“The First Name is MARDUK. The Lord of Lords, Master of Magicians. His name should not be called except when no other will do, and it is the most terrible responsibility to do so The word of his profession is DUGGA.”
It is the verse with which begins “The Book of Dead Names”, “Necronomicon” or “Al azif”, but the truth has never been known for certain if it is about him or if it is, as some claim, one more of the many horror stories that the American writer Howard Phillips Lovecraft bequeathed to the world under the pseudonym of the mad Arab “Abdul al-Hazred”, probably will never be known despite the large number of studies that are made around it.
For Dr. Stanislaus Hinterstoisser, who was the founder of the Institute for the Study of Magic and Occult Phenomena in Salzburg, “Winfield Scott Lovecraft, father of H.P. Lovecraft, would not only have been the father of H.P. Lovecraft, but he would also have been the father of H.P. Lovecraft. Lovecraft would not only have been an Egyptian Freemason (something that is not surprising since he was a pretentious man whose business was in Boston, a city where there was one of the first Masonic temples in the United States and that unlike Europe, where Freemasonry is persecuted, in this country to belong to it is to be part of the elite) but also that he owned at least two magical works: Maslama ibn Ahma al-Magriti’s famous Picatrix, also known by the pseudo-Magriti, and Godhizer’s Book of the Essence of the Soul”.
The Egyptian Freemasons are a Hermetic order that resurfaced thanks to the Count of Cagliostro, a character that although history has shown all kinds of situations that define him as an impostor, it is clear that he possessed powers of prediction, magic and healing. One of these testimonies is given by the Rosicrucian order of which he was a renovator as far as rites and some aspects are concerned.
His great knowledge, culture, refinement and charm led him to frequent the most distinguished salons of France where, at the beginning of his mission, he aroused the envy of some nobles who tried to make fun of him by means of a farce. It is said that when he was healing before an audience of illustrious people, three beggars came and asked him to cure them of deafness, blindness, and a skin disease; Cagliostro agreed and told them that they could leave there that they were cured.
To the general astonishment and laughter, the supposed beggars stripped off their rags and appeared before everyone as what they were, noblemen, idle young men, who wanted to “unmask” the one who, for them, was an impostor.
Before that mockery Cagliostro declared in a solemn voice: “Remember that what you have not allowed me to give you, I can take back”, after which the young men began to scream because one of them had become deaf, the other blind, and the other was writhing from the itching of his skin. Cagliostro, ever generous, forgave them and the young men returned to normality and fled in terror. From then on no one made fun of Cagliostro’s healing powers.
According to tradition, Cagliostro left as a legacy to his followers several manuscripts, including the translation of the Necronomicon made by John Dee at the court of Rudolph II, an emperor who was noted precisely for his inclination towards the occult. It is not clear how Cagliostro obtained the copy of the Necronomicon and even less clear why Mr. Lovecraft had it, however, it must be about the rank he reached within the order, since it is said that the “Tall Cedar” taught him to read it.
Now, during the time of his father’s illness, which lasted from 3 to 8 years of age, H.P. Lovecraft was not ill. Lovecraft, he was not permanently confined in the hospital, he spent most of the time at home and during this period he would share his knowledge about the order (If we take into account that this was a child endowed with a great intelligence that at 2 years old already read, it is very understandable that he has adopted these ideas as part of his knowledge), after his father died, he would have found the books and based his works on them, which is evident in the similarities between the spells, places and beings described in them.
His detractors rely on some character errors, mostly historical, such as placing Olaus Wormius in the thirteenth century as the translator of one of the copies of the book when the reality is that he lived between the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, but what if it was a strategy to create confusion and not to expose all the secrets of what he knew and thus avoid what would bring him as a magician, the fact of what could be done with his legacy?
“The occult law states that when a person reveals to others the most sacred things and the highest laws of the Universe, he becomes responsible for the use made of them by his pupils.”
