Pnakotic Manuscripts

The Pnakotic Manuscripts was a book in the Library of St John the Beheaded's collection. When Anne Travers was researching the Great Intelligence, she added this document on her way to finding books on her father's list. (PROSE: Millennial Rites)

Behind the scenes

• The fictional Pnakotic Manuscripts were created by H. P. Lovecraft. The Manuscripts first appeared in his short story Polaris. He referred to them in eleven of his stories, including The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath, The Other Gods, At the Mountains of Madness, and The Shadow Out of Time. In the stories, they predated humanity and their origins were unclear. They got their name from their time being held in the Great Race of Yith city Pnakotus. They covered many subjects, including the descriptions of various extra-dimensional beings and the rituals to summon them.
• The ones in the Library of St John were most likely a translation, as the original scrolls were believed lost. There were rumours of a Greek version called the Pnakotica, as well as an English version.