Hammer House of Horror
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''Hammer House of Horror'' is a British television series made in 1980. An anthology series created by
Hammer Films A hammer is a tool, most often a hand tool, consisting of a weighted "head" fixed to a long handle that is swung to deliver an impact to a small area of an object. This can be, for example, to drive nails into wood, to shape metal (as wi ...
in association with Cinema Arts International and
ITC Entertainment The Incorporated Television Company (ITC), or ITC Entertainment as it was referred to in the United States, was a British company involved in production and distribution of television programmes. History Incorporated Television Programme Compan ...
, it consists of 13 hour-long episodes, originally broadcast on
ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...
. Each self-contained episode features a different kind of horror. These vary from witches, werewolves and ghosts to devil-worship and voodoo, but also include non-supernatural horror themes such as cannibalism, confinement and serial killers. In 2003
Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...
placed ''Hammer House of Horror'' at No. 50 in its "100 Scariest Moments" show. The clip shown was the children's party scene in "The House That Bled to Death". Episodes were directed by
Alan Gibson Norman Alan Stewart Gibson (28 May 1923 – 10 April 1997) was an English journalist, writer and radio broadcaster, best known for his work in connection with cricket, though he also sometimes covered football and rugby union. At various times ...
,
Peter Sasdy Peter Sasdy (born 27 May 1935 in Budapest, Hungary) is a British film and television director. In addition to his numerous TV credits, notable among which is the Nigel Kneale-scripted ''The Stone Tape'' (1972), he directed several horror films ...
and Tom Clegg, among others, and the story editor was
Anthony Read Anthony Read (21 April 1935 – 21 November 2015) was an English television producer, screenwriter, script editor and author. He was principally active in British television from the 1960s to the mid-1980s, which included a period as a script ...
. Hammer regular
Peter Cushing Peter Wilton Cushing (26 May 1913 – 11 August 1994) was an English actor. His acting career spanned over six decades and included appearances in more than 100 films, as well as many television, stage, and radio roles. He achieved recognition ...
appears in his final Hammer production in episode 7, entitled ''The Silent Scream''.


List of episodes


Plot Summaries


1) Witching Time

Film music composer David Winter (
Jon Finch Jon Finch (2 March 1942 – 28 December 2012) was an English stage and film actor who became well known for his Shakespearean roles. Most notably, he starred in films for directors Roman Polanski (''Macbeth'', 1971) and Alfred Hitchcock (''Fren ...
) lives with his actress wife Mary (
Prunella Gee Prunella Mary Gee (born 17 February 1950) is an English counsellor, therapist and former actress, best known for her work as an actress in the 1970s and 1980s, and for the role of Doreen Heavey in ''Coronation Street'', a part she first played in ...
) in a secluded farmhouse. David is upset because he knows Mary is having an affair with someone, who happens to be David's own psychiatrist Dr Charles ( Ian McCulloch). One night during a storm, when Mary is away, a young woman named Lucinda Jessop ( Patricia Quinn) appears in the farmhouse stable. She tells David she is a
witch Witchcraft traditionally means the use of Magic (supernatural), magic or supernatural powers to harm others. A practitioner is a witch. In Middle Ages, medieval and early modern Europe, where the term originated, accused witches were usually ...
from the 17th century and has used her powers to travel in time to the 20th century in order to escape from witch hunters who wanted to burn her at the stake at the very same farmhouse. David doesn't believe her and locks her in one of the bedrooms of the house. He calls Dr Charles who visits David but, when Lucinda has miraculously vanished from the locked room, he thinks David is simply hallucinating. After Charles leaves, Lucinda reappears and seduces David using witchcraft. Mary initially doesn't believe David's claims either but is soon convinced that Lucinda is real when the latter begins to harass the couple repeatedly with witchcraft. She visits the local
Rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...
(
Lennard Pearce Lennard Pearce (9 February 1915 – 15 December 1984) was an English actor who worked in theatre and television. He was perhaps best known as Grandad in the BBC television series ''Only Fools and Horses'', in which he starred from 1981 until ...
), who investigates and finds that there was a local witch named Lucinda Jessop who escaped being burnt at the stake in the year 1652 by
Puritans The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to purify the Church of England of Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should become more Protestant. P ...
who used to capture and execute witches by drowning or burning them. Mary then asks Dr Charles to help, but he refuses and Mary ends her affair with him. As Mary is returning home on horseback, Lucinda attacks her and she is hospitalised for several days. Mary returns home determined to fight the witch and rescue David. She finds a voodoo doll, which Lucinda made to cause her pain. Under Lucinda's spell, and being told that his wife is unfaithful, David locks Mary in the cellar as he prepares a
pyre A pyre ( grc, πυρά; ''pyrá'', from , ''pyr'', "fire"), also known as a funeral pyre, is a structure, usually made of wood, for burning a body as part of a funeral rite or execution. As a form of cremation, a body is placed upon or under the ...
, convinced that it is Mary who should be burnt at the stake. Mary escapes and locks David in the stable for safety, but Lucinda reappears. The two women fight, which causes the stable to catch fire. Mary tries using the voodoo doll against Lucinda by recasting it in her image, but fails. Mary throws water on Lucinda, which weakens her, as witches are afraid of water. She then drowns Lucinda in a trough. With Lucinda's spell now broken, David and Mary are reunited. David picks up the voodoo doll and throws it into the fire as Lucinda's screams are heard.


