A nameless terror surges through the centuries to engulf the soul of Charles Dexter Ward, a brilliant New England antiquarian. Evil spirits, malefic gods and fear-stricken superstitions still lurk in vile catacombs beneath the surface of a blighted land. Ward is driven to unleash these loathsome horrors upon a defenceless world, possessed by the demonic shade of his ancestor, Joseph Curwen, a warlock steeped in the blackest arts of magic. Now Ward must also master these obscene rituals and pay his price in blood - human blood.