The ''Simon Necronomicon'' is a
grimoire
A grimoire ( ) (also known as a "book of spells" or a "spellbook") is a textbook of magic, typically including instructions on how to create magical objects like talismans and amulets, how to perform magical spells, charms and divination, and ...
allegedly written by
Peter Levenda
Peter Levenda is an American author who focuses primarily on occult history. He is best known for his book ''Unholy Alliance'', which is about Esoteric Hitlerism and Nazi occultism.
Occultist Alan Cabal wrote in 2003 that Levenda was the writer w ...
(aka "Simon" from the introduction in the book). Materials presented in the book are a blend of ancient
Middle East
The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...
ern elements, with allusions to the writings of
H. P. Lovecraft and
Aleister Crowley
Aleister Crowley (; born Edward Alexander Crowley; 12 October 1875 – 1 December 1947) was an English occultist, ceremonial magician, poet, painter, novelist, and mountaineer. He founded the religion of Thelema, identifying himself as the pro ...
, woven together with a story about a man known as the "
Mad Arab".
The book was released in 1977 by Schlangekraft, Inc. in a limited edition hardback printing, followed by a paperback release by
Avon Books
Avon Publications is one of the leading publishers of romance fiction. At Avon's initial stages, it was an American paperback book and comic book publisher. The shift in content occurred in the early 1970s with multiple Avon romance titles reach ...
, and a subsequent paperback release by
Bantam Books
Bantam Books is an American publishing house owned entirely by parent company Random House, a subsidiary of Penguin Random House; it is an imprint of the Random House Publishing Group. It was formed in 1945 by Walter B. Pitkin, Jr., Sidney B. ...
.
Simon's introduction
The introduction to the book (comprising about 80 pages of a total of 263) is the only part that Simon claims to have written. It relates how Simon and his associates were introduced to a Greek translation of the ''
Necronomicon
The ', also referred to as the ''Book of the Dead'', or under a purported original Arabic title of ', is a fictional grimoire (textbook of magic) appearing in stories by the horror writer H. P. Lovecraft and his followers. It was first menti ...
'' by a mysterious monk. Simon claims that after experimenting with the text, they verified that the work is a genuine collection of magical rituals that predates most known religions, and warns that anyone attempting to use the ''Necronomicon'' may "unleash dangerous forces". The introduction attempts to establish links between
H. P. Lovecraft,
Aleister Crowley
Aleister Crowley (; born Edward Alexander Crowley; 12 October 1875 – 1 December 1947) was an English occultist, ceremonial magician, poet, painter, novelist, and mountaineer. He founded the religion of Thelema, identifying himself as the pro ...
and ancient mythology (including
Sumer
Sumer () is the earliest known civilization in the historical region of southern Mesopotamia (south-central Iraq), emerging during the Chalcolithic and early Bronze Ages between the sixth and fifth millennium BC. It is one of the cradles of c ...
ian,
Babylonia
Babylonia (; Akkadian: , ''māt Akkadī'') was an ancient Akkadian-speaking state and cultural area based in the city of Babylon in central-southern Mesopotamia (present-day Iraq and parts of Syria). It emerged as an Amorite-ruled state c. ...
n,
Assyria
Assyria (Neo-Assyrian cuneiform: , romanized: ''māt Aššur''; syc, ܐܬܘܪ, ʾāthor) was a major ancient Mesopotamian civilization which existed as a city-state at times controlling regional territories in the indigenous lands of the A ...
n, and
Chaldea
Chaldea () was a small country that existed between the late 10th or early 9th and mid-6th centuries BCE, after which the country and its people were absorbed and assimilated into the indigenous population of Babylonia. Semitic-speaking, it was ...
n myths and rituals), and draw parallels to other religions (such as
Christianity
Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...
,
Wicca
Wicca () is a modern Pagan religion. Scholars of religion categorise it as both a new religious movement and as part of the occultist stream of Western esotericism. It was developed in England during the first half of the 20th century and was ...
,
Satanism
Satanism is a group of ideological and philosophical beliefs based on Satan. Contemporary religious practice of Satanism began with the founding of the atheistic Church of Satan by Anton LaVey in the United States in 1966, although a few hi ...
and
Hebrew Mythology). Some of the discussion is based on a supposed connection between Crowley and Lovecraft first espoused by
Kenneth Grant
Kenneth is an English given name and surname. The name is an Anglicised form of two entirely different Gaelic personal names: ''Cainnech'' and '' Cináed''. The modern Gaelic form of ''Cainnech'' is ''Coinneach''; the name was derived from a byna ...
.
"The Testimony of the Mad Arab"
In addition to an introduction, the book uses a
frame story
A frame is often a structural system that supports other components of a physical construction and/or steel frame that limits the construction's extent.
