Venus, the second planet from the sun, is a planet featured in H. P. Lovecraft's short story In the Walls of Eryx.
Description[]
Unlike the actual Venus, Lovecraft's Venus is a lush jungle planet with a tropical climate and an atmosphere that is poisonous to humans, though not dangerous enough that a hermetically sealed space suit is required. The planet is chosen as a mining world due to crystal orbs that can be used as a source of electrical energy. These orbs are ferociously defended by the planet's native population, a race of primitive lizardmen, who place some sort of religious significance upon the crystals.
Eryx, also known as the Eryncian Highland, is a vast plateau where the story takes place. Its only known feature is an invisible maze, believed to have been used by the lizardmen as a trap for the human crystal miners, due to the crystal in its centre.
Inhabitants[]
- Venusians, a race of primitive humanoid lizards native to the planet.
- Akmans, farnoth flies, skorahs and ugrats, non-sapient creatures whose names are believed to be jokes related to some of Lovecraft's peers - specifically, Forrest J. Ackerman, Farnsworth Wright and Hugo Gernsback, known to Lovecraft as "Hugo the Rat".