“It is my belief, Watson, founded upon my experience, that the lowest and vilest alleys in London do not present a more dreadful record of sin than does the smiling and beautiful countryside....”

Far from the warming glow of London gaslight, in the remotest villages, on high hilltops, in forgotten valleys, and ancient caverns, a scream can echo for miles without reaching a sympathetic ear. Age old beliefs hang in the air like the morning mist, in places where the old ways and the older gods may be forsaken, but are never forgotten. Bound in secrecy, sealed by blood, the traditions of ages past bubble up from the slumbering dark earth, crying out for a return to the old ways, and there is always someone listening. Someone, or some thing....

Into this landscape comes Sherlock Holmes, casting the light of reason and modern logic wherever he goes. Can the Great Detective prevail against centuries of ingrained superstition and ritual? Can the modern science of deduction overcome belief in the oldest of evils? Can Sherlock Holmes, in 12 new tales by modern masters of horror, triumph over superstitions, new and old, and the ghoulish monsters and madmen who exploit them?