The crimson butterfly

"The crimson butterfly" by Edmund Snell is a novel written in the early 20th century. Set in colonial Borneo, it blends mystery, adventure, and hints of the supernatural around a sinister “doctor,” a talismanic pendant, and perilous jungle lore. The story centers on district officer James Battiscombe, his captivating and reckless wife Vera, fellow magistrate Michael Armourer, and visiting Professor Standen and his daughter Joyce, as they become entangled in intrigue and obsession. The opening of the novel introduces Battiscombe’s clash with the unsettling Dr. Abu-Samar, who is later revealed to wield eerie influence and a fascination with a crimson butterfly talisman. Vera, lured by Abu-Samar under false pretenses, is forced to accept the pendant and flees, shaken. Meanwhile, Armourer rescues Professor Standen and Joyce after a trolly mishap, hosts them, and later, during a visit to collect clothes from Vera, is nearly compromised when Battiscombe returns and confronts his wife over her affair with planter Dick Moberly; she promises to end it and sends back Moberly’s gifts. That night Vera experiences a disturbing vision—or abduction—to a “temple” of the Crimson Butterfly and mysteriously recovers the very parcel she meant to dispatch; by morning a grotesque crimson butterfly appears at her bungalow, and Standen separately spots a large red specimen near Moberly’s estate. Soon after, Moberly is found dead with a butterfly-shaped rash and the pendant on his table; Vera arrives, panics, and faints, as Armourer summons Standen and Abu-Samar to confront the deepening mystery.

The crimson butterfly, by Edmund Snell. Republished by OpenStories from Project Gutenberg eBook #78222.