This 13-part anthology of spine-shiverers was produced for ITV by cult horror flick company, Hammer Films. Those taking the helm included such Hammer veteran directors as Don Sharp – maker of the classic The Brides of Fu Manchu– and Peter Sasdy.
Production of the series was quick – the scripts were written in a shorter time than was desirable and each of the 13 episodes was shot in two weeks, totalling approximately six months of filming.
Some of this took place in the grounds of Hampden House itself (Hammer’s new headquarters in Buckinghamshire), much of the rest of it was done in the local area, in particular, the nearby church and the village of Great Missenden.
Subject matter covered all the usual suspects – voodoo, cannibalism, witchcraft, devil worship, werewolves, body snatchers – with the overall result being decently shocking.
The series was originally screened just after the 9 pm watershed to accommodate its often-gruesome content and occasional flashes of nudity, and the high gore quotient can still shock today: hands are severed and faces blown off, while animals have a particularly bad time of it: crows are beheaded, cats immolated on window panes, rabbits disembowelled and tigers electrocuted.
Soundtrack composer David Winter (Jon Finch) finds a strange young woman hiding in the barn of his isolated farmhouse and ends up getting all hot under the collar for Lucinda, a lusty time-travelling 17th-century witch played by Patricia Quinn (Magenta of Rocky Horror fame – In the nude no less).
Events in the farmhouse build to a terrifying climax threatening not only David’s marriage to Mary (Prunella Gee) but also his sanity as the witch takes possession of him.
David Winter Jon Finch Mary Winter
Prunella Gee Lucinda Jessop
Patricia Quinn Charles
Ian McCulloch Rector
Lennard Pearce Sister
Margaret Anderson
THE 13TH REUNION
When Ruth Cairns (Julia Foster) is assigned by her newspaper to do a story on a dubious slimming clinic, events soon take a sinister turn.
First, her boyfriend crashes his car on a straight road, killing himself. Then his corpse disappears. Is it the work of body snatchers and, if so, why?
Ruth treads a trail of terror before she comes face to face with the horrifying truth.
Ruth Cairns
Julia Foster Gwen Cox
Dinah Sheridan Rothwell
Kevin Stoney Andrew
Gerrard Kelly Sir Humphrey Chesterton Richard Pearson Ben Faraday Warren Clarke Basil
George Innes Cedric
Norman Bird
RUDE AWAKENING
Norman Shenley (Denholm Elliot) is an estate agent slowly being driven mad by dreams and supernatural happenings which he believes are in his imagination but are actually being engineered by his secretary and her boyfriend.
Features some rather grisly deaths – “you shouldn’t have done it, Mr Shenley”.
Norman Shenley
Denholm Elliot
Lolly
Lucy Gutteridge
Mr Rayburn
James Laurenson Emily Shenley
Pat Heywood
Lady Strudwick
Eleanor Summerfield
Dr Melbury
Gareth Armstrong
GROWING PAINS
Young James (Matthew Blakstad), newly adopted by do-gooders Laurie (Barbara Kellerman) and Terence (Gary Bond) Morton (a botanist), finds a strange poem in an old exercise book. With it, he unleashes a terrifying presence as the dead William Morton (Christopher Reilly) seeks his revenge. Filmed on location in Great Missenden, Buckinghamshire.
Laurie Morton
Barbara Kellerman Terence Morton
Gary Bond Mr Ngenko Norman Beaton Charles Austin Tariq Yunus James
Matthew Blakstad William Morton
Christopher Reilly Matron
Daphne Anderson Mechanic
Michael Hughes Nurse
Karin Scott Grave Digger Geoffrey Beevers
THE HOUSE THAT BLED TO DEATH
Number 42 Colman Road looks a very ordinary house when William (Nicholas Ball) and Emma (Rachael Davis) Peters and their little girl Sophie (Emma Ridley) move in. But Number 42 has a gruesome history.
It seems as though the house is trying to relive its past – complete with a particularly bloody murder.
William Peters
Nicholas Ball
Emma Peters
Rachael Davis
Sophie Peters
Emma Ridley Jean Evans
Pat Maynard
George Evans
Brian Croucher
A. J. Powers
Milton Johns
CHARLIE BOY
Sarah (Angela Bruce) has a carved figure from Africa she calls Charlie Boy. But the statue is more than a wooden statue with a funny face.
Charlie Boy has strange powers from his tribal past; powers which are easy to invoke but very much more difficult to stop when things start going wrong.
Features a cameo role from Janet Fielding (Tegan in Doctor Who).
Graham
Leigh Lawson Sarah
Angela Bruce Heinz
Marius Goring Gwen
Frances Cuka Mark
Michael Culver Phil
Michael Deeks Peter
David Healey Franks
Jeff Rawle Secretary
Janet Clare Fielding
Armourer
Michael Stock
THE SILENT SCREAM
When habitual criminal Chuck Spillers (Brian Cox) leaves jail, he is befriended by Martin Blueck (Peter Cushing), a prison visitor.
Blueck has his own, strange reasons for offering Chuck a job – reasons which involve a unique collection of wild animals that Blueck keeps at the rear of his innocent-looking pet shop.
One of the best-remembered Hammer productions.
