Summary

The chapter starts with a description of Dunwich, a small Massachusetts town near hills and forests. The narrator explains that centuries ago, the area was rife with Satan worship and the occult. In 1928, something known as the Dunwich Horror took place, which the townsfolk covered up and do not speak about. Midway through the chapter, the reader is told of a preacher known as Reverend Abijah Hoadley who gave a sermon in 1747 about the sounds that occur when evil is afoot. The chapter ends with the narrator stating that Dunwich is incredibly old, with the oldest landmark being stone rings at the top of the hills of Dunwich.

Analysis

This chapter has two main purposes. The first is to set the scene. Lovecraft chose the state of Massachusetts because it was the area he was familiar with and in the United States, where most...