The Parasite (Brief Encounters)

Arthur Conan Doyle’s tense, unsettlingly supernatural tale of obsession and control

After Austin Gilroy’s fiancée is hypnotised, he finds himself drawn into the orbit of the woman responsible – Miss Penclosa. Soon, disturbances begin to unsettle him: actions he cannot account for, thoughts that seem to come from elsewhere. As Penclosa’s hold over Gilroy tightens, he discovers how little control he has over his own mind. Told through a series of journal entries, The Parasite follows a self-declared rational man drawn into a relationship he cannot escape - or fully understand.

BRIEF ENCOUNTERS: classic novellas and captivating stories, to be read in a single sitting or savoured over days