A list of random works that might be found in an eldritch library circa 1940. Feel free to suggests additions to the list. To keep the list punchy (and for other reasons) I have felt free to abbreviate authors and titles. Titles in [brackets] are merely descriptive, and may not reflect the actual title.

-- ASTRAL AND ASTARRAL COORDINATION, by Harzam.

-- [THE ATTIC WINDOW AND OTHERS], by Carter. A collection of weird fiction. Includes such short tales as "The Attic Window" and "The Unnamable". First published in the late 1930s, some years after Carter's disappearance.

-- THE BOOK OF EIBON: One of many variants of a document supposed to reflect the lore of a prehistoric wizard, and transcribed by mystics in a manner perhaps analogous to the methods of theosophists.

-- THE BOOK OF WERE-WOLVES, by Baring-Gould: 1865 survey of folklore and legends.

-- [DHOL CHANTS], ascribed to the ab-human cannibal people of mythic Leng.

-- DREAM QUEST OF UNKNOWN KADATH, by Carter (& others?)

-- [THE DUBLIN EXTRACTS], by Purcell. Tales, including some ghostly lore written/collected by an Irish parish priest over many decades and published posthumously in the Dublin University Magazine from 1838-1840.

-- ESSAYS ON METAPHYSICAL MEDICINE, by Hessellius. Esoteric theories of a doctor whose approach is not strictly materialistic. Some parts are evidently relevant to the subject of demonic hauntings.

-- EUREKA, by Poe.

-- EXPERIMENTS WITH A MEDIUM, by Garder.

-- GHOUL CULTS, by D'Erlette. From an 18th century French original.

-- THE GOLDEN BOUGH, by Frazer: Originally published 1890. The 3rd edition is 12 volumes. Breathtaking survey of pagan and folk magical practices, by a militant rationalist.

-- THE GREAT & GENERAL ART, by Llull. From the Latin.

-- INDUCED HAUNTINGS, by Harzam.

-- INFLUENCE OF PLANETS ON THE HUMAN BODY, by Mesmer.

-- HIEROGYLPHICS, by Machen.

-- HISTORY OF MONSTERS, by Goudon. Translation of an early 19th century French edition.

-- THE HISTORY OF NEW-YORK, by Knickerbocker: From the same reliable Dutch historian who collected "Rip Van Winkle" and "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow".

-- HISTORY OF WITCHCRAFT, by Karswell: If one can get past the attrocious writing, one might find nuggets of sinister occult wisdom. First published circa 1890.

-- THE KING IN YELLOW (1895), by Chambers. Containing, inter alia, the prophetic (?) visions of Hildred Castaigne, who died in a madhouse.

-- [THE KRIAGHTEN MS], by Berreggnog et al. Transcription and commentary of a memoir of an anonymous recluse, written circa 1800 in rural Ireland, describing uncanny visions and experiences.

-- THE KYBALION, by 3 initiates. Relatively modern (1908) synthesis of Hermetic occult wisdom. Despite vague promises of occult power, their are, sadly, no recipes. But all good things come to those who master general principles, such as "as above, so below".

-- LETTERS ON DEMONOLOGY (1830), by Scott.

-- THE LOST LEMURIA, by Scott-Eliot (1904). A prehistory of Earth as evidenced by the visions of theosophists. A follow-up to his THE SECRET OF ATLANTIS.

-- MAGYAR FOLKORE, by Dornly.

-- MEMOIRS TO PROVE THE EXISTENCE OF THE DEVIL, by Clarke. Private ms. consisting of research on various occult topics. Contains material on the Helen Vaughan case.

-- MYSTERIES OF THE WORM, by Prinn. From the Latin. Rumous suggest this occult tome is best left unopened.

-- NAMELESS CULTS, by von Juntz: Sadly (or fortunately) this is the expurgaged 1909 Golden Goblin edition.

-- NARRATIVE OF ARTHUR GORDON PYM, by Poe.

-- THE NECRONOMICON, by Alhazred: It is very rare and every eldritch library must have one -- so it's probably a fake. But who wants to look inside to make sure?

-- OBSERVATIONS ON THE SEVERAL PARTS OF AFRICA, by Jermyn. Notable for tales of hidden cities and missing link primates in the Congo region, based on explorations in the 1700s.

-- THE PEOPLE OF THE MONOLITH, by Geoffrey. A collection of poems, which includes the titular poem. They say he saw the Black Stone of Stregovacar and died in a madhouse in 1926.

-- PHANTASTES, by MacDonald.

-- PHILOSOPHICAL & CHRISTIAN THOUGHTS ON VAMPIRES, by Harenberg (1749). Translated, not from the German, but from the ultra-rare Latin text.

-- POLYHISTORY, by Solinus. Geographic overview, with many curious details regarding the customs and creatures of the various nations of the world. Mentions such creatures as the amphisbaena and the cockatrice. From the 3rd Century Latin.

-- RELIGIOUS CEREMONIES, by Bernard, with engravings by Picart. Originally in French, 1731.

-- REMNANTS OF LOST EMPIRES, by Dostman.

-- RESEARCHES ON MAGNETISM, by Von Reichenbach. Experiments published in English in 1850, concerning "animal magnetism" and the quasi-mystical "odic force". Other scientists have been unable to replicate his results.

-- RUSSIAN FOLKLORE by Ralston. Translating the work of Afanseev.

-- SADUCISM TRIUMPHANT, by Glanvil. Translation of his 1682 text arguing for the reality of witchcraft. From the Latin.

-- THE SECRET COMMONWEALTH, by Kirk. Scottish lore re. Elves, Fauns, Fairies & the second sight. From an 1691 manuscript, in Lang's 1885 edition.