Frame and FRAME may also refer to:
Physical objects
In building construction
*Framing (con ...
titled "The Testimony of the Mad Arab". The "Testimony" is in two parts, forming a prologue and an epilogue to the core ''Necronomicon''. The author describes himself as a "Mad Arab".
The prologue explains how the Arab first came to discover the dark secrets that he is recording, accidentally witnessing an arcane ritual performed by a
cult
In modern English, ''cult'' is usually a pejorative term for a social group that is defined by its unusual religious, spiritual, or philosophical beliefs and rituals, or its common interest in a particular personality, object, or goal. This ...
that worships
Tiamat
In Mesopotamian religion, Tiamat ( akk, or , grc, Θαλάττη, Thaláttē) is a primordial goddess of the sea, mating with Abzû, the god of the groundwater, to produce younger gods. She is the symbol of the chaos of primordial creati ...
, in which both the demons
Kutulu and
Humwawa are
conjured.
In the epilogue, the Mad Arab is haunted by premonitions of his gruesome death. He realizes that the horrors of the ''Necronomicon'' are enraged and seek revenge upon him for revealing their existence to the world. The text is littered with non sequiturs and arcane incantations, presented as indication of his unstable mental state and his desire to protect himself from perceived danger. He is unable to sign his work, and thus remains nameless.
Magic
Much of the book is a collection of
magic
Magic or Magick most commonly refers to:
* Magic (supernatural), beliefs and actions employed to influence supernatural beings and forces
* Ceremonial magic, encompasses a wide variety of rituals of magic
* Magical thinking, the belief that unrela ...
ritual
A ritual is a sequence of activities involving gestures, words, actions, or objects, performed according to a set sequence. Rituals may be prescribed by the traditions of a community, including a religious community. Rituals are characterized, b ...
s and
conjurations. Many
incantation
An incantation, a spell, a charm, an enchantment or a bewitchery, is a magical formula intended to trigger a magical effect on a person or objects. The formula can be spoken, sung or chanted. An incantation can also be performed during ceremo ...
s and
seal
Seal may refer to any of the following:
Common uses
* Pinniped, a diverse group of semi-aquatic marine mammals, many of which are commonly called seals, particularly:
** Earless seal, or "true seal"
** Fur seal
* Seal (emblem), a device to impr ...
s are described. Most of these are intended to ward off evil or to invoke the
Elder Gods to one's aid. Some of them are curses to be used against one's enemies. The incantations are written in a mixture of English and more ancient languages, with a few possible misspellings in the
romanization
Romanization or romanisation, in linguistics, is the conversion of text from a different writing system to the Roman (Latin) script, or a system for doing so. Methods of romanization include transliteration, for representing written text, and ...
of the archaic words. There are also several words that do not appear to be from any known language.
The many magical seals in the book pertain to particular gods and demons, and are used when invoking or summoning the entity with which each is associated. In some cases there are specific instructions on how to inscribe the seals and
amulets
An amulet, also known as a good luck charm or phylactery, is an object believed to confer protection upon its possessor. The word "amulet" comes from the Latin word amuletum, which Pliny's ''Natural History'' describes as "an object that protects ...
, including the materials that should be used and the time of day for their creation; in other cases, only the seal itself is given.
For some rituals, the book mentions that sacrifices should be offered. One ritual in particular describes a
human sacrifice
Human sacrifice is the act of killing one or more humans as part of a ritual, which is usually intended to please or appease gods, a human ruler, an authoritative/priestly figure or spirits of dead ancestors or as a retainer sacrifice, wherein ...
of 11 men, needed to enchant a knife that can summon
Tiamat
In Mesopotamian religion, Tiamat ( akk, or , grc, Θαλάττη, Thaláttē) is a primordial goddess of the sea, mating with Abzû, the god of the groundwater, to produce younger gods. She is the symbol of the chaos of primordial creati ...
(pp. 160–161).
Both the introduction and the book's marketing make sensational claims for the book's magical power. The back blurb claims it is "the most potent and potentially, the most dangerous Black Book known to the Western World," and that its rituals will bring "beings and monsters" into "physical appearance". The book's introduction gives readers frequent warnings that the powers it contains are potentially life-threatening, and that perfect mental health is needed; otherwise the book is extremely dangerous. It claims a
curse
A curse (also called an imprecation, malediction, execration, malison, anathema, or commination) is any expressed wish that some form of adversity or misfortune will befall or attach to one or more persons, a place, or an object. In particular, ...
afflicted those who helped publish the book. It also claims that the
Golden Dawn methods of magical
banishing
In ceremonial magic, banishing refers to one or more rituals intended to remove non-physical influences ranging from spirits to negative influences. Although banishing rituals are often used as components of more complex ceremonies, they can also ...
will not work on the entities in this book.
