Dean's Corners, Massachusetts had been placed on this world by the merciful hand of God somewhere between Dunwich and Arkham, but closer to the latter. It was a fact they never failed to mention to the rare stranger who'd come their way from time to time. Accursed Dunwich had the same, rotten reputation as Innsmouth up North, but to them it was worse. They could smell or hear the occasional unholy events that would take place there, like that one night in 1913. The earth shook and all the dogs barked until exhaustion, while the sky was ripe with rotten odors. Nobody knew anybody around here who'd ever been to Dunwich, no; they could keep their strange ongoings. This was a quaint and decent town, God-fearing, and such filth didn't go down here. 

​

It was a late morning in mid-June, the weather still mild and humidity levels humane. It was not unpleasant to be in a suit and tie, even in the sun. Everyone was gathered in front of the church, the sky picture-perfect and the guests excited for the ceremony. The in-laws were genuinely getting along, for a change, and somewhere inside that building a blessed bride was getting ready for the day of her life. The flower girl was crying; she'd spilled her basket of petals, and no promises of sweets or toys were able to console her. The small string orchestra was doing a final tuning of their instruments, and a little bird sang from a nearby tree. It was a whippoorwill. Sam Miller was looking at his watch but immediately looked up and toward the source of the sound. He didn't like it, no, not a single bit. He made his way in the direction of the tree to shoo the darn critter away, but was stopped dead in his tracks by a horrifying scream coming from inside the church. A whole flock of whippoorwills appeared and landed on branches all across the churchyard. The music stopped, the chatter ended, and even the flower girl ceased her crying. It was completely silent, except for the excited chirps of the little birds, sounding almost like giggles. The first one took off, flew in a circle around the church's bell tower and then disappeared from view. That is when the doors flung open and the hellish avian cacophony swept across the congregation.