The Confession of Abdul Alhazred
By Gary T. Hagan
A continuation of the Cthulhu mythos by H. P. Lovecraft
I Henry Armitage, Sr. Professor of Antiquity curriculum, as one of my last duties pen this letter for those who may occupy my position subsequent to the short time I have left in my tenure, and in greater regard, my life. I have the cancer and must put these words to paper to allow those who come behind me the benefit of the terrible information I have guarded so secretly these many years.
This letter is a warning and instruction to those who follow. If I am correct that person will be Sr. Professor Palmer. Although you are very young you are also very talented and through our work together I have gained trust in, not only your knowledge, but also in your fervent integrity. In that regard I now direct this letter to you Professor Palmer and trust that you will shew it only to those you may also trust implicitly.
As you are reading this letter I am now dead or incapacitated. Please do not dismiss my instructions as that of a dying or senile old man. Nor do not dismiss the information contained in these few pages as the ravings of a mad man. I have spent my entire career studying the ancient past. I now know that the scholars of mankind have only scratched the surface of places and things that have existed which would shock and scar the sensibilities of those most sober and rational scholars. I have delved into things that the leaders in my field claim do not exist, or even worse, refuse to acknowledge because those things do not fit the narrative of given and acceptable scholarly teaching. However, I owe all the knowledge I have on the subject to one who came centuries before me. Before you judge me read this letter and the instructions which follow and take heed to know that what I write here is to be taken with the utmost seriousness as well as secrecy from the aforementioned so called scholars. For if they knew of the history of what I am about to write they would either dismiss it as heretical nonsense, which would be a mistake, or worse they would try to study it further. This unfortunate circumstance would result in opening certain preternatural ethereal realms which would turn the very fabric of our world inside out and doom all life on the planet. However, before you can understand the importance of what I ask of you, you must read further and understand before you may believe.
Many learned men know of, or have heard rumors of, the hellish book compiled by the so called "Mad Arab" Abdul Alhazred. This book, which bears risk even at the mention of its name, was not a continuous tome but rather an intertwined work compiled from poems, writings, scrolls, verbal tales, incantations and historical events. These writings and events occurred over centuries. Alhazred pulled them all together, connected the dots over spans of history and came to certain conclusions about life, existence and how everything connects. Alhazred was one of the first scholars who attempted to compile a single document which sought to explain existence, plants and animal behaviors and the world around us in an existential manner. Many so called scholars of the day were under the spell of religion in one form or another and created the Bible, the Torah, the Talmud and the Koran as their attempts to explain the existence of man, the world around him and how they interacted. However their explanations served only to support the narrative of their particular religion or God. The writings Alhazred studied and compiled were recordings and suppositions of events which occurred over centuries. He sought only truth and to follow where it would lead him. He not only recorded centuries of events he discovered how they were connected. Alhazred surmised correctly the ancient knowledge of how to access other realms no one of the age (or now) dared to guess existed. Later he experimented with this knowledge and discovered how to use natural elements combined with alchemy and certain invocations discovered in his studies to open windows into these realms so he might observe the ancient past of his own world or even other worlds in the present which no one knew existed. He meticulously recorded all his findings in his notes which would later become the accursed book. He noted ancient ruins of a massive stone city. This city lies in the Antarctic region which has only recently been discovered and lightly surveyed. This city lies in wait for future explorers with Gods knows what horrors of this and other universes for man timid and crude explorations to unearth. A city of monstrous stone edifices that make the great pyramids look like a fishing village and repulsive and irregular shaped parapets adorned with bass relief carvings containing creatures and fauna both beautiful and terrifying. Alhazred marveled at the things he was able to glimpse and wondered how much else was there that he did not see. Using certain mineral salts and soil from eons old burial grounds of the ancient east and northern Africa he was able to invoke certain incantations inspired by hieroglyphs and ancient stone carving to conjure images of great leaders, peasants and monarchs throughout near and ancient history. These visions were so real he felt as if he were a part of the actual events he witness both wonderful and terrifying ceremonies, battles, coronations, treachery and malignant carnage through the eyes of those whom he conjured. He also witnesses true events unrevised by historic bias as well as strange creatures and fauna previously unsuspected to exist in our realm. From time to time he even held glimpses of fantastical visions of realms, universes and dimensions not of our own. These times left him exhausted, terrified and on the brink of madness, but his scientific mind prevented him from abandoning his efforts, regardless of the risk to his physical or mental wellbeing.
