Necronomicon

The Necronomicon is the title of a fictional book created by H.P. Lovecraft. Numerous other authors including Clark Ashton Smith, Brian Lumley, Ramsey Campbell and Keith Herber have added to its contents over the years.

DescriptionEdit

The Kitab al Azif (original Arabic title of the Necronomicon) was written in the early 8th century by Abdul Alhazred. Alhazred was a poet in the court of a minor nobleman in the city of Sanaá. For reasons unknown he left the city and spent ten years wandering in the deserts. During this time he visited places such as: Irim, the City of the Pillars; the catacombs of Egypt; and the temple of Nug and Yeb in the Crimson Desert. In his old age Alhazred lived in the great city of Damascus, where he produced the Kitab al Azif. In the long years that followed many translations of this great work have been made.

ContentsEdit

Among other topics, the book includes:

• A section that mentions creatures beyond the threshold of space such as the Tomb Herd (CIRCLE: "The Tomb Herds" [ Ramsey Campbell ]).
• A description of the powers the Other Name of Azathoth gives the wielder (but not the name itself).
• Information on the Gulf of S'glhuo (CIRCLE:"The Plain of Sound" [ Ramsey Campbell ]).
• A chapter on a complicated and lengthy process capable of resurrecting the dead.
• An incantation of Vach-Viraj, used against Nyogtha.(CIRCLE: "The Salem Horror" [ Henry Kuttner ]).
• A formula for temporarily banishing manifestations of Ahtu.
• A ritual accelerating the transformation from Human into Deep One (EXP: "The Tomb of Priscus", Brian Mooney).
• Page 984 contains a passage in the Naacal, no translation is given (HPL: Selected Letters of H.P. Lovecraft IV).
• The Voorish sign (HPL: The Dunwich Horror).
• The Mao ceremony (EXP: "The Plain of Sound" [ Ramsey Campbell ]).
• Copy of arcane symbols (EXP: "Castle Dark" RPG Module [Keith Herbert]).
• The story of Kish and Sarnath (EXP: "Zoth-Ommog" [Lin Carter])
• The original Arabian text contains an exorcism not reproduced inside the Latin Wormius version (CIRCLE: "The Return of the Sorcerer" [ Clark Ashton Smith ]).
• The Zoan Chant; a spell for reflected harmful powers sent against the caster (EXP: "Something in the Moonlight", Lin Carter).
• Stories about a Ghoul, one having it conclusion torn off the Harvard volume of the Necronomicon (HPL: The Selected Letters of H.P. Lovecraft III).
• A line of asterisks that even the Arabian original used to censor itself (HPL: The Selected Letters of H.P. Lovecraft III).
• A formula for Mind Transference.(HPL: The Thing on the Doorstep).
• Instructions on how to make the Powder of Ibn Ghazi (HPL: The Dunwich Horror").
• How to create a portal to Nyaralathotep. (EXP: Masks of Nyarlathotep Companion, "Cairo : Ancient Land, Ancient Horror" RPG Module [Larry DiTillio and Lynn Willis]).
• A footnote containing an untitled formula capable of opening a gateway to Cthugha.
• A passage about the Crawling Ones and the Green Flame Tulzscha (HPL: "The Festival").
• Page 751 of the "complete" version contains a long chant capable of summoning Yog-Sothoth if used at the right time (HPL: The Dunwich Horror).
• Information on the Black Pharaoh Nephren-Ka.
• A large amount of information on the Antarctic Elder Things.(HPL: "At the Mountains of Madness").
• Information on an ancient aquatic race Alhazred terms the Dwellers in the Depths. This page also features an astrological chart (EXP: "The Horror from the Bridge" [ Ramsey Campbell ]).
• Page 224 contains the Hoy-Dhin Chant. (EXP: The Horror at Oakdeene [Brian Lumley])
• Instructions on how to destroy an egg of Yig using a combination of musical notes.
• An illustration of the Furnace of Nug.
• A prophecy foretelling the rebirth of the high priest Nophru-Ka.
• A chapter on 'Umr At-Tawil and the ultimate gate.
• A spell to send back Bugg-Shash to its dimension (EXP: "The Kiss of Bugg-Shash" [Brian Lumley])
• Information on Yomagn'tho (EXP: "The Feaster from the Stars" [Berglund])
• Possibly the solution for telepathy (EXP: "I Know What You Need", Stephen King).

QuotesEdit

Here follows a selection of quotes from various translations of the Necronomicon:

“	That is not dead which can eternal lie, And with strange aeons even death may die.	„
	~ HPL: "The Nameless City", "The Call of Cthulhu"

“	The nethermost caverns are not for the fathoming of eyes that see; for their marvels are strange and terrific. Cursed the ground where dead thoughts live new and oddly bodied, and evil the mind that is held by no head. Wisely did Ibn Schacabao say, that happy is the tomb where no wizard hath lain, and happy the town at night whose wizards are all ashes. For it is of old rumour that the soul of the devil-bought hastes not from his charnel clay, but fats and instructs the very worm that gnaws; till out of corruption horrid life springs, and the dull scavengers of earth wax crafty to vex it and swell monstrous to plague it. Great holes are digged where earth's pores ought to suffice, and things have learnt to walk that ought to crawl.	„
	~ Arkham's Olaus Wormius Low Latin version , HPL: "The Festival"

“	Nor is it to be thought that man is either the oldest or the last of earth's masters, or that the common bulk of life and substance walks alone. The Old Ones were, the Old Ones are, and the Old Ones shall be. Not in the spaces we know, but between them, they walk serene and primal, undimensioned and to us unseen. Yog-Sothoth knows the gate. Yog-Sothoth is the gate. Yog-Sothoth is the key and guardian of the gate. Past, present, future, all are one in Yog-Sothoth. He knows where the Old Ones broke through of old, and where They shall break through again. He knows where They had trod earth's fields, and where They still tread them, and why no one can behold Them as They tread. By Their smell can men sometimes know Them near, but of Their semblance can no man know, saving only in the features of those They have begotten on mankind; and of those are there many sorts, differing in likeness from man's truest eidolon to that shape without sight or substance which is Them. They walk unseen and foul in lonely places where the Words have been spoken and the Rites howled through at their Seasons. The wind gibbers with Their voices, and the earth mutters with Their consciousness. They bend the forest and crush the city, yet may not forest or city behold the hand that smites. Kadath in the cold waste hath known Them, and what man knows Kadath? The ice desert of the South and the sunken isles of Ocean hold stones whereon Their seal is engraver, but who hath seen the deep frozen city or the sealed tower long garlanded with seaweed and barnacles? Great Cthulhu is Their cousin, yet can he spy Them only dimly. Iä! Shub-Niggurath! As a foulness shall ye know Them. Their hand is at your throats, yet ye see Them not; and Their habitation is even one with your guarded threshold. Yog-Sothoth is the key to the gate, whereby the spheres meet. Man rules now where They ruled once; They shall soon rule where man rules now. After summer is winter, after winter summer. They wait patient and potent, for here shall They reign again.	„
	~ Henry Armitage's translation of the Library of Miskatonic University's Olaus Wormius Latin version, 17th century Spanish printing , HPL: "The Dunwich Horror"

“	N'gai, n'gha'ghaa, bugg-shoggog, y'hah; Yog-Sothoth, Yog-Sothoth...	„
	~ Wilbur Whateley , HPL: "The Dunwich Horror"

“	Y'AI 'NG'NGAH, YOG-SOTHOTH H'EE--L'GEB F'AI THRODOG UAAAH	„
	~ HPL: The Case of Charles Dexter Ward

“	OGTHROD AI'F GEB'L--EE'H YOG-SOTHOTH 'NGAH'NG AI'Y ZHRO	„
	~ HPL: The Case of Charles Dexter Ward

“	******************************************************************	„
	~ Some things are just too horrible to write, even for a mad Arab. , HPL: Selected Letters III

