Haunted Books

Grimoires, forbidden manuscripts, and texts that curse those who read them.

19 books

Ars Notoria

A medieval Latin magical text conventionally dated to the 13th century and often associated with northern Italy, the Ars Notoria claims ritual techniques for accelerating learning, enhancing memory and intellect, and enabling communication with angels. It is transmitted anonymously and is treated in modern collections as part of the Western ceremonial/magical corpus.

Anonymous (pseudonymous; associated in modern presentations with Solomonic literature) · Western ceremonial / medieval Christian (Solomonic-associated) magical tradition

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codexprobable

Codex Gigas ("Devil's Bible")

An extraordinary early 13th-century illuminated Latin codex notable for its immense physical size and composite contents, including a full Romanesque Bible and a small number of additional secular texts and images — most famously a full-page portrait of the Devil that inspired its popular nickname.

unknown/anonymous (traditionally attributed in legend to a single monk) · Romanesque book-production / medieval Christian manuscript tradition

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grimoireverified

Galdrabók

The Galdrabók is an early modern Icelandic grimoire dated to c.1600, a small manuscript compilation of spells and magical staves that stands as an important surviving witness to Icelandic magical practice (galdr/galdrastafir).

Anonymous/unknown (appears as a compilation; no single named author in cited sources) · Icelandic magical/stave (galdr/galdrastafir) tradition

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grimoireprobable

Grimorium Verum

A grimoire associated with the Solomonic/goetic tradition, commonly described in modern sources as an 18th‑century work though the text itself claims a 1517 ascription to 'Alibeck the Egyptian'. Surviving forms appear in corrupted Italian and French transmissions and have been the subject of modern reconstructions and editorial emendation.

Attributed to "Alibeck the Egyptian" (ascription in the text); actual authorship uncertain · Western ceremonial magic / Goetic (Solomonic) tradition

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grimoireprobable

Key of Solomon

A pseudepigraphical grimoire traditionally attributed to King Solomon, the Key of Solomon is a representative example of Renaissance magic that probably originated in Italy in the 14th or 15th century.

King Solomon (pseudepigraphical attribution) · Renaissance ceremonial magic / Solomonic tradition

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grimoireverified

Liber Juratus Honorii (The Sworn Book of Honorius)

A medieval Latin grimoire attributed pseudonymously to 'Honorius of Thebes' and traditionally called Liber Juratus (juratus = 'sworn' or 'oathbound'). It is treated in occult bibliographies as an operative/theurgical manual preserving angelological names, talismanic procedures, and astrological/cabalistic diagrams, with at least manuscript leaves from late medieval England plausibly associated with it.

Pseudonymous (attributed to Honorius of Thebes) · medieval European ceremonial magic / angelology

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occult-treatiseprobable

Malleus Maleficarum

A late 15th-century Latin treatise on the prosecution of witchcraft, traditionally attributed to Heinrich Kramer (Henricus Institor) and commonly associated with the intensification of witch‑hunting practices in Europe. It compiles theological, legal, and practical material used to identify, prosecute, and punish alleged witches.

Heinrich Kramer (Henricus Institor); traditional attribution also names James (Jacob) Sprenger (extent of Sprenger's contribution is disputed) · Christian demonology / witchcraft prosecution

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manuscriptprobable

Munich Manual of Demonic Magic

A fifteenth-century Latin grimoire (manuscript) concerned with goetic demonic magic and necromancy, notable for its Solomonic‑derived rites, conjurations of named demons, and numerous ritual diagrams. The surviving manuscript (CLM 849) is the principal witness and has been edited and discussed in modern scholarship.

Anonymous · Goetic necromantic magic with Solomonic‑derived ritual material

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grimoireprobable

Necronomicon

A fictional grimoire invented by H. P. Lovecraft and incorporated into his circle's shared mythos; within the fiction it is presented as an account of the Old Ones and a manual for summoning them. The name has since been adopted in various popular‑culture works.

Abdul Alhazred (fictional attribution) · Lovecraftian / modern literary occult fiction

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grimoireverified

Petit Albert

Petit Albert is an 18th‑century French grimoire and compendium of 'natural and cabalistic magic' that circulated widely in rural France. Traditionally ascribed to an 'Albertus Parvus' or linked in popular tradition to Albertus Magnus, it is a heterogeneous anthology drawing on many (mostly anonymous) sources and became a notable popular magical handbook associated with folk occult practice.