2) The Thirteenth Reunion

Newspaper journalist Ruth Cairns (
Julia Foster Julia Foster (born 2 August 1943) is an English stage, screen, and television actress. Life and career Foster was born in Lewes, Sussex. Her first husband was Lionel Morton, once the lead singer with the 1960s pop band The Four Pennies. She is ...
) is given an assignment to cover an unconventional weight loss programme at the Chesterton clinic. She enrolls and befriends Ben Faraday (
Warren Clarke Warren Clarke (born Alan James Clarke; 26 April 1947 – 12 November 2014) was an English actor. He appeared in many films after a significant role as Dim in Stanley Kubrick's ''A Clockwork Orange''. His television appearances included ''Dalzi ...
), also trying to lose weight, who is paradoxically advised by the program coach Mr Willis (
James Cosmo James Ronald Gordon Copeland , known professionally as James Cosmo (b. 1947), is a Scottish film and television actor known for his appearances in films including '' Highlander'', ''Braveheart'', ''Trainspotting'', ''Jagame Thandhiram'', ''Tro ...
) to
binge Binge or Binges may refer to: Behavior Binge, a behavior engaged in excessively over a short period of time, such as: * Binge drinking * Binge eating * Binge-watching Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Binge'' (EP), a 2018 EP by Machine Gun Kel ...
eat and take certain pills. Strangely, the participants are also asked whether they ever had ''
Salmonella ''Salmonella'' is a genus of rod-shaped (bacillus) Gram-negative bacteria of the family Enterobacteriaceae. The two species of ''Salmonella'' are ''Salmonella enterica'' and ''Salmonella bongori''. ''S. enterica'' is the type species and is fur ...
'' infection. Later that night, after taking his prescribed pill, Ben hallucinates while driving and dies in an accident. Ruth learns of this and is soon approached by Andrew (
Gerard Kelly Gerard Kelly (born Paul Kelly; 27 May 1959 – 28 October 2010) was a Scottish actor who appeared in many comedies, including ''City Lights'', ''Rab C Nesbitt'', ''Scotch and Wry'' and '' Extras''. He had more serious roles as well, includin ...
) who works at a local funeral directors firm. He says Ben's body was brought there and that similar accidents have occurred in the past as this one, and he thinks his employers are in some way connected with them. Ruth and Andrew investigate and find that the corpses are being replaced by mannequins for burial, and that the funeral directors are secretly taking the dismembered carcasses to Chesterton Clinic. Ruth gets permission from her editor (
Dinah Sheridan Dinah Sheridan (born Dinah Nadyejda Ginsburg; 17 September 1920 – 25 November 2012) was an English actress with a career spanning seven decades. She was best known for the films ''Genevieve'' (1953) and ''The Railway Children'' (1970); the lon ...
) to expose the racket and advance her career. Ruth gets admitted to the clinic as a patient with a feigned diagnosis of peripheral vascular disease, using her doctor friend's help. She prowls around late at night and finds a room with several carcasses being stored like an abattoir. She sees the clinic director Jack Rothwell (
Kevin Stoney Kevin Stoney (22 January 1921 – 22 January 2008) was an English actor. He was best known for his television roles, in which he became familiar for his "portrayal of establishment types". During the Second World War, Stoney served with the Ro ...
) taking one of the dismembered corpses in his car and follows him to a country mansion. Ruth sneaks into the mansion but is discovered by Humphrey Chesterton ( Richard Pearson), the owner of the mansion and Chesterton clinic. Surprisingly, she is invited to stay for a dinner party he is throwing for several guests, including Rothwell. She is told that all of the guests are survivors of a well known plane crash that occurred just over a year ago, and that they meet regularly at the mansion to celebrate and "remember those who died", this being their thirteenth reunion. It becomes clear that the survivors resorted to
cannibalism Cannibalism is the act of consuming another individual of the same species as food. Cannibalism is a common ecological interaction in the animal kingdom and has been recorded in more than 1,500 species. Human cannibalism is well documented, b ...
and ate the bodies of the dead passengers of the plane crash in order to survive until they were rescued, and they mark the occasion at each reunion by eating human flesh, and victims from the Chesterton Clinic are killed and the corpses are smuggled by the funeral directors to be eaten at these reunions. Frantically Ruth runs to inform Andrew at the funeral home, but finds his corpse there, also killed by the funeral directors after he discovered their activities. Mr Willis then appears and tells Ruth that he too was a survivor of the plane crash, before he kills her with a meat cleaver.


