In the 1800s, Robert Holt is out of work and looking for a job, wandering around town until he arrives at an abandoned house through an opened window for shelter and finds there a monstrous figure that allows him to take human form and manipulate the lives of everyone associated with him and then some. He is both male, female, and insect. The original title was changed from The Peril of Paul Lessingham: The Story of a Haunted Man to The Beetle: A Mystery and outsold Bram Stoker's Dracula when it was released. The Beetle, or who the characters often refer to as "The Arab," is a member of an Egyptian cult that worships Isis. He uses the name Mohamed el Kheir.
Told from the point of view of four narrators, this is a legendary tale of mystery, manipulation, desire, and ultimate evil in a Gothic and classic setting that has been since adapted into stage, screen and radio. We dare you to experience this unsurpassed 1897 novel in its original published condition including illustrations with a special introduction by the esteemed horror scribe Carson Buckingham (Too Late for Prayin').