Good versus evil
The main theme of the book is the struggle between good and evil. The principal forces of good are the "Elder Gods"; and those of evil, the "Ancient Ones". These two groups are populated with authentic
Mesopotamian gods and monsters as well as fictitious ones. The Ancient Ones are older and represent primeval
chaos
Chaos or CHAOS may refer to:
Arts, entertainment and media Fictional elements
* Chaos (''Kinnikuman'')
* Chaos (''Sailor Moon'')
* Chaos (''Sesame Park'')
* Chaos (''Warhammer'')
* Chaos, in ''Fabula Nova Crystallis Final Fantasy''
* Cha ...
. Chief among them is Tiamat. The Elder Gods are younger entities, children of the Ancient Ones, who rebelled against them and prevailed.
Included in the Simon ''Necronomicon'' is a story that is a variant of the
Enuma Elish, the Babylonian creation epic. It relates how
Marduk
Marduk (Cuneiform: dAMAR.UTU; Sumerian: ''amar utu.k'' "calf of the sun; solar calf"; ) was a god from ancient Mesopotamia and patron deity of the city of Babylon. When Babylon became the political center of the Euphrates valley in the time of ...
(Leader of the Elder Gods) slew Tiamat (Queen of the Ancient Ones), clove her body in two and created the Heaven and the Earth from the two halves. The Elder Gods also created mankind from the blood of Kingu (an Ancient One). Other Ancient Ones are imprisoned beneath the Earth or beyond the Heavens. With the exception of the terms "Elder Gods" and "Ancient Ones" (which were first popularized by the fiction of
H. P. Lovecraft), many of these stories are derived from authentic myths.
Simon's introduction claims that Lovecraft's mythos tells of the struggle between good and evil, as personified by the good Elder Gods and the evil "Great Old Ones". Lovecraft's work did not feature such a conflict, however; the theme of "cosmic war" derives instead from the apocryphal
Book of Enoch, cited by Lovecraft in his essay "
Supernatural Horror in Literature
"Supernatural Horror in Literature" is a 28,000 word essay by American writer H. P. Lovecraft, surveying the development and achievements of horror fiction as the field stood in the 1920s and 30s. The essay was researched and written between Nove ...
", and later contributions to the
Cthulhu Mythos
The Cthulhu Mythos is a mythopoeia and a shared fictional universe, originating in the works of American horror writer H. P. Lovecraft. The term was coined by August Derleth
August William Derleth (February 24, 1909 – July 4, 1971) was an ...
by author
August Derleth
August William Derleth (February 24, 1909 – July 4, 1971) was an American writer and anthologist. Though best remembered as the first book publisher of the writings of H. P. Lovecraft, and for his own contributions to the Cthulhu Mythos and the ...
.
According to Simon, the Ancient Ones now lie "not dead but dreaming", awaiting a day when they may return to life. To do this, they are dependent upon the
positions of the stars as well as the
sacrifice
Sacrifice is the offering of material possessions or the lives of animals or humans to a deity as an act of propitiation or worship. Evidence of ritual animal sacrifice has been seen at least since ancient Hebrews and Greeks, and possibly exi ...
s of their mortal followers. These ideas largely run parallel to elements of the Cthulhu Mythos, so much so that critics claim that this is an obvious attempt to reconcile the Simon ''Necronomicon'' with Lovecraft's well-known stories such as "
The Call of Cthulhu
"The Call of Cthulhu" is a short story by American writer H. P. Lovecraft. Written in the summer of 1926, it was first published in the pulp magazine ''Weird Tales'' in February 1928.
Inspiration
The first seed of the story's first chapter '' ...
". The
Armageddon
According to the Book of Revelation in the New Testament of the Christian Bible, Armageddon (, from grc, Ἁρμαγεδών ''Harmagedōn'', Late Latin: , from Hebrew: ''Har Məgīddō'') is the prophesied location of a gathering of armies ...
and
Apocalypse
Apocalypse () is a literary genre in which a supernatural being reveals cosmic mysteries or the future to a human intermediary. The means of mediation include dreams, visions and heavenly journeys, and they typically feature symbolic imager ...
of Judeo-Christianity are also referenced: following the conflagration of the
End Times
Eschatology (; ) concerns expectations of the end of the present age, human history, or of the world itself. The end of the world or end times is predicted by several world religions (both Abrahamic and non-Abrahamic), which teach that nega ...
, the flesh of the vanquished
Leviathan
Leviathan (; he, לִוְיָתָן, ) is a sea serpent noted in theology and mythology. It is referenced in several books of the Hebrew Bible, including Psalms, the Book of Job, the Book of Isaiah, the Book of Amos, and, according to some ...
is to be served up to the victorious survivors.
