While still studying at Harvard University, Alfred Clarendon, having previously dabbled in modern politics and philosophy, joined an occult student circle, where, in addition to esoteric tinsel from all over the world, there was a truly amazing artifact of forgotten dark ages — a weighty book made of skin, flesh and bone of a mummified sea creature. Her ornate font and pictures changed and distorted, as if they were the feverish dream of a living folio. The team struggled through a single sleepless night deciphering the script and searching for links to other sources, but they managed to read part of the book, which led them on an expedition to the icy peaks of Tibet.

Something strange happened in the Asian highlands: gloomy, with patches of gray on their fur, loaded with revolutionary finds in the field of human history, they returned, but did not write scientific papers on the expedition. The circle broke up, the university also reacted incomprehensibly to the actions of its students, and all the finds were put away from prying eyes in storerooms and warehouses. Alfred became especially unsociable, who went into biological research in the field of virology with his head. He grew monstrously, began to walk with a cane, his skin hung in places with bumps, others tightly hugged his body. He made several humanitarian trips with the Red Cross to Spain when it was no longer safe, due to the unrestricted submarine warfare introduced by Germany.

At that time, it was impossible to think that under the guise of vaccines, Mr. Clarendon infected the poor with a completely different virus: in weak agrarian Spain, they had to throw all their strength to fight an unknown strain of a disease resembling rabies. In three or four days, the fur became stiff as bristles and thicker, the eyes became cloudy with a faintly glowing pink-red color. Muscles, lungs, and heart ached as both personality and speech rapidly degraded, until man turned into an aggressive, fast, and hardy fiend, hungry for animal cruelty and flesh. The infected gathered in packs, making guerrilla raids, ambushes with traps with unprecedented coherence and cunning, which became a big problem for maintaining order.
The American Red Cross, together with pharmaceutical companies, tried to find at least some remedy for the infection or its relief, but the number of raids grew, anarchy began to appear, and it made much more sense for firms to continue working in a safer and well-equipped Boston, which was done.

Alfred joined the team to develop a cure for the virus, simultaneously trying to fix the weaknesses of this plague. Eventually, he managed to create a more advanced second strain, spreading it on the U.S.-Mexico border. Infected with the new version of the virus did not wear out organs due to reduced activity and even hibernation when there were no victims nearby, they were more savvy and obedient to Clarendon's occult powers, which allowed him to control large groups of fiends. An army of infected people, led by their master, destroyed the laboratory, preventing the completion of weapons against mutants.

Using all his forbidden knowledge and hundreds of human lives, he summoned the avatars of his Dark god – Nyarlathotep – and his demons into this world, settling in the Cabot House, preparing forces for the complete capture of the city and the country.