The Garden of Evil by Bram Stoker

The Garden of Evil is a horror novel partly based on the legend of the Lambton Worm. Adam Salton, originally from Australia is contacted by his great-uncle, Richard Salton, for the purpose of establishing a relationship between these last two members of the family. His great-uncle wants to make Adam his heir. Adam travels to Richard Salton's house in Mercia, Lesser Hill, and quickly finds himself at the centre of mysterious and inexplicable occurrences.