“As for seriously-written books on dark, occult, and supernatural themes—in all truth they don’t amount to much. That is why it’s more fun to invent mythical works like the Necronomicon and Book of Eibon.”
It is to Lovecraft’s credit that there is still, eighty years later, a following of adamant believers in a fictional book of his creation. The Necronomicon becomes all the books lost to history that can never be recovered and will forever be an item of mystery, even if it is only a work of fiction from the grand master of horror’s mind.
References:
Budge, E.A. Wallis. The Egyptian Book of The Dead. Mineola: Dover Publications INC., 1967. Print.
King, Leonard. Babylonian Magic And Sorcery. London: Luzak & Co., 1896. Print.
Lenormant, Francois. Chaldean Magic: Its Origin and Development. York Beach: Samuel Weiser, INC., 1999. Print.
Thompson, R. Campbell. Semitic Magic: Its Origins and Development. York Beach: Samuel Weiser, INC., 2000. Print.
Notes:
A full list of Lovecraft’s letters regarding the Necronomicon can be found here: http://www.hplovecraft.com/creation/necron/letters.asp
The full text of the Lemegeton can be read online for free here: http://www.sacred-texts.com/grim/lks/index.htm
Babylonian Magic and Sorcery by L. W. King is available as a free ebook download here: http://www.archive.org/details/babylonianmagics00kinguoft
The full text of the Kitab al-jilwah and the Mishefa Reş can be found here: http://www.yeziditruth.org/yezidi_scriptures
Other Titles
Osie Turner is a writer, blogger, and photographer. A collector of antique books, he founded The Forlorn Press to revive forgotten classics and make them available to the modern reader.
Check his blog for his latest updates: TheForlornPath.blogspot.com
Other titles available from The Forlorn Press:
The Blood Is The Life: An Anthology of Early Vampire Fiction◦— This anthology is the definitive collection of classic/early vampire fiction. It is broken into three sections: the first is for classic vampire stories, the second is dedicated to psychic vampirism, and the last contains a few stories which are frequently listed as vampire stories, but are not actually about vampires. There are a total of 18 stories, plus two appendices.
Tod Robbins: His Life and Work◦— This is a huge collection of the work of Tod Robbins, an overlooked author of early weird fiction, and a biography of the author. Includes the complete infamous novel The Unholy Three, among others.
Strange Tales of the High Seas◦— Included in this volume are the most bizarre nautical tales. Includes The Wreck of the Titan, a short story by Morgan Robertson about a ship with the exact specifications as the Titanic that sinks in the Atlantic after striking an iceberg. It was written fourteen years before the Titanic sank. Also included is the complete novel The Ghost Pirates by William Hope Hodgson.
The Tomb and Other Macabre Tales of Guy de Maupassant◦— Maupassant was one of France’s most prolific writers, and is especially known for his short stories. This anthology contains his eight most bizarre stories. Invisible demons, insanity, necrophilic lovers, and furniture with a mind of its own rounds out this collection. Also included as an appendix is my essay “The Demise of Maupassant,” which focuses on the events leading up to Maupassant’s internment in an asylum and eventual death.
Copyright
Copyright © 2013 Osie Turner
All Rights Reserved
Cover design by Osie Turner; adapted from “The Temptation of Saint Anthony” (1878) by Félicien Rops.