3) Rude Awakening

Estate agent Norman Shenley (
Denholm Elliott Denholm Mitchell Elliott, (31 May 1922 – 6 October 1992) was an English actor, with more than 125 film and television credits. His well-known roles include the abortionist in ''Alfie'' (1966), Marcus Brody in ''Raiders of the Lost Ark'' (1981 ...
) has an affair with secretary Lolly Fellows (
Lucy Gutteridge Lucy Kérimée Gutteridge (born 28 November 1956) is an English retired actress. She is best known for her portrayal of Gloria Morgan Vanderbilt in the television miniseries '' Little Gloria... Happy at Last'' (1982), for which she received a Go ...
). Shenley wants to divorce his wife Emily (
Pat Heywood Patricia Heywood (born 1 August 1931 in Gretna Green, Dumfriesshire, Scotland), is a Scottish character actress who has appeared in stage productions, films and television. She is married to Oliver Neville, the former principal of the Royal Acad ...
) and marry Lolly but Emily does not consent. Mr Rayburn (
James Laurenson James Laurenson (born 17 February 1940) is a New Zealand stage and screen actor. Early life Laurenson was born in Marton, North Island, New Zealand. He was a student at Canterbury University College in Christchurch (now University of Canter ...
) visits Shenley, saying he wishes to sell a desolate property named Lower Moat Manor through him. Norman visits the house, and starts to hear a voice saying "''you shouldn't have killed your wife on Friday the 13th''" and sees Emily's body tumbling down, after which he wakes up in bed beside his wife. Thinking it was a nightmare, Norman returns to work that morning and finds that Lolly cannot remember Mr Rayburn's visit the previous day. Shenley revisits Lower Moat Manor, but finds that the house does not exist, and when he enters a phone booth to inform Lolly, the message comes up "''why did you do it''", smoke emits from the telephone and chokes him. Again, he wakes up beside his wife and finds that he was having another nightmare within a nightmare. And again, neither Emily nor Lolly are able to remember him recounting these events to them before. Shenley investigates the house a third time, and is welcomed by the ghost of old Lady Strudwick (
Eleanor Summerfield Eleanor Audrey Summerfield (7 March 1921 – 13 July 2001) was an English actress who appeared in many plays, films and television series. She is known for her roles in ''Laughter in Paradise'' (1951), ''Final Appointment'' (1954), ''Odongo'' (1 ...
), apparently the mistress of the
manor house A manor house was historically the main residence of the lord of the manor. The house formed the administrative centre of a manor in the European feudal system; within its great hall were held the lord's manorial courts, communal meals w ...
. Soon he begins to hear the same voice again saying, "''you shouldn't have killed your wife''", and Rayburn appears and grabs Shenley and hangs him on a noose in the house. Shenley wakes up again at home beside Emily, having had his third nightmare. Shenley and Lolly go to another apartment to discuss another sale, where they find that the place is desolate and is being demolished, with them stuck in it. Shenley runs to safety outside, and is met with by Rayburn who repeats the same sentence. Again, Shenley wakes up from a
nightmare A nightmare, also known as a bad dream, Retrieved 11 July 2016. is an unpleasant dream that can cause a strong emotional response from the mind, typically fear but also despair, anxiety or great sadness. The dream may contain situations of d ...
. His wife, already knowing that he has an affair with Lolly, calls the doctor, and it is told that he has a brain tumour, which needs emergency surgery. During the surgery, performed by Rayburn, Emily and Lolly, Shenley dies and is put in the mortuary, when he wakes up again beside his sleeping wife, after his fifth nightmare. He smothers Emily to death. The story ends with Norman Shenley now rushing to his office that morning to break the 'good news' about his wife's 'departure' and desire to marry Lolly, but she is now demure and staid, and cannot understand anything being said, despite being given a valuable diamond necklace. In come the police, Rayburn one among them, who says that Emily has been found killed and that "''Shenley should not have killed her''". Shenley thinks it is just another nightmare, as if it was true, then his wife should have died days before on Friday the 13th, since he had already seen her corpse in his first dream. He is then told that the current date ''is'' Friday the 13th, Rayburn does not remember ever meeting him before, and Lolly cannot remember having had any affair with him, and no one understands what he is saying. The cops take him away, and a puzzled Lolly decides to leave the job immediately. The phone rings as she is leaving, and a voice identifying himself as 'Mr Rayburn' asks for Norman Shenley, saying 'he wants to sell property'. Lilly departs - and takes the necklace with her.


4) Growing Pains

William Morton, the 10-year-old son of botanist Terence Morton (
Gary Bond Gary James Bond (7 February 1940 – 12 October 1995) was an English actor and singer. He is known for originating the role Joseph in Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical ''Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat'', his performances ...
) and his wife Laurie (
Barbara Kellerman Barbara Rose Kellerman (originally spelt Kellermann; born 30 December 1949) is an English actress, known for her film and television roles. She trained at Rose Bruford College. Kellerman was born in Manchester, Lancashire. Her Jewish fath ...
) dies after consuming a toxic chemical in his father's lab. The Mortons then adopt another child, James, from an orphanage. However, once he goes to live with them, strange occurrences begin to happen. Laurie's car goes out of control as it passes the cemetery where William is buried, maggots miraculously appear in the Mortons' dinner, and a toy rabbit that Laurie gives to James becomes smeared with blood. There is no explanation for these events and throughout them all, James remains strangely calm and unemotional. Terence is working on a protein supplement from a plant that he cultivated which may help to eliminate hunger in the poorer nations of the world. He is visited the next day by representatives from the organisation he hopes to sell it to, as James takes Nipper, the family's pet
Rottweiler The Rottweiler (, ) is a breed of domestic dog, regarded as medium-to-large or large. The dogs were known in German as , meaning Rottweil butchers' dogs, because their main use was to herd livestock and pull carts laden with butchered mea ...
, for a walk to the cemetery. Upon reaching William's grave, a strange wind occurs and Nipper goes wild. He runs back to the house and attacks Terence's lab rabbits, and then Terence. The couple are forced to poison the dog and bury him. That night, James finds William's diary. It describes how neglected he felt with his parents too busy with their work to devote any attention to him. James shows it to Laurie who becomes increasingly distraught. Meanwhile, Nipper's howls are heard outside. William's
ghost A ghost is the soul or spirit of a dead person or animal that is believed to be able to appear to the living. In ghostlore, descriptions of ghosts vary widely from an invisible presence to translucent or barely visible wispy shapes, to rea ...
then appears to his parents in the lab, telling them how he was saddened as they neglected him in the midst of their busy schedules, prioritising work over him. He kills a valued rabbit and runs away with Terence's prized plant, the basis of his years of work. Terence chases after him, despite Laurie's warning, and they reach the cemetery. In the darkness, Terence falls into an open grave and is killed. William's ghost and the plant then disappear and Laurie finds James lying on William's grave. James awakens and asks her why they are there. They look at the gravestone, which now says ''Terence Morton and his beloved son William''. The plant that was Terence's work is now growing on the grave in the shape of a wreath, which Laurie says is "for all the unloved of this earth", as she walks away with James.


