Necronomicon: 31st Anniversary Edition

In 1927, Lovecraft wrote the "History of the Necronomicon" as a tongue-in-cheek history of his mythical book. He said he did it to give "a sort of air of verisimilitude." Doubtless also to be sure that all the other writers who were making reference to the Necronomicon would be consistent.

According to Lovecraft's "History," the Necronomicon was written in the 8th Century AD by the "mad Arab" Alhazred, and was translated into Greek under the title Necronomicon by Theodorus Philetas in AD 950, then into Latin by Olias Wormius in 1228. (The real Wormius--a Danish doctor--lived from 1588 to 1654.) An "imperfect" English translation was supposedly made by Dr. John Dee (1527-1608), an English mathematician and astrologer. And so on. Lovecraft thus created a detailed background for his imaginary book.

When fans wrote Lovecraft in the 1930s to ask if these books were real, he replied truthfully (as quoted above.) In a 1936 letter, for instance, he says, "I am forced to say that most of them are purely imaginary. There never was any Abdul Alhazred or Necronomicon, for I invented these names myself."

Could he have been lying? Doubtful. Joshi says that he seems to have been a very truthful person. It would have a been a long-standing and consistent lie. But more telling is that there is simply no other historical reference to a "Necronomicon" or to "Alhazred" until Lovecraft started writing about them. Nor to the various Old Ones (like Cthulhu and Yog-Sothoth)--no mention anywhere before Lovecraft's.

Long after Lovecraft's death, several books appeared, sold privately or in bookstores, purporting to be new translations (or rediscovered copies) of the Necronomicon. Most of these are clearly spoofs or in-jokes. There are just under a dozen versions floating about, including one by Lin Carter and one by L. Sprague DeCamp, famous science fiction writers in their own right. All of them have an initial appearance that post-dates Lovecraft, usually by over 35 years.

There is the "Necronomicon of George Hay" (first published in 1978), claiming to be the English translation by John Dee, taken from a copy in the British Museum. Joshi calls it "one of the most exquisite hoaxes of modern times." Critic Colin Wilson (who wrote the intro to the Hay Necronomicon) admitted in a 1984 fanzine that it was a joke, concocted by him and a few friends.

The most commonly found version nowadays, and the only one that is not openly admitted by the author to be a joke or spoof, is the "Simon Necronomicon," published in 1977. The introduction claims it to be a translation of a Sumerian original, but it mentions gods and stories that are much later. There are other internal inconsistencies as well. Dan Clore says, "These hoax Necronomicons frequently display an utter lack of verisimilitude [in their content and in their introductions] where a little research would have provided a much more convincing story."
<<<<<<<
If that is not enough for the idiots attaching it to Wormius, (impossible, since Wormius lived two centuries different, unless you think he extended his life, but kept his name, which doesn't appear anywhere before the time he lived). Why are people so interested things that didn't really exist, when there are more fantastic real characters out there? John Dee, Faustus, and Aggrippa come to mind (though Crowley doesn't, being an idiot and all that).
The Necronomicon (the title being an easy give away, ripped straight from the 'Satyricon') doesn't live up to Lovecraft's fantastic style, however, and it certainly would be an embarrassment to him to be associated with it. A true Lovecraft fan, I bought it young, and discarded it as useless after reading and checking the (bad) information out (check your information)! If your reading for entertainment value, you should pick up your local phone book. If your looking to create magical spells ala Harry Potter, you'd have better luck chanting your local phone book. This book is ludicrous in the extreme, and certainly not worth anyone's time or money. Check it out from the library if you're really curious. For some more serious books, however, check out the 'Leyden Papyrus' or 'Hermes Emerald Tablet', which are indeed, ancient magical scrolls. If magic exists, you're not likely to find it in a popular trade paperback format, and without question, not in this one.


fake, offcourse, but a great read   April 13, 2005
K. Depoorter (Belgium)
12 out of 14 found this review helpful

For god's sake people, there are a few morons that believe this is real, and immediately hundreds of people insist on proclaiming their superiority by acting shocked that 'so much' people believe in its authenticity.
Ofcourse this is fake, but it's nicely written, just a great read for anyone who likes lovecraftian stories.
Nothing to go bonkers over, chill out already.


A great read, but definatly fiction.....   March 6, 2008
Tromaboy (Seattle, WA USA)
6 out of 6 found this review helpful

The Necronomicon by Simon is a great read. It's facinating how the tome has taken a life of it's own, definitely helped by the rumors that flew to the ears of the curious back in the eighties and nineties. I was in junior high when friend who knew of my interest in things esoteric suggested the read to me, more as a horror novel than as a serious study in the arcane or spiritualist side of my personae. But I digress, while the magic words do smack of amateur horror fiction, it is still an interesting read none the less if not for any other reason than the way Simon merged the fiction of H.P. Lovecraft with the fact of Sumerian lore.