- Cthulhu Mythos miscellaneous books
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The following is a list of miscellaneous books — both real and fictitious — appearing in the Cthulhu Mythos.
Contents
Overview
The following table[1] is organized as follows:
- Title. The title of the work as it appears in the Cthulhu Mythos.
- Fict/Real. Fictitious works are denoted by F; real-life works by R.
- Author. The person or character credited as the author of the work. Authors of nonfictional works are real people. If the author is fictitious, the name of the writer who created the work appears in parenthesis after the character's name. Surnames of mythos writers are as follows:
- Derleth = August Derleth
- Bloch = Robert Bloch
- Howard = Robert E. Howard
- Lovecraft = H. P. Lovecraft
- Notes. A brief summary of the work.
- References. A two-letter code denoting the stories or other sources in which the work appears. A code in bold indicates the work's first appearance in mythos fiction.
Table-a (A–D)
Title Fict/
RealAuthor Notes References An Investigation
into
Myth-Patterns
of Latter-Day
Primitives with
Especial Reference
to the R'lyeh TextF Prof. Laban Shrewsbury
(Derleth)— HC, WS Ars Magna et Ultima R Raymond Lully (1235–1315) Ars Magna et Ultima roughly translates to Universal Art. The proper title of this work is Ars Magna, Generalis et Ultima (1517). CA, WN Atlantis and the Lost Lemuria R W. Scott-Elliot — CC? Azathoth and Other Horrors F Edward Pickman Derby (Lovecraft) — HZ, RZ, TD, TN The Black Rites F Luveh-Keraphf
(Bloch)— HG, SU, TK, UC Book of Azathoth F (Lovecraft) In Lovecraft's fiction, it is a book carried by Nyarlathotep in his aspect as the Black Man which initiates must sign in blood to enter into his service. It is also said to contain prose in imitation of Scripture that ridicules Christianity and glorifies the Outer Gods.[2] DW Book of Dzyan R Anonymous The Book of Dzyan purports to be an ancient text of Tibetan origin, but only came to light in the late nineteenth century and may be a forgery dating from that time. HD, YT Book of Hidden Things F — Originally created by William Lumley in his draft version of "The Diary of Alonzo Typer", the book was retained by Lovecraft when he revised the story, though it receives only passing mention. YT Book of Thoth F — A book from Egyptian mythology but an actual text in mythos stories. LI, TG, WZ Clavis Alchimiae R Robert Fludd (1574–1637) — CA Commentaries on Witchcraft F Mycroft (Bloch) The fictitious author Mycroft may allude to Sherlock Holmes' brother, Mycroft Holmes. MA Cryptomenysis Patefacta R John Falconer The title of this work, first published in 1685, translates to "The Art of Secret Information Disclosed without a Key". Lovecraft found this work in the entry on "Cryptography" in the 9th edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica and included it, along with other titles from the same article, in his story "The Dunwich Horror" (1929). DH Cthulhu in the Necronomicon F Prof. Laban Shrewsbury
(Derleth)The work is Professor Shrewsbury's supposed sequel to his An Investigation into Myth-Patterns of Latter-Day Primitives. Shrewsbury's unfinished work was published posthumously following his alleged demise. The original manuscript is kept at the Miskatonic University library. HC Daemonolatreia R Remigius Remigius is the Latinized pen name for Nicholas Remy (1530–1612), an infamous French judge who presided over witchcraft trials. During a fifteen year period, he convicted and sentenced to death about nine hundred reputed witches. His work, Daemonolatreia or Demonolatry, is a compendium of information about witchcraft, intended to be used for prosecuting alleged witches. DH, FE The Daemonolorum F (Bloch) — KD De Furtivis Literarum Notis R Giovanni Battista della Porta (1535?–1615) The title means "On the Secret Symbols of Letters". Like Cryptomenysis Patefacta, Lovecraft found the work under "Cryptography" in the 20th century edition of Encyclopædia Britannica. DH De Lapide Philosophico R Johannes Trithemius (1462–1516) — CA De Masticatione Mortuorum in Tumulis F Ranft [1734]