5) The House That Bled to Death

William and Emma Peters ( Nicholas Ball and
Rachel Davies Rachel Davies is an English actress. She has numerous television credits to her name, including ''Boon'' (1986), '' A Little Bit Of Lippy'' (1989), ''Emmerdale'' (1993–94), '' Band of Gold'' (1995–96), '' Hillsborough'' (1996), and '' The Ch ...
) move into a house with their young daughter Sophia, but are apparently unaware of its history. They are sold the house by real estate agent A.J. Powers (
Milton Johns John Robert Milton (born 13 March 1938), known professionally as Milton Johns, is an English character actor who has worked almost continuously throughout his career. A versatile talent, he specialises in sinister or obsequious roles and has f ...
), but the house was the site of a gruesome murder when an elderly man poisoned and hacked his wife to death. Soon, strange happenings begin, with creepy noises, doors that shut and do not open, leaking gas pipes, the appearance of blood stained walls and even the slaughter of Sophia's pet cat by an unknown force. Their neighbours, George and Joan Evans, do their best to help the family, even sheltering them in their house. The Peters learn about the murder case, and request the Evans not to tell anyone about the recent happenings. Thereafter the paranormal events cease. Months later, Joan visits the family and the ghostly activities restart, forcing William to blame Joan's 'presence in the house' for it and send her away. During a children's party for Sophia's birthday, an overhead pipe breaks and blood sprays over all of the guests, triggering further panic. Emma is hospitalised with shock. William meets with the estate agent A.J. Powers, who devises a plan to send the family away to 'safety'. The news reaches the media and soon the house is known as ''The house that bled to death'', owing to its history and the recent events with the Peters. Powers uses this opportunity to write a book based on these events, which becomes a
bestseller A bestseller is a book or other media noted for its top selling status, with bestseller lists published by newspapers, magazines, and book store chains. Some lists are broken down into classifications and specialties (novel, nonfiction book, cookb ...
. The Evans learn that the Peters have abruptly left England, and that William and Emma were never married. Three years later in California, William and Emma (who is revealed to actually be a single parent) are rich and living together, with Sophia who is now older. It is revealed that everything was a ploy, and the entire sequence of events were staged to deceive everyone into believing the house was haunted and they were forced to flee. Powers sells the film rights to his bestselling book, based on these 'paranormal' experiences, making himself, William and Emma even richer. However, Sophia (who was never told of the scam) has become quiet and detached and Emma worries she may have been affected by the traumatic events in the house. When Sophia reads Powers' book and then discovers the belongings of the old couple who lived in the house before them, she seemingly becomes
possessed Possessed may refer to: Possession * Possession (disambiguation), having some degree of control over something else ** Spirit possession, whereby gods, demons, animas, or other disincarnate entities may temporarily take control of a human body *** ...
. Picking up the
kukri The kukri () or khukuri ( ne, खुकुरी, ) is a type of machete with a distinct recurve in its blade. It serves multiple purposes as a melee weapon and also as a regular cutting tool throughout most of South Asia. The ''kukri'', ''khuk ...
, the murder weapon from the old house, she walks into her mother's bedroom and kills William as Emma screams in horror.


6) Charlie Boy

Jack, a wealthy old man, dies under mysterious circumstances, after which his nephew Graham (
Leigh Lawson Allan Leigh Lawson (born 21 July 1945) is an English actor, director and writer. Life and career Lawson was born in Atherstone, Warwickshire. He initially studied at Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts before training further at the Royal Academ ...
) arrives to claim the art collection his uncle bequeathed to him. Graham opts to sell most of the collection, but his wife Sarah (
Angela Bruce Angela Bruce (born 6 May 1951) is an English actress, noted for her television work. Bruce was born in Leeds, West Riding of Yorkshire to a West Indian father and white mother, but was put up for adoption aged three, and brought up in Craghead, ...
) finds an African sculpture (called a ' fetish') with knives stuck in it. She nicknames it 'Charlie boy' and takes it home with them. En route they are involved in a
road rage Road rage is aggressive or angry behavior exhibited by motorists. These behaviors include rude and verbal insults, yelling, physical threats or dangerous driving methods targeted at other drivers, pedestrians or cyclists in an effort to intimid ...
incident and harassed by an intimidating car driver whom they nickname 'Scarface'. Back home that night, Graham is still riled by the incident and playfully sticks a knife into Charlie Boy while thinking about Scarface. Unbeknownst to him, as he does this, Scarface is actually stabbed and killed elsewhere by mobsters. Graham's elder brother Mark (
Michael Culver Michael Culver (born 16 June 1938) is an English actor. He was born in Hampstead, London, the son of actor Roland Culver and casting director Daphne Rye. He was educated at Gresham's School. Actor Culver's aunt, father, mother and brother a ...
) inherits the bulk of their uncle's estate, including his country mansion and his money. But after Mark reneges on a business deal with him, Graham feels slighted. That night, he angrily stabs a group photograph with Mark in it with a knife and then pushes the knife into Charlie Boy. The next day, Mark dies after being impaled in a horse riding accident. Following this, Graham's film director friend Phil is also accidentally killed on the set of a TV commercial when an arrow from a crossbow hits him. Graham and Sarah also learn of Scarface's death in the newspapers, and now realise that all of the people in the group photo which Graham stabbed are being killed one after the other, by a voodoo spell Graham inadvertently cast using Charlie Boy and the next victim will be Gwen (
Frances Cuka Frances Cuka (21 August 193616 February 2020) was an English actress, principally on television, whose career spanned over sixty years. In her later years, she was best known for playing Grandma in the sitcom ''Friday Night Dinner'' from 2011 to ...
), his Uncle Jack's housekeeper, who was also in the photo. Graham is unable to remove the knife he stabbed into the fetish. He tries to contact Gwen but, after the recent deaths that have occurred at the estate, Gwen is deeply shaken. Depressed, she decides to take her own life and slashes her wrists. To save Sarah and himself, the remaining two people in the photograph, Graham goes to Heinz Hoffman (
Marius Goring Marius Re Goring, (23 May 191230 September 1998) was a British stage and screen actor. He is best remembered for the four films he made with Powell & Pressburger, particularly as Conductor 71 in '' A Matter of Life and Death'' and as Julian Cr ...
), his uncle's art dealer who first told them about Charlie Boy at the mansion. Heinz says the only way to stop the spell now is to burn the fetish. Unfortunately Graham and Sarah's house is burgled and the fetish is stolen. It is revealed that Heinz had inadvertently given details about Charlie Boy to an old gangster friend of his, Peter Macardo, who wanted a fetish in order to deal with a rival gangster in Nigeria, and Macardo burgled Graham's house to get it. Graham goes to Macardo's home to retrieve the fetish. Sarah rushes after him to stop him but she is killed in a car accident en route. Graham overpowers Macardo and makes away with the fetish. As he returns home and starts a fire in the basement to burn it, he trips and falls onto Charlie Boy and is killed after being impaled on one of the knives protruding from it. The fire continues to burn but the spell is already completed.


