The Necronomicon

The Necronomicon was created by American horror writer H.P. Lovecraft (1890-1937) as a plot device in his short stories, first appearing in his 1924 short story "The Hound." Lovecraft elaborated a detailed fictional history for the book, describing it as written by the "mad Arab" Abdul Alhazred around 730 CE in Damascus.

According to Lovecraft's mythos, the original title of the work was "Al Azif" (the nocturnal sound of insects believed to be the howling of demons), later translated into Greek as "Necronomicon" (roughly translated as "Book of the Laws of the Dead" or "Book of Dead Names") by Theodorus Philetas around 950 CE.

Lovecraft's fictional history further claims that the book was translated into Latin by Olaus Wormius in 1228, and that Pope Gregory IX banned both the Greek and Latin versions in 1232. The Latin translation was supposedly reprinted in Germany in the 15th century and in Spain in the 17th century, while an original Greek text was allegedly burned with Michael Psellus' library in 1050. Lovecraft asserted that only a few copies survive in his fictional universe, kept under lock and key in major libraries or in the possession of private collectors.

"That is not dead which can eternal lie,
And with strange aeons even death may die."
— The most famous couplet from the fictional Necronomicon, quoted by Lovecraft in "The Call of Cthulhu"

Within Lovecraft's stories, the Necronomicon is described as containing forbidden knowledge that drives readers to madness. Its contents reportedly include:

The Necronomicon has become one of the most influential fictional books in literary history, extending far beyond Lovecraft's original works:

Despite being entirely fictional, several real-world books claiming to be "The Necronomicon" have been published:

1. The Simon Necronomicon (1977): Perhaps the most famous, published by Avon Books and purporting to be a genuine translation of a pre-Islamic text. It blends Lovecraftian elements with Sumerian mythology and ceremonial magic. Many occultists have criticized it as a commercially motivated hoax with potentially dangerous ritual instructions.
2. The Necronomicon of George Hay (1978): Edited by George Hay and presented with essays by Colin Wilson and Robert Turner, this version claims to be based on a deciphered manuscript by John Dee. It's generally considered an elaborate literary experiment rather than an attempt to deceive.
3. H.R. Giger's Necronomicon (1977): Not claiming to be the actual text, this is instead a collection of artwork by Swiss artist H.R. Giger, whose biomechanical style perfectly captured the disturbing alien aesthetics of Lovecraft's cosmic horror. The book had significant influence on visual interpretations of Lovecraftian entities.
4. The Necronomicon Files (2003): A scholarly examination by Daniel Harms and John Wisdom Gonce III that explores the history of the fictional book and debunks claims of actual historical Necronomicons.
5. Various Artistic Interpretations: Numerous artists and writers have created their own versions of the Necronomicon as art projects or limited edition books, often featuring elaborate illustrations and designs intended to capture the disturbing nature of the fictional original.

The impact of the Necronomicon extends beyond literature into broader cultural phenomena:

• Library Hoaxes: Numerous libraries have received request slips for the Necronomicon, and some have responded with humorous catalog entries or explanations of the book's fictional nature. Some university libraries maintain catalog entries for the Necronomicon as inside jokes, often with call numbers that lead to works about Lovecraft.
• Occult Adoption: Some contemporary occultists, particularly those practicing chaos magic, have incorporated elements from the Cthulhu Mythos into their practices, arguing that fictional entities can become effective magical tools through focused belief—a concept sometimes called "hyper-sigillization" or "mytho-reality."
• Urban Legends: The Necronomicon has spawned urban legends about secret government-held copies, hidden sections in libraries, and rare editions that contain "the real secrets" Lovecraft supposedly coded into his fiction. These myths persist despite clear historical evidence of the book's fictional origins.
• Academic Studies: The Necronomicon phenomenon has been studied by scholars of religion, literature, and popular culture as an example of how fictional texts can develop quasi-religious significance and how the boundaries between fiction and belief can blur in contemporary society.

The enduring fascination with the Necronomicon highlights humanity's persistent interest in forbidden knowledge and the thin line between horror fiction and esoteric belief. Lovecraft's imaginary book has transcended its origins to become a powerful cultural symbol of dangerous knowledge and cosmic terror that continues to captivate the imagination more than a century after its creation.