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The Necronomicon: The Book of Dead Names
evokes strange answers to these questions. Usually ascribed to H. P. Lovecraft this dark work may actually come from a time long ago and a tradition that is not human.
183 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1922
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177 people want to read
About the author
George Hay
121 books1 followerFor the Roman Catholic Scottish Bishop see George Hay.
George Hay (Oswyn Robert Tregonwell Hay) was a British sf enthusiast, writer and editor. Some of his early fiction appeared under the house name King Lang (with John W. Jennison and E.C. Tubb). He later turned to editing. He was instrumental in the creation of the Science Fiction Foundation in 1972.
George Hay (Oswyn Robert Tregonwell Hay) was a British sf enthusiast, writer and editor. Some of his early fiction appeared under the house name King Lang (with John W. Jennison and E.C. Tubb). He later turned to editing. He was instrumental in the creation of the Science Fiction Foundation in 1972.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
March 3, 2013
Let's get one thing straight at the outset. There is no "real" Necronomicon. The Necronomicon was a book invented by HP Lovecraft for his fantasy-horror stories, as a repository of evil lore that could be referenced whenever some human agent needed to know what ancient monstrosity threatened the world's sanity and existence. All the books which have been published under the title of "The Necronomicon" are deliberate hoaxes, and cannot be judged in terms of their authenticity, but rather in terms of why the authors have decided to perpetrate the hoax, and what value reading it has for people who are in on the hoax.
The purpose behind the better-known and far less interesting "Simon" version of The Necronomicon appears to have been to publish a work of none-too-subtle propaganda for the religion of Thelema, saving would-be Black Brothers from allying with the Abyss before it was too late. The purpose of this version seems to have been to give the "occult" camp of Lovecraft scholars place to express their views through an anthology of non-fiction essays, which masquerade as "prefaces" and "appendixes" to a brief section of invented rituals and magical symbols. In that sense, the book is a double hoax, because it pretends that 40 or so pages of its 183-page length constitute the "meat" of its contents, when they are in fact the least relevant text.
The more interesting essays are by Colin Wilson, L. Sprague de Camp, and Angela Carter. These constitute a kind of anticipatory counter-argument to the strict materialism of Lovecraft biographer S.T. Joshi, who insists that Lovecraft had no interest in real occult teachings, and was not initiated into any secret or occult order during his lifetime. Of these, the most convincing is Wilson’s. At the time of writing, Wilson had just completed his mammoth study, The Occult, and was aware of the highly metaphorical and non-linear behavior of apparently supernatural phenomena, and he “gets” better than most the possibility of Lovecraft being an Initiate without necessarily having been “initiated.” Lovecraft worked with ideas that were also in the heads of folks like Arthur Machen and Aleister Crowley who professedly were Initiates, and tapped into some streams that resonate with the occult to this day, and Wilson demonstrates those spurious connections deftly. The other essays in the volume reinforce the idea to varying degrees, some by examining themes in Lovecrafts work, others by showing minor details of his biography, and others by simply speculating wildly about John Dee and Elizabethan manuscripts.
For those, therefore, with an interest in exploring the possible magical relevance of Lovecraft, this is an essential volume. For those seeking a grimoire of instructions to begin their careers of worshipping insane Outer Gods which plot to break through into our world and cause its destruction in a mad frenzy of violence and joy, it is bound to disappoint.
The purpose behind the better-known and far less interesting "Simon" version of The Necronomicon appears to have been to publish a work of none-too-subtle propaganda for the religion of Thelema, saving would-be Black Brothers from allying with the Abyss before it was too late. The purpose of this version seems to have been to give the "occult" camp of Lovecraft scholars place to express their views through an anthology of non-fiction essays, which masquerade as "prefaces" and "appendixes" to a brief section of invented rituals and magical symbols. In that sense, the book is a double hoax, because it pretends that 40 or so pages of its 183-page length constitute the "meat" of its contents, when they are in fact the least relevant text.
