Alien it indeed was to all art and literature which sane and balanced readers know, but we recognized it as the thing hinted of in the forbidden Necronomicon of the mad Arab Abdul Alhazred...
H.P. Lovecraft
The first mention of the Necronomicon, in “The Hound”
Literally translated as ‘The Book of Dead Names’, the Necronomicon is an imaginary grimoire invented by Lovecraft and described in detail in his ‘History of the Necronomicon’, probably written about 1927 but not published until well after his death. In this history he refers to various copies and translations including an English one – but never published – produced by Dr. John Dee (1527-1609) astrologer, occultist and consultant to Elizabeth I of England. Dee was probably the inspiration for William Shakespeare’s character Prospero in ‘The Tempest’. It has been suggested that the book is real, despite Lovecraft’s protestations to the contrary and although he says that, “…Of the Latin texts now existing one (15th cent.) is known to be in the British Museum under lock and key, while another (17th cent.) is in the Bibliothèque Nationale at Paris. A seventeenth-century edition is in the Widener Library at Harvard, and in the library of Miskatonic University at Arkham. Also in the library of the University of Buenos Ayres.” The latter library is of peculiar interest since there are a number of contenders and since Buenos Aires was the birthplace of Jorge Luis Borges (1899-1986), an extremely influential Argentine writer, who penned one story entitled ‘The Library of Babel’ which, in some ways prefigured the Internet, and who also, as discussed in ‘Return of the Weird’, “…in his maddeningly elliptical way, first denied ever having heard of Lovecraft – then went on to dedicate his story ‘There Are More Things’ to him.”
There is a very basic version of the Necronomicon on the Web as well as another version (both are difficult to read due to their background graphics), a DIY origami version, a book, a very lengthy online version, the Simon Necronomicon, a collection of references to it, the Truth About the Necronomicon and the Necronomicon illustrated by H.R. Giger (the artist who created the creatures in the movie ‘Alien’ and its sequels).
Good background on this bad book may be found in this article, in this one, in here, as well as here, in addition to here and also here.
The word ‘grimoire’ is from the Old French ‘grammaire’ meaning ‘grammar’. Latin ‘grammars’- or books about Latin syntax and diction – were regarded during the mediaeval period as books of basic instruction. As books of magical knowledge, grimoires contain spells, incantations, symbols, astrological correspondences and ritual instructions. The most well known include ‘Le Dragon Rouge’ (The red dragon), ‘La Poule Noire’ (The black chicken), ‘The Greater Etteila’ and ‘Le Grand Albert’ et ‘Le Petit Albert’ (the greater and the lesser Albert).
During the late nineteenth century, a number of the earliest-known grimoires (including the Abramelin text and the Keys of Solomon) were reclaimed by neo-Masonic magical organisations such as the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn and the Ordo Templi Orientis.
In addition to the Necronomicon, other volumes, less well known, but just as ill-omened in content, are ‘De Vermis Mysteriis’ (Mysteries of the Worm), by Ludvig Prinn and ‘Unaussprechlichen Kulten’ (Nameless Cults) by Friedrich von Junzt. The authors of the two volumes both met terrible fates, as did Al-Hazred.
Does the magic in these grimoires work? In the hinterlands of reality, anything is possible.
H.P. Lovecraft
The first mention of the Necronomicon, in “The Hound”
Literally translated as ‘The Book of Dead Names’, the Necronomicon is an imaginary grimoire invented by Lovecraft and described in detail in his ‘History of the Necronomicon’, probably written about 1927 but not published until well after his death. In this history he refers to various copies and translations including an English one – but never published – produced by Dr. John Dee (1527-1609) astrologer, occultist and consultant to Elizabeth I of England. Dee was probably the inspiration for William Shakespeare’s character Prospero in ‘The Tempest’. It has been suggested that the book is real, despite Lovecraft’s protestations to the contrary and although he says that, “…Of the Latin texts now existing one (15th cent.) is known to be in the British Museum under lock and key, while another (17th cent.) is in the Bibliothèque Nationale at Paris. A seventeenth-century edition is in the Widener Library at Harvard, and in the library of Miskatonic University at Arkham. Also in the library of the University of Buenos Ayres.” The latter library is of peculiar interest since there are a number of contenders and since Buenos Aires was the birthplace of Jorge Luis Borges (1899-1986), an extremely influential Argentine writer, who penned one story entitled ‘The Library of Babel’ which, in some ways prefigured the Internet, and who also, as discussed in ‘Return of the Weird’, “…in his maddeningly elliptical way, first denied ever having heard of Lovecraft – then went on to dedicate his story ‘There Are More Things’ to him.”
There is a very basic version of the Necronomicon on the Web as well as another version (both are difficult to read due to their background graphics), a DIY origami version, a book, a very lengthy online version, the Simon Necronomicon, a collection of references to it, the Truth About the Necronomicon and the Necronomicon illustrated by H.R. Giger (the artist who created the creatures in the movie ‘Alien’ and its sequels).
Good background on this bad book may be found in this article, in this one, in here, as well as here, in addition to here and also here.
The word ‘grimoire’ is from the Old French ‘grammaire’ meaning ‘grammar’. Latin ‘grammars’- or books about Latin syntax and diction – were regarded during the mediaeval period as books of basic instruction. As books of magical knowledge, grimoires contain spells, incantations, symbols, astrological correspondences and ritual instructions. The most well known include ‘Le Dragon Rouge’ (The red dragon), ‘La Poule Noire’ (The black chicken), ‘The Greater Etteila’ and ‘Le Grand Albert’ et ‘Le Petit Albert’ (the greater and the lesser Albert).
During the late nineteenth century, a number of the earliest-known grimoires (including the Abramelin text and the Keys of Solomon) were reclaimed by neo-Masonic magical organisations such as the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn and the Ordo Templi Orientis.
In addition to the Necronomicon, other volumes, less well known, but just as ill-omened in content, are ‘De Vermis Mysteriis’ (Mysteries of the Worm), by Ludvig Prinn and ‘Unaussprechlichen Kulten’ (Nameless Cults) by Friedrich von Junzt. The authors of the two volumes both met terrible fates, as did Al-Hazred.
Does the magic in these grimoires work? In the hinterlands of reality, anything is possible.