According to the same studies, the book would be a fragment of a book called “The Great Compilation” or Kitab ma’ani al-nafs, although the name was mistaken because it alludes to the Book of the Essence of the Soul, which is precisely one of those that Lovecraft Sr. was said to possess. Regardless of how it was called, was it a compilation made by Alkindi? and that collected the magical material of Akkadia, Babylon, Persia and Israel and the part of the secret names would correspond to one of the chapters of the second part. The “complete compilation” is a general treatise on magic that, for the most part, is derived from the tablets of the library of Assurbanipal.
So the question no longer lies only in the origin of the book as such, but also in Lovecraft: was he a writer or a magician whose fear of the consequences of his actions did not allow him to show the world the many secrets possessed not only by the mind but also by supernatural forces?
Who was Lovecraft?
H.P. Lovecraft, born Howard Phillips Lovecraft, is widely regarded as one of the most influential horror writers of the 20th century. His stories are characterized by a unique blend of science fiction, fantasy, and horror, and his vivid imagination has left an indelible mark on the genre.
Lovecraft was born in Providence, Rhode Island, in 1890. He was raised by his mother and his aunts, as his father was committed to a mental institution when Lovecraft was only three years old. Despite his father’s absence, Lovecraft was a precocious child and showed an early interest in literature and science. He began writing his own stories at a young age, and by his teenage years, he was a prolific writer of weird fiction.
Lovecraft’s early work was heavily influenced by the Gothic and Victorian horror of Edgar Allan Poe and the cosmic horror of Lord Dunsany. He also drew inspiration from his own dreams and nightmares, which he believed were a window into a terrifying and unknowable world beyond our own.
In the 1920s and 1930s, Lovecraft’s work gained a wider audience through publication in pulp magazines like Weird Tales. His most famous stories, including “The Call of Cthulhu,” “The Dunwich Horror,” and “The Shadow Over Innsmouth,” all take place in a shared fictional universe known as the Cthulhu Mythos. This universe is characterized by ancient, malevolent beings that exist beyond our own world, and whose mere existence threatens the sanity of those who encounter them.
Despite his literary success, Lovecraft lived in relative poverty for most of his life, and he suffered from depression and social anxiety. He was also a notorious racist, and his personal views have cast a shadow over his legacy. In his private correspondence, Lovecraft expressed white supremacist and anti-Semitic views that are repugnant and indefensible.
However, Lovecraft’s literary influence cannot be denied. His work has inspired generations of horror writers, from Stephen King to Clive Barker to Neil Gaiman. His unique vision of a universe populated by ancient and malevolent entities has become a staple of the horror genre, and his legacy continues to resonate with readers and writers alike.
Lovecraft’s legacy has extended beyond the world of literature and into popular culture. His creations have inspired countless adaptations in film, television, video games, and other media. The themes and imagery from his stories have become so iconic that they are now recognized even by those who may have never read his work.
One of the reasons Lovecraft’s writing has endured is the sense of cosmic dread and the unknown that permeates his stories. His protagonists often find themselves confronting forces that are beyond their comprehension, let alone their ability to defeat. This sense of powerlessness in the face of the unknown has struck a chord with readers and viewers alike, and has become a defining characteristic of the horror genre.
In addition to his influence on horror, Lovecraft’s work has also had a profound impact on science fiction. His depictions of alien entities and parallel universes have contributed to the development of the genre, and have helped to inspire some of the most iconic science fiction works of the 20th century.
Despite the controversy surrounding his personal views, Lovecraft’s work remains an important part of the literary canon. His ability to create a sense of horror and mystery has influenced countless writers and artists, and his legacy continues to inspire new works in the horror and science fiction genres.
Lovecraft’s life and work are a reminder of the power of the imagination, and the enduring appeal of horror and science fiction. His stories have transcended time and cultural barriers to become a fundamental part of our shared cultural heritage, and his influence will continue to be felt for generations to come.