The more interesting essays are by Colin Wilson, L. Sprague de Camp, and Angela Carter. These constitute a kind of anticipatory counter-argument to the strict materialism of Lovecraft biographer S.T. Joshi, who insists that Lovecraft had no interest in real occult teachings, and was not initiated into any secret or occult order during his lifetime. Of these, the most convincing is Wilson’s. At the time of writing, Wilson had just completed his mammoth study, The Occult, and was aware of the highly metaphorical and non-linear behavior of apparently supernatural phenomena, and he “gets” better than most the possibility of Lovecraft being an Initiate without necessarily having been “initiated.” Lovecraft worked with ideas that were also in the heads of folks like Arthur Machen and Aleister Crowley who professedly were Initiates, and tapped into some streams that resonate with the occult to this day, and Wilson demonstrates those spurious connections deftly. The other essays in the volume reinforce the idea to varying degrees, some by examining themes in Lovecrafts work, others by showing minor details of his biography, and others by simply speculating wildly about John Dee and Elizabethan manuscripts.
For those, therefore, with an interest in exploring the possible magical relevance of Lovecraft, this is an essential volume. For those seeking a grimoire of instructions to begin their careers of worshipping insane Outer Gods which plot to break through into our world and cause its destruction in a mad frenzy of violence and joy, it is bound to disappoint.
May 5, 2016
This a rather uneven group effort: several hoax introductions to the "forbidden volume", followed by an uninspired pastiche occult text, and rounded off by some (fairly) straight critical essays. Colin Wilson tells a shaggy-dog story about how Lovecraft's father had been an "Egyptian Freemason" who may have owned a copy of the book, and how John Dee's encrypted version had been identified in the British Library. Wilson's narrative weaves in L Spague de Camp's version of a few years earlier, along with Aleister Crowley, Sax Rohmer, Arthur Machen, and Cagliostro, among others. He also manages to name-drop a fair few of his own titles.
The story is then continued by a fictitious "Dr Stanislaus Hinterstoisser", and by Robert Turner (of "the Order of the Cubic Stone"), who weave in further details. David Langford then provides a hoax essay on how John Dee's translation was unencrypted. Following the text itself, there are essays from L. Sprague de Camp. Christopher Frayling, and Angela Carter.
The story is then continued by a fictitious "Dr Stanislaus Hinterstoisser", and by Robert Turner (of "the Order of the Cubic Stone"), who weave in further details. David Langford then provides a hoax essay on how John Dee's translation was unencrypted. Following the text itself, there are essays from L. Sprague de Camp. Christopher Frayling, and Angela Carter.
July 26, 2020
Este libro es una compilación de ensayo sobre H.P Lovecraft y su obra. Llamarlo un texto de no ficción eso es hacer trampa, por la razón que voy a explicar a continuación:
Colin Wilson empieza su contribución hablando de como se encontró con la literatura de Lovecraft y como la integró a su propio trabajo, así Wilson se vio embarcado en una investigación sobre la supuesta correlación de los textos ficticios de los relatos de Lovecraft y textos mágicos reales.
Rastreando un relación entre el padre de Lovecraft y una logia masónica Wilson especula que el niño Lovecraft pudo haber tenido contacto en su infancia con algún texto desconocido que sirvió de modelo para el ficticio Necronomicon.
Esta investigación de Wilson choca con la mayoría de biografías de Lovecraft por lo que entra en contacto con un intelectual y erudito de Europa del este, por intermedio de un amigo, este hombre creé Wilson que tiene cierta información que trata de obtener a través de un lento intercambio de cartas, antes de llegar a revelar esta información el amigo de Wilson que los puso en contacto le comunica que este señor a muerto en circunstancias sospechosa. Llegando leyendo hasta aquí a mi se me apuesto la piel de gallina, porque aún no me había dado cuenta que Colin Wilson hilo con astucia algo de ficción Lovecraftiana con sus ensayo académico.
La magia se rompe cuando Wilson pasa a relatar su encuentro en Medio Oriente com in oficial corrupto que intenta venderle un texto en una lengua desconocida que fue sacado de contrabando de una excavación arqueológica. Esto ya yo lo había leído en una colección de relatos de los mitos de Cthulhu, y se me hizo evidente que me habían tomado el pelo.
Colin Wilson hizo algo muy parecido a otro Wilson, Robert Anton Wilson.
El libro cierra con mi favorito personal que es un ensayo de Angela Carter sobre el paisaje Lovecraftiano, un paisaje que parece estar vivo, todo parece tener intención propia, los árboles, las mañanas, las estrellas… El paisaje de Lovecraft es el de un sueño o una pesadilla y su detallada descripción geográfica no es señar de realismo sino de paranoia...
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Colin Wilson empieza su contribución hablando de como se encontró con la literatura de Lovecraft y como la integró a su propio trabajo, así Wilson se vio embarcado en una investigación sobre la supuesta correlación de los textos ficticios de los relatos de Lovecraft y textos mágicos reales.
