Dedication
On the One Hundredth anniversary
of the Nativity of the Poet
ALEISTER CROWLEY
1875-1975
Ad Meiomrum Cthulhi Gloriam
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
THE EDITOR would like to thank all of the people whose cooperation and dedication to unspeakable horrors has made this book possible. First, our thanks go to that nameless monk who presented us with the originals., who has since disappeared. Second, to that ever-changing staff of translators who performed a most distasteful and oft'times unsatisfying task: to Ms. I. Celms, Ms. N. Papaspyrou, Mr. Peter Levenda, Mr. X. and Mr. Y. Third, to Ms. J. McNally, whose thorough knowledge and understanding of Craft folklore aided the Editor in assuming a proper perspective towards this Work. Fourth, to Mr. J. Birnbaum who aided in some of the preliminary practical research concerning the powers of the Book, and its dangers. Fifth, to Mr. L. K. Barnes, who dared to tempt the awesome wrath of the Ancient Ones, rising unspeakable eldritch horrors, in supporting the publication of this arcane treatise. Sixth, to all those patient Pagans and Friends of the Craft who waited, and waited for the eventual publication of this tome with baited breath . . . and something on the stove. Seventh, and perhaps most importantly, to Herman Slater of the Magickal Childe (nee Warlock Shop), whose constant encouragement and eternal kvetching was material to the completion of this Work.
And, finally, to the Demon PERDURABO, without whose help the presentation of this Book would have been impossible.
Blessed Be!
PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION
THERE ARE THREE major individuals who must share the credit for the astonishingly good reception the NECRONOMICON has enjoyed over the last two years since its publication. L.K. Barnes was lured into the Magickal Childe bookstore in Manhattan one day by an incarnated thoughtform we may only refer to by his initials, B.A.K. Both were in search of some casual amusement from the slightly distorted version of the supernatural intelligence-dissemination that usually took place on those premises. L.K. Barnes, publisher of this tome, has probably come to regret ever setting foot or tentacle inside those clammy precincts, for the crazed proprietor of that institution commenced to wave before him the manuscript copy of this book, thereby securing his soul forever in the service of the Elder Gods.
Needless to say, L.K. - a longtime pilgrim in the search for the genuine NECRONOMICON which he knew, since childhood, really existed - was suitably impressed. Shocked, actually. He asked to see the dubious personality who claimed responsibility for the editing and general research work that went into the volume.
This exotic individual, Simon by name, appeared suddenly one day in the living quarters of L.K. Barnes attired in a beret, a suit of some dark, fibrous material, and a attache case which contained - besides correspondence from various Balkan embassies and a photograph of the F-104 fighter being crated up for shipment to Luxembourg - additional material on the NECRONOMICON which proved his bona fides. Also at that meeting was the third member of the Unholy Trinity, James Wasserman of Studio 31 who - according to a South American cult leader - died during the last year, but who has been able with assistance from the Stone of the Wise and certain of the formulae in this book, to go on about his business like unto a living man.
With Simon's manuscript, Barnes' occult vision and aesthetic scruples, and Wasserman's production experience and tireless labour, the abhorred NECRONOMICON began to take shape and the first edition smote the stands on December 22, 1977 - the ancient pagan feast of Yule, the winter solstice.
Yet, not without a number of bizarre occurrences that more than once threatened the lives, the sanity, and the astral bodies of the three individuals most deeply involved.
Jim Wasserman was subjected to what we may vaguely refer to as "poltergeist" activity during the time he worked on production and design aspects of the book. A room which, for certain loathsome purposes, was always kept locked was found one day to have been opened - from the inside. In the same building, just below his loft, the typesetters were set upon by swarms of rats. The discovery of a small Hindu idol that had been lost signalled the end to the plague, and the rats disappeared.
Simon usually lives in fear of his life, for reasons that do not always have to do with the NECRONOMICON. However, he has been subject to constant surveillance by the Ancient Ones as they await one slip, the single misstep, that will provide for them the entry they earnestly desire into this world.
L.K. Barnes, on the other hand, has had no rest whatever from the signals and messages from the extraterrestrial intelligences that were the overseers and the guardians of the book's publication. He has been plagued by an unremitting chain of numerological events which he cannot ignore. The predominance of the numbers 13,333,555,666 and others too arcane to bear mentioning have been made his life a demonstration (read, demon-stration) of Jungian synchronicity patterns. Also, his printing of the beautiful, full-colour Denderah Zodiac on the first anniversary of the NECRONOMICON's publication in 1978 precipitated a rash of UFO sightings in Australia and New Zealand - in which one pilot has disappeared.
Bizarre occurrences and humorous coincidences aside for the moment, the NECRONOMICON has caused changes in the conscience of those people most intimately involved with it, as well as many strangers who simply bought the book through the mail or at their bookstore. Judging by the letters we have received in the last two years, these changes have been startling. Many have found the books' magick to work, and work extremely well. Others, having once attempted certain of the rituals, felt compelled to retire from the occult "scene" for lengthy periods of time. The mere fact that the books was generally considered never have existed - and then found to exist after all - is itself a powerful psychic influence. A fantasy come true. A dream realised in waking life. The quest for a lifetime search come to an end. The ultimate Book of Spells. The Godfather of Grimoires.
Therefore it is with awe, and with something akin to dread, that I address this second edition to the courageous reader of the NECRONOMICON. The Beast has told us, "I am the warrior Lord of the Forties : the Eighties cower before me, & are abased." (AL, III:46) This edition of the NECRONOMICON is scheduled for early delivery in January-February 1980, making it possibly the first occult book of the Eighties. A herald of doom ? Or a harbinger of fate ?
Since the publication of this book in December, 1977, the ancient forces of erstwhile victory have been banging and clamouring at the Gates. December 1977 was the middle of the killing spree of the calibre killer, known to the press as the Son of Sam, who was motivated - according to recent reports - by membership in a satanic cult in Yonkers. Several months after the capture of David Berkowitz in 1978, nearly one thousand people killed themselves in Guyana at the orders of a crazed religious leader. Several months after that, the leader of a mystical Islamic sect seized power in Iran and - at the time of writing - is calling for a Holy War against the Infidel.
There is evidence that every New Age witnesses a baptism by fire. Christians and Muslims are turning on each other and themselves; Israel is once again in serious jeopardy; Buddhism is being eradicated in Southeast Asia as it was in Tibet. The Ancient Ones, Lords of a time before memory, are being drawn by the smell of confusion and the hysteria and mutual hatred of the primitive life-forms on this planet: human beings. Unless the Gates are secured against attack, unless humanity awakens to both the real danger and the real potential for evolution . . .
Well, the vision of the Mad Arab - ancestor of the Muslim princes so much in the news in 1979/1980 - is one, certainly of terror. The discovery of this book, however, like the discovery of the typesetters' idol, may be the key, the link in our defence against the possible Enemy awaiting us, Outside. Events of the last two years have shown us that the book is also an amulet, a protective shield, that guards its own from the machinations of evil. Extraterrestrial or primevally elemental, alien beings or subconscious repressions, they are powerless against us if we consider deeply the message of this book, and take the seeming ranting of the Arab at face value for what they are: a warning, a weapon, and a wisdom. With these three we enter the New Age of the Crowned and Conquering Child, Horus, not in a slouch towards Bethlehem, but born within us at the moment we conquer the lurking fear in our own souls.
New York, N.Y.
December, 1979