Books with title Lair of the White Worm

- Beautifully illustrated with atmospheric paintings by renowned artists, Bram Stoker's creepy horror novel tells the story of a young man who inadvertently becomes involved with a woman that keeps a terrifying giant white worm in a pit. And the worm must be fed... - Just as accessible and enjoyable for today's modern readers as it would have been when first published over a century ago, the novel is one of the great works of English literature and continues to be widely read throughout the world.- This meticulous edition from Heritage Illustrated Publishing is a faithful reproduction of the original text.

American Adam Salton is contacted by his great uncle in England, who is trying to re-establish a relationship between the last two members of the family. Adam travels to Mercia, and quickly finds himself in the center of some inexplicable occurrences. The new heir to the Caswall estate, Edgar Caswall, appears to be making some sort of a mesmeric assault on a local girl. And a local lady, Arabella March, seems to be running a game of her own -- something strange, inexplicable, evil...

The Lair of the White Worm is a gripping and classic horror novel by the author of Dracula, Bram Stoker. American Adam Salton is contacted by his great uncle in England, who is trying to re-establish a relationship between the last two members of the family. Adam travels to Mercia, and quickly finds himself in the center of some inexplicable occurrences. The new heir to the Caswall estate, Edgar Caswall, appears to be making some sort of a mesmeric assault on a local girl. And a local lady, Arabella March, seems to be running a game of her own -- something strange, inexplicable, evil.... The plot focuses on Adam Salton, originally from Australia, who is contacted by his great-uncle, Richard Salton, in 1860 Derbyshire[6] for the purpose of establishing a relationship between these last two members of the family. His great-uncle wants to make Adam his heir. Adam travels to Richard Salton's house in Mercia, Lesser Hill, and quickly finds himself at the centre of mysterious and inexplicable occurrences. The new heir to the Caswall estate (known as Castra Regis or the Royal Camp), Edgar Caswall, appears to be making some sort of a mesmeric assault on a local girl, Lilla Watford, while a local lady, Arabella March, seems to be running a game of her own, perhaps angling to become Mrs. Caswall. Edgar Caswall is a slightly pathological eccentric who has Mesmer's chest which he keeps at the Castra Regis Tower. Caswall wants to recreate mesmerism, associated with Franz Mesmer, which was a precursor to hypnotism. He has a giant kite in the shape of a hawk to scare away pigeons which have gone berserk and attacked his fields. Adam Salton discovers black snakes on the property and buys a mongoose to hunt them down. He then discovers a child who has been bitten on the neck. The child barely survives. He learns that another child was killed earlier while animals were also killed in the region. The mongoose attacks Arabella, who shoots it to death. Arabella tears another mongoose apart with her hands. Arabella then murders Oolanga, the African servant, by dragging him down into a pit or hole. Adam witnesses the murder which he cannot prove. Adam then suspects Arabella of the other crimes. Adam and Sir Nathaniel de Salis, who is a friend of Richard Salton's, then plot to stop Arabella by whatever means necessary. They suspect that she wants to murder Mimi Watford, whom Adam later marries. Nathaniel is a Van Helsing-type character who wants to hunt down Arabella. The White Worm is a large snake-like creature that dwells in the hole or pit in Arabella's house located in Diana's Grove. The White Worm has green glowing eyes and feeds on whatever is thrown to it in the pit. The White Worm ascends from the pit and seeks to attack Adam and Mimi Watford in a forest.

When Adam Salton arrives at his grand-uncle's Derbyshire estate he quickly senses that a macabre and malevolent force is at work. In his attempts to uncover the grisly mystery he encounters the chilling Lady Arabella and the obsessive Edgar Caswall, each harbouring their own dark and dreadful desires.To his horror, Adam discovers that something hideous is living in the grounds of nearby Castra Regis, something that feeds on the flesh of humans. And so begins a terrifying quest to destroy the evil lurking in their midst…

"The Lair of the White Worm is a horror novel by the Irish writer Bram Stoker. It was first published by Rider and Son of London in 1911[1][2] – the year before Stoker's death – with colour illustrations by Pamela Colman Smith. The story is based on the legend of the Lambton Worm. It has also been issued as The Garden of Evil.In 1925 a highly abridged and rewritten[clarification needed] form was published.[3] It was shortened by more than 100 pages, the rewritten book having only 28 chapters instead of the original 40. The final eleven chapters were cut down to only five, leading some critics to complain that the ending was abrupt and inconsistent.[4]The Lair of the White Worm was very loosely adapted by Ken Russell into a 1988 film of the same name.The first episode of the German radio drama ""Die Schwarze Sonne"", produced by the label LAUSCH, is loosely based on the events of The Lair of the White Worm.[5] The main characters of the radio drama are also based on the protagonists of the novel and feature in the rest of the episodes even though the plot turns away from Stoker's original story."