A traveller comes upon an ancient manor house and inquires at the nearby village about its origins. He discovers it once belonged to Count Magnus, a man known locally for being a harsh landowner, who severely punished his tenants if they were late with their rent. The Count had also been on the Black Pilgrimage and brought something back. The traveller asks the townsfolk what the Count brought back, and is told a tale about two men who went poaching at night in the Count's lands. One man was found catatonic, and the other dead with his face sucked off his skull.

Many of the James' tales were written as Christmas Eve entertainments and meant to be read aloud to friends. James perfected the technique of narrating supernatural events through implication and suggestion, letting his reader fill in the blanks, and focusing on the mundane details of his settings and characters in order to throw the horrific and bizarre elements into greater relief.

This case laminate collector's edition includes a Victorian-inspired dust jacket.