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. 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.

Real Ghostbusters

An English translation of the Necronomicon also appeared in The Real Ghostbusters, where it was used to summon Cthulhu.

Comments

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.