In one of the most eerie horror stories ever written, Alfred Bannerlee finds himself precipitated into a mysterious household. Shortly after his arrival a strange murder is committed. Two more deaths occur, and there broods over the whole house an atmosphere of nameless horror. And all the time there lurks in the background the strange figure of Parson Lolly, who should have been three hundred years dead. Bannerlee's diary of events tells the tale, and itself plays no small part in solving the mystery.