Жах Данвіча
Chapter 1
Thethin,shininglineoftheMiskatonic’supperreacheshasanoddlyserpent-likesuggestionasitwindsclosetothefeetofthedomedhillsamongwhichitrises.
Asthehillsdrawnearer,oneheedstheirwoodedsidesmorethantheirstone-crownedtops. Thosesidesloomupsodarklyandprecipitouslythatonewishestheywouldkeeptheirdistance,butthereisnoroadbywhichtoescapethem. AcrossacoveredbridgeoneseesasmallvillagehuddledbetweenthestreamandtheverticalslopeofRoundMountain,andwondersattheclusterofrottinggambrelroofsbespeakinganearlierarchitecturalperiodthanthatoftheneighbouringregion. Itisnotreassuringtosee,onacloserglance,thatmostofthehousesaredesertedandfallingtoruin,andthatthebroken-steepledchurchnowharbourstheoneslovenlymercantileestablishmentofthehamlet. Onedreadstotrustthetenebroustunnelofthebridge,yetthereisnowaytoavoidit. Onceacross,itishardtopreventtheimpressionofafaint,malignodouraboutthevillagestreet,asofthemassedmouldanddecayofcenturies. Itisalwaysarelieftogetclearoftheplace,andtofollowthenarrowroadaroundthebaseofthehillsandacrossthelevelcountrybeyondtillitrejoinstheAylesburypike. AfterwardsonesometimeslearnsthatonehasbeenthroughDunwich.
OutsidersvisitDunwichasseldomaspossible,andsinceacertainseasonofhorrorallthesignboardspointingtowardsithavebeentakendown. Thescenery,judgedbyanordinaryaestheticcanon,ismorethancommonlybeautiful; yetthereisnoinfluxofartistsorsummertourists. Twocenturiesago,whentalkofwitch-blood,Satan-worship,andstrangeforestpresenceswasnotlaughedat,itwasthecustomtogivereasonsforavoidingthelocality.