“	And while there are those, who have dared to seek glimpses beyond the Veil, and to accept HIM as a Guide, they would have been more prudent had they avoided commerce with HIM; for it is written in the Book of Thoth how terrific is the price of a single glimpse. Nor may those who pass ever return, for in the Vastnesses transcending our world are Shapes of darkness that seize and bind. The Affair that shambleth about in the night, the Evil that defieth the Elder Sign, the Herd that stand watch at the secret portal each tomb is known to have, and that thrive on that which groweth out of the tenants within—all these Blacknesses are lesser than HE Who guardeth the Gateway; HE Who will guide the rash one beyond all the worlds into the Abyss of unnamable Devourers. For HE is 'UMR AT-TAWIL, the Most Ancient One, which the scribe rendereth as THE PROLONGED OF LIFE.	„
	~ HPL: "Through the Gates of the Silver Key"

“	And while there are those who have had the temerity to seek glimpses of beyond the Veil, and to accept HIM as a guide, they would be more prudent to avoid commerce with HIM; for it is written in the Book of Thoth how terrific is the price of but one glimpse; and none who pass may return, for they will be firmly bound by those who lurk in the vastnesses that transcend our world. The terrors of the night, and the evils of creation, and those that stand watch at the secret exit that it is known each grave has, and thrive on that which grows out of the tenants thereof; these are lesser powers than he who guards the Gateway, and offers to guide the unwary into the realm beyond this world and all its unnamed and unnameable Devourers. For HE is 'UMR AT-TAWIL, which signifieth, THE MOST ANCIENT ONE, which the scribe hath rendered as THE PROLONGED OF LIFE.	„
	~ CIRCLE: "The Lord of Illusion"

“	volume that cannot be [may possibly be the Book of Iod]	„
	~ IX, 21 -- p. 598 of the black-letter German copy (in Latin) in the Miskatonic University Library , HPL: Selected Letters 5.838

“	The cross is not a passive agent. It protects the pure of heart, and it has often appeared in the air above our sabbats, confusing and dispersing the powers of Darkness.	„
	~ John Dee English version , CIRCLE: "The Space Eaters"

“	It must not be thought that the powers capable of greatest wickedness appear to us in the form of repellent familiars, and other, closely related demons. They do not. Small, visible demons are merely the effluvia which those vast forms of destructiveness have left in Their wake -- skin scrapings and even more tenuous shreds of evil that attach themselves to the living like leeches from some great slain leviathan of the deep that has wreaked havoc on a hundred coastal cities before plunging to its death with a thousand hurled harpoons quivering in its flesh. For the mightiest powers there can be no death and the hurled harpoons inflict, at most, surface injuries which heal quickly. I have said before and I shall say again until my tardily earned wisdom is accepted by my brethren as fact--in confronting that which has always been and always will be a master of magic can know only self-reproach and despair if he mistakes a temporary victory for one that he can never hope permanently to win.	„
	~ Paragraphs 7 & 8, Page 30, Book 3, John Dee version. Slightly modernized. , CIRCLE: "A Fragment"

“	Many and multiform are the dim horrors of Earth, infesting her ways from the prime. They sleep beneath the unturned stone; they rise from the tree with its root; they move beneath the sea and in subterranean places; they dwell in the inmost adyta; they emerge betimes [sic; see note below] from the shutten sepulchre of haughty bronze and the low grave that is sealed with clay. There be some that are long known to man, and others as yet unknown that abide the terrible latter days of their revealing. Those which are the most dreadful and the loathliest of all are haply still to be declared. But among those that have revealed themselves aforetime and have made manifest their veritable presence, there is one which may not openly be named for its exceeding foulness. It is that spawn which the hidden dweller in the vaults has begotten upon mortality.	„
	~ CIRCLE: "The Nameless Offspring"

“	Manifold and multiform are the horrors that infest the visible ways and the ways unseen. They sleep beneath the unturned stone; they rise with the tree from its root; they move beneath the sea and in subterranean places; they dwell unchallenged in the inmost adyta; they emerge betimes from the shutten sepulcher of haughty bronze and the low grave that is sealed with earth. There be some that are long known to man, and others as yet unknown that abide the terrible future days of their revealing. Those which are the most dreadful and the loathliest of all, are haply still to be declared. But among those that have revealed themselves aforetime and have made manifest their veritable presence, there is one which may not openly be named for its exceeding foulness. It is that spawn which the hidden dweller in the vaults has begotten upon mortality.	„
	~ CIRCLE: Selected Letters of Clark Ashton Smith 117

“	It is verily known by few, but is nevertheless an attestable fact, that the will of a dead sorcerer hath power upon his own body and can raise it up from the tomb and perform therewith whatever action was unfulfilled in life. And such resurrections are invariably for the doing of malevolent deeds and for the detriment of others. Most readily can the corpse be animated if all its members have remained intact; and yet there are cases in which the excelling will of the wizard hath reared up from death the sundered pieces of a body hewn in many fragments, and hath caused them to serve his end, either seperately or in a temporary reunion. But in every instance, after the action hath been completed, the body lapseth into its former state.	„
	~ Mr. Ogden's translation of a private Arabic version, absent of Olaus Wormius Latin version , CIRCLE: "The Return of the Sorcerer"

“	the Place of the Blind Apes where Nephren-Ka bindeth up the threads of truth	„
	~ CIRCLE: "The Fane of the Black Pharaoh

“	...Men know him as the Dweller in Darkness, that brother of the Old Ones called Nyogtha, the Thing that should not be. He can be summoned to Earth's surface through certain secret caverns and fissures, and sorcerers have seen him in Syria and below the black tower of Leng: from the Thang Grotto of Tartary he has come ravening to bring terror and destruction among the pavilions of the great Khan. Only by the looped cross, by the Vach-Viraj incantation, and by the Tikkoun elixir may he be driven back to the nighted caverns of hidden foulness where he dwelleth...	„
	~ Kester Library copy , CIRCLE: "The Salem Horror"

“	Chant out the spell and give me life again. Many minds and many wishes give substance to the worship of Cthulhu.	„
	~ CIRCLE: "The Terrible Parchment"

