I leave you folks alone...

Please stop baiting each other. (What am I saying? Go on. Bait each other. It's more fun that way.)

There is no such place as Miskatonic University. It is a figment of the imagination of H.P. Lovecraft. At least one of the linked websites is an elaborate prop for a role-playing game based on his fiction. The others are designed by bored fans with an abundance of spare time. I admit, they can be pretty convincing, but if you look close enough, you will see plenty of clues that they're fake. Anyway, this is my fault. I presented it -- tongue in cheek -- as real. My apologies.

Second, the Necronomicon is also not real. Believe me, this concept fools many people because quacks keep coming up with purportedly "real" versions of the book. Again, Lovecraft thought up the Necronomicon as a mcguffin for his fiction. Others have picked up idea and used it in their own stories. F. Paul Wilson uses the book in his novel, The Keep. Sam Raimi includes it as a major plot device in his Evil Dead movies. (Let's all give Ash a hand now.)

There have been 4 published versions of the Necronomicon -- all available in paperback (which ought to be a sort of clue). L. Sprague DeCamp had an "untranslated" copy published in psuedo-Arabic as Al-Azif. George Hay published a version which he claimed to be based on an unknown cipher text penned by the Elizabethan magician John Dee. Hay and his team of experts have never produced an original manuscript or their decryption notes. The most famous version is the so-called Simon Necronomicon which can be purchased at any of your finer bookstores. It too claims to be a translation, this time of an ancient Babylonian text. Neither the author nor the original have ever appeared to the general public. The final version does not claim to be "real," but is a compendium by a specialty press of various authors' attempts to flesh out (pardon the pun) their own Necronomicon versions. I have all four version on my bookshelf, and I have never detected any evil aura emanating from them. Nor have I experienced any invasion by otherworldly forces.

If you want to chase after the origins of the Necronomicon in Lovecraft, and the stories behind the fraudulent published versions, I recommend starting at this website, and continuing with the book of the same name. These two gentlemen have researched every mention of the Necronomicon in pop culture.

Now I should mention quickly, one of the authors, Mr. Gonce, is a practicing "neo-pagan" and an occult historian. While some of you may be uncomfortable with his lifestyle, I have never heard a report of Mr. Gonce sacrificing babies, poisoning wells, or turning anyone into a newt.