The World’s Most Evil Books – in movies and real life

The World’s Most Evil Books – in movies and real life

book of shadows

For conjuring, spells, invocations and summoning the dark powers and Demonic entities

Books for summoning dark powers, entities, and magicks are often called Grimoires. These Grimoires were often collections of incantations and spells that practitioners accumulated in their travels, rewritten in an orderly fashion. Some were more intensive studies by monks, Satanists and sorcerers interested in the dark arts and attempting to unlock the secrets of death and the great beyond. Here’s a brief look at some of the most powerful dark arts books in the world.



TheBlackPullett

The Black Pullet – 1700s

This book from 18th century Rome gives instructions and guides on creating and using Talismans. The magic of the rings is known to bring forth a multitude of extraordinary powers of protection, healing, and spellbinding. One such ceremony concerns producing the Black Pullet, known as the Hen with Golden Eggs, to build wealth and fortune.


Grand Grimoire - Cover

The Red Dragon aka: The Grande Grimoire – 1500’s

Presumed to have been dated back to the 1500’s this book is a prized source of black magic and demonic invocation. It is believed to have been transcribed from original writings of King Solomon, known to be a master of spells, rituals and pacts with evil.


Malleus Maleficarum

Malleus Maleficarum – 1486

aka: De Hexenhammer (German) / Hammer of the Witches (English) This famous book is a legal treatise on the hunting, detection and persecution of witches. Written in 1486 by Heinrich Kramer after he had been given full papal approval for Inquisition and prosecution of witches in 1484. Part of it is a guide on the rules and methods of conducting a witchcraft trial, including accusations, tortured interrogation and proving witches guilty. The book covers arguments against witchcraft and how to maintain that it is real, the powers of a witch and the demon’s recruiting strategies.


aemeth_jhp_sl313s

Liber Juratus – 1200’s

aka: The Grimoire of Honorius, is one of the oldest Grimoires known to man. It is said to have been created at a gathering of the world’s magicians and sorcerers for the expressed purpose of collecting all their knowledge into a single useful tool. This book of higher necromancy offers instruction on saving souls from purgatory, conjuring demons, casting spells and even powers of the church such as using angelic powers and seals. Its date of origin is unknown but can be traced as far back as medieval times in the 13th century.


egyptianparch

The Handbook of Ritual Power – An Ancient Egyptian Book of Spells – 700 AD

This is a 1,300-year-old book of bound parchment papers describing spells to accomplish many things including, controlling a person or freeing oneself from possession. It is written in Coptic and dialect points to its origins in the ancient cities of Ashmunein and Hermopolis. It could have been a rewriting and transitional documents of Sethian spells. It’s currently housed at the Macquarie University Museum in Australia.


necronomicon art

The Necronomicon – 1929

The Necronomicon was a fictional book created by HP Lovecraft in his story The Hound. It showed up in several other stories by himself and others after its first appearance and was described as written by The Mad Arab. It was not the book bound in human flesh as many people think. Although fictional, The Necronomicon was later the title of a “real” book of spells described as the Simon Necronomicon. The Simon Necronomicon is a two-part book. The first part is of how the editor, only known by the name Simon, came into possession of the book and his work to translate the book. It’s followed by the book of spells and identifiers. It claims to be able to summon entities to do your bidding or to ward off evil. The rituals are a mix of cultures including some Babylonian creation stories and Sumerian rituals.


Necronomicon Ex-mortis - Evil Dead

The Naturom Demonto – aka: The Necronomicon Ex-mortis – 1980

This is the fictional book that appeared in the Evil Dead films. It is purportedly written by The Dark Ones, who were banished into the Mirror Dimension, as a tool to release the Dark entities. This is the book that is described as bound in human flesh creating confusion and making people think that Lovecraft’s Necronomicon was also bound in human flesh.


tibetan book of the dead

The Tibetan Book of the Dead

The Tibetan Book of the Dead is meant as a guide for Buddhists when they die and enter the Bardo, the hell-like place that exists between life and death. The text also includes the Signs of Death, and rituals to perform when death is near, in order to help the dying in the afterworld.


The black pullet - talismans

The Book of Shadows – 1940’s

The Book of Shadows contains rituals and ceremonies for the Wiccan Neopagan religion. It was created in the late 1940’s by Gerald Gardener and used in his Bricket Wood Coven. Originally he had tried to keep the contents of the book a secret but with the expansion of the religion in the 1970’s and adaptations by Alexandrianism it soon became publically used by solitary practitioners and the demand for it led to published copies. The book had become popular after its usage in the TV show Charmed and other film references but the spells and rituals in the show never adhered to the content of the real book.


egyptian-handbook

The Hecate Scriptures – 1206 AD

My first discovery of this book was during research in my Theology class in college. I had taken notes on this book only to find at later dates the information gone. This book had instruction on how to use magic, spells and conjuring.  Also, the book supposedly disseminates the laws and rules of Hell itself. It has instruction on binding, conjuring and commanding evil entities and lists known demons of the time.



 

What you’re looking at here is my research notes for my story, Skin Job. I will often do in-depth studies to gain an understanding about what I’m writing in my tales. I wanted to make sure the actions in the story were consistent with the rituals and outcomes from interactions with these sacred texts. It was interesting study to find out about these books and the ceremonies contained within them.

In my story, Skin Job, Alex uses a conjuring spell also known as an invocation, to call forth the ‘Car Nex’ demon. The book is unnamed with no markings upon its cover. It could very well be one of the books I’ve mentioned here. The book also has power in of itself as it possesses Alex and haunts his dreams until he can’t resist using it. The book torments him until its powers of darkness are unleashed.

Maniac (2012) – movie review

Maniac-2012 pic 4

Maniac (2012)

Directed by Franck Khalfoun
Screenplay Alexandre Aja, Grégory Levasseur, and C.A. Rosenberg

What a novel idea. You can shoot a film first person POV film without the pretense of carrying around a camera. That way when the character is running through an alleyway or climbing a fence, you’re not asking, why is this guy still filming? Although this is a remake, I am not offended by what the filmmakers have done here, as I am sometimes with Maniac-2012 pic 1other remakes. Perhaps that is because Maniac (1980), although good, was never anyone’s favorite film. The different approach on the film is welcome.

This is quite a good film with the feel and mood of a 70’s /early 80’s slasher. However, it also has the sensibilities and character depth of a modern film. It’s not a rehash of what has come before but a new and original look at the slasher genre. The cinematography is excellent. There are some great views of NYC giving the viewer a real sample of its various textures,maniac dvd its pulse and its delicate lifeblood. Elijah Wood plays a first-rate part as Frank Zito, the scalp stealing, mannequin collecting psychotic. He flips from tragic figure to frightening psychotic a dozen times throughout the film. The French photographer, Anna, who takes an interest in Frank’s work is a fine actress (Nora Arnezeder). When Anna realizes that Frank has killed her mentor/friend it is an unnerving scene. There are trippy flashes that show some of the reason for Frank’s psychosis but it’s not overdone. It gives you just the right amount of glimpses to suggest the painful evolution from his torn childhood to twisted adulthood.

The film is raw and gritty, both bloody and dirty with a strong R-rating – the way a horror film should be. It combines the best of slasher films with the internal struggle of characters in psychological thrillers like Silence of the Lambs or The Red Dragon. It gives me renewed faith in American horror films… oh wait, this is a foreign made film. Recommended viewing.

Recommended if you like: Slasher films, Silence of the Lambs, The Red Dragon, Torso, The Toolbox Murders