It is possible that Lovecraft read this very book as it seems he did have a knowledge of Babylo-Chaldean mythology and that his Mythos were heavily influenced by it. There were also many other fish avatars in Chaldean mythology known as “annedoti.” Hea was one of the chief gods and was known as “the master of the abyss of waters and lord of Eridu” and was believed to be the repository of all science and knowledge. We find on page 157 the story of Hea, appearing in the form of Oannes-a half-man half-fish demigod who taught mankind numerous religious and social laws. “These demons had a general cosmical power, attacking mankind, and producing ‘the evil command which comes from the midst of heaven the evil destiny which issues from the depths of the abyss.’” Astrological symbols and gods from the deep sea are referenced in both. Lovecraft’s Mythos does bear a correspondence with the Babylonian and Sumerian mythology described in La Magie. 59) It is natural that one could imagine that one of these nefarious books would be a Necronomicon, but there is simply no evidence or reference to their actual existence.
Only the books of divine magic are still in existence (there’s no proof that black magic books even existed) and that “the diabolical and malevolent magic is excluded with horror, and its practices are energetically condemned.” (p. While there is no reference to an evil grimoire, there is reference to evil sorcerers. This fragment, like so many others, has been handed down to us in a deplorable state of dilapidation.” For example, page 169 speaks of “one of the most curious and strangest fragment from the third book of the magical collection. It became clear to me that the book was very Lovecraftian in language and overall feel. That is not to say that there was no useful information in it. I found that this is because there is no such passage in La Magie when I read it in 2005 for the first time. I noticed that no one ever actually cited a page or direct quotation from it. I’ve seen many internet postings claiming that the Necronomicon is mentioned in this book, which was written before Lovecraft’s birth. The most commonly cited book that supposedly proves the existence of the accursed book is La Magie Chez les Chaldeens by François Lenormant (1877). It is at best fan fiction and at worst a simple sales gimmick. This book is known as the “Simon Necronomicon” and it is nothing more than a modern day invention that was written in the 1970s and merely uses the title to gain notoriety and fool the reader into thinking that it is the same book found in Lovecraft’s Mythos. More on that below.īefore we continue any further, I will briefly point out that one may find a “Necronomicon” for sale on Amazon or other sites for $7.99. However, I believe I have discovered the inspiration for the Arabic title. Outside of Lovecraft’s fiction, there is no reference to any of these book titles. I am unable to find any entry in any English-Arabic dictionaries for “Azif” or “Al-Azif” most likely, as Lovecraft admits, it is a fictitious title. The supposed original Arabic title of the book is “Kitab Al-Azif”.
It is most commonly translated from Greek to English as “The Book of Dead Names” but Lovecraft himself wrote that it should be translated as "an image of the law of the dead": nekros - νεκρός ("dead"), nomos - νόμος ("law"), eikon - εικών ("image") (H. The name of the accursed book “Necronomicon” will also fail to yield any real books. There is no historical record of anyone fitting his description. Of course, one could do that with any fictitious name and that doesn’t prove anything. It has been speculated that the name was corrupted and could be altered in different ways to become a proper Arabic name. He admits to this in a letter to Harry O. Lovecraft invented the name when he was five years old after reading 1001 Arabian Nights. Any Arabic speaker can tell you right off that “Abdul Alhazred,” while sounding very Arabic, is not a proper Arabic name. Let’s begin with the author himself, the Mad Arab. We will cover the myths that have crept up around the book and examine them point by point in search of evidence of a real Necronomicon. This leads us to the purpose of this blog. Naturally, many people ask the same question after their first exposure to the book: “Is it real?” It is mentioned in movies, books and video games and has become a pop culture icon even to people who have never heard of Lovecraft. The Necronomicon, the accursed grimoire written in haste by the Mad Arab Abdul Alhazred has thrilled readers of H.