The Norliss Tapes

David Norliss vanishes from his San Francisco home, leaving behind a series of audio tapes that explain his absence and the investigations he's been conducting. The tapes frame the mystery and the project he was pursuing, hinting at occult forces behind his disappearance. Sanford Evans, Norliss's friend and publisher, begins to listen and reconstruct the narrative from the tapes.

Ellen Sterns Cort claims her husband James attacked her one night on their estate near Monterey. James had recently become involved in occult practices after meeting the mysterious Mademoiselle Jeckiel, who gave him a scarab ring. Ellen fears the ring and James's changes are connected to dark happenings around the estate.

That evening in Carmel, a young woman named Sarah Dobkins is attacked in her car and dies; reports note her skin is gray and her blood appears drained. Norliss travels to Carmel to meet Sheriff Tom Hartley and discuss Ellen's claims, hoping to link James's occult ties to the widow's story. The incident deepens the mystery surrounding the Cort estate.

That same evening, Norliss and Ellen visit James's crypt on the Cort estate and discover the scarab ring on his hand. The ring's origin and James's relics point to Mademoiselle Jeckiel's influence and the occult pact surrounding his immortality. The discovery raises the stakes of their investigation.

Later, Norliss travels to San Francisco to meet Charles Langdon, a gallery owner who had contacted Ellen about purchasing the ring. Langdon learns that the ring was buried with James and tries to steal it, but the coffin is found empty and he is attacked by the ghoul James as he leaves the crypt. The encounter confirms that James's spirit or influence is still operational and dangerous.

That night, Norliss meets Jeckiel, who warns him to stay away from the Cort estate. Jeckiel explains only that danger remains if James's secrets are disturbed, urging caution and silence. Her arrival foreshadows the escalating confrontation with the cultic forces tied to Sargoth.

That night, Norliss and Ellen search James's art studio and find a large sculpture that hadn't been there days before. James suddenly attacks, and Norliss shoots him several times; James chases them from the studio and rips the car door off in their escape. The studio's unsettling energy signals the full unleashing of the ritual.

Sheriff Tom Hartley joins the investigation, and together with Norliss and Ellen, they locate James's crypt only to find it empty. The discovery suggests James's presence extends beyond the grave and intensifies the pursuit of the ring and the mysterious sculpture. The trio recalibrates their plan to stop him.

That night, Ellen's sister Marsha arrives at the Cort estate hoping to spend the night, but finds nobody home and stays at a nearby motel. James then breaks into Marsha's motel room and carries her into the woods, marking a new nightmare for the family. The abduction foreshadows the larger struggle to stop the ritual.

Norliss's research uncovers tunnels built on the Cort estate during the 1920s. Lab results on clay from the large sculpture show human blood, reinforcing the theory that the estate hosts a ritual site connected to the Egyptian deity Sargoth. The findings tie the estate's past to the present danger.

Jeckiel arrives unannounced and tells Ellen that James made a pact with the Egyptian deity Sargoth in exchange for immortality. The pact fuels the sculpture and its planned conduit for Sargoth to enter the world, making removing the scarab ring essential to stopping James. Her warning emphasizes the ring's central role.

Ellen and Jeckiel descend into the tunnels and find James resting inside a pine coffin within a hidden chamber. Jeckiel attempts to remove the ring, but James awakens and grabs her, forcing a desperate escape through the tunnels. Ellen emerges to discover Langdon's and Marsha's corpses along the way, deepening the horror.

Norliss locates Ellen in the tunnels and they emerge into James's art studio, where the ritual's final act appears imminent. The path from the tunnels to the studio brings the investigators face-to-face with the escalating supernatural threat.

James completes the ritual, summons Sargoth, and the statue comes to life. Norliss destroys them by burning the studio to the ground, carrying out Jeckiel's instructions to end the ritual.

Evans finishes listening to the initial tape and wonders whether Norliss's disappearance is connected to the described events. He starts to play another tape, documenting a second event and leaving the reader with a cliffhanger.