7) The Silent Scream

Chuck Spillers ( Brian Cox) is released from prison after serving two years for burglary, with the help of an elderly pet shop owner Martin Blueck (
Peter Cushing Peter Wilton Cushing (26 May 1913 – 11 August 1994) was an English actor. His acting career spanned over six decades and included appearances in more than 100 films, as well as many television, stage, and radio roles. He achieved recognition ...
), who also gives him money and offers him a job in his shop. Chuck and his wife Annie ( Elaine Donnelly) are thrilled with the offer. Martin runs shady experiments behind his store on captured wild animals to train them to become docile, thereby avoiding the need in future to cage them and make 'cageless' zoos. The animals are kept in open cages but the exits are electrified and the animals are conditioned to eat their food only after a bell is heard. If they fail to adhere to this, they suffer an electric shock. Martin wants Chuck to manage the place for a few days while he is out of town. Chuck accepts but unfortunately greed gets the better of him again when he sees a large safe in the shop. Despite his wife's warnings, he tries to open it, only to fall through a trapdoor into a metal cell with no exit. When Chuck doesn't come home, Annie goes to the pet shop but Martin says he hasn't seen him. She notices Chuck's coat at the store and immediately goes to the local police but they simply advise her to wait a while longer for his return before they act. Annie investigates the store at night and finds Chuck trapped in the cell, and runs to seek help. It is revealed that Martin is a former
Nazi concentration camp From 1933 to 1945, Nazi Germany operated more than a thousand concentration camps, (officially) or (more commonly). The Nazi concentration camps are distinguished from other types of Nazi camps such as forced-labor camps, as well as concen ...
official conducting bizarre experiments on human beings and animals and wanted to use Chuck as a human subject. Annie returns to help Chuck but is pushed into the cell by Martin, who closes the trapdoor. Martin observes the couple's activities and controls everything. The local police detective Aldrige ( Antony Carrick) visits the store but does not find anything. Martin finds the couple's house keys in Chuck's coat and visits their house. As Chuck and Annie figure out what to do, an exit opens in the cell wall leading outside. However, it is electrified like all the other cages, by Martin to experiment and see if the captives will try to escape. They note that there are times when the electricity shuts off briefly. During one such moment, they rush through the exit and to freedom outside. Chuck goes back inside the store to confront Martin, but he finds that a
black panther A black panther is the melanistic colour variant of the leopard (''Panthera pardus'') and the jaguar (''Panthera onca''). Black panthers of both species have excess black pigments, but their typical rosettes are also present. They have been d ...
has managed to exit its cage and has cornered Martin who ends up falling into the cell himself via the trapdoor. The trapdoor closes, leaving Martin captive. Chuck and Annie return home, but on entering their house, the door shuts and the walls become electrified. Martin had wired the place during his visit and perhaps purposefully allowed them to escape as part of his experiments. The story ends with Chuck and Annie screaming for help from the outside, and Martin trapped in his own prison, with no one to hear his screams.


8) Children of the Full Moon

Lawyer Tom Martin (
Christopher Cazenove Christopher de Lerisson Cazenove (17 December 1943 – 7 April 2010) was an English film, television and stage actor. Early life and career He was born Christopher de Lerisson Cazenove, on 17 December 1943, the son of Arnold Cazenove, Brigadie ...
) and his wife Sarah (
Celia Gregory Celia Christine Gregory (23 September 1949 – 8 September 2008) was a British stage, film and television actress, who became a faith healer later in life. Best known for her role as Ruth Anderson in the 1976 BBC television drama '' Survivo ...
) are heading to a country cottage for a holiday when their car breaks down in some remote Somerset woods. They find a large house in the woods, where the housekeeper Mrs Ardoy (
Diana Dors Diana Dors (born Diana Mary Fluck; 23 October 19314 May 1984) was an English actress and singer. Dors came to public notice as a blonde bombshell, much in the style of Americans Marilyn Monroe, Jayne Mansfield and Mamie Van Doren. Dors was pr ...
) welcomes them and offers them shelter for the night. Mrs Ardoy has a large family of children, some of whom, she says, are her stepchildren and some are fostered. She speaks about her husband often but he is never seen. All of the children are strange - they sleep at odd times, are afraid of fire, roam the woods in the dark, and become disoriented as dusk approaches. Framed pictures of various women in the house are also seen, apparently the mothers of the various children. Tom goes back to their car to collect some things, but is attacked by a half-human creature covered in fur with yellow eyes. When he returns to the house, he and Sarah hear howling coming from the woods. Later that night in their room, Sarah is horrified when she sees the face of a werewolf at the window. Finding their bedroom door locked, Tom climbs out of the window to investigate but falls while climbing the drainpipe. Meanwhile, the werewolf enters their bedroom through the house and attacks Sarah as Mrs Ardoy and the children watch in delight. The following day, Tom awakens in a hospital with Sarah who tells him they were in a car crash on their way to the cottage. He asks her about the "family of werewolves" they encountered but she laughs and tells him he must have been dreaming. But Tom thinks it was too real to be a dream. Back home, Sarah is different. She has a voracious appetite for sex and raw steak, saying its "delicious ". Tom confides to his colleague Harry about this and the preceding experiences, and Harry agrees with him that it is unlikely it was all a dream. Weeks later, Sarah reveals she is eight weeks pregnant and the fetus is growing unnaturally rapidly. One day she leaves home and heads to the house in the Somerset woods. Mrs Ardoy and her children have already prepared for Sarah's arrival. Her portrait is already framed in the house and her room is ready for the delivery. Instinctively, Tom follows Sarah to the woods. As he begins searching for the house, he comes across a woodcutter who denies any knowledge of the house or of any supernatural creatures in the woods. However, as dusk approaches, Tom discovers the woodcutter is Mr Ardoy as he begins to change into a werewolf and kills Tom with his axe. At the house, Sarah dies during childbirth but Mrs Ardoy and the other children welcome their new baby brother into their pack.


