The principal villain of The Hound of the Baskervilles. A naturalist living near Baskerville Hall on Dartmoor, who presents himself as a friendly neighbour — and is in reality Roger Baskerville, the rightful heir who faked his death.
True identity
Stapleton is the son of Rodger Baskerville (Sir Charles’s younger brother), making him the legitimate heir to the Baskerville estate if Sir Henry were to die without issue. He changed his name to Vandeleur, then Stapleton, after fleeing debt and scandal in South America (he ran a school there).
The scheme
Stapleton acquired a large, ferocious hound, daubed it with phosphorescent paint (giving it a spectral glow in the dark), and trained it to chase humans. His plan:
- Use the legend of the Baskerville curse to prime the family for fear
- Terrify Sir Charles into a fatal heart attack (succeeded)
- Terrify Sir Henry the same way, or create opportunity to murder him directly
He presented Beryl (his wife, not his sister) as his sister, intending to use her to distract Henry Baskerville romantically while maintaining his own cover.
Downfall
Holmes deduces the connection between Stapleton and the Baskervilles from a portrait — Stapleton’s face matches a Baskerville ancestor. When the trap is sprung, Stapleton flees into the Grimpen Mire at night and is presumed to have drowned in the bog.
Significance
Stapleton is one of the most carefully constructed Holmes villains: patient, intelligent, scientifically credentialed, and genuinely dangerous. His use of a real animal to manufacture a supernatural legend makes him an ideal opponent for Holmes’s rational method.