Umbrarum Regni Novem Portis : The Nine Gates of The Kingdom of Shadows

We may still have a hope of touching a real copy in this lifetime..

Authored by Aristide Torchia Via House of The Elzevir

The Nine Gates of the Kingdom of Shadows, “Umbrarum Regni Novem Portis” a book by a Spanish-Italian named Aristide Torchia, who would have written it on the basis of the engravings and information that he would have found in another book already rare for its era, the “Delomelanicon”, or Invocation of Darkness, the name Delomelanicon derives in fact from the Greek “Delo” which translated means “To Call” and “Melas”, i.e. “Darkness”. It is said that this book was written by Lucifer himself, the Angel who rebelled against God, after his expulsion from heaven, or the Fall.

By using the text, or having knowledge to use it, it is assumed that one could invoke the Prince of Darkness.

The Grand Grimoire, another book of the Ancient Religion, which preceded Torchia’s book by a few centuries, even went so far as to transcribe spells to control the devil. In our opinion, The Nine Gates of the Kingdom of Shadows was certainly an evolution of the Grand Grimoire.

The Delomelanicon appears to be mentioned by the prophet Daniel, Hippocrates, Flavius ​​Josephus, and Pope Leo III. The first direct mention is found in the Turis papyrus, written over 3300 years ago. It also seems to recur in the “Corpus Hermeticum”, in “Asclemannders”, and that a copy was kept in the library of Alexandria.

A copy, this one, perhaps belonged to King Solomon, or Solomon, and which would have been burned in 1351 AD. by personal order of Pope Innocent VI who ruled: “This book contains rituals for summoning devils”.

The Torchias were a Venetian family, but of Spanish origin from Toledo. Wealthy merchants who imported goods from Spain and France. The young Aristide traveled through Europe as a young man, arriving in Holland, where he became an apprentice bookseller in the Elzevir Publishing House.

The Elzevir Publishing House

The Elzevir family was a prominent Dutch family of booksellers, publishers, and printers active from the late 16th to the early 18th century. They were based primarily in Leiden and Amsterdam, and became known for their high-quality, affordable editions of classical and scholarly works. The founder of the Elzevir publishing business was Lodewijk (Louis) Elzevir, who moved from Leuven to Leiden in 1580 and established a bookshop. The business grew under his sons and grandsons, with Bonaventure Elzevir and Abraham Elzevir being particularly notable. They were known for their shrewd business practices and the physical quality of their publications, which were prized by bibliophiles. They published a wide range of scholarly and scientific works, including editions of the classics, theology, philosophy, law, history, geography, and the natural sciences.

Occult Publications

While the Elzevirs were primarily focused on scholarly and scientific works, there is some evidence that they may have published a small number of occult or esoteric texts:

– In 1641, the Elzevir publishing house in Amsterdam published a work called *Observationes Medicae* by Nicolaes Tulp, a Dutch physician. This book contained descriptions of various medical conditions and strange creatures, including an “intelligent-seeming simian creature” from Africa that was described as a “Indian Satyr”. This suggests the Elzevirs may have been willing to publish works with occult or supernatural elements.

– There are also reports of an occult work called *Cultus Britannici*, supposedly published by the Elzevirs in 1641, which described pagan religious practices in Britain, including “disturbing” rituals involving infanticide, incest, and cannibalism. However, no copies of this work are known to exist, and its authenticity is questionable.

– More broadly, the Elzevirs were known to sometimes use anonymous or false imprints, likely to avoid censorship or controversy. This suggests they may have been willing to publish works on sensitive or controversial topics, including potentially occult or esoteric material.

The Elzevirs primary focus appears to have been on mainstream scholarly and scientific works, but still there is a concrete, although limited, evidence of their involvement in publishing occult texts.

