Necronomicon

The Necronomicon is a fictional book featured in the works of American fantasy / horror author H.P. Lovecraft and other writers, which, as a whole, comprise the Cthulhu Mythos.

The Necronomicon was first mentioned in Lovecraft's 1924 short story "The Hound", though hints of it (or similar books) appear as far back as The Statement of Randolph Carter (1919). In the stories, the book is dangerous because it is often harmful to the health and sanity of its readers. For this reason, libraries keep it under lock and key.

Capitalizing on the notoriety of the fictional volume, real-life publishers have printed many books entitled Necronomicon since Lovecraft's death.

Origin

How Lovecraft conceived the name "Necronomicon" is not clear—Lovecraft himself claimed that the title came to him in a dream. Although some have suggested that Lovecraft was influenced primarily by Robert W. Chambers' collection of short stories The King in Yellow, others believe that Lovecraft did not read that work until 1927.Joshi & Schultz, "Chambers, Robert William", An H. P. Lovecraft Encyclopedia, p. 38

Lovecraft originally titled the book Al Azif (from Arabic, meaning the sound of cicadas and other nocturnal insects which folklore claims is the conversations of demons) and said that it was written by the "mad Arab" Abdul Alhazred. Among other things, the work contained an account of the Old Ones, their history, and the means for summoning them.

Fictional history

According to Lovecraft, Alhazred wrote the original text in Damascus around 730 AD, but a number of translations were made over the centuries. The Greek translation, which gave the book its most famous title, was made by a (fictional) Orthodox scholar, Theodorus Philetas of Constantinople circa 950 AD. Olaus Wormius (an actual historical person wrongly placed by Lovecraft in the thirteenth century) translated it into Latin and indicated in the preface that the Arabic original was lost. This translation was printed twice: in the fifteenth century, evidently in Germany in black-letter, and in the seventeenth, probably in Spain.

When the Latin translation called attention to the Necronomicon, it was banned by Pope Gregory IX in 1232. The Greek translation, printed in Italy between 1500 and 1550, was probably lost when fire destroyed R. U. Pickman's library in Salem. The Elizabethan magician John Dee allegedly had a copy (an idea suggested to Lovecraft by his friend Frank Belknap Long) and is thought to have made an English translation, of which only fragments survive.

Appearance and contents

Lovecraft made frequent references to the Necronomicon but was very sparing of details about its appearance and contents. It is undoubtedly a substantial tome, as evidenced by its appearance in The Dunwich Horror (1929). In the story, Wilbur Whateley visits Miskatonic University's library to consult the "unabridged" version of the Necronomicon for a spell that would have appeared on the 751st page of his own inherited, but defective, Dee edition.

The Necronomicon's appearance and physical dimensions are a mystery. Other than the obvious black letter editions, it is commonly portrayed as bound in leather of various types and having metal clasps. Moreover, editions are sometimes disguised. In The Case of Charles Dexter Ward, for example, John Merrit pulls down a book labelled Qanoon-e-Islam from Joseph Curwen’s bookshelf and discovers to his disquiet that it is actually the Necronomicon.

Locations

In Lovecraft's works, various people and places have copies of the Necronomicon (although it is far rarer than later imitators would have one believe, despite its persistent appearances). According to Lovecraft's works, copies of the original Necronomicon are held by only five institutions worldwide:

The British Museum (later moved to the British Library)
The Bibliothèque nationale de France
Widener Library of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts
The University of Buenos Aires
The library of the fictional Miskatonic University in the equally fictitious Arkham, Massachusetts

The latter institution holds the Latin translation by Olaus Wormius, printed in Spain in the 17th century.

Other copies are kept by private individuals. Wilbur Whateley has a copy in "The Dunwich Horror" (1929), which probably went to his heirs after his death. Joseph Curwen's copy in The Case of Charles Dexter Ward (1941) was likely destroyed by the raiding party that took his life. Harley Warren's version (not mentioned by name but most likely a copy) goes with him to his fate in "The Statement of Randolph Carter" (1919). A version is held in Kingsport in both "The Festival" (1925) and (by implication) The Case of Charles Dexter Ward. The provenance of the copy read by the narrator of "The Nameless City" (1921) is unknown, while the version read by the protagonist in "The Hound" (1924) is likely destroyed by the fire that consumes the rest of his charnel goods.

In the works of Brian Lumley, the occult investigator Titus Crow posseses a copy that is allegedly covered in sweaty human skin.