(Bloch)The title means "On the Eating of the Dead in the Tomb", a reference to a legend that claims that entombed corpses, driven by pangs of hunger, feed on their burial shrouds and even their own rotting flesh. Two real-life books share this title, one by Michael Raufft (1728) and the other by Philip Rehrius (1679). MA Table-b (G–P)
Title Fict/
RealAuthor Notes References Ghorl Nigral F (Willis Conover) An invention of one of Lovecraft's correspondents. HG, LL, TP Image
du MondeR Gauthier de Metz — NC Invocations to Dagon F (Derleth) — BI Key of Wisdom R Artephius http://www.levity.com/alchemy/artephiu.html CA Kryptographik R J.H. Klüber A real book on cryptography, published 1809. DH Liber-Damnatus F (Lovecraft) — CA Liber Investigationis R Geber (6th century AD) Liber investigationis magisterii -- known for describing the use of the still circa 6th century (not 8th) CA Magyar Folklore F Dornly
(Howard)— BN Marvells of Science F Morryster (Lovecraft) Though mentioned by Lovecraft, the book was actually created by Ambrose Bierce in his story "The Man and the Snake" (1890). FE Night-Gaunt F Edgar Hengist Gordon
(Bloch)— KD Of Evill
Sorceries done
in New-England
of Daemons
in no Humane ShapeF (Lovecraft & Derleth) — LT, RT Occultus F Heiriarchus
(Bloch)— ET Polygraphia R Johannes Trithemius (1462–1516) Another book on cyptography from the Encyclopædia Britannica that Lovecraft mentions in "The Dunwich Horror". DH Table-c (R–Z)
Title Fict/
RealAuthor Notes References Regnum Congo R Filippo Pigafetta — PH Remnants of
Lost EmpiresF Otto Dostman
(Howard)— BN Saducismus Triumphatus R Joseph Glanvil A revised edition was published in London in 1681. FE The Saurian Age F Banfort
(Lovecraft & Derleth)— VV The Seventh Book of Moses R (Derleth) A work supposedly written by Moses that purports to be a lost book of the Bible. Lin Carter, referring to the Lewis de Claremont edition in his collection, called the work a "sloppy literary forgery".[3] OV The Soul of Chaos F Edgar Hengist Gordon
(Bloch)— KD Sussex Manuscript F (Fred L. Pelton) Pelton, a Lovecraft fan in Lincoln, Nebraska, wrote the work as an alleged English translation of the Necronomicon. Derleth, who was initially interested in the book and intended to publish it, mentioned it in his novel The Trail of Cthulhu to make it part of the mythos canon. Although Arkham House never published the work, it was printed in a special issue of Crypt of Cthulhu #63 (Eastertide 1989). GS The Tablets of Nhing F (Lovecraft & E. Hoffman Price) They are engraved tablets kept on the planet Yaddith which the wizard Zkauba consulted in "Through the Gates of the Silver Key" (1934). TG Thaumaturgicall
Prodigies in the
New-English CanaanF Rev. Ward Phillips
(Lovecraft)Although created by Lovecraft, the book is featured more prominently in Derleth's posthumous collaboration The Lurker at the Threshold (1945). LT Thesaurus Chemicus R(?) Roger Bacon Although Roger Bacon is cited as the writer of the work in The Case of Charles Dexter Ward, the provenance of Thesaurus Chemicus is not known. A similar work on alchemy, Speculum Alchemiae (1541), is credited to Bacon, though he may not have been its author. CA Traicté
des ChiffresR Blaise de Vigénère Vigénère was a leading European authority on cryptography and wrote a similarly titled book, Traicté des Chiffres ou d'Escrire, which was published in Paris in 1586. DH Turba Philosophorum R (Lovecraft) A book of alchemy whose title means "Gathering of Philosophers", published in Basel in 1613. CA The Witch-Cult in Western Europe R Dr. Margaret Alice Murray Lovecraft cited this work as early as "The Horror at Red Hook" (1927). CC, WD We Pass From View F Roland Franklyn (Campbell) — FP, CP Zohar R (Lovecraft) Actual key work of Jewish kabbalism CA See also
References
- Harms, Daniel (1998). The Encyclopedia Cthulhiana (2nd ed. ed.). Oakland, CA: Chaosium. ISBN 1-56882-119-0.
- Carter, Lin; revised by Robert M. Price and S. T. Joshi (2001) [1956]. "H. P. Lovecraft: The Books". In Darrell Schweitzer (ed.). Discovering H. P. Lovecraft. Holicong, PA: Wildside Press. ISBN 1-58715-470-6 (trade paper); ISBN 1-58715-471-4 (hardcover).
Notes
Categories:- Fictional books within the Cthulhu Mythos
- Lists of fictional books
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