“	Never is it to be thought that man is either oldest or last of the Masters of Earth; nay, nor that the great'r part of life and substance walks alone. The Old Ones were, the Old Ones are, and the Old Ones shall be. Not in the spaces known to us, but between them, They walk calm and primal, of no dimensions, and to us unseen. Yog-Sothoth knows the gate, for Yog-Sothoth is the gate. Yog-Sothoth is the key and guardian of the gate. Past, present, future -- what has been, what is, what will be, all are one in Yog-Sothoth. He knows where the Old Ones broke through of old, and where They shall break through in time to come until the Cycle is complete. He knows why no one can behold Them as They walk. Sometimes men can know Them near by Their smell, which is strange to the nostrils, and like unto a creature of great age; but of Their semblance no man can know, save seldom in features of those They have begotten on mankind, which are awful to behold, and thrice awful are Those who sired them; yet of those Offspring there are divers kinds, in likeness greatly differing from man's truest image and fairest eidolon to that shape without sight or substance which is Them. They walk unseen, They walk foul in lonely places where the Words have been spoken and the Rites howled through at Their Seasons, which are in the blood and differ from the seasons of men. The winds gibber with Their voices; the Earth mutters with Their consciousness. They bend the forest. They raise up the waves. They crush the city -- yet not forest or ocean or city beholds the hand that smites. Kadath in the cold waste knows them, and what man knows Kadath? The ice desert of the South and the sunken isles of Ocean hold stones whereon Their seal is engraven, but who has seen the deep frozen city of the sealed tower long garlanded with seaweed and barnacles? Great Cthulhu is Their cousin, yet can he spy Them only dimly. As a foulness shall They be known to the race of man. Their hands are at the throats of men forever, from beginning of known time to end of time known, yet none sees Them; and Their habitation is even one with your guarded threshold. Yog-Sothoth is the key to the gate whereby the spheres meet. Man rules now where once They ruled; soon They shall rule again where man rules now. After summer is winter, and after winter summer.They wait patient and potent, for here shall They reign again, and at Their coming again none shall dispute Them and all shall be subject to Them. Those who know of the gates shall be impelled to open the way for Them and shall serve Them as They desire, but those who open the way unwitting shall know but a brief while thereafter. 'Twas done then as it had been promis'd aforetime, that He was tak'n by Those Whom He Defy'd, and thrust into ye Neth'rmost Deeps und'r ye Sea, and placed within ye barnacl'd Tower that is said to rise amidst ye great ruin that is ye Sunken City (R'lyeh), and seal'd within by ye Elder Sign, and, rag'g at Those who had imprison'd Him, He furth'r incurr'd Their anger, and they, descend'g upon him for ye second time, did impose upon Him ye semblance of Death, but left Him dream'g in that place under ye great waters, and return'd to that place from whence they had come, Namely, Glyu-Vho, which is among ye stars, and looketh upon Earth from ye time when ye leaves fall to that time when ye ploughman becomes habit'd once again to his fields. And there shall He lie dream'g forever, in His House at R'lyeh, toward which at once all His minions swam and strove against all manner of obstacles, and arrang'd themselves to wait for His awaken'g powerless to touch ye Elder Sign and fearful of its great pow'r know'g that ye Cycle returneth, and He shall be freed to embrace ye Earth again and make of it His Kingdom and defy ye Elder Gods anew. And to His brothers it happen'd likewise, that They were tak'n by Those Whom They Defy'd and hurl'd into banishment, Him Who Is Not to Be Nam'd be'g sent into Outermost space, beyond ye Stars and with ye others likewise, until ye Earth was free of Them, and Those Who Came in ye shape of Towers of Fire, return'd whence They had come, and were seen no more, and on all Earth then peace came was unbrok'n while Their minions gather'd and sought means and ways with which to free ye Old Ones, and waited while man came to pry into secret, forbidd'n places and open ye gate. Concern'g ye Old Ones, 'tis writ, they wait ev'r at ye Gate, & ye Gate is all places and all times, for They know noth'g of time or place but are in all time & in all place togeth'r without appear'g to be, & there are those amongst Them which can assume divers shapes & Features & any Giv'n Shape & any giv'n Face & ye Gates are for Them ev'rywhere, but ye 1st. was that which I caus'd to be op'd, Namely, in Irem, ye City of Pillars, ye city under ye desert, but wher'r men sett up ye Stones and sayeth thrice ye forbidden Words, they shall cause there a Gate to be establish'd & shall wait upon Them Who Come through ye gate, ev'n as Dholes, & ye Abom. Mi-Go, & ye Tcho-Tcho peop., & ye Deep Ones, & ye Gugs, & ye Gaunts of ye Night & ye Shoggoths, & ye Voormis, & ye Shantaks which guard Kadath in ye Cold Waste & ye Plateau Leng. All are alike ye Children of ye Elder Gods, but ye Great Race of Yith & ye Gt. Old Ones fail'g to agree, one with another, & boath with ye Elder Gods, separat'd, leav'g ye Great Old Ones in possession of ye Earth, while ye Great Race, return'g from Yith took up Their Abode forward in Time in Earth-Land not yet known to those who walk ye Earth today, & there wait till there shall come again ye winds & ye Voices which drove Them forth before & That which Walketh on ye Winds over ye Earth & in ye spaces that are among ye Stars For'r. Then shal They return & on this great Return'g shal ye Great Cthulhu be fre'd from R'lyeh beneath ye Sea & Him Who Is Not to Be Nam'd shal come from His City which is Carcosa near ye Lake of Hali, & Shub-Niggurath shal come forth & multiply in his Hideousness, & Nyarlathotep shal carry ye word, to all the Gr. Old Ones & their Minions, & Cthugha shal lay His Hand upon all that oppose Him & Destroy, & ye blind idiot, ye noxious Azathoth shal arise from ye middle of ye World where all is Chaos & Destruction where He hath bubbl'd & blasphem'd at Ye centre which is of All Things, which is to say infinity, & Yog-Sothoth, who is ye All-in-One & One-in-All, shal bring his globes, & Ithaqua shal walk again, & from ye black-litt'n caverns within ye Earth shal come Tsathoggua, & togeth'r shal take possession of Earth and all things that live upon it, & shal prepare to do battle with ye Elder Gods when ye Lord of ye Great Abyss is apprised of their return'g & shal come with His Brothers to disperse ye Evill.	„
	~ AWD: The Lurker at the Threshold

“	... be they visible or invisible, to them it maketh no difference, for they feel them, & give voice.	„
	~ AWD: The Lurker at the Threshold

“	Ubbo-Sathla is that unforgotten source whence came those daring to oppose the Elder Gods who ruled from Betelgeuze; the Great Old Ones who fought against the Elder Gods; and these Old Ones were instructed by Azathoth, who is the blind, idiot god, and by Yog-Sothoth, who is the All-in-One and One-in-All, and upon whom are no strictures of time or space, and whose aspects on earth are 'Umr At-Tawil and the Ancient Ones. The Great Old Ones dream forever of that coming time when they shall once more rule Earth and all that Universe of which it is a part.... Great Cthulhu shall rise from R'lyeh; Hastur, who is Him Who Is Not to Be Named, shall come again from the dark star which is near Aldebaran in the Hyades; Nyarlathotep shall howl forever in darkness where he abideth; Shub-Niggurath, who is the Black Goat With a Thousand Young, shall spawn and spawn again, and shall have dominion over all the wood nymphs, satyrs, leprechauns, and the Little People; Lloigor, Zhar, and Ithaqua shall ride the spaces among the stars and shall ennoble those who are their followers, who are the Tcho-Tcho; Cthugha shall encompass his dominion from Fomalhaut; Tsathoggua shall come from N'kai.... They wait forever at the Gates, for the time draws near, the hour is soon at hand, while the Elder Gods sleep, dreaming, unknowing there are those who know the spells put upon the Great Old Ones by the Elder Gods, and shall learn how to break them, as already they can command the followers waiting beyond the doors from Outside. Armor against witches and daemons, against the Deep Ones, the Dholes, the Voormis, the Tcho-Tcho, the Abominable Mi-Go, the Shoggoths, the Ghasts, the Valusians and all such peoples and beings who serve the Great Old Ones and their Spawn lies within the five-pointed star carven of grey stone from ancient Mnar, which is less strong against the Great Old Ones themselves. The possessor of the stone shall find himself able to command all beings which creep, swim, crawl, walk, or fly even to the source from which there is no returning. In Yhe as in great R'lyeh, in Y'ha-nthlei as in Yoth, in Yuggoth as in Zothique, in N'kai as in K'n-yan, in Kadath in the Cold Waste as at the Lake of Hali, in Carcosa as in Ib, it shall have power; yet, even as stars wane and grow cold, even as stars die and the spaces between stars grow more wide, so wanes the power of all things -- of the five-pointed star-stone as of the spells put upon the Great Old Ones by the benign Elder Gods, and there cometh a time as once was a time, when it shall be shown that: That is not dead which can eternal lie. And with strange eons even death may die.	„
	~ in the midst of the first passage , AWD: The Lurker at the Threshold

“	For within the five-pointed star carven of grey stone from ancient Mnar lies armor against witches and daemons, against the Deep Ones, the Dholes, the Voormis, the Tcho-Tcho, the Abominable Mi-Go, the Shoggoths, the Valusians and all such peoples and beings who serve the Great Old Ones and their Spawn, but it is less potent against the Great Old Ones themselves. He who hath the five-pointed stone shall find himself able to command all beings who creep, swim, crawl, walk, or fly even to the source from which there is no returning. In the land of Yhe as in great R'lyeh, in Y'ha-nthlei as in Yoth, in Yuggoth as in Zothique, in N'kai as in K'n-yan, in Kadath-in-the-Cold-Waste, as in the Lake of Hali, in Carcosa as in Ib, it shall have power; but even as the stars wane and grow cold, as the suns die, and the spaces between the stars grow more great, so wanes the power of all things -- of the five-pointed star-stone as of the spells put upon the Great Old Ones by the benign Elder Gods, and there shall come a time as once there was a time, and it shall be shown that: That is not dead which can eternal lie, And with strange eons even death may die.	„
	~ Page 177 of Miskatonic University Library's Olaus Wormius Latin version , AWD: "The Trail of Cthulhu

