In World of Horror, the seaside city of Shiokawa, Japan is menaced by a mysterious cult attempting to bring one of a handful of different cosmic horrors into being right on their doorstep. These Old Gods have existed somewhere either at the farthest reaches of the universe or on a plane of reality just out of sight since time immemorial, and humanity only continues to exist thanks to their nonchalance.

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If the cultists kick the metaphorical beehive, though, the Old Gods will manifest in Shiokawa, bringing about unprecedented horrors. Obviously, all the Old Gods are world-ending terrors in their own right, but some of them are more inherently horrifying than others.

6 Ithotu, The Devouring Flame

Ithotu in World of Horror

Ithotu takes the form of an unnervingly perfect black marble statue, carved in the shape of a seemingly-normal human man. Contained within that black marble, though, is an agent of pure chaos incarnate. Ithotu's very presence brings with it a towering inferno of chaotic fire, and if he successfully appears in the Shiokawa museum where his statue was on display, the entire building immediately bursts into flame.

Now, obviously, a sentient fire consuming the entire world is pretty scary, but compared to the other gods, it's not that bad. Hey, at least burning to death is all that happens when you're dealing with Ithotu.

5 Cthac-Atorasu, The Spider God

Cthac-Atorasu capturing prey in World of Horror

It's a pretty common thing to be afraid of spiders, but most spiders are actually friends to humanity. Except for Cthac-Atorasu, that thing is definitely not our friend. This titanic spider lives with a constant, all-consuming hunger, one so powerful that, every 300 years, it forcefully tears the boundaries of its domain to hunt for prey, and it ain't picky. As Cthac-Atorasu approaches, local spider populations become more aggressive, rounding up more and larger prey in preparation.

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If Cthac-Atorasu manifests fully, the invisible threads of its web will engulf Shiokawa, trapping all of its residents in cocoons in a perpetual near-death state. Since Cthac likes to keep snacks stashed away, you could remain in that state for days, months, or even years before your number comes up.

4 Ygothaeg, The Irresistible Gaze

Ygothaeg's into in World of Horror

Scientists should really stop testing nuclear weapons in the ocean, 'cause if they don't wake up Godzilla, they're gonna wake up this guy. Ygothaeg is an enormous axolotl awoken from the deepest depths by offshore experiments. Normally, that would be kind of neat because axolotls are cute, but Ygothaeg is quite a vindictive creature, using its powerful psionic might to bend the minds of other creatures to its will.

Unlike some other Old Gods, Ygothaeg is very aware of your mission to stop its awakening and uses its psychic powers to forcefully direct you away from places that would actually help your investigation. If it awakens completely, it enslaves the minds of Shiokawa's entire populace and forces all of them to walk into the ocean, where they'll either drown in ritual sacrifice or experience something much worse, depending on how you parse the "Underwater Kingdom" mentioned in its game over screen.

3 The Herald Of The Shattered Court

The Shattered Court appearing in World of Horror

Consider this: the Herald is powerful enough to be considered an Old God in its own right, and it's still just a servant to a greater force. The Herald is, well, a herald of an interdimensional empire known as the Shattered Court. The Nobles of the Court are mad hedonists, gallivanting through the many curtains of reality and forcefully conscripting intelligent lifeforms into their "Balls," which is a fancy way of saying "gigantic murder parties."

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If the Herald successfully summons the court, they'll ravage the streets of Shiokawa, destroying, pillaging, and devouring humans. The ones that get eaten are actually the lucky ones, though, because whoever is left is spirited away by the court and enslaved as an eternal plaything.

2 Goizo, The Thing Forsaken By God

Goizo's intro in World of Horror

Have you ever been looking at your reflection in a mirror and see something move, just out of the corner of your eye? Did you brush it off as sleep deprivation? Ha, if only it were sleep deprivation. Sorry, but it's Goizo, eyeing you up like a wolf eyeing up a piece of meat.

Long ago, Goizo was a massive, tentacled terror, devouring innocents en masse. An advanced race of humanoid reptile people successfully banished Goizo to a pocket dimension and assumed that was that, but they must've forgotten to check their math, because in the eons since, its seal has begun weakening. Through these little cracks in its prison, Goizo can view our world through mirrors, snatching innocents right through their reflections to sate its hunger. In the worst-case scenario, it will devour nearly every resident of Shiokawa, leaving only a small group of survivors who have covered every mirror in their base. Unfortunately, Goizo doesn't need a literal mirror to appear, just a reflection, a purpose for which someone's eyes are more than adequate.

1 Ath-Yolazsth, The Towering Eye

Ath-Yolazsth looming over Earth in World of Horror

Ath-Yolazsth is a sun-sized creature lurking in the deepest, darkest depths of space. Communing with it is actually pretty easy, and in fact, most people with some manner of supernatural ability attained it through a deal with Ath-Yolazsth. You shouldn't take gifts from strangers, though, because they always come with a catch.

Every empowered individual on Earth serves as a sort of beacon for Ath-Yolazsth, gradually clueing it into our precise location in the deep dark. Once Ath has a lock on us, it will begin floating through the cosmos, eager for a hearty meal, casually devouring all the stars and planetoids in its way. If you fail to stop Ath's summoning, it won't show up right away. It'll take about ten years for it to make its way to Earth, but it will come eventually, and there is nothing you can do to stop it. Have fun living with that.

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