Necronomicon

🔀 For the fan convention, see NecronomiCon

Necronomicon
Also known as	Kitab al-Azif
Author	Abdul Alhazred
Country	Syria
Language	Arabic
Translation(s)	Greek, Theodorus Philetas, 950 AD Latin, Olaus Wormius, 1228 English, Doctor John Dee Cultus Maleficarum (Sussex Manuscript) German, Das Verichteraraberbuch, Friedrich von Junzt, 1848
Genre(s)	Religious, occult, philosophy
Real World Information
First appearance	HPL: "The Hound"
Appearances	HPL: "The Festival" "The Descendant" The Case of Charles Dexter Ward "The Last Test" "History of the Necronomicon" "The Dunwich Horror" "Medusa's Coil" "The Whisperer in Darkness" At the Mountains of Madness "The Dreams in the Witch-House" "The Horror in the Museum" "Through the Gates of the Silver Key" "Out of the Aeons" "The Thing on the Doorstep" The Shadow Out of Time "The Diary of Alonzo Typer" "The Haunter of the Dark" CIRCLE: "The Nameless Offspring" "The Shambler from the Stars" "The Salem Horror" "The Abyss" "The Shadow from the Steeple" EXP: "The Fishers from Outside" Necronomicon: Book of the Dead Demonbane
Created by	H. P. Lovecraft

🐙 The Necronomicon is a fictional book created by H. P. Lovecraft. It is the archetypal book of forbidden knowledge whose contents threaten one's sanity, and serves as one of the centrepieces of Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos. Numerous other authors, including Clark Ashton Smith, Brian Lumley, Ramsey Campbell, and Keith Herber, have added to its contents over the years.

History

According to Lovecraft's pseudo-scholarly "History of the Necronomicon", the book was written in Damascus in the early 8th century by Abdul Alhazred, a "mad poet" from Sanaa in Yemen. He completed the work sometime before his mysterious death in 738 CE.

It was translated into Greek in 950 CE by Theodorus Philetas of Constantinople, who gave it the title Necronomicon. A Latin translation was made in 1228 by Olaus Wormius.

It is banned in most countries and all organised ecclesiastics. (HPL: "History of the Necronomicon")

According to Lovecraft's fiction, Robert W. Chambers took inspiration for his King in Yellow concept from rumours he had heard regarding the Necronomicon (HPL: "History of the Necronomicon").

Known Contents

Lovecraft's Work

• The Voorish sign ("The Dunwich Horror")
• A formula for mind transference ("The Thing on the Doorstep")
• Instructions on how to make the Powder of Ibn Ghazi ("The Dunwich Horror")
• A passage about the Crawling Ones and the Green Flame ("The Festival")
• Page 751 of the "complete" version contains a long chant capable of summoning Yog-Sothoth if used at the right time ("The Dunwich Horror")
• A large amount of information on the Antarctic Elder Things (At the Mountains of Madness)
• Stories about a ghoul, one having its conclusion torn off the Harvard volume of the Necronomicon (The Selected Letters of H.P. Lovecraft III)
• A line of asterisks that even the Arabian original used to censor itself (The Selected Letters of H.P. Lovecraft III)
• Page 984 contains a passage in the Naacal; no translation is given (Selected Letters of H.P. Lovecraft IV)
• A chapter on 'Umr at-Tawil and the ultimate gate ("Through the Gates of the Silver Key", CIRCLE: "The Lord of Illusion")
• Information on the properties and symbology of the Hound Amulet ("The Hound")
• The Couplet "That is not dead which can eternal lie, And with strange aeons even death may die" ("The Call of Cthulhu", "The Nameless City")

Circle Works

• An incantation of Vach-Viraj, used against Nyogtha
• The original Arabian text contains an exorcism not reproduced inside the Latin Wormius version.

Expanded Mythos Works

• A section that mentions creatures beyond the threshold of space, such as the Tomb Herd
• Information on the Gulf of S'glhuo
• A chapter on a complicated and lengthy process capable of resurrecting the dead.
• A formula for temporarily banishing manifestations of Ahtu.
• A ritual accelerating the transformation from human into Deep One
• The Mao ceremony
• Copy of arcane symbols
• The story of Kish and Sarnath
• The Zoan Chant; a spell for reflected harmful powers sent against the caster
• How to create a portal to Nyarlathotep
• A footnote containing an untitled formula capable of opening a gateway to Cthugha.
• Information on the Black Pharaoh Nephren-Ka.
• Information on an ancient aquatic race Alhazred terms the Dwellers in the Depths. The same page also features an astrological chart
• Page 224 contains the Hoy-Dhin Chant.
• A spell to send back Bugg-Shash back to its own dimension
• Information on Yomagn'tho
• Possibly the solution for telepathy
• A description of the powers the Other Name of Azathoth gives the wielder, but not the name itself.
• 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.

Quotes

Main article: Necronomicon/Quotes

Variants

Main article: Necronomicon/Variants

In Popular Culture

Main article: Necronomicon in Popular Culture

Gallery

Main article: Necronomicon/Gallery

External links

• Necronomicon at the Marvel Database wiki
• Necronomicon at the Doctor Who wiki
• Necronomicon at the Tensura wiki