Holmes and Watson receive a visit from Dr. James Mortimer, who wishes to consult them before meeting Sir Henry Baskerville, the last of the Baskervilles, and heir to the Baskerville estate in Devonshire. Dr. Mortimer tells them he is uneasy about letting Sir Henry go to Baskerville Hall, owing to a supposed family curse. He narrates the legend of the Hound of the Baskervilles, a demonic dog that first killed Sir Hugo Baskerville several hundred years ago, and is believed to kill all Baskervilles in the region of Devonshire. When Holmes dismisses it as a fairy tale, Mortimer narrates the events of the recent death of Sir Charles Baskerville, Henry's uncle. Although he was found dead in his garden without any trace of physical damage, his face was distorted as if he died in utter terror. Dr. Mortimer then reveals something that he had not mentioned at the official inquest. He alone had noticed footmarks at some distance from the body when it was found; the footmarks of a gigantic hound.

After some clever deception by Holmes (this is one of the few cases where he cannot come up with any kind of solution, much less solve it, until late in the story), and the assistance of the Scotland Yard detective Lestrade, it is revealed that the true criminal is a local naturalist called Jack Stapleton, a long lost cousin of the Baskervilles, who hopes to claim their vast fortune himself after removing all other members of the bloodline. His intention was to send a half-starved, vicious dog as his murderous agent, trained to attack individual members of the Baskervilles after prolonged exposure to their scents. This dog is a mixed breed of bloodhound and English mastiff, purchased from the distributor Ross and Mangles, and of an extreme size and cruel disposition. In order to make it seem truly diabolical, Stapleton daubes its coat with a luminous, phosphorus-based ointment. However, when the hound is finally sent to kill Sir Henry Baskerville, Holmes, Watson, and Lestrade are waiting for it. They shoot the hound multiple times, proving it is not a ghost (as they had once thought), and killing it. Stapleton flees and is assumed to have drowned when crossing the Grimpen mire in the fog.

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