Necronomicon Hoaxes

The Necronomicon as a real book

There have been some occult hoaxes that purport that the Necronomicon was "real" and that Lovecraft and a cabal of writer friends have only "claimed" it was fictional to "cover up a truth that mankind is not ready for", teaching systems of Lovecraft-inspired "chaos magick" and the like to its adherents as part of the hoax. It's not always clear whether these are simply "fan fiction" portrayed as tongue-in-cheek "reality" for an audience that is assumed to know it's not real, or cynical attempts to sell something to the gullible, or earnest delusions by people who have actually convinced themselves or been convinced of the "facts" of the "conspiracy", or some combination of all of these possibilities.

The "Simon Necronomicon" (see below) seems to be a self-aware example of this sort of hoax, though it isn't the only one, nor the most insistent on the supposed basis in "reality" of its claims. Other examples of this sort of hoax might insist that Lovecraft had access, consciously or subconsciously, to "hidden knowledge" of a "real" pantheon of supernatural gods, which the perpetrators or proponents of the hoax claim to have more thorough and accurate knowledge of (which they will typically offer to share in book or instruction form, for a price, or write about at length in "green ink" on occult or Lovecraft-themed forums and other internet websites.)

Though Lovecraft insisted the book was pure invention (and other writers invented passages from the book in their own works), there are accounts of some people purporting, or actually believing (or more recently just claiming to believe, in post-modern irony) his Necronomicon to be a real book. Even during Lovecraft's life he received letters from fans inquiring about the tome's authenticity. Occasionally, pranksters have listed the Necronomicon for sale in book store newsletters or inserted phony library card catalogue entries for the book.

Simon "Necronomicon"

This line between fact and fiction was further confused in the late 1970s by the publication of a book purporting to be a translation of the "real" Necronomicon. This book, by the pseudonymic "Simon", has little connection to the fictional Lovecraft mythology but rather is based on a modified Sumerian Mythology filtered through elements of occultism derived from Aleister Crowley, with some pseudo-Lovecraftian terminology and concepts derived from the Derleth "Mythos" narrative substituted for some occult or mythic concepts. This work has since been dubbed the Simon Necronomicon or "Simonomicon" to differentiate it from the imaginary pulp-fictional device.

Wilson Hoax

A blatant hoax version of the Necronomicon was produced by paranormal researcher and writer Colin Wilson, describing how it was translated by computer from a discovered "cipher text." It is far truer to the Lovecraftian version and even incorporates quotations from Lovecraft's stories into its passages. See Colin Wilson's Necronomicon for details.

H.R. Giger's Necronomicon

An art "coffee table book" produced by H.R. Giger, the surrealist most famous for creating the "xenomorph" concept for the Alien movie franchise. Loosely inspired by Lovecraft's references to the Necronomicon, but not really intended to be confused with an actual tome. See H.R. Giger's Necronomicon.

Voynich Manuscript

A "real life tome" considered to be one of the most mysterious books ever written: sometimes regarded a hoax, a misundersood alchemical grimoire, or a product of another world, depending on who you ask, the book appears as a palimpsest text consisting of a (thus far) unknown and indecipherable coded language (or convincing simulation of such), accompanied by detailed by crudely-executed illustrations depicting unknown plants and inexplicable depictions of what seem to be alien rituals. See Voynich Manuscript for details.

Books of the Dead

Historical "Books of the Dead" such as the Egyptian Book of the Dead or the Bardo Thodol - Tibetan Book of the Dead are sometimes described as "real Necronomicons." They should not be confused with the Lovecraft Necronomicon, as their contents are meant to be read or remembered by the dead, rather than used by the living to summon the dead. Lovecraft, however, may have been inspired by these books.