Pseudonymous / composite (traditionally ascribed to 'Albertus Parvus' / linked to Albertus Magnus; modern accounts treat attribution as uncertain) · early modern grimoire / folk magic / natural and cabalistic magic

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grimoireprobable

Sepher Raziel

A work attributed in Jewish mystical tradition to the angel Raziel and catalogued as Sefer Raziel HaMalakh; in modern esoteric circulation it also appears in English grimoire formats sometimes titled or connected with 'Liber Salomonis'. The supplied sources document its status as a Kabbalistic/grimoric text and its survival in modern occult archives, but do not provide primary-text contents, medieval manuscript witnesses, or detailed provenance.

Raziel (angel, traditional attribution) · Jewish mysticism / Kabbalah (later received in Western grimoire tradition)

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grimoireprobable

The Book of Abramelin

A pseudonymous medieval‑framed grimoire presented as a system of "sacred magic" taught by an Egyptian mage called Abramelin to a figure named Abraham of Worms. It became influential in modern ceremonial magic largely through 19th‑ and 20th‑century translations and adaptations (notably S. L. MacGregor Mathers) and is the source of ritual materials such as the so‑called Abramelin oil and instructions for the attainment of the Knowledge and Conversation of the Holy Guardian Angel.

Pseudonymous (presented as teachings of 'Abramelin' to Abraham of Worms) · Western ceremonial magic / grimoires

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manuscriptprobable

The Book of Soyga (Aldaraia sive Soyga vocor)

A 16th‑century Latin manuscript treatise on occult and astrological magic notable for its enigmatic "magic tables" and for being owned by the Elizabethan scholar John Dee. Two manuscript copies (long thought lost after Dee's death) were located in institutional libraries in 1994, prompting renewed scholarly attention.

Anonymous · Renaissance occult / Western esotericism

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grimoireprobable

The Grand Grimoire

A European black-magic, goetic grimoire known also as Le Dragon Rouge or The Red Dragon. Its internal dating claims place it in the 15th–16th centuries, but modern scholarship and bibliographic evidence favor an 18th‑century origin and popular print circulation in France.

Unknown / treated as traditional (no consistent author; later occultists treated editions as counterfeit or derivative) · European goetic / black-magic grimoire tradition

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grimoireprobable

The Grimoire of Pope Honorius

A printed early modern grimoire attributed to Pope Honorius III that is notable for being explicitly framed for use by clergy and for blending Catholic liturgical elements (including directions involving Mass) with ceremonial/demonological magic. Surviving printed editions date to the 17th–18th century, with a documented Rome imprint of 1760.

Attributed to Pope Honorius III (pseudonymous/attribution by the work) · early modern European grimoire / ceremonial magic

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grimoireprobable

The Lesser Key of Solomon

An anonymously compiled 17th‑century grimoire (Lemegeton Clavicula Salomonis) assembling older demonological and ritual materials associated with Solomonic magic; notable for its catalogues of named spirits with ranks, powers, and ritual instructions.

Anonymous (compiled) · Solomonic / European grimoires (demonology)

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grimoireprobable

The Sixth and Seventh Books of Moses

A popular European grimoire falsely attributed to the biblical Moses, compiled from German‑language magical materials in the 18th–19th century and circulated in numerous editions containing seals, names, and ritual instructions claiming operative power.

Pseudonymous (attributed to Moses) · Western esoteric / grimoire tradition (pseudo‑Kabbalistic and folk magic milieu)

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grimoireprobable

The Sworn Book of Honorius (Liber Iuratus Honorii)

A medieval Latin grimoire traditionally attributed to 'Honorius of Thebes', presented as an oathbound manual of ritual magic. It is notable for its use in the Latin grimoire tradition, its association with the Sigillum Dei Ameth diagram, and its limited, secretive manuscript transmission and modern critical editions.

Honorius of Thebes (attributed/pseudonymous) · Western medieval ritual magic / grimoire tradition

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manuscriptprobable

Voynich Manuscript

An illustrated, undeciphered early 15th‑century codex written in an unknown script ('Voynichese') notable for its rich drawings and persistent failure to produce a convincing translation or agreed interpretation.

Anonymous (authorship unknown / not securely attributable) · other