 Mind flayers were created by Gary Gygax, who has said that one of his inspirations for them was the cover painting of the Titus Crow book "The Burrowers Beneath" by Brian Lumley.Tim Kirk's cover art on the book, then in its first printing, depicted only the tentacles of the titular burrowers, the Chthonians.Mind flayers first appeared in the official newsletter of TSR Games, "The Strategic Review" #1, Spring 1975.