In the desolate, decrepit Massachusetts village of Dunwich, Wilbur Whateley is the hideous son of Lavinia Whateley, a deformed and unstable albino, and an unknown father. Strange events surround Wilbur's birth and precocious development; he matures at an abnormal rate, reaching manhood within a decade. Locals shun him and his family, and animals fear and despise him due to an unnatural, inhuman odor emanating from his body. All the while his grandfather, a sorcerer named Old Whateley, indoctrinates him into certain dark rituals and the study of witchcraft. Various locals grow suspicious after Old Whateley buys more and more cattle, yet the number of his herd never increases and the cattle in his field become mysteriously afflicted with severe open wounds.The Dunwich Horror is considered one of the core stories of the Cthulhu Mythos. Lovecraft based this story on several New England legends, one of which he heard during his stay in Wilbraham, a town east of Springfield, Massachusetts.