Content warning: This article contains spoilers for the final season of “Chilling Adventures of Sabrina.”
The “Eldritch Terrors” and literature
When you think of eldritch horror, the writings of H.P. Lovecraft is probably the first thing that comes to mind. Lovecraft’s eldritch monstrosities most certainly influenced the big bads of this season: the “Eldritch Terrors.” Even the title of the final episode, “The Mountains of Madness,” is a reference to Lovecraft.
The first “Eldritch Terror” that is shown, “The Eldritch Dark,” is based off of one of the lesser known Lovecraftian horrors, the “Unnamed Darkness.” The Unnamed Darkness isn’t mentioned explicitly in any of Lovecraft’s writing, but it is noted in a family tree of the Outer Gods. The portrayal of this eldritch entity is a very interesting way of bringing this “Eldritch Terror” to life in a way that fits into the limited information about this creature and builds on it with the avatars of darkness. The avatars of darkness are similar to other entities in Lovecraftian myths. “The Endless” is reminiscent of “Thasaidon, the Master of the Endless Void.”
“The Imp of the Perverse” is not mainly influenced by Lovecraft’s writings, but instead from the writings of Edgar Allan Poe. It draws its name from the “Imp of the Perverse” and its powers from the monkey’s paw. “The Cosmic” draws from tropes of conflicting parallel universes rather than a sentient entity. Still going with the theory of “The Cosmic,” “The Returned” aren’t a single entity, but rather a host of resurrected dead controlled by Lazarus, the “Returned Man,” based on the biblical apocalypse. Like “The Cosmic,” the last of the “Eldritch Terrors,” “The Void,” is more of a concept and a place rather than a physical, sentient being. It is the nothingness that exists outside of existence.
Infernal tradition for a royal burial
In the final episode, “The Mountains of Madness,” the death of the main character, Sabrina Spellman, is foreshadowed with the appearance of the banshee during the bloodletting, a similar figure that made an appearance in the last season before Zelda’s death. However, that is after Sabrina is revealed to be a herald of the void. Before she is revealed to be holding the void, Sabrina Spellman is occupying the body of Sabrina Morningstar and her father demands that Sabrina Morningstar be given a queen’s burial even with Spellman still occupying her body.
The hellish royal funeral and burial never happen, but from other references that we see in the infernal court, we can get some idea of what this might entail. One of the biggest moments we see involving the infernal court and its real world inspirations is at the coronation of Sabrina Morningstar. Morningstar is seen wearing a dress very similar to those worn by Queen Elizabeth I during her reign. While this is not much to go on, royal coronations and funerals were styled similarly, so we could have similarities between Elizabeth I’s funeral and burial and what would have taken place in Morningstar’s infernal royal burial. A royal burial would feature a public funeral procession. In Elizabethian tradition, different offerings or gifts were thrown into the grave or placed into the coffin based on the dead’s marital status at the time of their passing. As an unmarried woman, Elizabeth I had flowers in her grave and coffin. However, given that Morningstar married Caliban only a few episodes before her death, she would have most likely had sprigs of herbs in her grave if her funeral were to follow those traditions. Both Sabrina’s are given a burial by the Order of Hecate, so unfortunately, we never get to see a hellish royal funeral.
This season is a product of interesting plotlines and well thought out lore derived from real world beliefs and writings. While this may be the last season, that won’t stop people from enjoying this show and these characters. I know that I’m going to rewatch the entire show as soon as I can and rewatch it a few more times after that.
