GHUGHUISM

from Fancyclopedia 2

A foul and hideous order who worship Ghughu as their ghod. According to the researches of FooFoo scientists, Ghughu is a beetle-bodied monster living on the sunward side of Vulcan, who telepathically controls a zombie named Don Wollheim -- Wollheim itself being usually regarded as Ghughu by its followers, at least before the Great Revival of the 50s. There are archbishops in every city where there are Ghuists except possibly those in which the archbishop has at some time left his diocese, thus losing his office. Other officers included the High Priest John Michel and Dick Wilson, Ghuardian of the Gholy Ghrail (the ghrail is now held in a secret place by FooFooists). In many cases devotees had several titles; "Saint" was a common prefix.

Their chief intellectual effort was a Ghuist calendar, the general scheme of which seemed to be cribbed from the World Calendar tho their year started at the summer solstice. The months were named in dishonor of the Ghuists, the first Dawn, for DA Wollheim; others were J'Mil for John Michel, Sterl for Kenneth Sterling, ktp, plus some named from other fantastic words like vomb, cthulhin, et cetera.

Thus purple religion was founded 6 August 1935, and with this long start gained adherents in numerous places. "But a new day and deliverance dawned in 1938," exults Speer, "when Pogo proclaimed the Sacred Order of FooFoo!"

With the Second World War Ghughuism, like FooFooism, suffered from a slackening of fan interest (and I don't care what the stories say about not having any atheists in foxholes). When the Sacred Writings of R*o*s*c*o*e appeared in SPACEWARP during 1948 a revival among the false faiths was prophesied; in the case of Ghuism, this developed from the entrance of Lee Hoffman and QUANDRY into the fanzine field. The deity evidently worshipped by those to whom Leeh brought the word shows certain differences from the original Ghughu, being purer and more spiritual although still unspeakably vile. Whether Ghu_Hoffwoman is in fact an entity different from Ghughu_Wollheim or is merely purified by disassociation from DAW (who had become a vile pro by 1951) is not clear. Ghuists, tho misled, are mostly likable people and will no doubt be saved, despite their delusions, on account of their natural virtue.