Necronomicon (Dee-Endicott Edition)

"I didn't mean to do it."

The young man stares at the book. He threw it onto the table in front of you as though holding it was causing him physical pain. His face is a mixture of exhaustion and the clear use of various chemical aids to either fall asleep or stay awake.

"We had a plan, see. The Professor gave me a list of books we could stitch up for this thing we were doing, and I knew some folks who had bits of this one. She had the Latin and I had the binding stitching, y'know? Anyway, I cobbled it together from moth-eaten and broken pieces, while she translated sections to make sure we were getting things in the right order. At first, it seemed to be nonsense, but the Professor said that Enochian names were weird hodgepodges of syllables." He takes a thick swallow of the brown liquor in his glass.

"But as I was sizing some plates and getting the shell together, things...started to make more sense. References started to come up more often. And then..." He looks away, as though he saw something at the window that startled him. "And then, it started to get cleaner. Neither of us even noticed it at the time, but stains that were in this book are gone. I myself might not have noticed, but there was a soot stain from the fire. It's not there anymore."

"The Professor said a real version of it would be worth a mint. This one ain't, but, yet, it might be...becoming one? If that makes any bloody sense. Either way, I want it out of my house and as far away from me as I can put it. You want it or not?"

Purpose

A "Frankenstein Copy" of Dee's translation of the Necronomicon into Latin, this book was put together by an occult expert and a professional forger to aid in some unknown scam. The text is actually from four different partial copies, sewn together in order and rebound.

Historical Details

History

John Dee translated Alhazred's Al-Azif in Latin and English the 16th century. Although no existing publisher can claim to have produced a copy of the entire text, the Latin version has periodically appeared, mixed with the 13th century translation by Olaus Wormius

Public Reaction

For most people, the text itself is far more obscure than its translator, and the fragments have sold largely on the strength of Dee's name (leading more than a few unscrupulous catalogue agents to sell fragments of Wormius over a forged Dee signature). In occult circles, the book produces...startlingly strong reactions.

Type

Guide, How-to

Medium

Paper

Authoring Date

The late 16th century, near the end of Dee's life