Necronomicon

For other uses of this name, see Necronomicon (disambiguation).

The Necronomicon is an extensive source of forbidden knowledge, including information on the Great Old Ones.

History

Originally titled the Kitab al-Azif, it was written around 730 by the "mad Arab" Abdul Alhazred. The dark book has been copied since into many languages other than the original Arabic, including Duriac (an obscure Middle Eastern dialect), Greek (which was when it was retitled to Necronomicon), Bulgarian, French, Latin, Russian (two different ones, one made for Stalin), Spanish, English (four different attempts, one of which became the Sussex Manuscript), Gothic (the language of an ancient Germanic tribe; this version is believed to lack the allegory and obscurity of other versions, making it more easily used- and much more dangerous), German, and an unknown glyphic language of the Dreamlands. Various copies of the tome’s translations have passed from person to person, but only the original is known to be totally complete.

Overview

In appearance, the Necronomicon was a volume of singular dread and ancient origin, bound in materials that defied modern classification and etched in a script that seemed to crawl across its pages with a life of its own. The tome was commonly described as possessing a cover of dark, almost leathery hide—some accounts dared to claim human origin—embossed with sigils not drawn from any earthly language, but instead resembling alien geometries that twisted the eye and disturbed the mind. The book's pages, weathered to a brittle yellow, were inked with characters in a flowing and ominous Arabic script in its original form, though later translations appeared in Latin and other tongues. It was said to exude an odor of decay, as if the knowledge contained within had fermented in the bowels of ancient graves. TIt was originally known as the Kitab al-Azif in Arabic but came to be called the Necronomicon and referred to as the Book of the Dead. The original title of Al-Azif was referencing the nocturnal sound of insects and demons whispering in the desert night, as recorded by the mad Arab Abdul Alhazred—a prophet-sorcerer whose violent and mysterious death only added to the grim allure of the book. According to scholars in the Miskatonic University’s restricted archives, copies of the Necronomicon varied in physical dimensions, but all shared the trait of being cold to the touch and unnaturally heavy, as if burdened by their own malignant contents.

The Necronomicon’s capabilities were not merely theoretical or academic. It served as a compendium of cosmic truths and arcane rituals so far beyond the grasp of human understanding that mere perusal could unhinge the rational mind. It detailed the pantheon of the Great Old Ones—eldritch entities such as Cthulhu, Yog-Sothoth, and Nyarlathotep—and offered invocations to summon, bind, or sometimes merely appease them. Certain passages described rituals of time displacement, mental transference across dimensions, and even resurrection, though always at a terrible price. Most disturbingly, the book contained complex equations and alignments detailing when the veil between dimensions would grow thin, allowing those with sufficient knowledge to open doorways to other planes of existence. These rituals were as dangerous as they were effective, with failures resulting in disfigurement, insanity, or obliteration of the soul. Throughout history, those who dared consult the Necronomicon did so either in desperation or hubris, often ending their lives gibbering or erased from mortal memory altogether. Even reading its content aloud—especially in the original tongue—was said to invite the attention of unseen forces that dwelled just beyond perception.

Worse still, the Necronomicon altered its readers. Prolonged study twisted the human psyche, eroding moral distinctions and inflaming the ego with glimpses of knowledge not meant for terrestrial minds. Scholars who studied the book became obsessed, convinced they could reshape reality, uncover the origins of life, or ascend to the stars like the beings it chronicled. The Necronomicon offered glimpses into lost civilizations—pre-human and alien—and held forbidden genealogies suggesting humanity's descent from interstellar stock. However, its power was inseparable from doom. Libraries that held it under lock and seal, such as the Orne Library at Miskatonic University or the British Museum’s hidden vaults, treated it not as a source of enlightenment, but a plague waiting to be unleashed. Even translations, like the 15th-century Latin version by Olaus Wormius, were deemed too dangerous to destroy, yet too lethal to allow public access. Over time, the Necronomicon became a cipher of existential dread—a tome not merely of black magic, but a window into an indifferent, hostile cosmos where knowledge itself could unravel the mind.

Users

• Abdul Alhazred :

Notes

• The Necronomicon was created by H. P. Lovecraft where it featured in the setting of the Cthulhu Mythos universe.
• Contrary to the beliefs of some, the Necronomicon is not and was never a real text- it was completely an invention of H.P. Lovecraft, and he openly said so to anyone who asked. However, several faux-Necronomicons have been created since Lovecraft's time.
• The history of the book changed several times in the Doctor Who novels. In Lance Parkin's A History of the Universe, he states that the Necronomicon was written by the Silurians, but in the Doctor Who novel White Darkness, only portions of the book included information written in the Silurians' language. The later novel The Banquo Legacy re-established the more traditional history for the book.

In other media

Television

• In The Real Ghostbusters, the Necronomicon appeared in the setting of the animated television series. In the first appearance, "The Collect Call of Cathulhu", 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 Nameless Book". 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.

Novels

• In Doctor Who, the Necronomicon appeared in the setting of the non-canon Expanded Universe. Some of its information came directly from the Silurian race. The Master owned a copy of the text.

Appearances

• Weird Tales v1: "The Hound" (1922)

External Links

• Wikipedia Entry

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