Introduction

TL;DR: Grimoires are the most feared books in the world. They are valued and revered.

Abstract: Abstract What are the most dangerous books in the world? Some might nominate the founding texts of our major religions, which through misinterpretation and manipulation have led to the suffering of millions over the centuries. Others might point to defining modern political works such as Karl Marx’s Das Kapital, Hitler’s Mein Kampf, or Chairman Mao’s Little Red Book. Fiction can also gravely offend public sensibilities, as we have seen in recent decades with book burnings of the Satanic Verses and Harry Potter novels. But for many down the millennia and across the globe no books have been more feared than grimoires: then again, no books have been more valued and revered.