Dark August (1976) Timeline Explained – Every Event in Order

Ned McDermott cursed Sal because Sal accidentally killed his granddaughter in a car crash shortly after moving to Vermont. Although Sal was cleared of any wrongdoing, McDermott was consumed by grief and grief and sought supernatural vengeance by placing a death-curse on the driver he held responsible for his granddaughter's death.

Foreshadowing: Early in the film, McDermott is shown watching and following Sal, casting a shadow over his new life in the small town.

• ned mcdermott
• curse
• death curse
• granddaughter
• vigilante

The curse manifested through increasingly painful physical symptoms and terrifying supernatural encounters. Sal experienced mysterious illnesses that grew worse each day, including a near-collapse at a grocery store. He also began seeing a hooded figure in the woods near his property, which distracted him and led to accidents that escalated his fear and isolation.

Foreshadowing: The hooded figure first appeared during the construction of Sal's art studio, the very location where the curse's energy was later believed to be concentrated.

• curse symptoms
• illness
• hooded figure
• supernatural encounters

The hooded figure was a supernatural manifestation connected to McDermott's curse. Adrianna Putnam identified it as a demonic presence tied to the location of Sal's unfinished studio, the first place where the figure appeared. The figure remained silent and unmoving when Sal confronted it, behaving like a spectral hunter rather than a physical person.

Foreshadowing: The figure first appeared during studio construction, and Adrianna determined the studio itself was the locus of the demonic energy.

• hooded figure
• demonic presence
• woods
• supernatural

Sal burned his studio on the advice of psychic Adrianna Putnam, who believed the unfinished studio was the source or dwelling place of the demonic force tormenting him. Since it was the first location where the hooded figure appeared, she determined it felt demonic and instructed Sal to destroy it with fire to cleanse the negative energy.

Foreshadowing: The hooded figure first appeared specifically at the construction site of the studio, which Adrianna later identified as the cursed location.

• art studio
• fire
• burning
• adrianna putnam
• cleansing ritual

McDermott killed Adrianna because she was actively working to break his curse and save Sal. When he arrived at her house during the ritual designed to transform the negative energy into protection, he shot her to prevent her from lifting the curse he had placed. His violent response revealed he would not allow anyone to interfere with his vengeance.

Foreshadowing: Adrianna had just confirmed to Sal that McDermott had cast the curse and was actively working to undo it, making her a direct threat to McDermott's purpose.

• adrianna putnam
• mcdermott kills
• shooting
• ritual interrupted

Sal shot his dog because the animal sensed danger from the hooded figure and attacked Sal in a moment of perceived threat. With the supernatural presence closing in and his dog lunging at him, Sal acted in self-preservation and shot the animal to protect himself. He then collapsed beside his dying companion, overwhelmed by the ordeal.

Foreshadowing: The dog's agitation and sensing of trouble had been building throughout the film, with supernatural entities triggering fear in animals.

• dog dies
• shot by owner
• self-preservation
• hooded figure confrontation

No, the curse was not lifted. The ritual intended to transform the negative energy was interrupted when McDermott arrived and killed Adrianna. Although the demonic force turned on McDermott at the final moment, Sal remained under the curse's grip. The ending is bleak, Sal is left physically and emotionally destroyed, sitting beside his dead dog with the curse still looming over him.

Foreshadowing: The tarot reading earlier warned of danger and foreshadowed that while a woman would help, the threat would not be easily overcome.

• curse not lifted
• ending
• bleak
• ritual failed
• demonic force

During a tarot reading performed by Lesley, Sal was warned that he was in grave danger. The cards indicated that a mysterious woman unknown to him would come to his aid. This foreshadowed Adrianna Putnam's involvement, as she was the psychic who would eventually help Sal understand and attempt to counter the curse.

Foreshadowing: Lesley's reading directly predicted that a woman Sal didn't know would help him, Adrianna Putnam, who later became central to the fight against the curse.

• tarot reading
• lesley
• foreshadow
• danger warning
• mysterious woman

Jackie went to McDermott's home in a desperate attempt to convince him to lift the curse on Sal. While there, she discovered occult paraphernalia and tools confirming his involvement in witchcraft. McDermott attacked her when she found this evidence, but she escaped and immediately sought Adrianna's help to continue fighting the curse.

Foreshadowing: This event confirmed that McDermott was indeed practicing dark magic, providing proof of the curse beyond just suspicion.

• jackie
• mcdermott house
• confrontation
• witchcraft evidence

Adrianna gathered Sal, Jackie, Theo, and Lesley for a ritual designed to transform the negative energy attached to Sal into positive, protective energy. They drank from a goblet and recited the Lord's Prayer while Adrianna led an incantation. The ritual was abruptly ended when McDermott arrived and shot Adrianna through the heart, killing her mid-ritual.

Foreshadowing: The tarot reading earlier had foreshadowed danger, and McDermott's violent arrival showed he would not allow the curse to be broken.

• ritual
• adrianna
• lord's prayer
• transformation
• energy cleansing

The art studio was significant because it was the exact location where the hooded figure first appeared during construction. Psychic Adrianna Putnam determined that the studio felt demonic and served as the focal point or dwelling place for the supernatural force haunting Sal. Destroying it was her prescribed method to cleanse the negative energy.

Foreshadowing: The hooded figure appeared first at the construction site, and the timing of its appearance directly correlated with the studio's foundation being laid.

• art studio
• construction site
• demonic location
• focal point
• cleansing

The dog attacked Sal because animals can sense supernatural presences that humans cannot perceive. When Sal confronted the hooded figure in the woods with a shotgun, the dog sensed the demonic entity and in its protective instinct, attacked Sal, who it likely perceived as a threat in that moment of high tension. This forced Sal to defend himself with fatal force.

Foreshadowing: Throughout the film, the dog had shown increasing agitation and trouble sensing danger, reflecting the growing supernatural presence around the property.

• dog attack
• animal instincts
• supernatural sensing
• protection