De Vermis Mysteriis
By Ludvig Prinn. Also known as Mysteries of the Worm. Includes the chapter known as Saracenic Rituals.
History
De Vermis Mysteriis was written by the Flemish sorcerer Ludvig Prinn while he was imprisoned, awaiting trial for witchcraft. It is not known how the manuscript was ever smuggled out of the prison. A year after Prinn's death, the book was printed in Cologne. This original version was in Latin. The book was immediately suppressed, but a few copies survived, which were transcribed and circulated further. The book has remained rare and generally known only to initiates, who discourage its wider distribution. [RB Shambler (online text)].
The Latin copy that Robert Blake acquired was a great black volume with iron facings, and the title inscribed in hand-engraved lettering. [RB Shambler (online text]
In the forger Alastair White's spurious catalog of esoteric books for sale, he offered a copy of the De Vermis Mysteriis, supposedly published in Prague in 1807 [AWD Six].
Contents
The book includes cold, deliberate instructions for traffic with alien evil. The procedures include such things as compounding belladonna with aconite and drawing circles of phosphorescent fire on the floor when the stars are right; melting tallow candles and mixing them with corpse-fat; and performing animal sacrifices. [RB Bargain (online text)]
The book alludes to such gods of divination as Father Yig, dark Han, and serpent-bearded Byatis [RB Shambler (online text].
Ludvig Prinn implies his knowledge of the fable of Nyarlathotep in Mysteries of the Worm [RB Faceless]. De Vermis Mysteriis describes Nyarlathotep as the "all-seeing eye" [AWD Lurker].
The book asserts that the ancient Egyptians once colonized Cornwall [RB Brood].
The book includes a recipe for a love philtre that includes yohimbine and cantharadine, among other ingredients [RB Philtre (online text)].
The book includes the formula for a certain drug, which enables the user to recall memories of past lives. The book gives a list of precautions to be taken before using the drug, including the Pnakotic pentagon and the cabalistic signs of protection. The book warns that omitting these protections can make one a prey to the dwellers in the Hidden World [HK Invaders (online text)].
De Vermis Mysteriis speaks of the being Iod as the Shining Pursuer, who hunts souls through the Secret Worlds: that is, other dimensions of space. But the book does not include any incantation for summoning this being. [HK Hunt (online text)]
Dr. Jean-Francois Charriere's papers included diagrams of operations designed to give a man the attributes of a reptile; some of these diagrams were attributed to De Vermis Mysteriis [AWD Survivor (online text)].
The chapter called Saracenic Rituals deals with Prinn's sojourn in Egypt in the days of the Crusaders. Prinn wrote of what he learned from Alexandrian seers; of his journeys into deserts and his looting of tombs in hidden valleys of the Nile. The chapter reveals the lore of the efreet and the djinn, the secrets of the assassin sects, myths of Arabian ghouls, and the hidden practices of the dervishes. [RB Sebek] The chapter includes a chant relating to the efreet and djinn [RB Hell (online text)].
The chapter tells that the Egyptian priesthood worshiped gigantic beings who were half-beast and half-man. The priests obtained great power from these beings, but had to offer them incense and human sacrifices. The chapter speaks in particular detail of the worship of Sebek, the crocodile-headed god. [RB Sebek]
The chapter tells that the pharaoh Nephren-Ka called up Nyarlathotep with the sacrifice of a hundred willing victims. Nephren-Ka received the gift of prophecy, and inscribed the secrets of the future on the walls of his own tomb before dying. [RB Fane]
The chapter tells of the destruction of Elephantine and Bubastis, and of how the priests of Bast were blaspheming against the reigning religions, and performing atrocious sacrifices. The priests and their acolytes fled before the army arrived to seize them. [RB Brood]
The chapter tells that a never-mentioned abomination caused the symbol and story of Nyarlathotep to be forgotten [RB Sebek].
On seeing the symbols surrounding a doorway in an Egyptian tomb, Sir Ronald Barton was reminded of a portion of the Saracenic Rituals where Prinn wrote of the 'symbols on the gate' [RB Opener].
Library Copies
The British museum has a copy of the Latin edition, which was borrowed and returned by Malcolm Kent [RB Brood].
The Huntington Library has a copy of De Vermis Mysteriis, which is secretly kept in a vault. Through bribery, Mike Hayward was able to get photostatic copies of selected pages. [HK Invaders (online text)]
Other Copies and Readers
Alonzo Typer found a first edition of De Vermis Mysteriis in the attic of the van der Heyl house [HPL Diary (online text)].
James Allington had a copy of Mysteries of the Worm [RB Suicide (online text)].
Robert Blake found a copy in a bookstore on South Dearborn Street in an unnamed city [RB Shambler (online text)]. This might have been the South Dearborn Street in Chicago, which has some rare book dealers. Blake himself was from Milwaukee [HPL Haunter (online text)]. Later, Robert Blake found a copy of De Vermis Mysteriis in the abandoned church of the Starry Wisdom sect. [HPL Haunter (online text)]
Launcelot Canning had a copy of De Vermis Mysteriis in his mansion [RB Poe (online text)].
Prof. Alexander Chaupin spoke to his therapist of the veiled and subtle truths so furtively revealed in tomes such as Mysteries of the Worm [RB Grinning].
Dr. Ambrose Dexter had a copy of De Vermis Mysteriis [RB Steeple (online text)].
The horror author Edgar Gordon had dreams that coincided curiously with descriptions in books such as the Mysteries of the Worm [RB Demon].
Fritz Gulther had a copy of De Vermis Mysteriis bound in iron and labeled German Inorganic Chemistry The copy had thick black letters and a detestable odor [RB Bargain (online text)].
Simon Maglore had a copy of Mysteries of the Worm [RB Mannikin].
Strange was initiated by his father into the mysteries and arcana to be found among tomes such as Mysteries of the Worm [RB Tomb (online text)].
Henricus Vanning had a copy of De Vermis Mysteriis with crumbling covers protected by glass [RB Sebek].
Isaac Voorden intended to consult the chapter on divination in Mysteries of the Worm, to see if it discussed the Star of Sechmet [RB Sorcerer (online text)].
The Gable Window narrator found a copy in the house of his late cousin, Wilbur Akeley [AWD Gable (online text)].
Ambrose Dewart found a copy of De Vermis Mysteriis in Billington House [AWD Lurker].
Prof. Upton Gardner had photostatic copies of pages from De Vermis Mysteriis [AWD Dweller].
Haddon found a copy of De Vermis Mysteriis among the books of Amos Tuttle [AWD Hastur].
Dan Harrop found a copy in the collection of his late cousin, Abel Harrop [AWD Whippoorwills].
Nathaniel Wingate Peaslee consulted De Vermis Mysteriis while possessed by a mind of the Great Race, and wrote notes in the margins [HPL Time (online text)]. Similarly, Amos Piper consulted a copy of De Vermis Mysteriis while possessed by a member of the Great Race [AWD Space].
Winfield Phillips read from a copy or photostat of the De Vermis Mysteriis in the possession of Dr. Seneca Lapham [AWD Lurker].
John Conrad found a copy of De Vermis Mysteriis inside the house in the oaks near Old Dutchtown, N.Y. [REH House (online text)].
Frank Baldwyn and Rambeau searched in vain for a copy [DWR Music (online text)].
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