@Kipling: While this is the first I have heard that Jean Averaud ever wrote anything himself, I know of a few books that were found in his own library, and/or relate to his own occult interests:
- [Various Novels], by Philip Hastane (who curiously, claims to have been present at around the time of Averaud's disappearance).
- CRITICAL HISTORY OF MANICHAEISM (1739), by Isaac de Beausobre. In French, in 2 volumes.
- LES FLEURS DU MAL (THE FLOWERS OF EVIL), by Baudelaire. In French.
- Various works by Poe and Byron.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 13 Jan 23 | 11:35AM by Platypus.

Platypus Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> 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"?


Yes, in the late 1930s, but it seems to be non-extant. I think he was following up on something in the GHORL NIGRAL about Yog-Sothoth, an earth elemental referred to in occult literature as far back as the Book of Eibon, in which "the most ancient lore and rituals of his worship are preserved", according to Carter. By coincidence (?), Mulder also disappeared without a trace in 1939, just as Averaud had in 1933, and was believed to have gone back to Germany after the invasion of Poland. If Averaud really did keep a diary it must have been exceedingly strange, given his eclectic tastes and unexplained demise.

jkh

There is, of course, the fictional account of the Averaud mystery by Clark Ashton Smith, the great fantasy author who was born 130 years ago on this day.

jkh

Kipling Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> There is, of course, the fictional account of the
> Averaud mystery by Clark Ashton Smith, the great
> fantasy author who was born 130 years ago on this
> day.

Clark Ashton Smith is merely the man responsible for the collection in which is appeared. As the story itself tells you, the author is Philip Hastane, the novelist. And of course, the prosaic world tries to console itself with the idea that such accounts are pure fiction. No doubt, Hastane was merely trying to drum up publicity for himself with this sensational tale.

Similar to the attempts of Ward Philips, the Rhode Island mystic, trying to promote his own dubious dream visions by capitalizing on the disappearance of Randolph Carter.

Platypus Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Kipling Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > There is, of course, the fictional account of
> the
> > Averaud mystery by Clark Ashton Smith, the
> great
> > fantasy author who was born 130 years ago on
> this
> > day.
>
> Clark Ashton Smith is merely the man responsible
> for the collection in which is appeared. As the
> story itself tells you, the author is Philip
> Hastane, the novelist. And of course, the prosaic
> world tries to console itself with the idea that
> such accounts are pure fiction. No doubt, Hastane
> was merely trying to drum up publicity for himself
> with this sensational tale.
>
> Similar to the attempts of Ward Philips, the Rhode
> Island mystic, trying to promote his own dubious
> dream visions by capitalizing on the disappearance
> of Randolph Carter.


No,no, no, no! Philip Hastane is an imaginary nom de plume of Clark Ashton Smith. As a bibliophile of esoterica you should know better. But I agree with your suggestion regarding the possible veracity of the account. There are as we all know more things than are dreamt of in our philosophies.

jkh

Kipling Wrote:
----------------------
> No,no, no, no! Philip Hastane is an imaginary nom
> de plume of Clark Ashton Smith. As a bibliophile
> of esoterica you should know better. But I agree
> with your suggestion regarding the possible
> veracity of the account. There are as we all know
> more things than are dreamt of in our
> philosophies.

What? If Philip Hastane is not real, then who wrote "The Hunters from Beyond" and "The City of the Singing Flame"? Next you'll be telling me that Capt. Lemuel Gulliver was not a real person, and his TRAVELS TO SEVERAL REMOTE NATIONS OF THE WORLD was in fact written as a joke by some disgruntled Anglican clergyman with too much time on his hands.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 15 Jan 23 | 08:43PM by Platypus.

-- THE OLIVE OF ATHENE, by Davies; from the early-to-mid 1870s, "a daring but most brilliant book which promised to upset the whole established theory of mythology"