Steve Hatherley
The discovery of an ancient book in the belongings of Frank Kirby, Crouch End, has stirred local historians. The book, found in his attic after his death last week, purports to be the Black Book of the East, a tome of quite considerable legend.
The Book is supposed to have been written by a french sorcerer during the 11th Century. The sorcerer was an advisor to King William the Conqueror who supposedly carried the tome with him everywhere.
After the sorcerers death it was rumoured to have been annotated and largely reworked by various other witches and warlocks.
It has a history of curses and is riddled with black magic. The Black Book is supposed to be very dangerous, even reading it can be hazardous. It is commonly believed to be cursed.
Before the discovery by relatives of Frank Kirby, the book was last rumoured to have been in the possession of John Dee, Royal Astrologer to Queen Elizabeth. It has appeared throughout history in the hands of sorcerers across the land.
The book is being auctioned tomorrow, and is expected to reach £500.
The Black Book is eventually sold, after much hard bidding, for over £1000 to an unknown bidder operating through an agent. The book was originally written in French, although that has been largely annotated in a number of languages since.
1 The book is a fake. Kirby was known for his practical jokes, and this was his last. He wrote largely nonsense inside, much of it made up. Despite this, the book contains several passages which appear to be uncomfortably prophetic.
2 The book is not the Black Book, but is an original version of the Bible. However, the Bible has changed much since this was written and its tone is completely different. It tells of the Lord being defeated by Satan and cast to earth in the form of Jesus, only to be crucified by the Romans. It is a blasphemous work, but it is so horribly plausible.
3 The Black Book of the East is a mythos tome, and an exceedingly rare one, this being the only copy. It was written by the french sorcerer, but when he died his soul was imprisoned in the tome. The book can only be opened by satisfying his hunger and spilling human blood across the covers which is quickly absorbed into the material.
Copyright (c) 1990 Steve Hatherley
Steve Hatherley is the creator of Tales of Terror, and has written for both Chaosium and Pagan Publishing. He also has a number of other websites, including www.great-murder-mystery-games.com and www.mylowerbackpain.com.
Steve lives in Yorkshire, England.
Click here to see Steve's other Tales of Terror.