Black Sphinx

The Black Sphinx, also known as the Unknown God of the Dead, is a fictional monster created by H. P. Lovecraft for the short story "Imprisoned with the Pharaohs", ghostwritten for Harry Houdini.
==Overview==
The Beast is a huge being similar to a sphinx, with an indescribable face. Originally, the Sphinx of Giza had the face of this creature, but it was re-sculpted by Khephren. Its size is phenomenal, a single paw being as large as a hippopotamus. The paws are covered in yellowish fur and have five toes with retractable claws.
The Beast inhabits the underground of the Great Pyramid, where it is venerated by the sect of the Children of the Sphinx, led by Khephren and Nitocris.
In the story "Imprisoned with the Pharaohs", the magician Harry Houdini observes the immense paw of this creature, receiving offerings from the Children of the Sphinx. Initially, Houdini mistakes the paw for a faceless monster, with five jaws distributed asymmetrically from which retractable rigid tentacles or beaks emerge. It is only after he catches a glimpse of the entire creature that he realizes that the "monster" was just one of its paws, and the five "heads" with rigid tentacles were merely five toes with claws. He ends up convincing himself that the entire experience was nothing more than a nightmare.
==Behind the Mythos==
Despite the reveal at the end of the story, that what the protagonist mistook for a five-headed monster was nothing more than the paw of the Black Sphinx, the role-playing game Call of Cthulhu depicts this creature as actually having a mouth at the tip of each toe. The game makes a distinction between the Black Sphinx and the Beast, which is an avatar of Nyarlathotep associated with the Sphinx.
The Black Sphinx is identified as one of the Million Favoured Ones. (: Ye Booke of Monstres II)
Category:Other Supernatural Beings
Category:Characters Originating From Lovecraft Circle Works