My H.P. Lovecraft obsession.

[reswati]

As being a fan of the works of H.P. Lovecraft I decided to put my own input into the mythos that he created by making an own version of one of his most well known "forbidden magickal books".

There may be some people who never heard of what I mean, here is something about the Kitab Al Azif, better known as the Necronomicon:

The Necronomicon is a fictional grimoire appearing in the stories by horror writer H. P. Lovecraft and his followers. It was first mentioned in Lovecraft's 1924 short story "The Hound", written in 1922, though its purported author, the "Mad Arab" Abdul Alhazred, had been quoted a year earlier in Lovecraft's "The Nameless City".Among other things, the work contains an account of the extraterrestrial/interdimensional horror entities known as the Great Old Ones, their history, and the means for summoning them.

In 1927, Lovecraft wrote a brief pseudo-history of the Necronomicon. According to this account, the book was originally called Al Azif, an Arabic word that Lovecraft defined as "that nocturnal sound (made by insects) supposed to be the howling of demons" (one Arabic/English dictionary translates `Azīf as "whistling (of the wind); weird sound or noise".)

In the History, Alhazred is said to have been a "half-crazed Arab" who worshipped the Lovecraftian entities Yog-Sothoth and Cthulhu. He is described as being from Sanaa in Yemen, and as visiting the ruins of Babylon, the "subterranean secrets" of Memphis and the Empty Quarter of Arabia (where he discovered the "nameless city" below Irem). In his last years, he lived in Damascus, where he wrote Al Azif before his sudden and mysterious death in 738 (He was ripped to shreds by invisible demons in broad daylight)

In subsequent years, Lovecraft wrote, the Azif "gained considerable, though surreptitious circulation amongst the philosophers of the age." In 950, it was translated into Greek and given the title Necronomicon by Theodorus Philetas, a fictional scholar from Constantinople. This version "impelled certain experimenters to terrible attempts" before being "suppressed and burnt" in 1050 by Patriarch Michael (an historical figure who died in 1059). After this attempted suppression, the work was "only heard of furtively" until it was translated from Greek into Latin by Olaus Wormius. (Lovecraft gives the date of this edition as 1228, though the real-life Danish scholar Olaus Wormius lived from 1588 to 1624.) Both the Latin and Greek text, the History relates, were banned by Pope Gregory IX in 1232, though Latin editions were apparently published in 15th century Germany and 17th century Spain. A Greek edition was printed in Italy in the first half of the 16th century.

The Elizabethan magician John Dee (1527-c. 1609) allegedly translated the book — presumably into English — but Lovecraft wrote that this version was never printed and only fragments survive. (The connection between Dee and the Necronomicon was suggested by Lovecraft's friend Frank Belknap Long.)

According to Lovecraft, the Arabic version of Al Azif had already disappeared by the time the Greek version was banned in 1050, though he cites "a vague account of a secret copy appearing in San Francisco during the current [20th] century" that "later perished in fire". The Greek version, he writes, has not been reported "since the burning of a certain Salem man's library in 1692" (an apparent reference to the Salem witch trials). (In the story The Diary of Alonzo Typer, the character Alonzo Typer finds a Greek copy.)

Anyway, at the moment I am typing a Necronomicon that uses all the texts ever published as being from that fabled book, combined with old woodcuts to make it look a bit more realistic. Although I am a long way from finishing this project, here are some loose pages with Latin text about Cthulhu and consorts, that I momentarily even put on Ebay, for all the sorcerers in the world who want to summon tentacled monsters.

[Bong-Man]

Among other things, the work contains an account of the extraterrestrial/interdimensional horror entities known as the Great Old Ones, their history, and the means for summoning them.

Ahhh.....'The Alien Grays' !

He was ripped to shreds by invisible demons in broad daylight

If it was pitch dark....would it have mattered ?

This version "impelled certain experimenters to terrible attempts" before being "suppressed and burnt" in 1050 by Patriarch Michael (an historical figure who died in 1059).

Details !

.......and the advantage of summoning a tentacled monster would be ?

What do you mean by woodcuts ?

[Cecil.]

Lovecraft a fine a author and rather left off the radar these days

[redrum]

I used to have the two H.P. Lovecraft albums.

[Anjin-san]

Hi all,

reswati, a few books you should have or try to get:

The letters of H.P Lovecraft: My link

And also(again if you can find it) the letters between Lovecraft and Robert E. Howard.

KB

[Pagefan55]

Lovecraft is a fine author, but he hasn't been left off the radar these days, at least not in the States. He has a dedicated following. I've read two of his works, including "At the Mountains of Madness," which I enjoyed.

[geekfreak]

yes a great author, he is off the radar here in the UK....

[Cecil.]

Lovecraft is a fine author, but he hasn't been left off the radar these days, at least not in the States. He has a dedicated following. I've read two of his works, including "At the Mountains of Madness," which I enjoyed.

I think in the US, you have the Lovecraft Society which have even produced films of his work, which for low budget films are good. In England Lovecraft is one of those authors you have to really seek out (well prior to the internet anyway!).

[reswati]

I think in the US, you have the Lovecraft Society which have even produced films of his work, which for low budget films are good. In England Lovecraft is one of those authors you have to really seek out (well prior to the internet anyway!).

The films of the Lovecraft Society are indeed fun, especially "The Whisperer In Darkness"

[Pagefan55]

I've heard that "The Whisperer in Darkness," is fun, although I've never seen it.

[geekfreak]

I`m hoping to find other HP Lovecraft to start a fan club here in the UK any takers...