One day, Parson Hooper, the reverend of Milford, arrives at mass on the Sabbath with a black veil covering his eyes. The townspeople immediately begin to gossip; some say that he has gone mad, while others believe he is covering a shameful sin. The Minister, however, acknowledges neither his own strange appearance nor the shocked and curious whispering of the townspeople. An energetic preacher, Hooper delivers a sermon that was as powerful as the rest – but, due to his veil, the people felt a certain sadness and mysteriousness in his words. Following the sermon, the townspeople continued to gossip about the mystery of the veil. Mr. Hooper continued to act as always, greeting the children and saluting his neighbors. But, he was met with bewildered looks as the crowd avoided him. As he turned, a sad smile crept from underneath his veil.
The minister appears again at two important ceremonies. First, he attends a funeral, where the people continue to fearfully gossip that the dead woman shuddered under the minister’s gaze. That evening, he attends a wedding, and casts a dark horror over the lively event. Mr. Hooper makes a toast to the couple, but in doing so, catches his own reflection in the glass, a sight so frightful that he spilled the wine and left immediately.