Ancient Ones
Ancient Ones in Lovecraft Stories
In H. P. Lovecraft, the "Ancient Ones" figure in only a single story, although he also wrote about a number of other groups of gods or lesser races that are referred to as Old, Elder, Great, or Great Old. For an overview, refer to Great, Old, Ancient, and Other Gods in The Myth Patterns of H. P. Lovecraft. [H. P. Lovecraft story list, online stories]
[HPL Gates (online text)]: A group of dreaming beings who dwell beyond the First Gate, in earth’s trans-dimensional extension. The oldest member of the group, the Most Ancient One, is called 'Umr at-Tawil. He dictates dreams to the other Ancient Ones, and when their dreams achieve oneness, their dreams become reality.
Yog-Sothoth
The Ancient Ones are manifestations of Yog-Sothoth. However, this might only be in the sense that Yog-Sothoth is the archetype of "all great wizards, all great thinkers, all great artists."
Malice
Some (including, perhaps, Abdul Alhazred) have spoken of the Ancient Ones as malignant. Randolph Carter "guessed what they were, whence they came, and Whom they served; and guessed, too, the price of their service. " However, Carter felt that they are too occupied with their dreams to be interested in harming humanity. From their perspective, humanity is too puny to be of interest.
Appearance
They appear to be ill-defined shapes, with outlines somewhat like men, who sit on a curved line of gigantic hieroglyphed, semi-hexagonal pedestals. They seem to be heavily cloaked, with some neutral-coloured fabric, without eye-holes. Upon their cloaked heads rest tall, uncertainly coloured mitres. Grasped in certain folds of their swathings are long sceptres with carven heads.
And Randolph Carter
The Ancient Ones welcomed Randolph Carter, "whose daring has made you one of us." A vacant pedestal was reserved for him. Under 'Umr at-Tawil's guidance, they dreamed on Carter's behalf, while they swayed gently and light emanated from their heads. Their dreams opened the Ultimate Gate so that Carter could pass through and meet Yog-Sothoth.
Their Origin
It seems likely that the Ancient Ones were earthly mortals who were promoted to their current state by Yog-Sothoth. For Yog-Sothoth said that he had shown the Ultimate Mystery only eleven times to beings of Earth, of which only five were human or human-like.
Ancient Ones in Derleth Stories
In various stories, August Derleth used the term "Ancient Ones" as a synonym for the good gods (Elder Gods 1), the evil gods (Great Old Ones 3), or both. For details, see Elder Gods and Great Old Ones: God Terminology in Derleth's Mythos Stories. [August Derleth story list, online stories]
In the following stories, "Ancient Ones" refers to the evil group of gods: AWD Beyond2; Island; Curwen; Gable (online text); Gorge; Keeper; Lamp (online text); Lurker; OutThere; Seal (online text); Space; Valley (online text); Whippoorwills; Wind (online text); Witches.
See: Great Old Ones (3).
In the following stories, "Ancient Ones" refers to the good group of gods: AWD Depths (online text); Hastur; Lair; OutThere; Sandwin; Sky.
See: Elder Gods (1).
In the following story, "Ancient Ones" also serves as a combined name for good and evil gods, including both the Elder Gods (1) and the Great Old Ones (3): AWD Sandwin.
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