Eldritch Echoes is a monthly column, delving into the influence of Lovecraft’s works upon pop culture. Each month I’ll take a deep dive, peeling back layers both known and some perhaps revelatory, as we journey into the collective consciousness’ darkest recesses.
1938 – Son of Frankenstein
While is generally accepted that the first appearance of Lovecraft’s forbidden tome came in the Vincent Price film The Haunted Palace, less than two years after Lovecraft’s death, things were very nearly quite different.
Willis Cooper’s initial script treatment for Universal’s Son of Frankenstein, dated 10/9/38, includes the lines,
Even my father’s books haven’t been disturbed. Definitely. Agricola’s De Re Metallica … the Necronomicon … Roger Bacon…
Famously, director Rowland V. Lee utterly discarded the shooting script for the film and the resulting film would go on to be what is considered by many to be the last of the classic Universal Frankenstein films. That these lines were ever penned at all shows that Lovecraft’s pop culture impact began long before most would presume before growing into the juggernaut of influence it is today. One can only wonder how much faster Lovecraft’s influence might have spread had the reference remained. This dead end on the pop culture timeline would undoubtedly had a long-lasting legacy, much as the Universal monsters themselves have had.
Thus, it wasn’t until seven years later, that the Necronomicon would make its first entrance into pop culture
1945 – Suspense
Suspense was a highly acclaimed radio program, which aired from 1940-1962. In 945, the program aired an adaptation of The Dunwich Horror. The broadcast starred popular actor Ronald Coleman and featured the voice of the Shadow, Brett Morrison, as Professor Armitage.
The episode is readily found online for listening, and holds up well – especially in light of its age. This, the first exposure that the general public would have to Lovecraft’s Necronomicon and it is here that we see the ball begin rolling. Radio plays were popular entertainment, and they were very inspirational for a number of filmmakers. Indeed, after a near miss, we see the first appearance of the Necronomicon, brought to us by one such film maker.
1962 – DC Comics
Author Gardner Fox is an important figure in comic lore. Having literally written thousands of comic stories (including a Batman story just two issues after his introduction in Detective comics). Responsible for creating a number of well-known characters, such as the Flash, Hawkman, Sandman, and others, his works commonly resonated within the DC universe long after they were published. This was not the case when Fox inserted the Necronomicon into DC lore in Justice League v1 #10.
During a flashback, it is shown that Felix Faust learned the secrets of the Necronomicon, while also directly mentioning H.P. Lovecraft. Despite this, the Necronomicon never really became firmly entrenched in DC comics lore and the references made are largely ignored in-universe. However, after this near miss, comes the next big breakthrough.
1963 – The Haunted Palace
As mentioned above, Roger Cormans adaptation of The Case of Charles Dexter Ward brought the world its first film representation of the Necronomicon. Released as a part of American International’s Edgar Allan Poe series of films, Haunted Palace takes its name from Poe, while its heart is pure Lovecraft. Starring the now iconic Vincent Price, the film is campy goodness, and Price’s performance is legendary (as well it should be).
It wouldn’t be long until the appearance of the Necronomicon would come full circle.
1970 – The Dunwich Horror
The story that first brought the Necronomicon out of the pulps and to a wider audience returned in this film starring Dean Stockwell, Sandra Dee, and Ed Begly. Adjusted for inflation, the film took in approximately $3.5 million and was panned by critics. Vincent Canby of the New York Times wrote, “Everything else in the movie is equally wrong, or sadly slapdash”. Even star Dean Stockwell wasn’t a fan of the film.
Despite having come full circle, it wouldn’t be until seven years later when the Necronomicon’s influence would dramatically increase.
1977 – The “Simon” Necronomicon
Near universally believed to have been written by author Peter Levenda, using the pseudonym Simon, this “translation” was originally offered in a limited edition of 666 copies. Represented as an authentic translation of the Necronomicon, the book has little to nothing to do with Lovecraft, being more of a fairly amateurish mashup of Babylonian and other mythologies. Despite this, the book has been reprinted multiple times, most notably in mass market paperback by Avon books.
The cover of each of the printings is dominated by a sigil which has been firmly linked to Lovecraft in pop culture. It is so ubiquitous at this point that its tenuously connected origin is immaterial, and it has been used by a host of independent filmmakers in a number of Lovecraft-related and inspired projects. Having taken on a life of its own, the glyph has spread the influence of the Necronomicon to unrelated projects, such as the 2008 Vin Diesel film Babylon A.D.
Some of the earliest ads for the book were found in Omni magazine. Meanwhile, in another part of the newsstand, another revolution was about to start.
1978 – Marvel Comics
Both the Necronomicon and its author, Abdul Alhazred, officially entered the Marvel Universe in Tarzan v.1 #15. That, coupled with a mention that year in Marvel Team-Up v1 #76, led to the Necronomicon forever being cemented into Marvel Comics lore. Of the Necronomicon, Doctor Strange states,
The Shiatra book is supposedly the oldest occult tome in creation. Legend says that the Necronomicon is itself derived from a small part of the Shiatra Lore.
