Necronomicon Ex-Mortis

Naturom Demonto, AKA Naturan Demanto, Necronomicon Ex-Mortis, "Ancient Kandarian Book of the Dead", "Book of Ulthar", "Book of Cthulhu", "Book of Evil", etc.

The Necronomicon Ex-Mortis or Naturan Demanto, as portrayed in Equinox (1970 film) and in The Evil Dead (1981 franchise)....

Origin: Evil Dead (1981 franchise) as Necronomicon Ex-Mortis and Naturom Demonto; a similar concept has appeared in other films and media

For all intents and purposes, any vaguely "Lovecraftian" cinematic tome of any name that conjures demons or zombies or opens a portal to a hellish "other world" can be considered a version of the Necronomicon Ex-Mortis.

Description

A plot device from the Evil Dead (1981 franchise), said to have been written by one of the "Dark Ones", a Kandarian Demon, in Sumeria at a time when "the seas ran red with blood".

The shooting script for The Evil Dead elaborates on its origins a little more than the film itself: "Excavated from the ruins of Ca'n Dar, the 'Book of the Dead' was one of six volumes of ancient Sumerian burial practices and rites entitled "Naturan Demanto" roughly translated 'Book of the Dead'. It was bound in human flesh, and inked with blood. The other volumes still lost, this particular volume deals with demons and demon resurrection. These are of the Katardi family, meaning those forces believed to inhabit the jungles and woods of man's domain. As legend has it, only the sacred high priests of the Ca'n Dar tribe could possess these books, for they alone could properly control the resurrected demons. It is only through the act of reciting the resurrection passage that these demons would be able to possess the living."

(Similar generic tomes have appeared in other films, and might have their own unique titles and histories, but few of these other "Necronomicons" have their own detailed origin stories or histories.)

Naturan Demonto (Ash's Copy, Evil Dead)

Language: Kandarian(?), the language of ancient Kandar

Physical Description: a roughly quarto-sized volume, with parchment pages bound in (Deadite?) facial flesh and inked in blood; this volume is incomplete, as pages have been torn out a few times over the volume's history

General Content: one volume of a six-volume set; the other volumes have been lost to time; this volume deals with demons of the wilderness, demonic resurrection, and demonic possession; by "Army of Darkness" it apparently also contains information about sleeping potions and time travel

Number of known copies (if rare): this volume may be unique (at least two versions appear in the three original films, but time travel is involved, so these might be the same tome)

Last known location of surviving copies (if rare): Discovered by Professor Raymond Knowby. For the past thirty years the book has been in the possession of Ashley J. "Ash" Williams, a former employee of S-Mart and Value Shop and protagonist of the Evil Dead (1981 franchise).

Mythos Content

Spells: TO DO

• Sanity Loss: TO DO
• Mythos Knowledge: TO DO
• Occult Knowledge: TO DO

Untitled (Equinox)

Language: Latin(?), Kandarian(?), or other creepy language?

Physical Description: large (roughly folio-sized) leather-bound volume

General Content: apparently contains information about summoning demons, teleportation and magical gates, the construction of protective talismans

Number of known copies (if rare): this volume may be unique

Last known location of surviving copies (if rare): vanished before the last known user barely escaped with his life and was institutionalized?

Mythos Content

Spells: TO DO

• Sanity Loss: TO DO
• Mythos Knowledge: TO DO
• Occult Knowledge: TO DO

Untitled (The Slaughter)

See The Slaughter (2006 film)

Language: ?

Physical Description: Leather-bound in human skin.

General Content: ? (used to summon a female demon)

Number of known copies (if rare): Unique

Last known location of surviving copies (if rare): ?

Mythos Content

Spells: TO DO

• Sanity Loss: TO DO
• Mythos Knowledge: TO DO
• Occult Knowledge: TO DO

Cthulhu (Cthulhu Mansion)

See Cthulhu Mansion (1992 film)

Language: ?

Physical Description: ?

General Content: ?

Number of known copies (if rare): (unique)

Last known location of surviving copies (if rare): ?

Mythos Content

Spells: TO DO

• Sanity Loss: TO DO
• Mythos Knowledge: TO DO
• Occult Knowledge: TO DO

The Book of Ulthar (Transylvania Twist)

See: Transylvania Twist (1989 film)

Language: ?

Physical Description: ?

General Content: ?

Number of known copies (if rare): Unique

Last known location of surviving copies (if rare): ?

Mythos Content

Spells: TO DO

• Sanity Loss: TO DO
• Mythos Knowledge: TO DO
• Occult Knowledge: TO DO

The Book of Evil (Saturday the 14th)

See: Saturday the 14th

Language: English?

Physical Description: ?

General Content: ?

Number of known copies (if rare): ?

Last known location of surviving copies (if rare): ?

Mythos Content

Spells: TO DO

• Sanity Loss: TO DO
• Mythos Knowledge: TO DO
• Occult Knowledge: TO DO

Quotes

• "I believe I have made a significant find in the Kandarian ruins, a volume of ancient Sumarian burial practices and funerary incantations. It is entitled Naturum Demontum, roughly translated: Book of the Dead. The book is bound in human flesh and inked in human blood. It deals with demons, demon resurrection and those forces which roam the forest and dark bowers of Man's domain. The first few pages warn that these enduring creatures may lie dormant but are never truly dead. They may be recalled to active life through the incantations presented in this book. It is through the recitation of these passages that the demons are given license to possess the living... I know now that my wife has become host to a Kandarian demon. I fear that the only way to stop those possessed by the spirits of the book is through the act of... bodily dismemberment...." - Professor Knowby on audio tape, The Evil Dead

Appearances

• Evil Dead (1981 franchise)
• Equinox (1970 film) (as an unnamed tome)
• The Slaughter (2006 film) (as an unnamed tome)
• Cthulhu Mansion (1992 film) (as "Cthulhu")
• Transylvania Twist (1989 film) (as "The Book of Ulthar")
• Friday the 13th - Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday (a copy can be seen in the background in Jason's house)
• Resolution (2012 film) (a drawing of the cover of the Evil Dead version appears on one of the walls of the "cabin in the woods" the main characters occupy in this movie)
• Saturday the 14th (1981 franchise) (as "The Book of Evil")
• The Slaughter (2006 film) (as an unnamed tome)
• Mercy (2014 film) (identified as the actual Necronomicon in the original short story)
• Gramma (1986 short) (identified as the actual Necronomicon in the original short story)
• Badass Monster Killer (2015 film) (identified as the actual Necronomicon in the film)
• Residue (2017 film) (as an unnamed tome)

Heresies and Controversies

• Otherwise nameless/unidentifiable tomes appearing in 1980s horror films similar in tone to The Evil Dead and its sequels can generally be referred to as Necronomicon Ex-Mortis.