Eventually word of Alhazred's work reached the conventional religious scholars who immediately branded him a heretic forcing him to go into hiding. Also as he began to compile his final draft of "The Book" he began using an ancient cryptic Armenian script long extinct so as to conceal his work. He continued his remote viewing experiments and continued to record the process by which he was able to conjure visions as well as what he saw. He recorded it all on scrolls in the ancient script and hid them away so as not be persecuted by the religious zealots.
After a time, near when Alhazred's experiments and writings were nearly complete, he began to notice a subtle and terrifying development in his ethereal ventures outside of our natural world. He began to notice two facts that made him stop his experiments. He noticed that the creatures and inhabitants in the worlds he glimpsed were becoming ever more terrifying. Also he became aware that those beings which he thought were of some forgotten eon seemed to be aware of him. Indeed they seemed to be probing his space and awareness. Alhazred became increasingly afraid they were looking for a way into our world!
Shortly after this terrifying revelation Alhazred's writings and in fact Alhazred himself disappeared, or so everyone who knows of his legend thinks. This was around 738 AD.
In the course of my research I have found a final scroll which through the cryptic Armenian script can only be attributed to Alhazred. It is his confession and terrible vision that I relate to you below. The transcription is my modern interpretation of the ancient Armenian script.
"I come as Abdul Alhazred, guilty of blasphemy against, not gods, but against the natural laws of the universe. I am also guilty of delving into things of which I have only meager understanding but which have infinite implications. I have opened passages in time and space and fear I have risked releasing things into our world which would drive most men mad if glimpsed in a dream much less experienced in tangible form. Also made apparent to me is that I have offended the Elder Ones with my intrusions. I pray my withdrawal from all future excursions and curiosity into these matters will cause the Elder Ones to lose interest through the insignificance of this world (realm?) and, all its inhabitants.
My conclusion comes after much ill research into things which should not be known to man. I have hidden my writings and this final scroll in the hope that the will never be discovered. Yet also with the hope that if the terrors that lurk just beyond man's understanding ever encroach upon this world that my writings may be discovered to serve as a tool for the learned men of that accursed age to reproach the advance of horrors beyond their comprehension..
Upon my last experiment I glimpsed a vision, not of the horrific worlds and beings which seem ever more aware of my existence, but a vision that was exposed to me by one of the Elder Ones. I have recorded the vision for all to interpret as they will.
'There came into my mind a terrible vision of a lion and a lamb circling each other in a great field. The lamb was tethered to a stake with a rope and collar, while the lion wore shackles and chains around its forelegs.
As the lion circled in front of the lamb, the lamb became hidden from view. While the lion continued to walk around, I saw that the lamb had disappeared. The lion had not devoured the lamb, but in fact the lamb HAD BECOME the lion.
As I watched, the lion faced me and rose up on it's haunches like a man. The lion's torso and arms now became that of a man. Its eyes glowed black. In one arm it held a Golden Lance that had been the stake that tethered the lamb. In the other hand The Beast held a golden ax.
The Beast's waist was encircled by the rope and collar that the lamb had worn. Lengths of rope that had tethered the Lamb hung at either side of The Beast's waist. The severed trophy heads of the leaders of man and beasts of all realms hung from the two ropes. The heads appeared as dead but their faces mouthed silent words of pain and torment.
The shackles which had bound the lion now appeared as gold bracelets around The Beast's human wrists. The chains encircled its muscled forearms as golden adornments.
Now The Beast Lion's mane flowed like a golden headdress and appeared to be made of fire, although it did not consume him. The mane transformed into tentacles like that of a starfish with squid like arms. Each tentacle contained a mouth with rows of jagged teeth at its end. They writhed in a horrible symphony around the head of the terror which stood before me.