“	Whosoever speaketh of Cthulhu shall remember that he but seemeth dead; he sleeps, and yet he does not sleep; he has died, and yet he is not dead; asleep and dead though he is, he shall rise again. Again, it should be shown that: That is not dead which can eternal lie, And with strange eons even death may die. Great Cthulhu shall rise from R'lyeh, Hastur the Unspeakable shall return from the dark star which is in the Hyades near Aldebaran, the red eye of the bull, Nyarlathotep shall howl forever in the darkness where he abideth, Shub-Niggurath shall spawn its thousand young, and they shall spawn in turn and take dominion over all wood nymphs, satyrs, leprechauns, and the Little People, Lloigor, Zhar, and Ithaqua shall ride the spaces among the stars.... He who hath the five-pointed stone shall find himself able to command all beings which creep, swim, crawl, walk, or fly even to the source from which there is no returning....	„
	~ AWD: "The Trail of Cthulhu"

“	There are Ways in which the Mind of a man is like unto an Eye, in that it can be used as a Lens to focus the Powers that exist in the Spaces between the Worlds. Indeed, the Mind of any Man can be used, when severed from the confining ties of the Flesh and put into a state of Trance, as a Weapon of great Power. To the sorcerer who brings such a Mind under his Control, nothing is impossible, for he will be able to see into the farthest Lands of the World by means of that Mind's Eye, and shall be able to inflict upon his Enemies a Vengeance of such Type as will leave no slightest Mark, but shall cause them to expire with Fear and great Terrors.	„
	~ John Dee's autograph manuscript version , EXP: "The Howler in the Dark"

“	A Warning To Those Who Peruse This Book.	„
	~ Opening section title, Translated from the Latin version of Olaus Wormius as printed in Spain in the 17th century , EXP: "Demons of Cthulhu"

“	Lightest of all are the slumbers of Narrathoth, who may be awakened by the veriest novice in the art. Narrathoth lies drowsing beyond the Great Gate, hideous in form, servant to the sleeping Old Ones who wait for their day once more to dawn. But Narrathoth may be summoned from his blasphemous dreams and forced to serve. One who achieves control over him has access to the wealth of the world; but great care must be exercised, for fear of Narrathoth's wrath, for even he shares the might of the Old Ones, and pity be upon him who summons him and loses control. Narrathoth is called by simple incantations. The blood of a male cat is needed, and the undergarment of a woman and [...] Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn. Iä! Shub-Niggurath! Narrathoth! Narrathoth! Narrathoth!	„
	~ Narrathoth summoning ritual ending, page 638, Translated from the Latin version of Olaus Wormius as printed in Spain in the 17th century , EXP: "Demons of Cthulhu"

“	I have called you by your True Name, Old One, and I command you to do my bidding.	„
	~ Narrathoth binding formula, Translated from the Latin version of Olaus Wormius as printed in Spain in the 17th century , EXP: "Demons of Cthulhu"

“	The tomb-herd confer no benefits upon their worshippers. Their powers are few, for they can but disparage space in small regions and make tangible that which cometh forth from the dead in other dimensions. They have power wherever the chants of Yog-Sothoth have been cried out at their seasons, and can draw to them those who will open their gates in the charnel-houses. They have no substance in this dimension, but enter earthly tenants to feed through them while they await the time when the stars become fixed and the gate of infinite sides opens to free That Which Claws at the Barrier.	„
	~ British Musueum copy , EXP: "The Church in High Street"

“	As in the days of the seas' covering all the earth, when Cthulhu walked in power across the world and others flew in the gulfs of space, so in certain places of the earth shall be found a great race which came from Outside and lived in cities and worshipped in dark fanes in the depths. Their cities remain under the land, but rarely do They come up from Their subterranean places. They have been sealed in certain locations by the seal of the Elder Gods, but They may be released by words not known to many. What made its home in water shall be released by water, and when Glyu'uho is rightly placed, the words shall cause a flood to rise and remove at last the seal of those from Glyu'uho.	„
	~ British Museum copy , EXP: "The Horror from the Bridge"

“	...Verily do we know little of the other universes beyond the gate which YOG-SOTHOTH guards. Of those which come through the gate and make their habitation in this world none can tell; although Ibn Schacabao tells of the beings which crawl from the Gulf of S'ghlhuo that they may be known by their sound. In that Gulf the very worlds are of sound, and matter is known but as an odor; and the notes of our pipes in this world may create beauty or bring forth abominations in S'glhuo. For the barrier between haply grows thin, and when sourceless sounds occur we may justly look to the denizens of S'glhuo. They can do little harm to those of Earth, and fear only that shape which a certain sound may form in their universe...	„
	~ EXP: "The Plain of Sound"

“	The lizard-crustaceans arrive on Earth through their towers. As Azathoth rules now as he did in his bivalvular shape, his name subdues all, from the incubi which haunt Tond to the servants of Y'golonac. Few can resist the power of the name Azathoth, and even the haunters of the blackest night of Yuggoth cannot battle the power of N-------, his other name. [...] at those times of the year the lizard-crustaceans are glad of the lightlessness of Yuggoth.	„
	~ British Museum copy , EXP: "The Mine on Yuggoth"

“	I, Abdul Al-Hazred, say this to you: The Elder Gods have put the damned To sleep. And they that tamper with the seals And wake the sleepers, too, are damned. And I say further, herein lies those spells To break the seals that hold in thrall Cthulhu and his ebon horde. For I Have spent my life to learn them all. So, fool, the darkness is pent up in space: The gates to Hell are closed. You Meddle at your own expense: When you call They will wake and answer you. This is my gift to mankind -- here are the keys. Find your own locks; be glad. I, Abdul Al-Hazred say this to you: I, who tampered, and am mad.	„
	~ EXP: "Preface to the Necronomicon", The Necronomicon: A Study

“	The book of the black name, containing the history of that which came before men. The great old ones were both one and many. They were not separate souls like men, yet they were separate wills. Some say they came from the stars; some say that they were the soul of the earth when it was formed from a cloud. For all life comes from the beyond, where there is no consciousness. Life needed a mirror, therefore it invaded the world of matter. There it became its own enemy, because they [bodies? -- note in original] possess form. The great old ones wanted to avoid form; therefore they rejected the heavy material of the body. But then they lost the power to act. Therefore they needed servants.	„
	~ Martin the Gardener commentary, 13th century , EXP: The Philosospher's Stone

“	YOG-SOTHOTH knows the gate. YOG-SOTHOTH is the gate. YOG-SOTHOTH is the keeper and guardian of the gate. YOG-SOTHOTH knows where the Old Ones broke through of old and where they shall come again. Past, present, future ... all are one in YOG-SOTHOTH.	„
	~ variorum edition of the Necronomicon trans. and ed. by Antonius Quine, 1972 , EXP: alt.horror.cthulhu usenet posts

“	Ye Power in ye Five-Pointed Star Armor against Witches & Daemons, Against ye Deep Ones, ye Dools, ye Voormais, ye Tacho-Tacho, ye Mi-Go, ye Shoggaoths, ye Ghasts, ye Valusians, & all such Peoples & Beings that serve ye Great Olde Ones & ye Spawn of Them, lies within ye Five-Pointed Star carven of gray Stone from ancient Mnar; which is less strong against ye Great Olde Ones Themselves. Ye Possessor of ye Stone shall find himself able to command all Beings which creep, swim, crawl, walk, or fly even to ye Source from which there is no returning. In Yhe as in Great R'lyeh, in Y'ha-nthlei as in Yoth, in Yuggoth as in Zothique, in N'kai as in Naa-Hk & K'n-yan, in Carcosa as in G'harne, in ye twin Cities of Ib and Lh-yib, in Kadath in ye Cold Waste as at ye Lake of Hali, it shall have Power; yet even as Stars wane & grow cold, even as Suns die & ye Spaces between Stars grow more wide, so wanes ye Power of all things -- of ye Five-Pointed Star-Stone as of ye Spells put upon ye Great Olde Ones by ye benign Elder Gods, & that Time shall come as once was a Time, when it shall be known: That is not dead which can eternal lie, And with strange Aeons even Death may die.	„
	~ Joachim Feery's Notes on the Necronomicon , EXP: "The Burrowers Beneath"

