In 1980, Hammer Films (in association with Chips Productions and Cinema Arts International) created a series for British television, the Hammer House of Horror, which ran for 13 episodes with 51 minutes per episode. The series was financed by ITC Entertainment

ITC Entertainment

The Incorporated Television Company was a British television company largely involved in production and distribution. It was founded by Lew Grade.-History:...

 and broadcast on the ITV network

ITV

ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...

 by ATV

Associated TeleVision

Associated Television, often referred to as ATV, was a British television company, holder of various licences to broadcast on the ITV network from 24 September 1955 until 00:34 on 1 January 1982...

.

In a break from their cinema format, these featured plot twist

Plot twist

A plot twist is a change in the expected direction or outcome of the plot of a film, television series, video game, novel, comic or other fictional work. It is a common practice in narration used to keep the interest of an audience, usually surprising them with a revelation...

s, which usually saw the protagonists fall into the hands of that episode's horror. These varied from sadistic shopkeepers with hidden pasts, to witches and satanic rites. The series was marked by a sense of dark irony, its haunting title music, and the intermingling of horror with the commonplace.

Notable episodes include:

• "The House That Bled To Death", in which a young couple and their daughter move into a new home, unaware that its previous tenant murdered his wife. Achieved mild notoriety for a children's birthday party scene during which blood gushes from the overhead pipes.
• "The Silent Scream", in which Peter Cushing
  Peter Cushing
  Peter Wilton Cushing, OBE was an English actor, known for his many appearances in Hammer Films, in which he played the handsome but sinister scientist Baron Frankenstein and the vampire hunter Dr. Van Helsing, amongst many other roles, often appearing opposite Christopher Lee, and occasionally...
  
   plays an apparently personable pet shop owner working on the concept of "prisons without walls" whilst harbouring a dark secret. Brian Cox, later the first actor to play Hannibal Lecter
  Hannibal Lecter
  Hannibal Lecter M.D. is a fictional character in a series of horror novels by Thomas Harris and in the films adapted from them.Lecter was introduced in the 1981 thriller novel Red Dragon as a brilliant psychiatrist and cannibalistic serial killer...
  
   in Michael Mann
  Michael Mann (film director)
  Michael Kenneth Mann is an American film director, screenwriter, and producer. For his work, he has received nominations from international organizations and juries, including those at the British Academy of Film and Television Arts, Cannes and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences...
  
  's Manhunter
  Manhunter (film)
  Manhunter is a 1986 American thriller film based on Thomas Harris's novel Red Dragon. Written and directed by Michael Mann, it stars William Petersen as Will Graham and features Brian Cox as Hannibal Lecktor...
  
  , was the guinea pig.
• "The Two Faces Of Evil" - a surreal episode, featuring forced camera angles, stylized sets, bizarre perspective shots and a plot revolving around dopplegangers and malevolent twins.
• "Charlie Boy", in which an African fetish exerts a fatal influence and leads to several deaths.
• "Carpathian Eagle" - Anthony Valentine stars as a police detective struggling to solve a series of gruesome, ritualistic murders undertaken by Suzanne Danielle
  Suzanne Danielle
  Suzanne Danielle is an English film and television actress, the wife of the golfer Sam Torrance.Danielle is a stage name; while growing up she was Suzanne Morris.-Career:...
  
  . Siân Phillips
  Siân Phillips
  Jane Elizabeth Ailwên "Siân" Phillips, CBE, is a Welsh actress.-Early life:Phillips was born in Gwaun-Cae-Gurwen, Neath Port Talbot, Wales, the daughter of Sally , a teacher, and David Phillips, a steelworker-turned-policeman...
  
   co-stars, and a young Pierce Brosnan
  Pierce Brosnan
  Pierce Brendan Brosnan, OBE is an Irish actor, film producer and environmentalist. After leaving school at 16, Brosnan began training in commercial illustration, but trained at the Drama Centre in London for three years...
  
   makes a brief appearance playing "last victim."
• "Rude Awakening" - Denholm Elliott
  Denholm Elliott
  Denholm Mitchell Elliott, CBE was an English film, television and theatre actor with over 120 film and television credits...
  
   stars as an estate agent whose increasingly strange but realistic dreams give him serious trouble distinguishing fantasy from reality.
• "The Children of the Full Moon" - Diana Dors
  Diana Dors
  Diana Dors was an English actress, born Diana Mary Fluck in Swindon, Wiltshire. Considered the English equivalent of the blonde bombshells of Hollywood, Dors described herself as: "The only sex symbol Britain has produced since Lady Godiva."-Early life:Diana Mary Fluck was born in ­Swindon,...
  
   plays a kindly bumpkin with an extended family, but no husband. When a recently married couple stumble upon this unusual situation, the truth is gradually revealed. Robert Urquhart
  Robert Urquhart (actor)
  Robert Urquhart was a Scottish character actor who mainly worked in British television during his career.He was born in Ullapool, Scotland on 16 October 1921, educated at George Heriot's School in Edinburgh and made his stage debut in 1947...
  
