Lovecraft uses descriptions to create a feeling of unnatural, hybrid biology, blending human and alien features.

The description of the invisible, monstrous presence is a masterclass in cosmic horror.

"It was a terrible, indescribable horror... a blot on the sky, a shape that was no shape... It was the son of Yog-Sothoth!" [1]

"Neither the public nor the people of Dunwich itself can understand the failure of the Wilbur Whateley family to vanish from the face of the earth, as the decay of their ancestral home might have foretold." [1]

"He was abnormally large and hairy, and his face was almost incredibly goatish." [1]

The story sets a tone of rural decay and unnatural dread immediately.

Many free audio versions are available on YouTube and LibriVox .