“	Ya na kadishtu nilgh'ri stell'bsna Nyogtha, K'yarnak phlegethor l'ebumna syha'h n'ghft, Ya hai kadishtu ep r'luh-eeh Nyogtha eeh, S'uhn-ngh athg li'hee orr'e syha'h.	„
	~ Vach-Viraj incantation, Joachim Feery's Notes on the Necronomicon , EXP: "The Burrowers Beneath"

“	Sunken G'lohee, in the Isles of Mist	„
	~ EXP: "The Burrowers Beneath"

“	Many & multiform are ye dim horrors of Earth, infesting her ways from ye very prime. They sleep beneath ye unturned stone; they rise with ye tree from its root; they move beneath ye sea, & in subterranean places they dwell in ye inmost adyta. Some there are long known to man, & others as yet unknown, abiding ye terrible latter days of their revealing. Those which are ye most dreadful & ye loathliest of all are haply still to be declared.	„
	~ Reference to G'll-ho, Joachim Feery's Notes on the Necronomicon , EXP: "The Burrowers Beneath"

“	'Tis a veritable & attestable Fact, that between certain related Persons there exists a Bond more powerful than the strongest Ties of Flesh and Family, whereby one such Person may be aware of all the Trials & Pleasures of the other, yea, even to experiencing the Pains or Passions of one far distant; & further, there are those whose skills in such Matters are aided by forbidden Knowledge of Intercourse through dark Magic with Spirits & Beings of outside Spheres. Of the latter: I have sought them out, both Men & Women, & upon Examination have in all Cases discovered them to be Users of Divination, Observors of Times, Enchanters, Witches, Charmers, or Necromancers. All claimed to work their Wonders through Intercourse with dead & departed Spirits, but I fear that often such Spirits were evil Angels, the Messengers of the Dark One & yet more ancient Evils. Indeed, among them were some whose Powers were prodigious, who might at will inhabit the Body of another even at a great Distance & against the Will & often unbeknown to the Sufferer of such Outrage. Moreover, I have dreamed it that of the aforementioned most ancient of Evils, there is One which slumbers in Deeps unsounded so nearly Immortal that Life & Death are one to Him. Being ultimately corrupt, He fears Death's Corruption not, but when true Death draws nigh will prepare Himself until, fleeing His ancient Flesh, His Spirit will plumb Times-to-come & there cleave unto Flesh of His Flesh, & all the Sins of this Great Father shall be visited upon His Child's Child. I have dreamed it, & my Dreams have been His Dreams who is the greatest Dreamer of all...	„
	~ rarest Al Azif of all , EXP: The Transition of Titus Crow

“	'Tis a veritable & attestable Fact, that between certain related Persons there exists a Bond more powerful than the strongest Ties of Flesh and Family, whereby one such Person may be aware of all the Trials & Pleasures of the other, yea, even to experiencing the Pains or Passions of one far distant; & further, there are those whose skills in such Matters are aided by forbidden Knowledge of Intercourse through dark Magic with Spirits & Beings of outside Spheres. Of the latter: I have sought them out, both Men & Women, & upon Examination have in all Cases discovered them to be Users of Divination, Observors of Times, Enchanters, Witches, Charmers, or Necromancers. All claimed to work their Wonders through Intercourse with dead & departed Spirits, but I fear that often such Spirits were evil Angels, the Messengers of the Dark One & yet more ancient Evils. Indeed, among them were some whose Powers were prodigious, who might at will inhabit the Body of another even at a great Distance & against the Will & often unbeknown to the Sufferer of such Outrage. Yea, & I discovered how one might, be he an Adept & his familiar Spirits powerful enough, control the Wanderings or Migration of his Essence into all manner of Beings & Persons -- even from beyond the Grave of Sod or the Door of the Stone Sepulcher.	„
	~ Joachim Feery's Notes on the Necronomicon , EXP: ""Aunt Hester"

“	Onlie those who have eaten a certain alkaloid herb, whose name it were wise not to disclose to the unilluminated, maye in the fleshe see a Shoggothe.	„
	~ Miskatonic University Library's copy of John Dee English version , EXP: Illuminatus! trilogy

“	They ruled once where man rules now, summer. Where man rules now, after summer is winter. They shall rule again, and after winter.	„
	~ Olaus Wormius Latin version, 1472 Lydon edition , EXP: Illuminatus! trilogy

“	Past, present, future: all are one in Yog-Sothoth.	„
	~ EXP: Illuminatus! trilogy

“	Their hand is at your throat but you see them not. They walk serene and unsuspected, not in the spaces we know, but between them.	„
	~ EXP: Illuminatus! trilogy

“	Kadath in the cold waste hath known him.	„
	~ About Yog-Sothoth , EXP: Illuminatus! trilogy

“	Call not upon Yog-Sothoth until ye be certaine that ye Bones be compleat and culled of forraine contamination. For it hath been known in antient Tymes that ye Bones of a Man mingled with ye Bones of a Beare or Lyon, or even with ye Offaile of a lowly Coney or Porpentine, hath produced for a hapless Necromancer not a Ressurection of that which was, but a Creation of Abomination that should not be. He who would be a Master of the Runes and possessor of Life eternaille must consecrate to Crom Cruach on Lammas Night ye Flesh of an infant newborn and eat thereof. Nor is the consecration to be made by those faint of heart or doubting in their souls, for Crom Cruach knows all, Crom Cruach sees all, Crom Cruach is all. Iä! Crom Cruach!	„
	~ John Dee English version, 1589 London edition , EXP: Satan's Mistress

“	Whenas Aldebaran riseth to the Sixth House, and agreeth in all ways with ye Conjunctions of Phutatorius as shall hereinafter be inscribed, then that is no Door which openeth on its Rising, but a Gate to ye Outside, through which All may pass but None may return save a Master of ye Runes, or ye Host of Ekron.	„
	~ John Dee English version, 1589 London edition , EXP: Satan's Mistress

“	The primal chaos, Lord of all ... the blind idiot god -- Azathoth.	„
	~ EXP: "The Sect of the Idiot"

“	Wisely did ibn Mushacab say, that happy is the tomb where no wizard hath lain, and happy the town at night whose wizards are all ashes. For the spirit of the devil-indentured hastes not from his charnel clay, but feeds and instructs the very worm that gnaws. Then an awful life from corruption springs and feeds again the appointed scavengers upon the earth. Great holes are dug hidden where are the open pores of the earth, and things have learned to walk that ought to crawl. [...] they dwell in the inmost adyta [...] Yog-Sothoth knows the gate [...] in the Gulf the worlds themselves are made of sounds [...] the dim horrors of Earth [...] iä iä iä, Shub-Niggurath! [...] The affair that shambleth about in the night, the evil that defieth the Elder Sign, the Herd that stand watch at the secret portal each tomb is known to have and that thrive on that which groweth out of the tenants thereof: All these Blacknesses are lesser than He Who guardeth the Gateway [...] That is not dead which can eternal lie, And with strange aeons even death may die.	„
	~ self-translation of handwritten Arabian version , EXP: "The Adder"

“	Even as the Great Ones may return from their resting slumber, so the adept may, by use of the Ashes of Noah, and essential Saltes, call his fellow man back from the great beyond.	„
	~ 7th Doctor translation of HP Lovecraft's unexpurgated Eocene version with Roerich's illustrations from Aleister Crowley , EXP: White Darkness, Doctor Who

“	concerning Irem, the City of Pillars, I spake of the Elder Days and of the four nations that had ruled this land of old, Thamood of the north, and Ad of the south, and Tasm, and Jadis; and I spake of many-columned Irem and of Shaddad the Accursed who had raised up its walls around an Elder central obelisk and who did build therein an Thousand pillars to Those better left unnamed.	„
	~ EXP: "The Plague Jar"

