Necronomicon facts for kids

The Necronomicon is a make-believe book of magic created by the famous horror writer H. P. Lovecraft. The name sounds Greek and means "book of dead names." You say it "neck-ro-nom-ih-kon." Lovecraft often got ideas for his stories, including the Necronomicon, from his dreams. He even let his friends write stories that mentioned this mysterious book. Over time, many fake Necronomicon books were written by other authors.

The Necronomicon's Fictional Story

According to Lovecraft's stories, the Necronomicon was first written in the 700s by a fictional, somewhat crazy Arabian man named Abdul Alhazred. Alhazred was said to practice dark magic. He gathered many evil spells into a manuscript (which is like a handwritten book with loose pages and no cover). He called this collection Al Azif. Lovecraft said this was an Arabian phrase for a scary sound, like a scream.

Later, the original Al Azif manuscript was supposedly translated into Greek. That's when it got the title Necronomicon. A real person named Olaus Wormius then translated the Greek version into Latin. Another real person, John Dee, supposedly translated the Necronomicon into English. Lovecraft often mixed real people and places into his made-up stories. This made his tales seem more believable, and some people even thought they were true!

"Real" Versions of the Necronomicon

After Lovecraft passed away, many authors wrote their own versions of the Necronomicon. These books are usually what the authors imagine the Necronomicon would be like if it were real. However, a few authors have claimed their books are the actual Necronomicon.

The most famous example of a "real" Necronomicon is called the "Simon" Necronomicon. "Simon" is a fake name used by the author. This book was published in the 1970s. The "Simon" Necronomicon is based on Sumerian mythology and has nothing to do with H. P. Lovecraft's original stories. Some people don't like the "Simon" Necronomicon because it pretends to be the real thing. Sometimes, people actually believe it's true. The author, Simon, has written several books about how this "real" Necronomicon was supposedly found.

Here are some books that authors claimed were the real Necronomicon (these are hoaxes):

• The True Story of the Necronomicon, author unknown
• George Hay Presents: The Necronomicon, by George Hay
• Al Azif: The Necronomicon, by L. Sprague de Camp

Here are some books where authors imagined what the Necronomicon might be like:

• Necronomicon: The Wandering of Alhazred, by Donald Tyson
• Alhazred: Author of the Necronomicon (a novel about the life of Abdul Alhazred, also by Donald Tyson)
• Grimoire of the Necronomicon (a book of real spells inspired by H. P. Lovecraft's stories, also by Donald Tyson)

Here are all the books by Simon about the Necronomicon:

• Necronomicon Spellbook (a guide on how to use the spells from the "Simon" Necronomicon safely)
• Dead Names: The Dark History of the Necronomicon
• Gates of the Necronomicon (a book explaining a long and complex ritual called the Walking of the Seven Gates, which new users of the "Simon" Necronomicon are supposed to perform)

Related pages

• Grimoire

Images for kids

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  Author H. P. Lovecraft created the Necronomicon as a fictional magic book and used it in many of his stories.

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  The first page of the manuscript for History of the Necronomicon by Lovecraft.

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  A prop made by a fan to look like the Necronomicon (from 2004).

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  Actress Sandra Dee holds the book in this picture from the movie The Dunwich Horror (1970) while Dean Stockwell watches.

See also

In Spanish: Necronomicón para niños