Cold Print is a 1969 horror short story written by Ramsey Campbell. Set in the Cthulhu Mythos and specifically in Campbell's Severn Valley Mythos, the story is notable for being the introduction of Y'gonolac, the Great Old One embodying perversion.
Uptight schoolteacher Sam Strutt secretly harbors a taste for esoteric and erotic literature, particularly of the sadomasochistic variety. When his favorite bookstore closes, Strutt finds a new, obscure bookstore specializing in selling books to his taste. However, when Strutt stumbles across the Revelations of Glaaki, he soon begins to realize something sinister is going on behind the scenes...
List of tropes applying to this story:
- Anti-Hero: Strutt is probably the least heroic Mythos protagonist. He's a perverted, stern Jerkass who spends his days sexually harassing women and teenage boys, and yet he finds himself the only one standing against Y'gonolac's plan.
- Asshole Victim: Strutt is a smug, rude sexual predator who frequently gropes his landlord's daughter's ass and punishes the children under his care by caning them because he literally gets off on it. It's hard to feel sympathy when Y'gonolac devours him.
- Broke Your Arm Punching Out Cthulhu: Strutt successfully sabotages Y'gonolac's scheme, but the enraged Great Old One devours him as retribution.
- Depraved Bisexual: Strutt gropes his landlord's daughter, and also gets sexual pleasure from caning his teenage students. Though it's hinted that the latter is a case of Situational Sexuality, as he simply preys on those who can't fight back. It's part of what piques Y'gonolac's interest in him.
- Downer Ending: Y'gonolac eats Strutt alive in retribution for setting the Revelations of Gla'aki ablaze, and is free to set up his scheme all over again.
- Faux Affably Evil: Y'gonolac is quite erudite and friendly, but being what he is, he's still evil to the core.
- Jerkass: Strutt. He's a stern, uptight, humorless man who generally treats the people around him like dirt, and is a sexual predator.
- Karma Houdini: Y'gonolac. He experiences some minor setbacks, but he kills off anyone who knew about his plans and is free to start his plan all over again.
- The Little Shop That Wasn't There Yesterday: Strutt has a yen for esoteric literature. His search for forbidden knowledge leads him through dingy backstreets to a basement bookshop advertising "American Books Bought and Sold". On his second visit... a macabre many-mouthed creature makes an occult proposition that cools his blood.
- Nominal Hero: Strutt is a snide sexual predator, and he'd probably be an outright Villain Protagonist if he weren't fighting against the far worse Y'gonolac if only for self-preservation.
- Sadist Teacher: Strutt makes up excuses to punish his students so he can enact his sadomasochistic fetishes upon them.
- Villain Takes an Interest: Y'gonolac is intrigued by Strutt's perversions, and offers to make him his high priest because he views Strutt as a kindred spirit.
- We Can Rule Together: Y'gonolac offers to make Strutt his high priest, sensing that they're both kindred spirits.