“	Na'ghimgor thdid lym. Myn th'x barsoom lu'gndar. In'path gix mth'nabor. In'path nox vel'dekk. Yig sudeth M'cylorum. M'xxlit kraddath Soggoth im'betnk. Nog s'dath blexmed!	„
	~ Spell against Old Ones , EXP: Résumé with Monster

“	You will leave this spot, which spot denies the logic of your coming and going, and you will take, in the Name of the Nameless One, all your minions and their devices with you. And even the uttering of your name will be lost to this world until Time has eaten its Own Head.	„
	~ Approximate translation of the above , EXP: Résumé with Monster

“	The nethermost caverns are not for the fathoming of living eyes; it is written in the Scroll of Thoth how terrible is the price of a single glimpse, for that the marvels thereof are strange and awful. Nor may those who pass ever return, for in that transcendent Vastness lurk Shapes of darkness that seize and bind. Cursed the ground where dead thoughts live new and oddly bodied, and the wakeful mind that is held by no head. Wisely did Ibn Mushachab bless the tomb where no wizard hath lain. Happy the town by night whose wizards are all ashes! But woe to that place whose folk omit to burn the poisoner and the enchanter at the stake. I tell you, it will go easier for Sodom and Gomorrah than for that town. For it is rumored of old that the soul of the devil-bought hastes not from his charnel clay, but fats and instructs the gnawing worm; till out of corruption horrid life springs, and the dull scavengers of earth wax crafty to vex it and swell monstrous to plague it. Great holes are digged in secret, where earth's pores once sufficed and things have learnt to walk that once did crawl: The Affair that shambleth about in the night, the Evil that defieth the Elder Sign, the Herd that do stand watch at the secret portal of every tomb, and feast unwholesomely therein. All these Blacknesses slither but seldom from the moist and fetid burrows of their loathsome lair. Less shall ye fear them than Him That Guardeth the Gateway; that guideth the dead beyond all worlds into the Abyss of Unnamable Devourers. For he is that Ubb, the worm that dieth not. These are the words of al-Hazrat, Imam of al-Illah. The wise shall head them.	„
	~ Dr Anton Zarnak translatio of al-Hazrat's original , EXP: "The Soul of the Devil-Bought"

“	And it was dreamed again of the priest Nophra-Ka and of the words he spoke at his death, how the son would rise to claim the title, and the son would rule the world in his father’s name, and the son would revenge his father’s murder, and the son would call the Beast that is worshipped, and the sands would drink the blood of the seed of the Pharaoh. In this manner did Nophra-Ka prophecy.	„
	~ Kitab al Azif

“	...from the space which is not space, into any time when the Words are spoken, can the holder of the Knowledge summon The Black, blood of YibbTstll, that which liveth apart from him and eateth souls, that which smothers and is called Drowner. Only in water can one escape the drowning; that which is in water drowneth not...	„
	~ Latin version

Kitab al-AzifEdit

The Arabic manuscripts are faithful reproductions of Abdul al Alhazred's original. These version are written upon scrolls and preserved in codices. All in all its contents total over one thousand pages complete with star charts, formula tables and astrological maps.

The original, smelling like corpse, eventually went to sorcerers siblings.(CIRCLE: "The Return of the Sorcerer" [ Clark Ashton Smith ]).

Greek TranslationEdit

In 950 AD Theodore Philétas of Constantinople made a Greek translation of the Kitab al Azif. This volume was named the Necronomicon after its opening words. Despite a few errors Philétas's reproductions of the book's charts and tables are faithful to Alhazred 's original illustrations. In 1050 the Patriarch Michel had many of copies of the book burnt.

Sometime between 1501 and 1550 the Italian Aldus Manutius commissioned the printing of around one hundred folio sized copies of Philétas's Greek translation.

Interestingly, the Greek translation contains a spell not present in the original. It is a formula used to open a Gate under Memphis through which the black sphinx; one of the million favoured ones, may enter the world. It is unknown whether Philétas added this spell of his own accord or if it had been added to his Arabic version by a previous owner.

Latin TranslationEdit

A Latin translation of Philétas's Greek version was made in 1228 by a Dominican monk named Olaus Wormius (no relation to the 16th century Danish physician Ole Worm) (HPL: "The Festival", "History of the Necronomicon"

Unfortunately Wormius's beautifully stylised illustrations robbed many of the star charts of their accuracy. This edition was widely printed up until Pope Gregory IX outlawed it, after which many copies were destroyed.

The Latin translation was reprinted in 1477 by a German publisher. The production was printed in black letter and a number of woodcuts were added.

Another reprint was made in Spain during the year of 1662. Both this and the above version were 802 page long folios.

There are 5 known remaining copies in libraries: Bibloithèque Nationale in France, British Museum, Widener Library in Harvard, Buenos Aires' university and Miskatonic University. Other secret ones exist: one at a Londonian book-seller, one at Kingsport (HPL: "The Descendant", "The Dunwich Horror").

English "Dee" TranslationEdit

While staying at the home of a Baron Hauptman the famed occultist Doctor John Dee made an English translation from Hauptman's Greek copy(HPL: "The Space-Eaters", "The Dunwich Horror"). Dee's translation is garbled and in many places he has changed outright the meaning of certain things to fit with in his own Enochian beliefs. Never the less, his translations of many of the spells remains accurate. This version exists only in manuscript form.

The Sussex ManuscriptEdit

Main article: The Sussex Manuscript

Baron Frederic of Sussex produced a supposed translation in illuminated manuscript form. This translation is rife with inaccuracies and fanciful ideas added by the author. It contains such outlandish misconceptions as Cthulhu being a manifestation of Nyarlathotep, and Abhoth having created the solar system. Although this "translation" is commonly called The Sussex Manuscript its proper title is Cultus Maleficarum.

Das VerichteraraberbuchEdit

Friedrich von Junzt made a translation into German from an unknown Greek copy. This translation was published in Ingolstadt eight years after his death 1840 but are few further details (EXP: "Schrödinger's Cat Trilogy", Robert Anton Wilson)

Joachim Ferry's Notes on the NecronomiconEdit

In 1901 the noted occultist Joachim Ferry produced a pamphlet on the book. It is mostly made up of translated quotes from the Latin version, augmented by pages of notes and speculation on their meaning. The accuracy of this publication was called into question when Ferry freely admitted including excerpts from his own dreams.

Voynich ManuscriptEdit

A secret encrypted Arabian copy of the Necronomicon (EXP: Return of the Lloigor, Colin Wilson)

Necronomicon Ex-MortisEdit

The Necronomicon Ex-Mortis is described as being "bound in flesh, and writ in human blood" and has a mutilated face as the cover. It is written in Summerian and contains many spells, some linked to Kandarian cults (ADJ: The Evil Dead series ).

Following these movies, the Necronomicon is frequently described as being bound in human skin, as in Stuart Gordon's TV adaptaion of "The Dreams in the Witch-House".

Role-Playing Game StatsEdit

• Kitab al Azif: Sanity Loss 2D10/1D10; Cthulhu Mythos +18 Percent. Average 68 weeks to study and comprehend/ hours to skim.
• Gothic Translation: Sanity Loss ?/?; Cthulhu Mythos +16 Percent. Average ? weeks to study and comprehend/ ?hours to skim.
• Greek Translation: Sanity Loss 1D10/2D10; Cthulhu Mythos +17 Percent. Average 68 weeks to study and comprehend/? hours to skim.
• Latin Translation: Sanity Loss 1D10/2D10; Cthulhu Mythos +16 Percent. Average 66 weeks to study and comprehend/ hours to skim.
• English "Dee" Translation: Sanity Loss 1D10/2D10; Cthulhu Mythos +15 Percent. Average 50 weeks to study and comprehend/ hours to skim.
• The Sussex Manuscript: Sanity Loss D/D; Cthulhu Mythos + Percent. Average weeks to study and comprehend/ hours to skim.
• Das Verichteraraberbuch: Sanity Loss 2D10/1D10; Cthulhu Mythos +16 Percent. Average 66 weeks to study and comprehend/ hours to skim.
• Joachim Ferry's Notes on the Necronomicon: Sanity Loss 1D6/1D3; Cthulhu Mythos +6 Percent. Average 8 weeks to study and comprehend/ hours to skim.