Martin Blueck
Peter Cushing
Chuck Spillers
Brian Cox Annie Spillers
Elaine Donnelly Detective Inspector Aldridge
Anthony Carrick
CHILDREN OF THE FULL MOON
Tom (Christopher Cazenove) and Sarah (Celia Gregory) Martin are on a West Country holiday when their car mysteriously goes out of control on a remote road. They are taken in by a woman (Diana Dors) who lives with numerous children in a lonely house in the forest.
The alarming events of the night and a dream about werewolves are explained away. But they have a lasting effect on Sarah . . .
Mrs Ardoy
Diana Dors Tom Martin Christopher Cazenove Sarah Martin
Celia Gregory Harry
Robert Urquhart Woodcutter
Jacob Witkin Tibor
Adrian Mann Sophy
Victoria Wood Eloise
Sophie Kind Irenya
Natalie Payne Andreas
Daniel Kipling
CARPATHIAN EAGLE
The tale of a beautiful countess from Carpathia whose pet eagle tore out her lovers’ hearts is just an ancient myth? or is it?
It seems that no man is safe when a series of gruesome murders in modern-day London brings the legend horrifically to life – and death.
Featured Suzanne Danielle and Sian Phillips, along with a then-unknown Pierce Brosnan (pictured above with Suzanne Danielle) credited as ‘Last Victim’.
Natalie
Suzanne Danielle Inspector Clifford
Anthony Valentine Mrs Henska
Sian Phillips Tony
Barry Stanton Tadek
Jonathan Kent Andy
Matthew Long Bacharach
Gary Waldhorn Edgar
Jeffrey Wickham
GUARDIAN OF THE ABYSS
For centuries, evil men and women have tried to raise the archdemon Choronzon, Guardian of the Abyss. Many have died in the attempt. Others have lost their reason.
Then a chance purchase by antique dealer Michael Roberts (Ray Lonnen) brings him into terrifying contact with the Unknown.
Starred the posh woman from C.A.T.S Eyes (Rosalyn Landor) and Paul Darrow (Blakes 7).
Michael Roberts
Ray Lonnen Allison
Rosalyn Landor Charles Randolph
John Carson Simon Andrews
Paul Darrow Tina
Caroline Langrishe Laura
Barbara Ewing
VISITOR FROM THE GRAVE
A night intruder terrorises Penny (Kathryn Leigh Scott) in her lonely cottage. She kills him with a shotgun, her boyfriend (Simon MacCorkindale) buries the body in the woods and they try to forget it ever happened.
But Penny finds the terror is only just beginning – the dead man refuses to stay in his grave.
Penny
Kathryn Leigh Scott
Harry
Simon MacCorkindale Margaret
Mia Nadasi
Charles Willoughby
Stanley Lebor Richard/Gupta Gareth Thomas
TWO FACES OF EVIL
A family’s car crashes after they pick up a hitchhiker in a yellow raincoat and he attacks the husband with a claw finger.
The husband, Martin (Gary Raymond) returns home but seems to be a completely different person. He can’t talk and he rings a little bell for attention. But if Martin is not Janet’s (Anna Calder-Marshall) husband, who – or what – could he be?
Janet
Anna Calder-Marshall Martin
Gary Raymond David
Paul Hawkins Sister
Pauline Delany Hargreaves
Philip Latham Mrs Roberts
Jenny Laird Mr Roberts
William Moore Dr Cummings
Jeremy Longhurst Nurse Davies
Brenda Cowling PC Jenkins
Mike Savage
THE MARK OF SATAN
Edwyn (Peter McEnery) lives a nightmare, convinced that the forces of evil are conspiring against him. Everywhere he sees threats and the devil’s mark – the number 666.
As the pressure increases, he seeks escape – but that calls for increasingly desperate measures. including trying to drill a hole into his head.
Edwyn Rord
Peter McEnery
Stella
Georgina Hale
Dr Harris
Emrys James
Markham
Peter Birrel
Priest
Anthony Brown
Dr Manders
Conrad Phillips Mrs Rord
Annie Dyson
Surgeon
Peter Cartwright
Sampson
James Duggan
Steve
Andrew Bradford
Pritchard
James Curran
Video
Related Posts
Dracula (1958) Hammer Films' revision of Bram Stoker's famous novel is one of the great horror films. Director Terence Fisher, who combines…
Blood From The Mummy's Tomb (1971) This cult Hammer horror based on Bram Stoker's The Jewel of Seven Stars starred statuesque Valerie Leon as Margaret Fuchs…
Ten Seconds to Hell (1959) A group of German prisoners of war - Eric Koertner (Jack Palance), Karl Wirtz (Jeff Chandler), Wolfgang Sulke (Wes Addy),…
Brides of Dracula, The (1960) While Christopher Lee worried about typecasting, Hammer went ahead anyway with this sequel in name only to its huge 1958…
Devil-Ship Pirates, The (1964) It is July 1588 and, in the English Channel, the British Fleet has been battling for two days against the…
Curse of Frankenstein, The (1957) This was the classic that single-handedly revived traditional British Gothic and firmly placed the Hammer House of Horror on the…
One Million Years B.C. (1966) Back to the beginnings of time went Hammer Films, with vast monsters roaming the earth and stone age man fighting…
Four-sided Triangle (1953) When scientists and best friends Bill Leggatt (Stephen Murray) and Robin Grant (John Van Eyssen) fall in love with the…