9) Carpathian Eagle

Men are being murdered in bed by a mysterious woman with a European accent whom they pick up. Their hearts are ripped out with a curved weapon like the claw of an eagle. Suspecting a
serial killer A serial killer is typically a person who murders three or more persons,A * * * * with the murders taking place over more than a month and including a significant period of time between them. While most authorities set a threshold of three ...
at large, Inspector Clifford (
Anthony Valentine Anthony Valentine (17 August 1939 – 2 December 2015) was an English actor best known for his television roles: the ruthless Toby Meres in ''Callan'' (1967–72), the sadistic Major Horst Mohn in ''Colditz'' (1972–74), Bob in Tales of the Un ...
) investigates the case and learns of author Natalie Bell (
Suzanne Danielle Suzanne Danielle (nee Morris; born 14 January 1957) is an English former film and television actress. Career Danielle trained as a dancer at the Bush Davies School of Theatre Arts in her home town of Romford in Essex, and also attended Bedford ...
), who is writing a book about an ancient
Carpathian The Carpathian Mountains or Carpathians () are a range of mountains forming an arc across Central Europe. Roughly long, it is the third-longest European mountain range after the Urals at and the Scandinavian Mountains at . The range stretches ...
Countess who had murdered men the same way. Natalie says she got the idea from Mrs. Henska (
Siân Phillips Dame Jane Elizabeth Ailwên Phillips (born 14 May 1933), known professionally as Siân Phillips ( ), is a Welsh actress. She has performed the title roles in Ibsen's ''Hedda Gabler'' and George Bernard Shaw's '' Saint Joan''. Early life Phi ...
), a middle-aged lady who claims to be the last living descendant of the notorious Countess. Mrs. Henska tells Clifford the legend of the Countess who, 300 years ago, was bestowed with an eagle from a lover that first killed her husband after he tortured her for adultery, and then she went on to kill 107 men by
seducing Seduction has multiple meanings. Platonically, it can mean "to persuade to disobedience or disloyalty", or "to lead astray, usually by persuasion or false promises". Strategies of seduction include conversation and sexual scripts, paralingual ...
and bringing them home. Clifford notes that Mrs. Henska is sheltering her nephew Tader, a refugee from Poland who works as a drag artiste. Clifford questions him and Mrs. Henska, but decides they are innocent. It is then revealed that Natalie is the killer, who roams the streets in disguise in skimpy costumes looking for men who want to take her to bed and then kills them. She tries to kill another man who picks her up but fails, soon afterwards finds another potential victim in a park (
Pierce Brosnan Pierce Brendan Brosnan (; born 16 May 1953) is an Irish actor and film producer. He is best known as the fifth actor to play secret agent James Bond in the Bond film series, starring in four films from 1995 to 2002 (''GoldenEye'', ''Tomorrow ...
). Clifford and his colleagues suspect Natalie and search her entire house but find nothing. Afterwards, Clifford feels sorry for suspecting Natalie and invites her to his home for the evening. Natalie accepts his apology but, now dressed as the ancient countess herself, kills Clifford in bed. The story ends with Mrs Henska having delusions, thinking she is possessed by the Countess after the media get to know about her ancestry. Meanwhile, Natalie begins researching a new book about another historical serial killer, a woman who strangled men with a velvet scarf, and prepares to begin a new killing spree.