-- THE SECRET DOCTRINE, by Blavatsky: The most famous of her theosophical works, featuring references to the STANZAS OF DYZAN.

-- THE SIGSAND MS. Transcription/commentary of a 14th-century Middle English manuscript, concerned in part with the Saaamaaa Ritual and other protective charms of ab-human origin.

-- THEORIES OF TRIBAL FOLKLORE, by Kendl. Rare 19th century text.

-- THE TRUTH OF ALCHEMY, by Karswell: Still unpublished as the time of the author's untimely death in the early 1900s; the writing has not improved.

-- TREATISE ON APPARITIONS, by Calmet: From the French researches of a Benedictine monk, written 1746, expanded 1751. Notable for its lore on vampires.

-- TRAVELS TO SEVERAL REMOTE NATIONS OF THE WORLD, by Gulliver. 1727 edition.

-- WHISPERS, a wierd fiction magazine, active in the 1920s.

-- [WRITINGS OF WARD PHILLIPS]. Author of "The Silver Key", concerning the disappearance of his friend Randolph Carter; the prose poem "Ex Oblivione"; and other pieces.

-- THE WITCH-CULT OF WESTERN EUROPE, by Murray. Connects the witchcraft trials to the survival of an ancient pagan cult.

-- THE ZOHAR. Early medieval book of Jewish mysticism.

-- LES CHANTS DE MALDOROR, by Comte de Lautréamont. The work concerns the misanthropic, misotheistic character of Maldoror, a figure of evil who has renounced conventional morality. [from Wikipedia]

--Sawfish

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"The food at the new restaurant is awful, but at least the portions are large."
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Sawfish Wrote:
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> -- LES CHANTS DE MALDOROR, by Comte de
> Lautréamont. The work concerns the misanthropic,
> misotheistic character of Maldoror, a figure of
> evil who has renounced conventional morality.

Translated 1924 as THE SONGS OF MALDOROR. Do you recommend?

Errata:
for THE SECRET OF ATLANDIS read THE STORY OF ATLANTIS
for THE STANZAS OF DYZAN read THE STANZAS OF DZYAN

I read only one excerpt, in English, printed in an anthology. It left me with a very odd feeling that I'd just been to a place I'd never visited before, that I hadn't realized existed.

This is all the more significant when one realizes that I was about 50 when I read it.

The excerpt is "Hours in the Life of a Lousy-Haired Man". Quite short--maybe 2.5 pages.

If you find it and read it, I'd be very interested in your thoughts.

--Sawfish

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"The food at the new restaurant is awful, but at least the portions are large."
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So far, I've only skimmed the first Canto. It does seem like something that would plausibly be in the library of an Evil Occultist. Apart from that it is hard to form an opinion. I understand, that in a later passage, he meets a female shark, and they fall passionately in love with each other, because (naturally) they are both equally evil and bloodthirsty. Then they start making passionate love to each other (??).

Platypus Wrote:
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> So far, I've only skimmed the first Canto. It
> does seem like something that would plausibly be
> in the library of an Evil Occultist. Apart from
> that it is hard to form an opinion. I
> understand, that in a later passage, he meets a
> female shark, and they fall passionately in love
> with each other, because (naturally) they are both
> equally evil and bloodthirsty. Then they start
> making passionate love to each other (??).


Gosh, I must have missed that part...

:^)

--Sawfish

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"The food at the new restaurant is awful, but at least the portions are large."
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Are any obscure works mentioned in the work of Algernon Blackwood?

-- BLACK RITES, by Luveh-Karaph, priest of Bast.

-- THE MAGIC ISLAND (1929), by William Seabrook. Anthropoligist claims to be the first white man initiated into the rites of voodoo. Helped popularize the word "zombie".

-- THE SKETCH BOOK (1819-20), by Geoffrey Crayon. Notable, inter alia, for some curious legends gathered by Diedrich Knickerbocker, the Dutch historian.

-- "Out of the Old Land", poem by Justin Geoffrey.

-- EVIDENCES OF NAHUA CULTURE IN YUCATAN (1920s). Much criticized by Tussmann.

-- THE SCIENTIFIC NEWS. Journal active circa 1930. Includes submissions by Tussmann, an archaeologist of somewhat mercenary reputation.

-- HORRID MYSTERIES, by the Marquis of Grosse. 18th Century edition.

-- THE CLOVEN HOOF, poetry magazine, edited by Clemants, circa 1930, with a reputation for bizarre and shocking content. (Clemants also writes swashbuckling novels for popular consumption).

-- PROTOPLASIMIC REVERSION, by Charles Phillipps. A treatise from the 1880s, by an amateur ethnologist, purporting to explain, in scientific or pseudoscientific terms, certain improbably or miraculous things observed in legend, folklore, or other dubious evidence.

-- AZATHOTH AND OTHER HORRORS (1909), poetry by Edward Pickman Derby.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 13 Jan 23 | 12:26AM by Platypus.

WHAT WAS THE GHORL NIGRAL? by Jean Averaud. Tract. Anonymously "edited" and published in New Orleans by the "Ghoul Guild" (1953). Purported to contain extracts from the diary of the author, a Creole mystic and medieval scholar who disappeared from his home in Auburn, California in 1933.

jkh

Kipling Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> WHAT WAS THE GHORL NIGRAL? by Jean
> Averaud. Tract. Anonymously "edited" and published
> in New Orleans by the "Ghoul Guild" (1953).
> Purported to contain extracts from the diary of
> the author, a Creole mystic and medieval scholar
> who disappeared from his home in Auburn,
> California in 1933.

I could not find out much about this one, possibly because it post-dates 1943. But did not a certain Professor Mulder also have a monograph that had something to do with the "Ghorl Nigral"?