Bholes

Are they the same things as Dholes, or not? It is hard to tell. Lovecraft sometimes changed the spelling of Mythos terms (”Cthulhu” normally vs. “Tulu” in ‘The Mound’, for example), so the different spelling isn’t necessarily important.

Dholes show up in “Through the Gates of the Silver Key”, where they are infesting the planet Yaddith. The native inhabitants are fighting a long and losing war against the Dholes, which will lead eventually to the extermination of all the planet’s life as the Dholes ravage the hapless world, burrowing through its crust. Dholes are incredibly large (one “reared up several hundred feet”, which implies that its total length must be much greater). They are apparently “bleached, viscous” giant worms, or perhaps slugs better fit a soft viscous body.

Bholes are found in the Dreamlands, in “The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath”. They are also large subterranean dwellers, but we know nothing of their form, as they have never been seen (living only in pitch darkness). They appear not to be fully as large as Dholes, or Randolph Carter probably wouldn’t have been able to climb out of reach of the Bhole.

I believe they are probably intended to be the same creature, but nothing is conclusive. Bholes do seem smaller, but whether this is simple variation or whether Lovecraft just decided to make them bigger for “Through the Gates of the Silver Key” is unknowable. ‘Bhole’ is clearly the better name, though, as a dhole is a kind of wild dog found in India.