The Dresden Files > DF Spoilers

AMA with Jim

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forumghost:
Doesn't it come up in one of the side stories that the reason people don't talk about Outsiders is because some of them are in hibernation on earth, and talking about them causes them to wake up?

g33k:

--- Quote from: forumghost on January 20, 2026, 11:07:50 AM ---Doesn't it come up in one of the side stories that the reason people don't talk about Outsiders is because some of them are in hibernation on earth, and talking about them causes them to wake up? 
--- End quote ---

This is the premise of the Oblivion War, I think; not "on Earth" but locked-out for lack of summoning.  We see it mostly in the short "Backup," reprinted in the Side Jobs anthology.  And there's a big ol' WoJ laying it out, quoted here:
https://wordof.jim-butcher.com/index.php/word-of-jim-woj-compilation/woj-on-harrys-mortal-allies/
(search for "jimbutcher" -- it's the 1st of 8 hits.  The linked original 404error's; I don't know if it still exists, but my cursory Google only finds references to it, no hit for the original).
It's about erasing all record and memory of certain beings, who need to be Summoned to be able to reach into the world or influence it.

I don't believe it was ever made explicit that these were specifically "Outsiders" ... but the circumstantial evidence sure suggests they are!

forumghost:
Just checked, and like I thought, it comes up in Cold Case


--- Quote ---Have you heard of the Old Ones?”
“I don’t think it’s a very kind nickname for the Rolling Stones. They still put on a great show.”
He nodded and squinted at me. “I kind of need you to put on your serious face now.”
“That bad?” I asked.
“Maybe,” he said. “They’re … kind of a collection of entities. Really old, really powerful entities.”
“What, like gods?” I asked.
“Like the things gods have nightmares about,” he said.
“Outsiders.”
He nodded. “Only they aren’t outside. They’re here. Caged, bound, and sleeping, but they’re here.”
“That seems kind of dangerous.”
“Yes and no,” he said. “They feed on psychic energy. On fear. On the collective subconscious awareness of them that exists within humanity.”
I squinted at him. “Meaning what?”
“The more people who know about them and fear them, the more awake and more powerful they become,” he said. “That’s why the people who know about them don’t talk about them much.”
“What’s that got to do with the price of beer in Unalaska?”
“One of the Old Ones is known as the Sleeper. It’s said his tomb is somewhere under the Pacific. And that goddamned moron Lovecraft published stories and easy-to-remember rhymes about the thing.” He shook his head. “The signal boost gave the Sleeper enough power to influence the world. It has a number of cults. People get … infested, I guess. Slowly go insane. Lose their humanity. Turn into something else.”
--- End quote ---

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