Behind the MythosEdit

Although the Necronomicon is a fictional book invented by Lovecraft, many publications over the years were named "Necronomicon" or pretended to be the genuine article.

Among them are:

• Necronomicon (Donald A. Wolheim; 1934): A review published by the Branford Review and the East Haven News of a non existing translation by W.T. Faraday of the latin Necronomicon. Lovecraft learned about it in 1936.
• The Necronomicon (J. Vernon Shea): A short story which was annoted by Lovecraft, first published in Dragon & Microchips: Le Seul Fanzine Qui Rêve.
• 1936: Ads for buying the Necronomicon are published, Lovecraft thinking it was a joke made by one member of his Circle.
• July 1945: Through Publishers' Weekly, Grove Street Bookstore is looking for a copy of the Necronomicon, De Vermiis Mysteris by Ludvig Prinn and Commentaries on Witchcraft by Mycroft.
• 1946: Philip Duschnes is selling a fake Latin Necronomicon.
• The Necronomicon: A Study (Mark Owings, 1967): fictionnal history of the Necronomicon published by Mirage Press, contains "Excerpts from Cthulhu in the Necronomicon by Professor Laban Shrewsbury", done with Lovecraft and Derleth estates' approval, illustrated by Frank D. McSherry, Jr.
  • "Preface to the Necronomicon" poem by Gerald W. Page
  • "History and Chronology of the Necronomicon" by H. P. Lovecraft
  • "Excerpts from Cthulhu in the Necronomicon" essay by August Derleth (as Professor Laban Shrewsbury)
  • "The Existing Copies: A Bibliography" essay by Jack L. Chalker (uncredited)
  • "Quotations from the Necronomicon" uncredited essay
  • "Footnotes" uncredited essay
• Al Azif (L. Sprague de Camp, 1973): supposed Necronomicon with a preface short story of its retrieval by de Camp followed by 16 pages of pseudo-Duraic script by Robert Dills repeated over and over again, published by Owlswick Press.
• The Necromantic Grimoire of Augustus Rupp (Rob Lynn, 1973): supposed Necronomicon
• Necronomicon (Robert C. Culp, February 1976): a fanzine volume published by the Esoteric Cult of Dagon.
• H.R. Giger's Necronomicon I & II (1977 & 1985): following a short movie, two artbooks with no link to the Mythos, supposedly made to complement the lost manuscript.
• Necronomicon (Simon, 1977): published by Schlangekrafte, claims to be the Sumerian text which inspired Lovecraft, parallels Aleister Crowley's works. Sigil by Khem Caigan (Khem Set-Rising). The author Peter Levenda used a pseudonym.
• The Necronomicon: The Book of Dead Names (George Hay, 1978): supposed John Dee translation of the Liber Logaeth. Introduced by Colin Wilson mixing facts and non facts about Lovecraft and the Necronomicon, written by Robert Turner and David Langford, non fiction essays appendices by L. Sprague de Camp, Christopher Frayling and Angela Carter. Illustrated by Gavin Stamp and Robert Turner. Contains some of Al Azif pseudo-Duraic script. Sigils based on medieval occult practices such as the Goetia.
  • A table of working
  • The configuration of planetary and astrological stones to form a circle Four hand signs
  • Ye Elder Sign
  • Ye Sigil of Koth
  • To Compuund Ye Incense of Zkauba
  • To Make Ye Powder of Ibn Ghazi
  • Ye Unction of Khephnes Ye Egyptian
  • To Fashion the Scimitar of Barzai
  • Ye Alphabet of Nug-Soth
  • Ye Voice of Hastur
  • Concerning Nyarlathotep
  • Of Leng in Ye Cold Waste
  • Of Kadath Ye Unknown
  • To Call Forth Yog-Sothoth
  • To Conjure of Ye Globes
  • Ye Adjuration of Great Cthulhu
  • To Summon Shub-Niggurath Ye Black
  • The Talisman of Yhe
  • Ye Formula of Dho-Hna
• Metal Hurlant: "Spécial Lovecraft" (Les Humanoïdes Associés, 1978): contains "Le Necronomicon" by Phillipe Druillet, 2 illustrations were published in Autumn 1966 in Anubis.
• Necronomicon Spellbook (Simon, 1981): expands on the use of sigils in the Simon Necronomicon.
• Necronomicon: The Book of Shades (Elizabeth Ann Saint George, 1983): A translastion of the supposed Arabian manuscript found in 1964 in Perou. Published by Spook Enterprises.
• "Further Notes on the Necronomicon" (William J. Hamblin, Cthulhu Companion (RPG), 1983) an essay on the Necronomicon, supposedly translated from the Bulgarian Phileus P. Sadowsky.
• Sabean Trilogy (Frank G. Ripel): Italian work by the Head of the Ordo Rosae Misticae (ORM). Parallels Kenneth Grant occultism with a stronger emphasis on Lovecraft in the lengthy creation-myth and cosmology, a stronger emphasis on more old-school magic and variation on Aleister Crowley's Mass of the Phoenix.
  • Magic of Atlantis: Sauthenerom: The Real Source of the Necronomicon (1985)
  • Red Magic
  • Stellar Magic
• Crypt of Cthulhu #58: "A Critical Commentary on the Necronomicon" (Robert M. Price, 1988): critical commentary on the fictional volume as if a real work.
  • Introduction
  • SECTION ONE - PRELIMINARY QUESTIONS
    • I The Critical Approach
    • II Abdul Alhazred
    • III What Kind of Book ?
    • IV Alhazred's Sources
    • V The History of the Religion
    • VI The Verse-Numbering System
  • SECTION TWO - THE AUTHENTICAL MATERIAL
    • VII That Which Came Before Men
    • VIII From the Book of Thoth
    • IX Concerning the Dead
  • SECTION THREE - THE APOCRYPHAL MATERIAL
    • X The Fall of Cthulhu
    • XI Apocalyptic Tracts
    • XII Rites of Exorcism
    • XIII Christian Interpolations
  • Footnotes
• Necronomicon: 18 Aphorisms for Clarinet and Piano (Larry Sitsky, 1989): inspired by the Hay Necronomicon.
  • I. OF THE OLD ONES & THEIR SPAWN
  • II. OF TIMES & SEASONS TO BE OBSERVED
  • III. TO RAISE UP THE STONES
  • IV. THE SIGNS OF POWER
  • V. THE INCENSE OF ZKAUBA
  • VI. THE POWDER OF IBN GHAZI
  • VII. THE UNCTION OF KHEPHNES
  • VIII. THE SCIMITAR OF BARZAI
  • IX. THE ALPHABET OF NUG-SOTH
  • X. THE VOICE OF HASTUR
  • XI. NYARLATHOTEP
  • XII. LENG IN THE COLD WASTE
  • XIII. KADATH THE UNKNOWN
  • XIV. TO CALL FORTH YOG-SOTHOTH
  • XV. TO CONJURE THE GLOBES
  • XVI. THE ADJURATION OF GREAT CTHULHU
  • XVII. SHUB-NIGGURATH THE BLACK
  • XVIII. THE FORMULA OF DHO-HNA
• Crypt of Cthulhu #63: "The Sussex Manuscript" (Fred L. Pelton, 1989): supposed to be the English translation of the book. To be published by Arkham House in 1987 before Derleth ultimately cancelled it.
• Crypt of Cthulhu #70: "The Necronomicon" (Lin Carter, 1990): fragment of Carter's unfinished episodic novel and Lovecraftian occultism version. Supposedly the John Dee translation.
  • BOOK ONE: THE BOOK OF THE EPISODES
    • Introduction
    • The Doom of Yakthoob
    • The Thing Under Memphis
    • The City of Pillars
    • The Vault Beneath the Mosque
    • Mnomquah
    • The Madness out of Time
    • Dreams of the Black Lotus
    • The Shadow from the Stars
  • BOOK TWO: THE BOOK OF PREPARATIONS
  • BOOK THREE: THE BOOK OF THE GATES
  • BOOK IV: THE BOOK OF DISMISSALS
• Savage Pencil's Rock'n'Roll Necronomicon (Savage Pencil, 1992): a collection of Savage Pencil's cartoons
• Necronomicon (Pietro Pizzari, 1993): the supposed Necronomicon from the Vatican.
• Necronomicon. Nuova edizione con sconvolgenti rivelazioni e le tavolette di Kutu (Fanucci, 1994): the supposed 1990 translation by Venustiano Carranza.
  • Necronomicon 2. La tomba di Alhazred (Fanucci, 1997): supposedly taken from Alhazred's tomb.
• The R'lyeh Text: Hidden Leaves from the Necronomicon (Robert Turner, 1995): introduction by Colin Wilson, essays by Patricia Shore and Arnold Arnold. A sequel to the Hay Necronomicon.
• The Necronomicon Anti-FAQ (Colin Low, 1995): a FAQ based on information from the fictional The Book of the Arab, by Justin Geoffry, Starry Wisdom Press, 1979 and on the Arab magical practices' research by Parker Ryan.
• Antonius Quine Necronomicon (Mark Gibson, 1997): An usenet hoax of a 1972 English translation.
• Necronomicon (Merlyn Stone, 1999): supposed Necronomicon containing information from her three prior grimoires.
• El Necronomicón (EDAF, 2001): Spanish translation of the Simon Necronomicon; appendix by Alberto Santos Castillo contains fragments and quotes from the Necronomicon, mostly from Cthulhu Mythos fiction.
• The Necronomicon: Selected Stories and Essays Concerning the Blasphemous Tome of the Mad Arab (Robert M. Price, 2002): anthology of fiction and essays dealing with the Necronomicon by Chaosium.
  • Introduction ("The Figure in the Flying Carpet"), Robert M. Price
  • Obscure Tales
    • "The Terrible Parchment", Manly Wade Wellman
    • "Dr. Xander's Cottage", Martin D. Brown
    • "The Mantle of Graag", Frederick Pohl, Henry Dockweiller, and Robert A. W. Lowndes
    • "Settler's Wall", Robert A. W. Lowndes
    • "The Howler in the Dark", Richard L. Tierney
    • "Demons of Cthulhu", Robert Silverberg
    • "The Castle in the Window", Steffan B. Aletti
    • "Concerning the Forthcoming Inexpensive Paperback Translation of the Necronomicon of Abdul Alhazred", John Brunner
    • "The Adder", Fred Chappell
  • Versions of the Necronomicon
    • "Preface to the Al-Azif", L. Sprague de Camp (from the Al Al Azif)
    • "John Dee's Necronomicon: A Fragment", Frank Belknap Long
    • "The Necronomicon: The Dee Translation", Lin Carter (remaining fragment of his version)
    • The Sussex Manuscript, Fred L. Pelton
    • "Why Abdul Al Hazred Went Mad", D. R. Smith
  • Commentary
    • "History of the Necronomicon", H. P. Lovecraft
    • "Necronomicon", Robert C. Culp (2nd edition)
    • "The Saga of Abdul Alhazred", Stephen T. Larkin (2nd edition)
    • "The Life of the Master", David T. St. Albans
    • "A Critical Commentary upon the Necronomicon", Robert M. Price
• The Necronomicon Files: The Truth Behind Lovecraft's Legend (John Wisdom Gonce III & Daniel Harms, 2003): a study of the Necronomicon books
• Fragmentos Originales del Necronomicón: El Libro de los Nombres Muertos de Abdul Al-Hazred (Marcelo Bigliano, 2004) Spanish translation of the medieval grimoire elements from the Hay Necronomicon.
• Necronomicon: The Wanderings of Alhazred (Donald Tyson, 2004): episodic book of marvels, showing Alhazred encountering various elements of the Mythos, with some rituals and sigils.
• Alhazred: Author of the Necronomicon (Donald Tyson, 2006): novel
• The Gates of the Necronomicon (Simon, 2006): expands on the gate-walking ritual in the Simon Necronomicon.
• Dead Names: The Dark History of the Necronomicon (Simon, 2006): expands on the pseudohistory surrounding the writing of the Simon Necronomicon.
• Necronomicon (Patrice Wooley, 2007): French graphic novel
• Necronomicon Gnosis - A Practical (Asenath Mason, 2007): a coherent system of Lovecraftian magic sourcing the Hay and Simon Necronomicons, The R'lyeh Text, Kenneth Grant's Typhonian Trilogies, Phil Hine's Pseudonomicon, Stephen Sennit's Nox & Liber Koth and others.
• Necronomicon Tarot (Donald Tyson, 2007) includes an interpretation booklet, illustrated by Ann Stokes.
• Grimoire of the Necronomicon (Donald Tyson, 2008): occult system based on medieval planetary magic, natural magic, Aleister Crowley and the Simon Necronomicon.
• Necronomicon (William Messner-Loebs, 2008): a four issues comic, art by Andrew Ritchie.
• Atlantean Necronomicon: The Veils of Negative Existence (Warlock Asylum, 2010): expands on the Simon Necronomicon by incorporating world mythology and related occult traditions like Kenneth Grant's Ordo Templi Orientalis (OTO).
• Black Velvet Necronomicon (Mike Dubisch, 2010): artbook.
• The Lovecraft Necronomicon Primer: A Guide to the Cthulhu Mythos (T. Allan Bilstad, 2011)
• The 13 Gates of the Necronomicon: A Workbook of Magic (Donald Tyson, 2012): encyclopedia of Lovecraft's fiction and gate rituals based on the Simon Necronomicon.
• Kolchack Necronomicon (C. J. Henderson, 2012): illustrated stories.
  • "The Lovecraftian Gambit" (illustrated by Hack)
  • "The Lovecraftian Horror" (illustrated by Calderon)
  • "The Lovecraftian Damnation" (illustrated by Hack)
• H.P. Lovecraft Necronomicon (1993): film
• Necronomicon - Geträumte Sünden (Jess Franco, 1968): German erotic film, allegedly based on a story from a Necronomicon book read by Franco.

