Top 10 Times Evil Dead Characters STUPIDLY Read the Necronomicon

“The Evil Dead” (1981)
Anyone who’s seen a horror movie before can tell you never to vacation at a creaky cabin in the woods. But if you do, absolutely do not investigate the creepy cellar that opens on its own. Scotty unfortunately has no such reservations, as he and Ash find the artifacts left there by archaeologist Raymond Knowby. It turns out that one doesn’t have to read directly from the Necronomicon to summon the Kandarian Demon, as any voice will do. So when Ash and Scotty play Knowby’s recordings from when he too summoned the demon, they get the same brutal result. One by one the evil takes them, until only Ash is left to ponder the consequences of his actions.

“Evil Dead II” (1987)
Okay, sometimes you gotta fight fire with fire, so we kinda get this one. But it still doesn’t go according to plan. The daughter of Professor Knowby, Annie arrives at the cabin with the Necronomicon’s missing pages only to find her parents missing and a whole lot of bloodshed. After another round of Kandarian mayhem, Annie and Ash try to banish the evil by reciting from the new pages. This only puts them deeper into trouble, and Annie gets a dagger in the back for her troubles courtesy of Ash’s possessed hand. Annie’s able to finish the incantation anyway, but she ends up sending Ash to the Middle Ages, which he’s not too thrilled about.

“Ash vs Evil Dead” (2015-18)
It doesn’t matter if it’s Latin or Sumerian - don’t ever read creepy, ancient text in a creepy, ancient book. After all’s said and done in the show’s second season, the Necronomicon is innocently found by a passerby named Amy. Season 3 picks up with Amy bringing it to TV auctioneer Stanley Gibson, whose curiosity gets the better of him. Live on television, Stanley reads aloud verbatim what he sees, and by the time he realizes his goof, it is way, way too late. He dooms pretty much the entire crew to a horrible fate before Ruby enters the picture and socks it to ‘im.

“Evil Dead II” (1987)
New verse, same as the first. Sort of. Due to a weird rights issue, “Evil Dead II” is both a remake and a sequel to the original, replacing the five friends who venture out to a cabin with just Ash and his girlfriend Linda. The film wastes absolutely no time getting to the evil, as this time Ash comes across the tape recorder sitting out and about. With some encouragement from Linda, Ash again plays Knowby’s tape, complete with the same-old incantations. And to the surprise of no one, things again go poorly for Linda, who’s possessed and has to be put down by Ash. They just weren’t meant to be, were they?

“Ash vs Evil Dead” (2015-18)
Pablo is a fan-favorite character, but even he isn’t exempt from making some poor decisions. In the second season, he’s plagued by a series of horrifying visions that portend his awful connection to the evil. At one point, Ash’s Oldsmobile, the “Delta,” goes on a rampage while the Necronomicon tries to make a deal with Pablo in exchange for a single word being read aloud. Pablo caves, and the Necronomicon is seemingly banished to Hell. But he should know by now not to compromise with evil, as he ends up more than a little worse for wear in the following episodes.

“Ash vs Evil Dead” (2015-18)
How did the Oldsmobile get possessed, you ask? Well, we have a bunch of dumb teenagers to thank for that. After the Delta is stolen by some youths, a makeout session takes a turn for the terrifying. When Amber wants to slow things down with Tyler, she comes across the Necronomicon in the back seat. Changing the mood completely, she mutters a few words from it before going to town on Tyler, and not in a good way. While the Delta slays Tyler and his friends, the deadite Amber goes after Ash and his dad Brock. Thankfully, Ash gives Amber quite the swirly as he’s able to save Brock. Well, for a hot second, anyway.

“Army of Darkness” (1992)
Okay, Ash’s first two indiscretions are understandable, but chalk this one up to poor memory. After Ash lands in the Middle Ages, he’s instructed on what words to say once he finds the Necronomicon. But once he’s there, he completely blanks on the end of the phrase and thinks he can bumble his way through it. Ash’s spell backfires, instead awakening his evil doppelganger and an entire army of the… well, dead. As much as we love Ash Williams, his overconfidence has gotten him into more than one sticky situation. And he’s clearly never seen “The Day the Earth Stood Still.”

“Ash vs Evil Dead” (2015-18)
The sort-of villain for the entirety of the series, Ruby’s leanings tend to change from season to season. But it’s her first aligning with evil that puts her on this list. After being a mysterious ally throughout the first season, Ruby eventually tricks Ash into transferring ownership of the Necronomicon to her. Once she has her hands on it, she summons a great evil with the intention of unleashing it upon the entire world. She gets her wish, but eventually her own Demon Spawn turn on her in favor of their evil father. Never try to rule over all of humanity, kids.

“Evil Dead” (2013)
The 2013 “Evil Dead” is a lot like the original, only way, way gorier. It also features five friends in a cabin who find a creepy, old book in the cellar, but this time only Eric is stupid enough to read from it. This time called the Naturom Demonto, the book is plastered with red flags, with literal warnings to the reader on multiple pages. Does he take heed and pack it in? Of course not! He not only deciphers the hidden messages, but he reads them aloud, putting his friend Mia through a serious ringer out in the woods. It doesn’t get much better for the rest of them, and the movie makes sure to punish Eric severely.

“Ash vs Evil Dead” (2015-18)
After roughly thirty years of fighting evil, you’d think that Ash would know by now not to go leafing through the Necronomicon, but never underestimate his ego. In the pilot episode, Ash brings a lady friend back to his trailer. But after getting a little under the influence, he suddenly thinks some Kandarian poetry will set the mood. Well, if the mood was intended to be three seasons of murder and mayhem, mission accomplished. Seriously, Ash inadvertently kickstarts a whole swath of deaths, and all to impress a chick. Which, we gotta admit, is seriously on-brand for Ash Williams.