McCay's longest-running strip, "Dream of the Rarebit Fiend", first appeared in "The Evening Telegram" in September 1904. The strip was aimed at an adult audience, and had no recurring characters. The characters that appeared in the strip would have fantastic, sometimes terrifying dreams, only to wake up in the last panel, cursing the Welsh rarebit they had eaten the night before, which they blamed for bringing on the dream. "Rarebit Fiend" was so popular that a book collection appeared in 1905 from publisher Frederick A. Stokes. It was adapted to film by Edwin S. Porter, and plans were made for a "comic opera or musical extravaganza" for stage that failed to materialize. McCay signed the "Rarebit Fiend" strips with the pen name "Silas", as his contract required that he not use his real name for "Evening Telegram" work.