Etymology of the title

Lovecraft wrote that the title, as translated from the Greek language, meant "An image of the law of the dead": nekros ("corpse"), nomos ("law"), eikon ("image"). A more prosaic (but probably more correct) translation can be derived by conjugating nemo ("to consider"): "Concerning the dead". Another possible etymology is "Knowledge of the dead", from the Greek nekrós ("corpse", "dead") and gnomein ("to know"), assuming that the g can be dropped.

Greek editions of Lovecraft's works have commented that the word can have several different meanings in Greek when broken at its roots:

Necro-Nomicon : The Book of the Dead, derived from Nomicon (Book of Law).
Necro-Nomo-icon : The Book of Dead Laws.
Necro-Nemo-ikon : A Study or Classification of the Dead.
Necro-Nomo-eikon : Image of the Law of the Dead.
Necro-Nemein-Ikon : Book Concerning the Dead.
Necrό-Nomo-eikon : Law of Dead Images.
Necr(o)-Onom-icon : The Book of Dead Names, derived from onoma (name).

Hoaxes and alleged translations

Although Lovecraft insisted that the book was pure invention (and other writers invented passages from the book in their own works), there are accounts of some people actually believing the Necronomicon to be a real book. Lovecraft himself sometimes received letters from fans inquiring about the Necronomicon's authenticity. Pranksters occasionally listed the Necronomicon for sale in book store newsletters or inserted phony entries for the book in library card catalogues.

The line between fact and fiction was further blurred in the late 1970s when a book purporting to be a translation of the "real Necronomicon" was published. This book, by the pseudonymic "Simon", had little connection to the fictional Lovecraft Mythos but instead was based on Sumerian mythology. It was later dubbed the "Simon Necronomicon".

A blatant hoax version of the Necronomicon, edited by George Hay, appeared in 1978 and included an introduction by the paranormal researcher and writer Colin Wilson. David Langford described how the book was prepared from a computer analysis of a discovered "cipher text" by Dr. John Dee. The resulting "translation" was in fact written by occultist Robert Turner, but it was far truer to the Lovecraftian version than the Simon text and even incorporated quotations from Lovecraft's stories in its passages.

Historical "Books of the Dead", such as the ancient Egyptian Book of the Dead or the Tibetan Bardo Thodol, are sometimes described as "real Necronomicons". They should not be confused with the Lovecraft Necronomicon, since their contents are meant to be read or remembered by the dead, rather than to be used by the living to summon the dead. Lovecraft may have been inspired by these books.

Activist Patricia Pulling, apparently believing that the book was real, included a question about it in the publication Interviewing Techniques for Adolescents. In a list of questions to be used by police investigating cult-related crimes, the first question is "Has he read the Necronomicon or is he familiar with it?"The Pulling Report (web site).

Other appearances

In the American horror film "The Evil Dead", and its sequels Evil Dead II and Army of Darkness, the Necronomicon is described as a tome from ancient Sumeria, "bound in human flesh and inked in human blood" which can resurrect demons and turn humans into monsters. The book is similar in many ways to Lovecraft's, but was not initially inspired by it; Writer and director Sam Raimi based the book in his film on Sumerian mythology and the Ancient Egyptian Book of the Dead. The name, however, was taken from the Cthulhu Mythos.Bill Warren, The Evil Dead Companion, pg. 36. First edition, 2000. ISBN 0-312-27501-3.

The song "The Thing That Should Not Be" by heavy metal band Metallica is primarily based on the plot elements of Lovecraft's short story The Call of Cthulhu, and include two loosely quoted lines from the Necronomicon. Also of note in this context is the band's "The Call of Ktulu".

Commercially available versions

Al Azif: The Necronomicon by L. Sprague de Camp (1973, ISBN 1587150433)
Necronomicon by "Simon" (1980, ISBN 0380751925)
H.R. Giger's Necronomicon by H.R. Giger (1991, ISBN 0962344729)
The Necronomicon edited by George Hay (1993, ISBN 1871438160)
Necronomicon: The Wanderings Of Alhazred by Donald Tyson (2004, ISBN 0738706272)

References

Primary sources

Definitive version.
- The Case of Charles Dexter Ward
- "The Statement of Randolph Carter"
Definitive version.
- "The Festival"
- "The Hound"
- "The Nameless City"
Definitive version.
- "The Dunwich Horror"

Secondary sources

Notes

External links

Egyptian Book of the Dead
History of the Necronomicon, by H. P. Lovecraft
Sumerian copy of the Necronomican, a purported translation, circa 1985
Tibetan Book of the Dead

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