In the town of Moorehigh in 1957, the patients of Dr. Evan Rendell kept disappearing. After some investigation, the citizens of Moorehigh found that he and his son Evan Jr. (nicknamed "Dr. Giggles" for his hideous laugh), were ripping out patients' hearts—in an attempt to bring back the doctor's dead wife. The townspeople stoned Dr. Rendell to death, but Evan Jr. disappeared.