  , who had played Paul Krempe in Hammer's early horror triumph The Curse of Frankenstein cameos.
• "Witching Time" - where Patricia Quinn
  Patricia Quinn
  Patricia Quinn, Lady Stephens is a Northern Irish actress best known for her role as Magenta in the film The Rocky Horror Picture Show . Hers were the red lips that appeared in the film's opening song "Science Fiction/Double Feature"...
  
   plays a witch who is draining the energy and essence of Jon Finch
  Jon Finch
  Jon Finch is an English actor noted for many Shakespearean roles. Perhaps his most notable role was the title role in Roman Polanski's 1971 film adaptation of Shakespeare's Macbeth. His other famous role was as a down-and-out ex-RAF pilot wrongly accused of murder in Alfred Hitchcock's...
  
  .
• "Visitor from the Grave" - in which ghostly vengeance is visited upon a fragile young heiress played by Kathryn Leigh Scott
  Kathryn Leigh Scott
  Kathryn Leigh Scott is an American television and film actress who is best remembered for playing Maggie Evans, Josette DuPres Collins, Rachel Drummond, Lady Kitty Soames Hampshire, and Maggie Evans PT on Dark Shadows.-Early life:Scott was born Marlene Kringstad in Robbinsdale, Minnesota in 1943...
  
   of Dark Shadows
  Dark Shadows
  Dark Shadows is a gothic soap opera that originally aired weekdays on the ABC television network, from June 27, 1966 to April 2, 1971. The show was created by Dan Curtis. The story bible, which was written by Art Wallace, does not mention any supernatural elements...
  
   fame

Episodes were directed by Alan Gibson

Alan Gibson (director)

Alan Gibson was a Canadian director active in British film and television. Particularly notable for his work in horror, cinematic films directed by him include the 1968 Journey to Midnight, the 1970 Crescendo, the 1974 The Satanic Rites of Dracula, the 1977 Checkered Flag or Crash and the 1982...

, Peter Sasdy

Peter Sasdy

Peter Sasdy is a British film and TV director.As well as numerous TV credits, notably the Nigel Kneale-scripted The Stone Tape , he directed several horror films for Hammer, including Taste the Blood of Dracula , Countess Dracula and Hands of the Ripper...

 and Tom Clegg

Tom Clegg (director)

Tom Clegg is a British television and film director. He was born in Lancashire in 1934.-Selected filmography:Television* Special Branch * The Sweeney * A Captain's Tale * Sharpe ...

, among others, and script edited by Anthony Read

Anthony Read

Anthony "Tony" Read is a British script editor, television writer and author. He was principally active in British television from the 1960s to the mid-1980s, although he occasionally contributed to televised productions until 1999. Starting in the 1980s, he launched a second career as a print...

.

