Infernal Dictionary
by Jacques Albin Simon Collin de Plancy
On This Page
Description
Popular in 19th-century France, this dictionary went through five editions between 1818 and 1863. It is an A-Z encyclopedia of the occult sciences, listing notable practitioners and books, superstitions, demons, spirits and other phenomena associated with magic, divination, sooth-saying and the supernatural. Its author, the prolific Collin de Plancy (1794-1881), moved to Paris in 1812. He owned a bookshop and speculated in property, a venture which resulted in his exile to Brussels. In 1837, show more he returned to Paris, rejected his earlier anticlericalism, and converted to Catholicism. The preface to the 1845 edition of his Dictionnaire Infernal, reissued here, claims its purpose is to refute error, banish superstition, and explain literary symbols and imagery. The book carries the approval of the archbishop of Paris. show lessTags
Recommendations
Member Reviews
Calling the Infernal Dictionary Deluxe Edition a book doesn’t do it justice. It’s not just a book, it’s a work of art. The Infernal Dictionary is 764 pages of demonology, occult, mythology, theology, and terrifying history. What makes the Infernal Dictionary so unique and sets it apart from all other encyclopedia / reference books on the occult is the quality of work put into restoring it from the original 1863 edition, the dozens of full-color portraits that bring this work to life in a haunting way that no other book has been able to match, and the sheer amount of knowledge that it contains.
This Deluxe Edition comes in a beautiful black box, and the Infernal Dictionary its self is broken up into two volumes. There are plenty of show more reference books on the occult on the market today. None compare to the Infernal Dictionary. It is a must have for every student of the occult, magick, demonology, and witchcraft. I’m going to have to update my Last Will and Testament. I’m taking this book with me to the grave.
It just went on sale. Get it now! show less
This Deluxe Edition comes in a beautiful black box, and the Infernal Dictionary its self is broken up into two volumes. There are plenty of show more reference books on the occult on the market today. None compare to the Infernal Dictionary. It is a must have for every student of the occult, magick, demonology, and witchcraft. I’m going to have to update my Last Will and Testament. I’m taking this book with me to the grave.
It just went on sale. Get it now! show less
A fascinating bit of work I nabbed for the art, and hang on to for the bizarre. Dictionary/encyclopedia sort of a thing, so not a straight read-through, but fascinating, and useful as a tool should one ever run across historical references.
"... an appalling book" (see Cox, M.R. James: An Informal Portrait, 38
Facsímil de la edición original. Barcelona : Imprenta de los Hermanos Llorens,1842
Dec 10, 2011Spanish
Ratings
Members
- Recently Added By
Lists
Books in The Club Dumas
72 works; 1 member
Author Information
36+ Works 225 Members
Some Editions
Work Relationships
Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- Infernal Dictionary
- Original title
- Dictionnaire Infernal
- Original publication date
- 1818; 1863 (English) (English)
- Original language
- French
Classifications
Statistics
- Members
- 92
- Popularity
- 347,975
- Reviews
- 4
- Rating
- (4.60)
- Languages
- 6 — English, French, Italian, Latin, Portuguese (Portugal), Spanish
- Media
- Paper, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 22
- ASINs
- 5
