“Reptilians,” bipedal amphibian or reptilian entities in the last few decades have been hot topics amongst ufologists, cryptozoologists, conspiracy theorists, and students of the Occult. Grant Morrison attributes his usage of these beings to Dogon legends.
http://www.key64.net/content/post/5-Legends-of-the-Voudoun-Gnostic-Workbook
The Dogon people of Mali tell tales of amphibians who hail from the star, Sirius B. However, before Grant, another titan of fantasy fiction, Robert E(rvin) Howard popularized “serpent men” as antagonists, first for his earlier character, Kull the Conquerer (of Atlantis) and then for his more popular Conan the Barbarian (of Cimmeria and later Aquilonia). In his stories, the Serpent Men are the children of Set…
www.marvunapp.com/Appendix/serpmenp.htm
Speaking of Robert E Howard, (whose popular character Conan of Cimmeria will celebrate his 75 year anniversary in Sword and Sorcery adventures this December) the author earlier in his life was an amateur boxer.
www.pjfarmer.com/woldnewton/Costigan.pdf
He later died of a suicide induced by a depression. Given what we know now…
Howard was depressed when he committed suicide. It may have been related head injuries. Yet, one wonders did he just imagine the Stygians? Or is there more to his stories of Ophidian Set? If he suffered concussions, did he see visions due to them?
Some parapsychologists say altered states of mind from meditation and use of entheogens such as LSD do not create visions but rather break the veil placed upon reality to keep homosapiens with their feeble minds, sane. If so what odd events did Howard witness? What odd events did he, Howard Philip Lovecraft, and Clark Ashton Smith happen upon? What is CTHULHU? As REH asked himself, “what nameless shapes may even now lurk in the darkest places of the world?”
The Invisible Web 