A 58-year-old hypertensive man presents to the emergency department with sudden-onset "thunderclap" headache, neck stiffness, and photophobia. Non-contrast CT head shows blood in the subarachnoid space. Angiography reveals a saccular aneurysm at the junction of the internal carotid artery and the structure marked **C** in the Circle of Willis diagram. Which clinical presentation is most characteristic of aneurysms at this location prior to rupture?