Some real books are known to be bound in human flesh, among them:

• The John Hay Library of Brown University in Providence has 4.
• The College of Physicians of Philadelphia has 4
• The Houghton Library of Harvard University in Cambridge has 1.
• The Grolier Club of New York City has 1.
• The University and the Public Library of Cincinnati both have 1.

TriviaEdit

• In the game Team Fortress 2, there is a magic book called the bombinomicon, which is similar to the necronomicon.... but with bombs.
• In the fighting game, Them Fightin' Herds there is a cursed book called the Unicornomicon which turns one users coat black after reading several pages.
• In the animated series The Real Ghostbusters, based off of the 1984 film Ghostbusters, the heroes encountered the Necronomicon on several occasions. In the first appearance, 'The Collect Call Of Cthulu', it was referred to by name. In its later appearances, after a notorious consulting firm engaged in massive Executive Meddling, it was referred to as 'The Book With No Name'. The staff attempted to argue that one, they had already used the name prior, and two, concerns about teaching kids dark magic were invalid, since the book was a completely fictional one. The consulting firm and ABC executives, having apparently seen published recreations of the fictional tome in bookstores, refused to believe this.
• At least one deluxe DVD copy of the first Evil Dead film came in a prop package resembling the book as depicted in that film series.
• A copy of Necronomicon can possibily be found at the main hall of Kaer Morhen in Witcher 3 video game. Sometimes the book can be seen in in-game stores.
• In the video game League of Legends, there is an item called "Morellonomicon", which is named after both Necronomicon and a Rioter known as Morello.
  • Another reference to the Necronomicon in the same game is from a quote, from a champion named Karthus: "I'm putting your name in my little black necronomicon." (This is also a reference to the anime series Death Note).
• In the new Danganronpa v3, there is a Necronomicon used in one of the chapters as a motive
• In the 2017 JRPG video game Persona 5, one of the main protagonists, Futaba Sakura, obtains a persona named Necronomicon; it resembles a UFO with lime green glyphs covering its surface. Futaba's persona symbolizes her vast reserve of knowledge and unknown power.

ReferencesEdit