This small mention has a broad reaching impact as the Shiatra book is also known as The Darkhold, Most comic fans will know that the Darkhold has been key to a number of Marvel comics storylines, as well as it appearing in MCU projects such as Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and the Disney+ programs WandaVision and Agatha All Along.
As such, one can view any mention of the Darkhold as being at least peripherally Lovecraftian (much as any reference to Arkham Asylum in Batman is inspired by an intentional nod to Lovecraft – something I’ll cover at a later date). Ironically, this includes the Darkhold existing in the world of Conan, the creation of famed pulp author Robert E. Howard.
Despite the broad appeal of Marvel Comics, it wasn’t until a few years later (and after yet another near miss), when the Necronomicon, as we know it today, would explode.
1979 – George Romero
The US Copyright office offers some of the only known evidence that famed filmmaker Romero once wrote a synopsis for The Necronomicon for the Laurel Group, Inc./Filmauro, S.R.L., a company founded by Luigi De Laurentiis. To my knowledge, the contents of this synopsis are not known but, later, Luigi’s brother Dino De Laurentiis would become involved in the franchise spawned by our next entry.
1981 – Evil Dead
Director Sam Raimi introduced the world to the Necronomicon Ex Mortis and, while its origins certainly differ from Lovecraft’s depictions of the book, along with the “Simon” Necronomicon, it is one of the best-known representations. Through five films, a television series, several video games, and countless comics, Raimi’s Necronomicon Ex Mortis (often referred to simply as the Necronomicon by fans) has provided an iconic image of the book bound in human flesh, a screaming face on its cover.
Of course, Hollywood wasn’t the only place bringing the Necronomicon back to the public eye.
1981 – Call of Cthulhu RPG
While the Evil Dead was building a cult following, in role playing game circles, the arrival of Call of Cthulhu brought new prominence to Lovecraft’s Necronomicon in gaming circles. Originally intended as a Dreamlands inspired supplement for Chaosium’s RuneQuest system, Call of Cthulhu rapidly become its own game. Since its release, it has been translated into a number of languages and has long been hailed as the best horror RPG ever written.
It goes without saying that the Necronomicon features heavily within the system and its adventures. So, when a film became a cultural touchstone, spawning a television spinoff that would introduce the Necronomicon to a new generation of fans, there was only one choice for the name of the featuring episode…. Sort of..
1987 – The Call of Cathulhu
The movie Ghostbusters was a global phenomenon. In the novelization of the 1984 film Ghostbusters, it is revealed that Egon Spengler read the Necronomicon in his youth. With the film’s popularity, it was only a matter of time until a television spinoff could be released and, much like Egon, a generation of kids could be introduced to the Necronomicon.
Beginning on ABC and moving to syndication, the Real Ghostbusters brought back the film’s core characters for new adventures, including several that are Lovecraftian. Of especial note here though, is the episode The Collect Call of Cathulhu.
Making reference to old pulp stories, the episode opens with the theft of the Necronomicon from the New York Public Library and manages to tie Lovecraft’s work into a beloved comedy/horror franchise. For a large segment of a generation, this was their first exposure to the Necronomicon, but certainly would not be their last. Not, at least, until Broadcast Standards and Practices got involved.
Set to return in the episode Russian About, claims that the Necronomicon was a real book (and a Satanic one at that) lead to J. Michael Straczynski changing the name of the book in the episode to The Nameless Book. Despite this, the Necronomicon continues to live on in Ghostbusters lore via appearances in both comics and Ghostbusters: The Board Game.
Today
Even this merely scrapes the surface of the Necronomicon's impact. Unspoken of here are the countless 'almost' Necronomicons - tomes in comics, television, and movies clearly inspired by Lovecraft's creation without sharing its name. The book's influence reaches into every corner of pop culture, from academic horror to children's literature, where one can even purchase a Necronomicon pop-up book.
From a near-miss almost beginning as a part of a classic Universal monster movie to now being the world's most recognizable tome of forbidden knowledge, the Necronomicon's journey through popular culture has been remarkable. That journey continues today, with new interpretations and references appearing regularly across all media. Lovecraft's fictional grimoire has transcended its pulp origins to become a cornerstone of horror mythology, as recognizable as Dracula's castle or Frankenstein's laboratory.
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About the Author
Bob Brinkman dwells in the forbidden realms of Indiana, where he and his wife share their domicile with a quartet of midnight-hued felines. A former contributor to Unfilmable.com and HorrorNews.net, he now chronicles cinematic nightmares both cosmic (through Apep Press) and conventional (via Macabre Movie Morgue). When not documenting the unspeakable horrors of weird cinema, he can be found crafting eldritch tomes of adventure for Goodman Games. As a scholar of Lovecraftian film, he delves deep into the shadowy archives where celluloid nightmares slumber, seeking to illuminate the darkened corners where cosmic horror meets the silver screen.