Textual authenticity
According to one book on the topic, ''The Necronomicon Files'', several portions of the ''Necronomicon'' bear striking similarities to other works mentioned in its bibliography, such as
R. C. Thompson's ''The Devils and Evil Spirits of Babylonia'' and
James B. Pritchard
James Bennett Pritchard (October 4, 1909 – January 1, 1997) was an American archeologist whose work explicated the interrelationships of the religions of ancient Palestine, Canaan, Egypt, Assyria, and Babylon. Pritchard was honored with the Go ...
's ''
Ancient Near Eastern Texts Relating to the Old Testament
''Ancient Near Eastern Texts Relating to the Old Testament'' edited by James B. Pritchard (1st ed. 1950, 2nd ed.1955, 3rd ed. 1969) is an anthology of important historical, legal, mythological, liturgical, and secular texts from the ancient Near E ...
'' — to an extent that it appears unlikely that separate translations could have arrived at the same result. In addition, two members of the
Magickal Childe scene, Khem Caigan (the ''Necronomicons illustrator) and Alan Cabal, an American occultist, have independently stated that the book was widely known as a hoax in the local occult community and references
Peter Levenda
Peter Levenda is an American author who focuses primarily on occult history. He is best known for his book ''Unholy Alliance'', which is about Esoteric Hitlerism and Nazi occultism.
Occultist Alan Cabal wrote in 2003 that Levenda was the writer w ...
as the author.
Owen Davies calls ''Simon Necronomicon'' "a well-constructed hoax", but adds that making a grimoire by stitching together material from previous sources is a well-worn motif in
grimoire
A grimoire ( ) (also known as a "book of spells" or a "spellbook") is a textbook of magic, typically including instructions on how to create magical objects like talismans and amulets, how to perform magical spells, charms and divination, and ...
history, and that "it is their falsity that makes them genuine." The same thing is pointed out by Dan Clore who writes that the hoax Necronomicons are every bit as "authentic" as the ''
Lesser Key of Solomon
''The Lesser Key of Solomon'', also known as ''Lemegeton Clavicula Salomonis'' or simply ''Lemegeton'', is an anonymous grimoire on demonology. It was compiled in the mid-17th century, mostly from materials a couple of centuries older.''Lemegeto ...
'' or the ''
Sixth and Seventh Books of Moses
The ''Sixth and Seventh Books of Moses'' is an 18th- or 19th-century magical text allegedly written by Moses, and passed down as hidden (or lost) books of the Hebrew Bible. Self-described as "the wonderful arts of the old Hebrews, taken fro ...
''.
Accusations of black magic and connections to murder
The book was featured as courtroom evidence in the murder trial of
Rod Ferrell
Roderrick Justin "Rod" Ferrell (born March 28, 1980) is an American murderer and cult leader. He was a member of a loose-knit gang of teenagers from Murray, Kentucky, known as the "Vampire Clan". Ferrell claimed to be a 500-year-old vampire na ...
, with suggestions that it played a part in
Satanic human sacrifices. Ferrell, it is claimed, used the book during cult rituals.
''Dead Names''
In 2006, Avon published Simon's ''Dead Names: The Dark History of the Necronomicon'' (), in which he details the history of the Necronomicon and attacks his critics who claim the book is a hoax. The book's conclusions are considered suspect by his critics.
References
Related links
*
Babylonian mythology
Babylonian religion is the religious practice of Babylonia. Babylonian mythology was greatly influenced by their Sumerian counterparts and was written on clay tablets inscribed with the cuneiform script derived from Sumerian cuneiform. The myth ...
*
Cthulhu Mythos
The Cthulhu Mythos is a mythopoeia and a shared fictional universe, originating in the works of American horror writer H. P. Lovecraft. The term was coined by August Derleth
August William Derleth (February 24, 1909 – July 4, 1971) was an ...
*
Necronomicon
The ', also referred to as the ''Book of the Dead'', or under a purported original Arabic title of ', is a fictional grimoire (textbook of magic) appearing in stories by the horror writer H. P. Lovecraft and his followers. It was first menti ...
*
Peter Levenda
Peter Levenda is an American author who focuses primarily on occult history. He is best known for his book ''Unholy Alliance'', which is about Esoteric Hitlerism and Nazi occultism.
Occultist Alan Cabal wrote in 2003 that Levenda was the writer w ...
*
Sumerian religion
Sumerian religion was the religion practiced by the people of Sumer, the first literate civilization of ancient Mesopotamia. The Sumerians regarded their divinities as responsible for all matters pertaining to the natural and social orders.
Ove ...
External links
Audio Interviews with 'Simon' and Peter Levenda re: Dead Names and the NecronomiconWarlock Asylum International News. A site dedicated to the practices mentioned in the ''Simon Necronomicon''
{{H.P. Lovecraft
1977 non-fiction books
Cthulhu Mythos
Grimoires
Works of unknown authorship
Avon (publisher) books