"A striking contribution to the literature of darkness." - Humbert Wolfe "A disturbing study of spiritual domination . . . subtle and terrifying." - Daily Telegraph "Mr. Onions is an inspired writer . . . A poet of prose." - John Betjeman When Peter Byles"s father dies shortly before the boy"s thirteenth birthday, the young orphan is sent to live at the Victorian Gothic mansion of his father"s friend, Dr. Kornelius Voyt. Peter arrives at the dreary house, surprised to find that he sees nothing of the enigmatic Voyt, instead passing his time in lessons with a young German tutor. But it soon becomes clear to Peter that these lessons are only preparations for something much more sinister that Voyt intends to teach him. Voyt, unable either to hear or speak, has learned to compensate for his disability by developing extraordinary powers of the mind, powers which allow him to communicate telepathically, control the wills of others, and even inflict pain on those...