While studying at Oxford, John Maltravers, a talented musician, finds that playing a certain air on his violin brings an invisible guest to his room. The ghostly visits become more frequent, until he eventually sees the figure of a man sitting and listening to his playing.

His subsequent discovery of an old Stradivarius violin hidden in a secret cupboard in his room, while improving his skill as a musician, seems to cause a change in his character. As his violin playing becomes an obsession he is drawn away from his old values, his family and even his faith, towards more sinister interests.

The tale of the possession of a young man by the restless spirit of an eighteenth century necromancer, 'The Lost Stradivarius' is a classic work of supernatural literature.