AZATHOTH STRIKES OKLAHOMA CITY

KFOR

 “In the Year of Our Lord 2012 Creer Pipi claimed this land for Azathoth.”

Staff at Paseo Grill, located in Oklahoma City's historic Paseo Arts District, are still making sense of a mysterious concrete block that materialized on their front lawn last Friday.

The three-foot-high monument to the fictional deity Azathoth is rough to the touch. It appears as if it has been chipped loose from a base.

And it’s so heavy that three strong men could only make it budge an inch.

No one knows who did it. Local police told Rawlinson that the block doesn’t appear to have been stolen, so removing it is the restaurant’s responsibility.

After news about the monument spread on KFOR, Rawlinson said she’s been getting calls from people who were excited about the find and from people who warned her about its dangers.

A bronze plaque attached to one side of the monument bears these puzzling words,

 “In the Year of Our Lord 2012 Creer Pipi claimed this land for Azathoth.”

Azathoth is a fictional being mentioned in science fiction writer H.P. Lovecraft’s stories. The primordial power is sometimes seen as the god of chaos. 

The first recorded mention of Azathoth was in a note Lovecraft wrote to himself in 1919 that read simply, "AZATHOTH—hideous name".

“There are about 20 people who called me and said they want to buy it,” Rawlinson said. “But there are some who say it’s a bad demon and that we shouldn’t even touch it.”

The restaurant's property manager will have the final word about what happens to the monument.

Rawlinson said she wouldn't mind keeping it in front of her business, just for a short while. At first, she didn’t think the concrete block could be considered art. But after watching many people stop outside her store to stare, she said she might have to reevaluate.

“Art is subjective, it’s in the eye of the beholder,” she said. “So on a personal level, this is not something I would say is art, but a lot of people definitely think it’s unique and different.”