Why all this loathing and antipathy towards Innsmouth? Well, I'll tell you, my dear friend, but first, don't rely entirely on what people say here, for they hardly speak, and when they do, they don't keep quiet. They have been telling many stories about Innsmouth in secret among themselves for a hundred years, I think, and I think that is due more to their panic than anything else. Some of them are funny, like the story of Captain March, who made deals with the devil to bring goblins from hell to live in Innsmouth, or the place where Satanists made their frightful sacrifices near the wharf, which people found in 1845. But as a citizen of Vermont, I do not believe such stories. However, you should listen to what some of the old-timers tell you about the Devil's Reef, a group of black corals that appear above the water and do not stay below it for long. It is said that an entire army of devils sometimes appears on these reefs, or passes through some kind of cave near the surface. It is difficult to navigate and is not flat, and extends for about a mile from the shore, so fishermen avoid it greatly as the end of the shipping days approaches.