Rastreando un relación entre el padre de Lovecraft y una logia masónica Wilson especula que el niño Lovecraft pudo haber tenido contacto en su infancia con algún texto desconocido que sirvió de modelo para el ficticio Necronomicon.
Esta investigación de Wilson choca con la mayoría de biografías de Lovecraft por lo que entra en contacto con un intelectual y erudito de Europa del este, por intermedio de un amigo, este hombre creé Wilson que tiene cierta información que trata de obtener a través de un lento intercambio de cartas, antes de llegar a revelar esta información el amigo de Wilson que los puso en contacto le comunica que este señor a muerto en circunstancias sospechosa. Llegando leyendo hasta aquí a mi se me apuesto la piel de gallina, porque aún no me había dado cuenta que Colin Wilson hilo con astucia algo de ficción Lovecraftiana con sus ensayo académico.
La magia se rompe cuando Wilson pasa a relatar su encuentro en Medio Oriente com in oficial corrupto que intenta venderle un texto en una lengua desconocida que fue sacado de contrabando de una excavación arqueológica. Esto ya yo lo había leído en una colección de relatos de los mitos de Cthulhu, y se me hizo evidente que me habían tomado el pelo.
Colin Wilson hizo algo muy parecido a otro Wilson, Robert Anton Wilson.
El libro cierra con mi favorito personal que es un ensayo de Angela Carter sobre el paisaje Lovecraftiano, un paisaje que parece estar vivo, todo parece tener intención propia, los árboles, las mañanas, las estrellas… El paisaje de Lovecraft es el de un sueño o una pesadilla y su detallada descripción geográfica no es señar de realismo sino de paranoia...
Leer Online en español
October 12, 2017
Nice to have. Bit of a compilation, the essays don't hang together well, probably needed linking introductions.
April 7, 2013
An uneven collection of critical essays clumped together with fictive occult tracts comprises this volume. But especially engaging were the final two essays, both critical/literary in scope, found in Appendices B & C, "Dreams of Dead Names: The Scholarship of Sleep" by Christopher Frayling and "Lovecraft and Landscape" by Angela Carter.
Frayling's essay is an effectively focused examination of the role of dreams in Lovecraft's writings - not just as literary devices, but also how they dramatically informed H.P.'s life and approach to writing.
Carter's work makes a short but densely thorough survey of the element of landscape in HP's stories; she explicates their power (and by extension, Lovecraft's) to inspire dread and facilitate a suffocating atmosphere of imminent catastrophe on a cosmic scale. These two articles were the standout pieces of the book - if you can read them without having to pay for this otherwise tiresome tome, I recommend you do so.
Frayling's essay is an effectively focused examination of the role of dreams in Lovecraft's writings - not just as literary devices, but also how they dramatically informed H.P.'s life and approach to writing.
Carter's work makes a short but densely thorough survey of the element of landscape in HP's stories; she explicates their power (and by extension, Lovecraft's) to inspire dread and facilitate a suffocating atmosphere of imminent catastrophe on a cosmic scale. These two articles were the standout pieces of the book - if you can read them without having to pay for this otherwise tiresome tome, I recommend you do so.
February 8, 2021
The book is interesting.
It gives some of the possible sources for HP Lovecraft's stories including the possibility of an ancient hidden book of occult history and reference to other occult Authors and influences.
It gives some of the possible sources for HP Lovecraft's stories including the possibility of an ancient hidden book of occult history and reference to other occult Authors and influences.
September 20, 2022
The other major Necronomicon hoax, and a somewhat better-constructed and more interesting one at that. Full review: https://fakegeekboy.wordpress.com/202...
June 18, 2015
THIS BOOK IS HIGHLY TERRIFYING FOR THE COMPLEX WEAVING OF THE LOVECRAFT PERSONAL HISTORY AND THE NEFARIOUS FORCES AT WORK IN THE UNIVERSE AND UPON OUR PLANET - AS A LONGTIME PROVIDENCE RESIDENT, I APPROVE - EXCELLENT EVOCATION OF THE CTHULHU MYTHOS ENERGY
February 7, 2014
Los autores encargados de realizar la investigación respectiva, tienen un despliegue literario impresionante.
Una historia que deja mucho que reflexionar y muchos cabos para atar.
Una historia que deja mucho que reflexionar y muchos cabos para atar.
January 1, 2016
Eres hermoso. Al fin podré hacer señas obscenas con las manos y justificarme.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews