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Reverend Abijah Hoadley's Lost Sermon

Sermon Outline: The Devil And His Imps Are Alive And Well In Dunwich

History

In March of 2006, I began an informal and personal study into whether any substantial amount of literature had ever been written about the lesser known figures which appear in the writings of H.P. Lovecraft or the many others who contributed (and continue to contribute) to what has come to be termed the Cthulhu Mythos. After having made inquiry to several knowledgeable individuals and Lovecraftian societies and discovered little, I had practically abandoned my pursuit when my office phone rang and I began to hear the tale that is related on these web pages.

The caller identified himself as Mr. C. White and stated that he was phoning on behalf of his elderly father who (as fortune would have it) had been informed of one my Internet queries and wanted to reply. During this initial conversation little was accomplished other than an introduction and pleasantries, but Mr. White expressed a desire to meet with me and speak further in order to share certain information "face to face." It turned out that this was quite possible since he was a student at MIT who would be spending his summer in Dallas, Texas, which is only several hours away. Immediately we agreed on a date, and it was on this date that I heard an interesting historical tale.

Among other things, at our initial meeting Mr. White stated that he was from a long line of New Englanders. His family name had originally been Whately, but had been changed by his great-great grandfather on account of its resemblance to a certain family from the Dunwich area - a family to which the Whately's were actually distant kin - and the same mysterious family which had been the very real recipients of unwanted attention in Lovecraft's tale, The Dunwich Horror!

After digesting this incredible revelation, I was further informed that White's ancestors had once lived in Dunwich. In answer to my question, "Does literature exist about the lesser known figures in Lovecraft's writings?" I was informed, "Yes it does, but it is not fiction. Abijah Hoadley was a real person and at the time of his disappearance he was our family's pastor."

It need not be said that I suspected some deceit or fraud, but apparently I was told the truth. After meeting with the younger Mr. White I engaged in several phone conversations with the elder. The elder White and I got along well, discovering common interests in such things as literature, antiquities, history, and antique collections. In short order it happened that he and I also managed to have a visit. In March of 2007 I met with the elder Mr. White in Midwest City, Oklahoma, where I was shown a collection of documents that had been handed down in his family. Among these were quite a collection of antique newspapers from an ancestor who once lived in Texas and a copy of an April 16, 1914 edition of the Boston Globe with this headline: TITANIC SINKS, 1500 DIE.

The centerpiece of this collection, and the reason I had come all the way to Oklahoma, was a collection of handwritten notes, dated 1747. Immediately I saw written thereon, with very fancy handwriting, the name Catherine Whately. Mr. White told me that the leaves before me contained a sermon outline that had been inserted into Mrs. Whately's personal journal. He further related to me that family tradition had it that Mrs. Whately was a member of the Congregational Church at Dunwich and was accustomed to carefully making notes of every sermon she heard at church. He also produced an antique family Bible, the writing wherein showed that Mrs. Whately had been both baptized and married at the church. Mr. White speculated that the sermon notes had been inserted by Mrs. Whately into her private writings because of the mysterious circumstances surrounding the Reverend's Hoadley's disappearance - which occurred not long after he had preached this very sermon entitled The Devil And His Imps Are Alive And Well In Dunwich. According to White, this so-called fictional event of a Lovecraft short story was based on truth.

The White family allowed me to photograph the documents and attempt to the best of my ability to reproduce the text found thereon. This I have done, and my efforts are posted here on the Internet for all to see and view. I do not vouch for the authenticity of anything represented on these pages, other than to say it was presented to me as the truth. As for the gentleman author who gave us great Cthulhu and other unspeakable monstrosities, I do not know what source or sources he may have drawn upon when he was writing, and I am certainly not a Lovecraft scholar, but it now seems that he incorporated at least some element of truth in his classic tale.

Introductory Remarks

1. The sermon outline appears on the next page. As closely as possible we have transcribed it "as is," which means that it is English but it is early modern English. No attempt has been made to render the text into modern English.
2. Our transcription follows Mrs. Whately's handwriting and style exactly.
3. We have also kept the original format of her notes, which means that the sections will be divided into "Leaf One," "Leaf Two," and so on. There were eight small pages or "leaves," consisting of just a handful of words.
4. The pages of the journal measured approximately four inches wide by almost six and one half inches tall. They were quite beautiful, and well maintained, but also fragile. Mr. White keeps them in a private vault - I do not know the location and did not ask him.
5. It will be noticed that the Bible verses and references seem quite archaic, even for 1747. It is likely that Mrs. Whately was transribing directly from an old King James Bible.
6. The famous quote from The Dunwich Horror appears near the end of the sermon, though it does not exactly match Lovecraft's rendering.
7. Those who may be concerned about the potential of any negative energy associated with the information given on these several pages (visits by a shuggoth, being stalked by some minion from beyond, becoming trapped in an alternate reality, etc.) should read this disclaimer.

Next - The Sermon

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