The Necronomicon (Mass Market Paperback)

by Simon (Author) "THIS is the testimony of all that I have seen, and all that I have learned, in those years that I have possessed the Three..." (more)
Key Phrases: mine aid, fifty names, Ancient Ones, Elder Gods, Elder Ones (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
In the past 31 years, there has been a lot of ink - actual and virtual - spilled on the subject of the Necronomicon. Some have derided it as a clumsy hoax; others have praised it as a powerful grimoire. As the decades have passed, more information has come to light both on the book's origins and discovery, and on the information contained within its pages. The Necronomicon has been found to contain formula for spiritual trans-formation, consistent with some of the most ancient mystical processes in the world, processes that were not public knowledge when the book was first published, processes that involve communion with the stars.

In spite of all the controversy, the first edition sold out before it was published. And it has never been out of print since then. This year, the original designer of the 1977 edition and the original editor have joined forces to present a new, deluxe hardcover edition of the most feared, most reviled, and most desired occult book on the planet. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

About the Author

Simon is a student of magic, occultism, and religion since the mid-1960s and the editor of the Necronomicon, Simon was a frequent lecturer for the famed Warlock Shop in Brooklyn and the Magickal Childe Bookstore in Manhattan for more than ten years before his sudden disappearance in 1984, speaking on topics as diverse as religion and politics, occultism and fascism, ceremonial magic, demonolatry, the Tarot, the Qabala, and Asian occult systems. He also conducted private classes for the New York City OTO during this period, with a focus on Enochian magic, "Owandering bishops," and Afro-Caribbean occult beliefs. An ordained priest of an Eastern Orthodox church, Simon has appeared on television and radio discussing such topics as exorcism, satanism, and Nazism. The media events he organized in the 1970s and 1980s -- with rock bands, ritual performances, and celebrity appearances -- helped to promote the "occult renaissance" in New York City. After decades of study in European, Asian, and Latin American cult centers, this book marks his first public appearance in more than twenty years.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Avon (March 1, 1980)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0380751925
• ISBN-13: 978-0380751921
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (221 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #41,319 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

154 of 199 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars People are really dumb enough to buy into anything, January 28, 2003

By	KNO2skull "kn02skull" (United States) - See all my reviews

This book is a literal sham in more ways than one. It presents itself as real, and does indeed, mix enough real mythology, (drawing conclusions about ancient gods that were far from their intention), with a handful of silly spells written in childish style. For the most part, it steals the fictional Cthulhu Mythos from H.P. Lovecraft, who wrote excellent fiction. People claim that if you believe it works, it's magic. If that's the case, run around saying "Zibbitee Bobbittee Boo" three thousand times fast and see what you get. If the people that claim this will work are right, I gaurantee it will work. Lovecraft wrote a humorous history of the "Necronomicon". The following section is easily found on the internet:
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Lovecraft said that he invented the name Abdul Alhazred after reading Lang's Arabian Nights as a child; but elsewhere he said that, as an adult, he asked the family lawyer to make up an Arab name. BTW, the Arabic is wrong: the -ul of Abdul is redundant with the Al of Alhazred. A better rendering would have been Abd-el-Hazred although Joshi calls that "much less charismatic."

In 1927, Lovecraft wrote the "History of the Necronomicon" as a tongue-in-cheek history of his mythical book. He said he did it to give "a sort of air of verisimilitude." Doubtless also to be sure that all the other writers who were making reference to the Necronomicon would be consistent.

According to Lovecraft's "History," the Necronomicon was written in the 8th Century AD by the "mad Arab" Alhazred, and was translated into Greek under the title Necronomicon by Theodorus Philetas in AD 950, then into Latin by Olias Wormius in 1228. (The real Wormius--a Danish doctor--lived from 1588 to 1654.) An "imperfect" English translation was supposedly made by Dr. John Dee (1527-1608), an English mathematician and astrologer. And so on. Lovecraft thus created a detailed background for his imaginary book.

When fans wrote Lovecraft in the 1930s to ask if these books were real, he replied truthfully (as quoted above.) In a 1936 letter, for instance, he says, "I am forced to say that most of them are purely imaginary. There never was any Abdul Alhazred or Necronomicon, for I invented these names myself."

Could he have been lying? Doubtful. Joshi says that he seems to have been a very truthful person. It would have a been a long-standing and consistent lie. But more telling is that there is simply no other historical reference to a "Necronomicon" or to "Alhazred" until Lovecraft started writing about them. Nor to the various Old Ones (like Cthulhu and Yog-Sothoth)--no mention anywhere before Lovecraft's.