On each side of The Beast Lion, the fire of his mane had separated and there appeared tongues of bubbling plasma vibrating and crackling with static in the air.
As I watched, the sky grew dark, purple and black.
The feet of The Beast morphed into great talons like that of a grotesque three toed eagle.
From its back unfolded great and terrible wings. The wings were not of feathers but of scales. I wept uncontrollably at the horror of The Beasts sight and prayed it would not look into my eyes.
The wings spread forth and The Beast lurched forward as if to launch itself into flight but it kept its stance firm as if leaning into a gale. It seemed preparing to meet a fierce wind.
With its gaze straight ahead The Beast bowed its head. As it did so lightning emanated from the heavens and outward in every direction from its mane.
The Beast slowly closed its eyes and everything became black and still as night. Then an indescribably horrific roar pierced the blackness that at first seemed to come from the lion but then from the earth itself. The land began to fracture and rumble and shake.
The lion began glowing in the darkness and the horrible sound came from it again although its mouth did not move. The land and the seas became as one and the sound once again transferred to the earth. All the creations of man became twisted, broken and fractured.
The crackling, bubbling plasma missiles that had been on either side of the lion suddenly burst forth in all directions. The lion slowly closed his black glowing eyes and there was a great sound and flash ten times worse than before and every living thing was extinguished from the earth."
After this vision I was unable to speak for two days. I wept uncontrollably as the implication became known to me. Namely if my delving's allowed the dimensions / realms to encroach upon one another that those called the Elder Ones would have no choice but to purify all that they had created. If only my curiosity had not led me to the blasphemous dimensions. I confess, I may have doomed all in this realm and others as well.
This was the final writing of Abdul Alhazred. Upon reading it and with much reflection I memorized it and burned it. Those who call him mad do him a dis-service. He was as sane and learned as me. He had a scientists mind and through his quest for knowledge simply continued seeking answers to questions until they lead him to a terrible conclusion. He discovered that there are many other realms of time, space and reality besides our own and certain alchemical processes combined with natural elements and incantations can unlock parts or all of those realms. He discovered that those realms contained creatures, fauna and hybrid life forms terrible and unknown to us; unseen by us, that share common space in our world, but not in our time or dimension. These creatures are sometimes beautiful and curious and at other times so horrible and treacherous they cannot be gazed upon without causing retching and uncontrollable weeping at their loathsome and nauseous visage. These creatures are not benevolent.
For those who would follow and accept my former position you must also accept the awesome responsibility for three tasks.
First you must ensure the secrecy of this information. Since centuries have passed without our destruction The Elder Ones may have returned to the slumber of EONs. Or, merely in their aspect of time, action which they view as a fraction of a second may in fact be centuries to us. The risk that the knowledge of Alhazred may be forgotten or lost is of great concern. However, the risk that so called modern scholars might seek to further open doors which Alhazred unlocked would be cataclysmic as validated by his vision.
Second, ensure that you pass this same information to a trusted successor as I have. This information must endure in some legitimate fashion other than rumor and legend should some unwitting wizard loose creatures of unknown origin or understanding upon our world.
Third, and most importantly, seek out copies of that accursed book and destroy any you might discover in the same manner as I destroyed Alhazred's Vision. In the centuries since Alhazred lived many copies of his material have escaped and many nefarious characters have sought to throw open the doors of our world to the hellish animations of eons. They have all met with horrible ends. These characters foolishly thought they could control the ethereal manifestations of other dimensions but they all discovered their tragic miscalculation too late. In addition they have continued to risk raising the omnipotent attention of the Elder Ones. I must reiterate that this is most important. All copies of "The Book" must be sought out and destroyed. As my last written words I will record it's blasphemous name on paper so there shall be no mistake. When Alhazred compiled his life's work in 715 AD he title it "Al Azif" which translated from Arabic roughly meant "the sound of that around us". However, in the centuries that have followed, the accursed book has come to be known by the name you will more readily recognize – The Necronomicon.