that far.
- Antarctic continentThe region where the narrator’s expedition collects rocks and fossils.First seen in part 1
- McMurdo SoundThe expedition’s ships reach this place and unload their equipment.First seen in part 1
- Lake’s campLake’s expedition camp near immense mountains and a cavern containing abundant fossils.First seen in part 2
- mountain rangeImmense mountains discovered during Lake’s northwest journey, with unusually regular rock formations.First seen in part 2
- caveA cavern opened by drilling near camp, containing fossils from widely separated geological periods.First seen in part 2
- tunnelA passage near the ancient city that the explorers mark for investigation.First seen in part 8
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