American,psychologist,John,Holden,arrives,in,London,to,participate,in,a,symposium,aiming,to,expose,witchcraft,and,devil-worship,as,a,fraud,,with,attention,centered,on,a,cult,run,by,a,Julian,Karswell.,Debarking,his,plane,,Holden,learns,that,the,symposium,leader,,Henry,Harrington,,has,suddenly,died,and,he,is,now,in,charge.,What,only,the,audience,knows,is,that,Harrington,was,clearly,killed,by,a,demon,,apparently,summoned,by,Karswell,to,avenge,his,persecution.,Despite,both,threatening,and,cajoling,behavior,by,Karswell,,Holden,determines,to,proceed,,though,the,only,cult,member,willing,to,talk,about,his,experiences,is,in,a,prison,psychiatric,ward,,catatonic,after,allegedly,killing,yet,another,cult,member.,However,,Harrington‘s,niece,,Joanna,,believes,,based,on,her,uncle‘s,notes,,that,Karswell,may,indeed,have,some,satanic,powers,derived,from,an,ancient,tome,in,an,obscure,language,which,he,has,been,able,to,translate,,and,attempts,to,warn,the,skeptic,Holden.,Karswell‘s,mother,also,attempts,to,warn,Holden,off.,However,,the,thing,which,begins,to,most,get,to,Holden,are,the,occasional,,but,mounting,,sensory,and,mental,disturbances,he,begins,experiencing,after,an,encounter,with,Karswell,,and,the,discovery,that,,during,this,encounter,,Karswell,secretly,slipped,a,slip,of,parchment,with,a,curse,in,runic,symbols,on,it,into,Holden‘s,belongings,,a,parchment,identical,to,one,Harrington,recorded,having,had,passed,to,him,in,a,similar,manner,shortly,before,his,death...,[N.B.,Holden,at,no,point,stays,at,the,Karswell,estate].
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