Long after Lovecraft's death, several books appeared, sold privately or in bookstores, purporting to be new translations (or rediscovered copies) of the Necronomicon. Most of these are clearly spoofs or in-jokes. There are just under a dozen versions floating about, including one by Lin Carter and one by L. Sprague DeCamp, famous science fiction writers in their own right. All of them have an initial appearance that post-dates Lovecraft, usually by over 35 years.

There is the "Necronomicon of George Hay" (first published in 1978), claiming to be the English translation by John Dee, taken from a copy in the British Museum. Joshi calls it "one of the most exquisite hoaxes of modern times." Critic Colin Wilson (who wrote the intro to the Hay Necronomicon) admitted in a 1984 fanzine that it was a joke, concocted by him and a few friends.

The most commonly found version nowadays, and the only one that is not openly admitted by the author to be a joke or spoof, is the "Simon Necronomicon," published in 1977. The introduction claims it to be a translation of a Sumerian original, but it mentions gods and stories that are much later. There are other internal inconsistencies as well. Dan Clore says, "These hoax Necronomicons frequently display an utter lack of verisimilitude [in their content and in their introductions] where a little research would have provided a much more convincing story."
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If that is not enough for the idiots attaching it to Wormius, (impossible, since Wormius lived two centuries different, unless you think he extended his life, but kept his name, which doesn't appear anywhere before the time he lived). Why are people so interested things that didn't really exist, when there are more fantastic real characters out there? John Dee, Faustus, and Aggrippa come to mind (though Crowley doesn't, being an idiot and all that).
The Necronomicon (the title being an easy give away, ripped straight from the 'Satyricon') doesn't live up to Lovecraft's fantastic style, however, and it certainly would be an embarrassment to him to be associated with it. A true Lovecraft fan, I bought it young, and discarded it as useless after reading and checking the (bad) information out (check your information)! If your reading for entertainment value, you should pick up your local phone book. If your looking to create magical spells ala Harry Potter, you'd have better luck chanting your local phone book. This book is ludicrous in the extreme, and certainly not worth anyone's time or money. Check it out from the library if you're really curious. For some more serious books, however, check out the 'Leyden Papyrus' or 'Hermes Emerald Tablet', which are indeed, ancient magical scrolls. If magic exists, you're not likely to find it in a popular trade paperback format, and without question, not in this one.

36 of 45 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars FORGET THE BOOK - THE REAL HOOTS ARE THE NAIVE REVIEWS...., November 9, 1999

By A Customer

LOVED both Crowley and Lovecraft since childhood... how nice to read a creative grimoire that has some of the "spirit' of both! Does it work? Of course, if you make it so. "Alice in Wonderland" is a great grimoire if you approach it properly (ask any quantum physicist). Is this or any of the other "Necronomicons" a work of fiction? Who cares? Remember, Crowley often used fiction and poetry as prime source material and Wicca was reconstructed by an anthropologist or two in the 1950s (despite all the bogus "family tradition" people who suddenly appeared in the '60s). Even so, these arts really DO work - it's not the veracity of the reputed source that makes your Magick work, it's your MIND and your SPIRIT!........ On the lighter side, check out the many reviews below and the reviewers' constant trumpeting of their esoteric credentials... "I'm Frater Hoo-Ha and I've read my Lovecraft"...."I'm a Certified Crone, and these others don't know what they're talking about," etc., (methinks they do protest too much.) Remember, gentle Sabrina-and-Buffy-watchers, everybody else has already read the same mass-produced books (on magic or by Lovecraft) that YOU have read! Oh, well...

20 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars For those of you who want to believe, March 20, 2000

By	[e-mail] (Fl,USA) - See all my reviews

I tell you, I owe this book a great deal. It gave me an interest in Mesopotamian Theology that I have kept for 10 years now. I discovered the Necronomicon in high school, and it is, most certainly, a fabrication. But it's a pretty good fabrication, I'll give it that. Now I have never read any of Lovecraft's works, but I'm sure that Simon borrowed a great deal more from the translations of Sumerian cuneiform tablets that have become increasing available in the past 50 or so years than he ever did from the Lovecraft's mythos. In fact, some of writings in the Necronomicon, such as the Maklu and the Magan text, are very similar to actual Sumerian and Babylonian manuscripts. In other words, Lovecraft's Necronomicon was a myth by his own admittance. However, Simon's Necronomicon is, at least in part, based on a religion that was very real and practiced for thousands of years. Personally, I am at least pleased to see a book create such a resurgence of interest in a system of believes that has been close to dead for such a long, long time. However, for those of you who are interested in taking the contents of this book to a more personal level, there are far more accurate sources to look to, although I'm sure Simon's work would be best in captivating your interests.