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Book Home  Books Information Arcane literature
Arcane literature (Cthulhu mythos)
Many fictional works of arcane
literature appear in the Cthulhu mythos of H. P. Lovecraft.
Preeminent among these books are the Necronomicon and the Pnakotic
Manuscripts, both the creations of Lovecraft. These tomes and
others appear in the works of numerous mythos authors (who themselves
added their own grimoires to the literary arcana), including
August Derleth, Lin Carter, Brian Lumley, Ramsey Campbell, and
Clark Ashton Smith.
Arcane literature in the
mythos
Celaeno Fragments
In August Derleth's novel The Trail of Cthulhu,
the name "Celaeno" refers to a distant planet that contains
a huge library of alien literature. Professor Laban Shrewsbury and
his companions travel to Celaeno several times to escape Cthulhu's
minions. Shrewsbury later wrote the Celaeno Fragments, a work based
on what he remembered of his translations of the books in the library
of Celaeno.
De Vermis Mysteriis
De Vermis Mysteriis (modern title: Mysteries of
the Worm) is a grimoire created by Robert Bloch, and is cited in some
later mythos stories. The tome first appeared in Bloch's short story
"The Shambler from the Stars" (1935) in which a character
reads a passage from the book and accidentally summons a star vampire.
It is also featured in a Lovecraftian short story by horror writer
Stephen King entitled "Jerusalem's Lot" – part of
the Night Shift collection. Additionally, the book is referenced (as
Des Vermis Mysteriis) in the 2004 movie Hellboy.
De Vermis Mysteriis was written by Ludwig Prinn in a
prison in Prague in 1542. This terrible book is believed to contain
knowledge that can drive its readers to madness. Although banned by
Pope Pius V, copies may yet be found at the Church of Starry Wisdom
in Providence, Rhode Island, at the Huntington Library in California,
and at Miskatonic University in Arkham.
Eltdown Shards
The Eltdown Shards are mentioned in numerous mythos
stories. They are mysterious pottery fragments found in 1882 and named
after the place where they were discovered, Eltdown in southern England.
The shards date to the Triassic period and are covered with strange
symbols thought to be untranslatable. Nonetheless, several authors
have penned their own interpretations of the markings, including Gordon
Whitney's The Eltdown Shards: A Partial Translation. Many of these
works, as well as a number of non-academic versions, have circulated
among secretive cults.
Whitney's translation is remarkably similar to the Pnakotic
Manuscripts, a tome produced by the Great Race of Yith. The translation
describes Yith, the planet from which the Great Race came, and the
Great Race's fateful encounter with the Yekubians. A magical formula
from the nineteenth shard is for the summoning of the "Warder
of Knowledge"; unfortunately, the dismissal portion of the ritual
is garbled, so the summoning of this being could prove calamitous.
Despite its connections to the Great Race, the Eltdown Shards were
most likely incribed by the Elder Things, who probably buried the
ceramics in England when it was part of the great supercontinent Pangaea.
Liber Ivonis (Book of Eibon)
The Book of Eibon, that strangest and rarest of
occult forgotten volumes, which is said to have come down through
a series of manifold translations from a prehistoric original written
in the lost language of Hyperborea.
—Clark Ashton Smith, "Ubbo-Sathla"
The Liber Ivonis, or Book of Eibon, is attributed to
Clark Ashton Smith. It appears in a number of Lovecraft's stories,
such as "The Haunter Of The Dark" (Liber Ivonis), "Dreams
in the Witch-House" (Book of Eibon) and "The Shadow Out
of Time" (Book of Eibon).
The book was written by Eibon, a wizard in the land
of Hyperborea. It was an immense tome of arcane knowledge that, among
other things, contained a detailed account of Eibon's exploits, including
his journeys to the Vale of Pnath and the planet Shaggai; his veneration
rituals of Zhothaqquah (Eibon's patron deity); and his magical formulae,
such as for the slaying of certain otherworldly horrors. Unfortunately,
only incomplete fragments of the original are thought to exist, though
there are translations in English, French, and Latin – Liber
Ivonis is the title of the Latin translation.
The horror film The Beyond, directed by the late Lucio
Fulci, features the Book of Eibon, though the film's story is not
Lovecraftian. The book's appearance is largely a tribute to Lovecraft.
Necronomicon
The Necronomicon is arguably the most famous (or
infamous) of Lovecraft's grimoires. It appears in a number of Lovecraft's
stories, as well as in the writings of other authors.
Unaussprechlichen Kulten
Unaussprechlichen Kulten is said to be written
by Friedrich von Junzt. It is also sometimes called The Black Book.
The first mention of the book appears in Robert E. Howard's short
story "The Children of the Night" as Nameless Cults. Like
the Necronomicon, it is mentioned in several stories by Lovecraft.
Unaussprechlichen Kulten supposedly means "nameless
cults" in German, but in fact translates to "unspeakable/unutterable
cults". The full title should technically be Von Unaussprechlichen
Kulten ("Of Unspeakable Cults") – without the preposition,
the German dative case makes no sense, as "Unspeakable Cults"
translates to "Unaussprechliche Kulte" (in the nominative).
When Lovecraft tried to find a German name for Nameless Cults, Derleth
finally came up with Unaussprechlichen Kulten, although the German
is not a direct translation. (For the curious, a German translation
of Nameless Cults would be Namenlose Kulte.)
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