At Miskatonic University, Armitage tries to decipher Wilbur’s diary. When he finally breaks the code, he discovers “a style clearly shewing the mixed occult erudition and general illiteracy of the strange being who wrote it” (699). In the entries, Wilbur describes learning magic from his grandfather and his efforts to contact the Old Ones. He mentions that through the use of certain spells and magic powder, he can view what is otherwise invisible to humans. Armitage is horrified by what he reads, as are Rice and Morgan when he tells them about the diary’s contents. He refuses his doctor’s orders to stop work, and he prevents his wife from reading the deciphered diary. When finished, he slumps into a fever and mumbles incoherently to himself. He wants to save the world from a “terrible elder race of beings from another dimension” (701).

When he has recovered from his fever, he begins making plans with Rice and Morgan. Deciding not to notify the police, Armitage prepares chemicals and spells to deal with whatever was growing in the Whateley household at the time of Wilbur’s death. As he refines his plan, Armitage reads a bemused news report about strange events in Dunwich.