Summary

Minister Hooper is known to the people of Milford as "a gentlemanly person," renowned for his neat and orderly appearance and mild manner. It is for this reason that he is received with such undisguised amazement when he appears one Sunday morning for services with his face covered by an eerie black crape veil. Some people think it is merely a passing fancy, some suppose that he has gone mad, and some cannot even believe that it is the same person who gave services the previous week.

That Sunday in the church there is more than the usual anxious rustling among the pews. Minister Hooper appears not to notice anything out of the ordinary as he makes his entrance and proceeds toward the pulpit. His appearance is so frightening to the townspeople that some of the women begin to feel faint...