 At first, the old man appears harmless and ignorant towards his guest.However, he shows a disquieting fascination for an engraving in a rare old book, "Regnum Congo", and admits to the narrator how it made him hunger for "victuals I couldn't raise nor buy"- presumably human flesh.It's suggested that the old man was murdering travelers who stumbled upon the house to satisfy his "craving", and has extended his own life preternaturaly through cannibalism.