In 1765, Arkham, Massachusetts, the town’s residents grow wary of the grand palace that looms over them, convinced its owner, Joseph Curwen, is a warlock. A young girl wanders up to the palace in a trance, guided by Joseph Curwen and his mistress, Hester Tillinghast. They lead her down into the damp, secretive dungeons, where a strange ritual unfolds and an unseen creature rises from a covered pit. The townspeople watch as the girl wanders off, seemingly unharmed, yet they believe she has been bewitched and forgotten what happened. They drag Curwen out to a tree to burn him, but before he dies he curses Arkham and its descendants, vowing to rise again from the grave to take his revenge.
In 1875, exactly 110 years later, Charles Dexter Ward and his wife Anne Ward arrive in Arkham after inheriting the palace. They encounter a hostile reception from locals and are unsettled by the horrific deformities that mar many of Arkham’s inhabitants. Charles feels an eerie recognition as he discovers the palace seems to know him, and he spots a striking likeness to Curwen in a portrait. They are introduced to the palace caretaker, Simon Orne, who urges them to stay and forget the town’s hostility. Charles grows more enthralled with the Curwen portrait, sometimes seeming to change in his own personality.
They befriend the local physician, Dr. Marinus Willet. He explains the legend surrounding Curwen’s death, the belief that a curse and a forbidden book, the Necronomicon, connected to Curwen, brought about the deformities. The Necronomicon is said to have aided Curwen in summoning the Elder Gods Cthulhu and Yog-Sothoth, with a plan to mate mortals with these beings to forge a superhuman line. The townspeople fear that Curwen has returned in Charles to exact his revenge. Dr. Willet cautions them to leave Arkham.
Yet Charles appears to fall under a malevolent force, insisting they remain. One night, the spirit of Joseph Curwen possesses Charles. Curwen reunites with two other warlocks, Simon Orne and Jabez Hutchinson, who also claim possession of their descendants, and they resume their dark work, aiming to resurrect Hester Tillinghast.
Curwen’s revenge unfolds as he strikes at the descendants: he releases Ezra Weeden’s monstrous son and targets Edgar Weeden, a descendant of Ezra. The threat grows as they press forward toward the palace, and Dr. Willet and Anne Ward rush to rescue Charles, discovering a hidden entrance to the dungeon. They are ambushed by Curwen, Simon, Jabez, and Hester. Anne is presented as a mate to the creature in the pit, while the townspeople storm and raze the palace. The destruction of Curwen’s portrait breaks his hold over [Charles Dexter Ward]. Charles frees [Anne Ward], and urges Willet to take her away from the burning mansion. As Curwen’s followers seize Charles, Willet fights to save him, and the pair barely escape the flames. Though they survive, the tale leaves little doubt that Joseph Curwen’s spirit still inhabits Charles.
