There are a great many evil books in the world, some are real (Mein Kampf) and some are fake (Necronomicon). Regardless of their validity, it’s always a good idea to be knowledgeable of the world around you, so you can take the necessary precautions. In this post, we are going to examine four of the most evil books ever written. In this way, we can learn a little about them to protect ourselves from their histories and their harm.
1. Evil Book: Necronomicon
To begin, the first most evil book ever written is the king of all evil books. The Necronomicon is “bound in human flesh and writ in human blood.” In some fictional depictions, such as director Sam Raimi’s Evil Dead books, it has the face of a creature (or man) emblazoned on the front.
In Arabic, it was known as the Kitab al Azif and was written by Abdul Alhazred, who “was a poet in the court of a minor nobleman in the city of Sanaa.” While living in Damscus, the Mad Arab penned the Necronomicon, and it became an evil book capable of untold horrors, such as raising the Deadites, bringing back elder gods, and destroying Jason Voorhees.
2. Evil Book: The Hammer of Witches by Heinrich Kramer and Jacob Sprenger (1486)
Also known as the Malleus Maleficarum, The Hammer of Witches was very much a real book that described the particularities of witches themselves and provided the intellectual and theological weight “witch-hunters” (murderers) needed to falsely accuse and slay those who were, according to them, consorting with the devil. The book was first published in 1487 and “challenge(d) all arguments against the existence of witchcraft” and “instruct(ed) magistrates on how to identify, interrogate and convict witches” (Malleus Maleficarum).
Both authors, Kramer and Sprenger, were members of the Dominican Order and were Inquisitors for the Catholic Church. While Kramer and Sprenger seemed like insufferable creatures who lusted after power, their attempts to get this wretched book endorsed by the Church was “rebuffed.” Nevertheless, their horrid carnage puts this treatise up there for one of the most evil books ever written.
“The Malleus recommends both torture and deception to obtain confessions from those accused of witchcraft. Scholars estimate that approximately 110,000 witch trials were held in Europe between 1450 and 1750, with half of the trials ending with execution.”
(Washington University in St. Louis)
Considering this, this book provided a lot of misery in the 1400s for many innocent people, and that makes it a pretty evil book.
3. Evil Book: The Grand Grimoire (1421, 1521, 1522, or 1702)
The Grand Grimoire is a book reportedly capable of summoning Lucifer. the book itself contains two books. The first tells the reader how to summon a demon. It also details the tools needed to control the demon. The second books tells of how to make a deal with the demon. It also describes spells and rituals, with some editions containing a section on necromancy.
As stated by History.com: “Often held as one of the most influential grimoires in existence, many believed the Grand Grimoire was penned in 1520, and later unearthed in a so-called ‘Tomb of Solomon’ in 1750.” Additionally: “… the most notorious content of the Grand Grimoire is the guidance it purportedly provides on summoning Lucifer or Lucifuge Rofocale. One required tool for this ritual is a Blasting Rod, used to compel the invoked Lucifer into submission” (Mingren).
4. Evil Book: To Serve Man by a Kanamit chef (1962)
The first time you see this episode of The Twilight Zone (1959), it’s terrifying. Subsequent viewings either make you giggle or frustrate you because you just want everybody to see the truth.
To start, the book To Serve Man by a Kanamit chef is not a rules and regulation book intended to describe the alien race’s subservience to man. No, no, no. It is a gosh-darned cookbook. They are literally talking about serving man as a dish. As such, I assume it must be pretty good, because they whisk away a ton of people into space to feed their insatiable, cannibalistic urges.
Here’s host Rod Serling’s closing narration for that episode:
“The recollections of one Michal Chambers (protagonist) with appropriate flashbacks and soliloquy. Or more simply stated, the evolution of man. The cycle of going from dust to dessert. The metamorphosis from being the rulers of a planet to an ingredient in someone’s soup. It’s tonight bill of fare from the Twilight Zone.”
(Wikipedia)
Conclusion
While I’ve shared some of the most influential books in my life, I am still enthralled by the impact of fictitious books in my life. For example, If I’m being honest, I once tried to look up The Necronomicon at my local library once because I heard a story about somebody creating an index card and stashing it away in a card catalogue. Alas, I never found the card or the book. But, with the existence of the Necronomicon in fiction, and it’s popularity in all forms of media, it makes me think people have an interest in the most evil books ever written.
I guess there are worse things out there than being endangered by literature.
Works Cited
“Necronomicon.” The H.P. Lovecraft Wiki. Web.
“To Serve Man (The Twilight Zone)” Wikipedia. Web. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/To_Serve_Man_(The_Twilight_Zone)
Brand, Cassie. “The Malleus Maleficarum: A 15th Century Treatise on Witchcraft.” Washington University in St. Louis. Oct. 19, 2022. Web. https://library.wustl.edu/news/the-malleus-maleficarum-a-15th-century-treatise-on-witchcraft/
Mingren, Wu. “The Gospel of Satan: Evil Secrets of the Grand Grimoire.” History.com. June 14, 2023.