11) Visitor from the Grave

Penny (
Kathryn Leigh Scott Kathryn Leigh Scott (born Marlene Kringstad;Biography:Kathryn Leigh Scott". Retrieved on September 28, 2010 January 26, 1943) is an American television and film actress and writer who is best remembered for playing several roles on ''Dark Shadows ...
) and Harry (
Simon MacCorkindale Simon Charles Pendered MacCorkindale (12 February 1952 – 14 October 2010) was a British actor, film director, writer and producer. He spent much of his childhood moving around owing to his father's career as an officer with the Royal Air Force ...
) live in a secluded cottage. Penny is a wealthy American but has suffered a breakdown and is mentally unstable. One night when Penny is alone, she is visited by Charles Willoughby (
Stanley Lebor Stanley Harvey Lebor (24 September 1934 – 22 November 2014) was an English actor. He was best known for his roles as Howard Hughes in the 1980s BBC TV comedy series ''Ever Decreasing Circles'', the Mongon Doctor in ''Flash Gordon'' (1980), and ...
), who has come looking for Harry. Penny tells him to leave but when he tries to rape her, she shoots him with a rifle. Harry returns home the following morning and Penny tells him what happened. She advises going to police but Harry refuses as his rifle was unlicensed and Penny may "land back in the asylum". He buries Charlie in the woods and disposes of Charlie's
Range Rover Range may refer to: Geography * Range (geographic), a chain of hills or mountains; a somewhat linear, complex mountainous or hilly area (cordillera, sierra) ** Mountain range, a group of mountains bordered by lowlands * Range, a term used to i ...
into the lake nearby, and they remove all evidence of the incident. The local policeman arrives, saying that Charlie has been missing for two days, and is questioning Harry because of a disagreement the two of them had in a pub. However, Harry dodges the cop's enquiries efficiently. Penny's mental problems have made her reliant on medication, but Harry rations her dosage. Soon, Penny starts seeing visions of the dead Charlie wherever she goes and believes he has come back from the grave. Harry and Penny seek help from a
tarot card reader Tarot card reading is a form of cartomancy whereby practitioners use tarot cards to purportedly gain insight into the past, present or future. They formulate a question, then draw cards to interpret them for this end. A traditional tarot deck con ...
named Margaret (
Mia Nardi Mia, MIA, or M.I.A. may refer to: Music Artists * M.I.A. (rapper) (born 1975), English rapper and singer * M.I.A. (band), 1980s punk rock band from Orange County, California * MIA., a German rock/pop band formed in 1997 * Mia (singer) (born 198 ...
) who summons Charlie's spirit and learns that he seeks revenge. Margaret says she is not strong enough to fight Charlie, but an Indian
Swami Swami ( ; sometimes abbreviated sw.) in Hinduism is an honorific title given to a male or female ascetic who has chosen the path of renunciation (''sanyāsa''), or has been initiated into a religious monastic order of Vaishnavas. It is used eith ...
named Gupta Krishna can do it. Desperate, Penny tells Margaret to bring Gupta from India, and that she will pay him £150,000 in order to start his
ashram An ashram ( sa, आश्रम, ) is a spiritual hermitage or a monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or a ...
in the UK. The Swami arrives with Margaret at the couple's house for the seance. Charlie's spirit is summoned and is bent on revenge. Terrified and unable to bear the stress anymore, Penny locks herself in the bedroom and shoots herself with the rifle. After Penny's body is taken away by the medics, Gupta takes off his disguise, Charlie reappears in person, and they begin celebrating their "success" with Harry and Margaret. Harry and Margaret are actually lovers, Gupta and the policeman were the same person - an actor named Richard ( Gareth Thomas), and Charlie never actually died. The whole thing was a set-up concocted by the four of them to grab Penny's wealth. They had arranged for Charles to attack Penny and get shot by blanks; Charles enacted his ghostly appearances with
make-up Cosmetics are constituted mixtures of chemical compounds derived from either natural sources, or synthetically created ones. Cosmetics have various purposes. Those designed for personal care and skin care can be used to cleanse or protect ...
, and Harry manipulated Penny's existing instability. They find the £150,000 in cash that Penny meant to pay the 'Swami' with, but as they start to divide the money, darkness befalls and Penny's ghost - a real ghost - appears before them. She vows
revenge Revenge is committing a harmful action against a person or group in response to a grievance, be it real or perceived. Francis Bacon described revenge as a kind of "wild justice" that "does... offend the law ndputteth the law out of office." Pr ...
on all of them for their treachery, as the pile of money bursts into flames.


12) The Two Faces of Evil

The Lewis family is on holiday, Martin and Janet Lewis and their son David, when they lift a mysterious hitchhiker in the rain, face concealed in a raincoat. The hitchhiker grabs Martin's throat and the vehicle topples. Janet wakes up in hospital unharmed with her son, and is told that Martin underwent emergency neck surgery and cannot talk for the time being. The local policeman questions Janet, who says she can't remember anything after the crash, but that the attacker had long nails in his right hand. She is then told that the attacker was killed in the crash and his right hand is missing, hence the nails can't be seen for identification. Still shocked, Janet takes her son and moves to another house, collects all their belongings of the crash from the hospital, and burns it in the backyard. Martin is discharged thereafter and is brought to the new house. Janet notes that Martin is acting weirdly, and he has a long nail on his right hand. This makes her suspicious about his identity and she goes to see the dead body again in the hospital. She notes this time that the dead body is that of Martin, but then is shown that the body has decayed teeth while Martin has good teeth. The doctor also tells her about doppelgangers, evil alien beings that take over the entire
persona A persona (plural personae or personas), depending on the context, is the public image of one's personality, the social role that one adopts, or simply a fictional Character (arts), character. The word derives from Latin, where it originally ref ...
of a human being and become a
look alike A look-alike, double, or doppelgänger is a person who bears a strong physical resemblance to another person, excluding cases like twins and other instances of family resemblance. Some look-alikes have been notable individuals in their own right, ...
but are not the same person; nevertheless, he believes that doppelgangers are only fictional. A relieved Janet goes back to the house to Martin, but is shocked to find his teeth decayed, implying that Martin is dead and the attacker was the doppelganger who took over Martin's persona. The doppelgänger attacks Janet and David like a
zombie A zombie (Haitian French: , ht, zonbi) is a mythological undead corporeal revenant created through the reanimation of a corpse. Zombies are most commonly found in horror and fantasy genre works. The term comes from Haitian folklore, in whic ...
. They run to the neighbor Mr Upity for help, where Janet hides in the stable from Martin's doppelganger, but then finds David there, who is now having decayed teeth and is a doppelganger of David. Both doppelgangers attack Janet, when Mr Upity appears on scene and Janet blacks out. In the end it is shown that everything has quietened, Janet is being taken away by the hospital nurse in an ambulance as Martin, David and Upity bid her goodbye, and en route, Janet sees that the driver is her own doppelganger.