The legend tells that after having learned the rudiments and secrets of binding, printing, and other devices, Aristide went to Prague where he was introduced to Occultism and the Ancient Religion. The European areas furthest from the power of the Church of Rome were also the areas where Paganism thrived and thrived. Torchia went to live in Jungmannove Square, also nicknamed the occult square. He soon moved to the Jewish quarter and here he learned about their myth of the Golem and the sacred rabbinical formula of evocation. Finally he resided in the Mala Strana neighborhood where it is said that he had the fortune, or misfortune, of finding himself in front of the Delomelanicon, an experience by which he was struck and which marked a point of no return for the young Torchia.
He then returned to his Venice. And it was in Venice in 1666 that Aristide Torchia reproduced nine of the engravings of the famous “Delomelanicon” in his book entitled “De Umbrarum Regni Novem Portis” which means “On the Nine Doors of the Kingdom of Shadows“. This curious book bears the mark of a snake and a tree split by lightning.

A year after publishing this book, Torchia’s workshop was destroyed by the flames that devoured his precious books, Torchia was then arrested and sent first to the prison of Venice, and then to that of Rome, where he was tortured for 34 days, finally almost unconscious he was burned in Campo dei Fiori (Le Fleurs du Mal) on 17 February 1667 on charges of having practiced witchcraft and served the Devil.
Some claim, from witness to witness, that Torchia confessed that a copy of the Nine Gates of the Shadow Realm was safe, and he revealed nothing useful in finding it.
Over the centuries since Torchia’s painful passing, it seems that three copies of the book have been found. A book of Dark Magic, or Black Magic, of approximately 160 pages, containing 9 illustrations.

Torchia (Aristide). De umbrorum reigns novem portis. Venetiae, Apud. Aristidem Torchiam. Mdclxvi. Engraving 9 present.

Fargas Library, Sintra, Portugal;

Coy Library, Madrid, Spain, Engraving 9 missing;

Morel Library, Paris;

The copy in the Fargas Library was purchased by Victor Fargas’ grandfather. The Coy Library later became the Terral-Coy Library when Gualterio Terral inherited the collection from his father-in-law, Don Lisardo Coy.
This copy was purchased by COY from Domenico Chiaro whose family had owned it since 1817.
It was later purchased by Varo Borja, Spain’s leading book retailer and a specialist in demonology.
The Morel Library copy was purchased by my distant cousin Frida, Baroness Ungern, in 1949. While the public believes the copy is in the Ungern Library in Paris, it is actually safe in the south of France.

Aristide Torchia is a figure shrouded in the mystique of literary fiction, known primarily through the narrative of Arturo Pérez-Reverte’s “The Dumas Club” and its film adaptation, “The Ninth Door” directed by Roman Polanski. The character of Torchia, although richly detailed in these works, is not a historical figure but a fictional creation. His story is intertwined with the legendary book * Delomelanicon, or Invocation of Darkness *, supposedly written by Lucifer himself, and with Torchia’s work, * De Umbrarum Regni Novem Portis * (* The Nine Gates of the Shadow Kingdom *). Born in 1620, Torchia’s fictional biography places him in Venice, where he apprenticed with the Elzevir family in Leiden before returning to his hometown. There he published works on philosophical and esoteric themes. In 1666 he published *De Umbrarum Regni Novem Portis*, a book supposedly based on the *Delomelanicon*. This act led to his conviction by the Inquisition for magic and witchcraft, culminating in his execution at the stake in 1667.

The *Delomelanicon* itself is described as a manual for summoning the devil, written by Lucifer after his fall from Heaven. It is said to have been mentioned by historical figures such as the prophet Daniel and Hippocrates, and to have existed for almost 20,000 years, with its first direct mention in the Turis papyrus, written 3300 years ago. The book is said to have been burned in 1350 by order of Pope Innocent VI. Torchia’s *De Umbrarum Regni Novem Portis* is said to contain nine engravings reproduced from the *Delomelanicon*. After his death, three copies of this book are known to have surfaced, each with slight variations in the engravings, leading to speculation as to their authenticity and the true nature of the engravings’ origins, whether they were the work of Torchia or Lucifer himself. The narrative surrounding Torchia and the *Delomelanicon* is a fascinating blend of fiction and historical elements, creating a rich tapestry that explores themes of knowledge, power, and the occult. While Torchia may not have been a real historical figure, his story and the books associated with him capture the imagination, inviting readers and viewers into a world where the lines between reality and fiction blur.

Smoking while reading certain books is daring but remains a real sin…