Grimoires are books of great importance or power and are the source of much of the forbidden knowledge that illuminates the darkest recesses of the world. These books contain forbidden knowledge and discoveries about the Great Old Ones or of many occult topics. Often times these discoveries of forbidden truths end up driving the reader insane or leading to their ruin in one way or another.
List of Known Grimoires[]
Lovecraft's Works[]
- Al-Azif, see Necronomicon
- Book of Azathoth ("The Dreams in the Witch-House")
- Book of Thoth (with E. Hoffmann Price, "Through the Gates of the Silver Key")
- Brick Cylinders of Kadatheron ("The Doom That Came to Sarnath")
- Chronike von Nath, by Rudolf Yergler (with Duane W. Rimel, "The Tree on the Hill")
- Dhôl Chants ("The Horror in the Museum")
- Kitab al-Azif, see Necronomicon.
- Necronomicon, by Abdul Alhazred ("The Hound")
- Pnakotic Manuscripts ("Polaris")
- Pnakotic Fragments ("The Horror in the Museum")
- The Seven Cryptical Books of Hsan ("The Other Gods")
- Tablets of Nhing (with E. Hoffmann Price, "Through the Gates of the Silver Key")
- Thaumaturgical Prodigies in the New-England Canaan (The Lurker at the Threshold)
August Derleth's Works[]
- Celaeno Fragments ("The House on Curwen Street")
- Confessions of Clithanus ("Something from Out There")
- Cthulhu in the Necronomicon (The Trail of Cthulhu)
- An Investigation into the Myth-Patterns of Latter-Day Primitives with Especial Reference to the R'yleh Text ("The Keeper of the Key")
- Invocations to Dagon ("The Black Island")
- R'lyeh Text ("The Return of Hastur")
- Sussex Fragments ("The Seal of R'lyeh")
Lovecraft Circle Works[]
- Black Rites (Robert Bloch, "The Mannikin")
- Book of Eibon (Clark Ashton Smith, "The Coming of the White Worm")
- Book of Iod (Henry Kuttner, "The Bells of Horror")
- Cabala of Saboth (Robert Bloch, "The Secret in the Tomb")
- Commentaries on Witchcraft (Robert Bloch, "The Mannikin")
- Cultes des Goules, by the Comte d'Erlette (Robert Bloch, "The Suicide in the Study")
- The Daemonolorum (Robert Bloch, "The Dark Demon")
- Dwellers in the Depths, by Gaston Le Fe (Carl Jacobi, "The Aquarium")
- Eltdown Shards (Richard F. Searight, "The Sealed Casket")
- Ghorl Nigral, by Herrmann Mülder (Willis Conover, Lovecraft at Last)
- Hydrophinnae, by Gantley (Carl Jacobi, "The Aquarium")
- On the Sending Out of the Soul (Henry Kuttner, "Hydra")
- Parchments of Pnom (Clark Ashton Smith, "The Coming of the White Worm")
- Remnants of Lost Empires, by Otto Dostmann (Robert E. Howard, "The Black Stone")
- Tablets of the Gods (Clark Ashton Smith, "Ubbo-Sathla")
- Testament of Carnamagos (Clark Ashton Smith, "The Treader of the Dust")
- Unaussprechlichen Kulten, by Friedrich von Junzt (Robert E. Howard, "The Thing on the Roof")
- Unter Zee Kulten (Carl Jacobi, "The Aquarium")
- De Vermis Mysteriis, by Ludvig Prinn (Robert Bloch, "The Shambler from the Stars")
- Song of Yste (Robert A. W. Lowndes, "The Abyss")
The Expanded Mythos[]
- Bimini Glyphs (Robert M. Price, "Down in Limbo")
- Book of K'yog (John Glasby, "The Old One")
- Book of Yng (Fred C. Adams, Translations from the Book of Yng)
- Civitates Antiquae Fantasticae, by Jawangi Warangal (S. T. Joshi, "The Recurring Doom")
- Cthäat Aquadingen (Brian Lumley, "The Horror at Oakdeene")
- Chthonic Revelations (Walter C. DeBill, "The Changeling")
- Fischbuch (Brian Lumley, "Name and Number")
- G'harne Fragments (Brian Lumley, "Cement Surroundings")
- Leabhar Mor Dubh (Charles R. Tanner, "Out of the Jar")
- Legend of the Olden Runes (Brian Lumley, "The Sorcerer's Dream")
- L'Histoire des Planetes, by Laurent de Longnez (S. T. Joshi, "The Recurring Doom")
- Ponape Scripture (Lin Carter, "Out of the Ages")
- The Prehistoric Pacific in the Light of the "Ponape Scripture" (Lin Carter, "Out of the Ages")
- The Revelations of Glaaki (Ramsey Campbell, "The Inhabitant of the Lake")
- Rituals of Yhe (Lin Carter)
- Sussex Manuscript (Fred L. Pelton, The Sussex Manuscript--see Necronomicon/Variants)
- Yuggia Chants (Lin Carter)
- Zanthu Tablets (Lin Carter, "The Dweller in the Tomb")
Mythos-Adjacent Works[]
- Marvells of Science, by Morryster (Ambrose Bierce, "The Man and the Snake")
- Sigsand Manuscripts (William Hope Hodgson, "The Gateway of the Monster")
Real-World Books[]
- Ars Magna et Ultima, by Raymond Lully
- Atlantis and the Lost Lemuria, by W. Scott Elliot
- Book of Dzyan, by Helena Blavatsky
- De Masticatione Mortuorum in Tumulis, by Philip Rehrius and Michael Raufft
Unknown Source[]
Behind the Mythos[]
The trend of using fictional texts containing eldritch knowledge was begun by H. P. Lovecraft before the creation of the Cthulhu Mythos. He also encouraged his friends and acquaintances (Clark Ashton Smith, Robert E. Howard, Robert Bloch, and others) to utilize his grimoires in their stories, and to invent their own. The appearance of references to these forbidden books in the works of many authors has sometimes led to more credulous or poorly educated readers believing that they might be real.