13) The Mark of Satan

The story opens with surgeons operating on a man's skull, during which he mutters, "''Leave my soul alone''" and dies. The patient is Dr Samuel Holt, a neurosurgeon himself. Newly appointed morgue worker Edwyn Bord (
Peter McEnery Peter Robert McEnery (born 21 February 1940) is a retired English stage and film actor. Early life McEnery was born in Walsall, Staffordshire, to Charles and Ada Mary (née Brinson) McEnery. He was educated at Ellesmere College, Shropshire. Hi ...
) becomes obsessed with number 9, which is being often repeated to him in his everyday interactions with people and experiences. Dr. Holt's body is autopsied by Markham (
Peter Birrel Peter Birrel Cohen (19 July 1935 – 23 June 2004) was an English actor who played numerous parts on British television for nearly forty years. He appeared in the ''Doctor Who'' story ''Frontier in Space'' in 1973, as well as in the documentar ...
) and Dr Harris (
Emrys James Robert Emrys James (1 September 1928 – 5 February 1989) was a Welsh Shakespearean actor. He also performed in many theatre and TV parts between 1960 and 1989, and was an Associate Artist of the Royal Shakespeare Company. He was born in Machyn ...
) who is very logical and jovial, with Edwyn watching and it is learnt that Holt tried drilling a hole in his skull to liberate an evil virus invading his body, which led to
Subdural hemorrhage A subdural hematoma (SDH) is a type of bleeding in which a collection of blood—usually but not always associated with a traumatic brain injury—gathers between the inner layer of the dura mater and the arachnoid mater of the meninges surround ...
and thereafter he died during surgery for the same. Edwyn begins to think that he is being persecuted by the evil virus too as he is a good person, his suspicions supported by coincidence and
confirmation bias Confirmation bias is the tendency to search for, interpret, favor, and recall information in a way that confirms or supports one's prior beliefs or values. People display this bias when they select information that supports their views, ignoring ...
. Edwyn lives with his cranky natured mother (
Annie Dyson Annie may refer to: People and fictional characters * Annie (given name), a given name and a list of people and fictional characters with the name * Annie (actress) (born 1975), Indian actress * Annie (singer) (born 1977), Norwegian singer Th ...
), with a pretty estranged tenant lady Stella (
Georgina Hale Georgina Hale (born 4 August 1943) is an English film, television and stage actress. She is best known for her roles in the films of director Ken Russell, including '' The Devils'' (1971), '' The Boy Friend'' (1971), and ''Mahler'' (1974), for w ...
) and her baby as their neighbour. He visits a rector Father Macintosh ( Antony Brown) for advice, but runs away when he sees 9 mentioned as the date of service. Edwyn finds that Dr Holt when alive wanted to sacrifice a baby and eat it to drive out the virus, prompted by voices in his head, but was stopped by police. Edwyn begins to think his mother is responsible for the virus and also for his father's death. He believes that Dr Holt was targeted by everyone, and since Holt died, they are targeting him as the next victim. Stella offers to help Edwyn, saying that he needs love, he should send his mother to an old age home and thereafter she will look after him. Edwyn kills his mother and he and Stella hide her in the freezer. Father Macintosh visits the house to help Edwyn. Edwyn continues to obsess over number 9 and develops psychosomatic symptoms. He falls into a trance like state, and sees his colleagues Dr Harris and Markham, Stella, a psychiatrist Dr Manders (
Conrad Phillips Conrad Philip Havord (13 April 1925 – 13 January 2016), known professionally as Conrad Phillips, was an English television and film actor. He is best known for playing William Tell in the adventure series ''The Adventures of William Tell'' (1 ...
), conspiring as an evil team wanting him to eat Stella's baby for the devil's sake. Onto the scene bursts Father Macintosh with a cross, who drives away everyone and exorcises Edwyn, but is attacked by Stella like a dog. Edwyn wakes up in the hospital, and is told by Harris and Dr Manders that he had an attack of severe delusion of persecution, and now he is better as he has responded to medication. They decide to send him back to his old job as an operation theatre assistant. On radio Edwyn learns of three nurses who have died by a yet undiagnosed viral infection of the brain in the country. Back home Edwyn finds Stella, but is reminded of his mother and sees her body in the freezer, after which he again develops delusions. In the end, while working in operation theatre, Edwyn injects his scalp with local anaesthetic and drills a hole in his skull to liberate the virus, and the story ends with surgeons operating on him just as they were operating on Dr Holt in the beginning for subdural hemorrhage, as Edwyn says "''Leave my soul alone''".


DVD/Blu-ray release

The series was released on DVD in the UK (region 2) in October 2002 by
ITV Studios ITV Studios is a British multinational television production and distribution company owned by the British television broadcaster ITV plc. It handles production and distribution of programmes broadcast on the ITV network and third-party broadcas ...
. It was released as a four-disc set featuring all 13 episodes, and includes stills galleries and cast biographies as extras. The episodes are in a different order on the DVD. In the U.S., A&E Home Entertainment, under license from Carlton International Media Limited, released the complete series on Region 1 DVD in 2001. A re-mastered version was released in the US (region 1) on 11 September 2012 by
Synapse Films Synapse Films is an American DVD and Blu-ray label, founded in 1997 and specializing in cult horror, science fiction and exploitation films. History Synapse Films was owned and operated by Don May, Jr. and his business partners Jerry Chandler a ...
. It was released as a five-disc set, and features an animated stills gallery, episode introductions from film historian Shane M. Dallman, and featurettes including ''Grave Recollections: A Visit With Kathryn Leigh Scott'' and ''Hammer Housekeeping: A Visit With Mia Nadasi''. Having completed a high-definition restoration of the series, the UK's Network imprint released ''Hammer House of Horror'' for the first time on HD
Blu-ray The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of sto ...
in October 2017.


References


External links

* {{Hammer Horror Hammer Film Productions British horror fiction television series 1980 British television series debuts 1980 British television series endings 1980s British drama television series ITV television dramas 1980s British anthology television series 1980s British television miniseries ITV miniseries Television series by ITC Entertainment Television series by ITV Studios English-language television shows