There are many evil books in the world. Some are real, like Mein Kampf, and some are fake, like The Necronomicon. Regardless of their validity, having some knowledge of these texts is a good thing. One must be able to take the necessary precautions after all, especially if they go digging in the darkest places in history and fiction.

1. Evil Book: Necronomicon

The first most evil book on this list is the king of all evil texts. The Necronomicon is “bound in human flesh and writ in human blood.” In some fictional depictions, the text has the face of a creature (or man) emblazoned on the front. Director Sam Raimi’s Evil Dead films, for instance, have the face of a horrific monstrosity made of human flesh grimacing on the cover.

In its fictional history, it was banned after multiple translations and found itself “only heard of furtively.” In Arabic, it was known as the Kitab al Azif. Written by Abdul Alhazred, who “was a poet in the court of a minor nobleman in the city of Sanaa,” the text was a highly contentious one in the courts of kings and philosophers. The Necronomicon is 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. In it, it described the particularities of witches and provided the intellectual and theological weight “witch-hunters” (murderers) needed. In their pursuits, the witch-hungters falsely accused and slayed those who were, according to them, consorting with the devil. Published in 1487, the book “challenge(d) all arguments against the existence of witchcraft.” It also, “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. It is also not 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, 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 the most influential books in my life, I am still enthralled by the impact of stories in my life. For example, I once tried to look up The Necronomicon at my local library because I heard a strange story. Allegedly, somebody created an index card and stashed it away in a card catalogue. Alas, I never found the card or the book. But, with the existence of The Necronomicon in some circles, it makes me believe humans have an interest in unknown–often dangerous–texts.

I guess there are worse things out there than being endangered by literature.