List of episodes

Title	UK Transmission Date	Notable cast members
Witching Time	13 September 1980	Jon Finch Jon Finch Jon Finch is an English actor noted for many Shakespearean roles. Perhaps his most notable role was the title role in Roman Polanski's 1971 film adaptation of Shakespeare's Macbeth. His other famous role was as a down-and-out ex-RAF pilot wrongly accused of murder in Alfred Hitchcock's... , Patricia Quinn Patricia Quinn Patricia Quinn, Lady Stephens is a Northern Irish actress best known for her role as Magenta in the film The Rocky Horror Picture Show . Hers were the red lips that appeared in the film's opening song "Science Fiction/Double Feature"... , Prunella Gee Prunella Gee Prunella Gee is an English actress.She studied at the prestigious London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art where she won the Spotlight Award for Best Actress... , Ian McCulloch Ian McCulloch (actor) Ian McCulloch is a Scottish actor.He is best known for his role as Greg Preston in Survivors. Though he debuted in the second episode, "Genesis", Greg would become the male lead for the first series, and got to show off his singing and guitar playing in several episodes... , Lennard Pearce Lennard Pearce Lennard Pearce was an English actor who worked mostly in the theatre, but also appeared in a number of British television programmes. He landed his most notable TV role during the final few years of his life, starring as Edward "Grandad" Trotter in the popular sitcom, Only Fools and Horses from... , Margaret Anderson
The Thirteenth Reunion	20 September 1980	Michael Latimer, Julia Foster Julia Foster Julia Foster is a British actress.Foster's credits include the films The Bargee with Harry H. Corbett, Alfie with Michael Caine, Half a Sixpence with Tommy Steele, and Percy with Hywel Bennett... , Dinah Sheridan Dinah Sheridan Dinah Sheridan is an English actress who appeared in the films 29 Acacia Avenue and Genevieve .She made her film debut in 1937, and has frequently appeared on television... , Richard Pearson Richard Pearson (actor) Richard de Pearsall Pearson was a Welsh actor. Notable films of his career included Brian Desmond Hurst's Scrooge as well as a brief appearance in John Schlesinger's Sunday Bloody Sunday and cameo roles in three films by Roman Polanski: Macbeth , Tess and Pirates... , Norman Bird Norman Bird Norman Bird was a British character actor. Often sporting a moustache and an air of worried resignation, he seemed to specialise in downtrodden roles... , Warren Clarke Warren Clarke -Biography:Clarke was born in Oldham, Lancashire. His first television appearance was in the long running Granada soap opera Coronation Street, initially as Kenny Pickup in 1966 and then as Gary Bailey in 1968. His first major film appearance was in Stanley Kubrick's controversial A Clockwork... , Kevin Stoney Kevin Stoney Kevin Stoney was an English actor, best known for his television roles.During World War II, Stoney served with the Royal Air Force.... , George Innes George Innes George Innes is an English actor.-Stage career:He began his career on the stage with the National Theatre of Great Britain under Laurence Olivier. Before that, he trained at Toynbee Hall and evening classes at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art , where he was awarded the Shakespeare Cup...
Rude Awakening	27 September 1980	Denholm Elliott Denholm Elliott Denholm Mitchell Elliott, CBE was an English film, television and theatre actor with over 120 film and television credits... , Lucy Gutteridge Lucy Gutteridge Lucy Karima Gutteridge is an English actress.Gutteridge was born in London, the eldest daughter of Bernard Hugh Gutteridge by his marriage to Nabila Farah Karima Halim, the daughter of Prince Muhammad Said Bey Halim of Egypt and his British second wife, Nabila Malika... , James Laurenson James Laurenson James Laurenson is a New Zealand actor, who has performed many classical roles on stage and television.Laurenson was born in Marton, New Zealand... , Pat Heywood Pat Heywood Patricia Heywood in Gretna Green, Scotland) is a British character actress who has appeared in stage productions, movies, and television. Married to Oliver Neville, the former principal of RADA.-Career:... , Gareth Armstrong Gareth Armstrong Gareth S. Armstrong is a British actor.Armstrong was born on 28 September 1948 in Swansea, the son of a Presbyterian minister. He began his career by acting in school plays at the Bishop Gore School, Swansea... , Eleanor Summerfield Eleanor Summerfield Eleanor Summerfield was a British actress.Summerfield was born in London in 1921. She received her acting training at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. In the mid-1960s, she played P. G. Wodehouse' character Aunt Dahlia in the BBC One's World of Wooster. She was a team member on BBC Radio 4's... , Patricia Mort
Growing Pains	4 October 1980	Gary Bond Gary Bond Gary Bond was an English film and television actor.-Biography:Bond was born in Liss, Hampshire, England.... , Barbara Kellerman Barbara Kellerman Barbara R. Kellerman is an English actress, noted for her film and television roles. She trained at Rose Bruford College. Kellerman's Jewish parents had fled Nazi Germany and settled in Leeds, briefly living in Manchester before returning to Leeds by 1952... , Norman Beaton Norman Beaton Norman Lugard Beaton was a Guyanese actor long resident in the United Kingdom.... , Tariq Yunus, Geoffrey Beevers Geoffrey Beevers Geoffrey Beevers is a British actor who has appeared in many different television roles.Beevers has worked extensively at the Orange Tree Theatre in Richmond upon Thames, both as an actor ; and as an adaptor/director of George Eliot's novel Adam Bede , for which he won a Time Out Award, and Balzac's...
The House that Bled to Death	11 October 1980	Nicholas Ball Nicholas Ball (British actor) Nicholas Ball is an English actor.He is best known for playing the title role of James Hazell in the television series Hazell.... , Rachel Davies Rachel Davies Rachel Davies is a British actress, with numerous television credits to her name from the beginning of the 70s onwards.She has played leading roles in the following series: Boon, The Cuckoo Waltz, Making Out, Band of Gold, Emmerdale, Nice Guy Eddie, Linda Green and The Chase.She appeared in the... , Brian Croucher Brian Croucher Brian Croucher is an English actor and director perhaps best known for his role as Ted Hills, which he played from 1995 to 1997, in the soap opera EastEnders.... , Patricia Maynard Patricia Maynard Patricia Maynard is a British actress. She was the second wife of actor Dennis Waterman, and they have two daughters, one of whom is the actress Hannah Waterman... , Milton Johns Milton Johns Milton Johns is an English actor whose thin features and talent for obsequious or oily characters has often influenced the many television parts he has received. He trained at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School.Johns was born in Bristol... , George Tovey
Charlie Boy	18 October 1980	Leigh Lawson Leigh Lawson Leigh Lawson is a film and stage actor, director, and writer.-Career:Trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. Lawson has acted in film and television since the early 1970s, directed plays in the West End and on Broadway... , Marius Goring Marius Goring Marius Goring CBE was an English stage and cinema actor. He is most often remembered for the four films he did with Powell & Pressburger, particularly as Conductor 71 in A Matter of Life and Death and as Julian Craster in The Red Shoes... , Angela Bruce Angela Bruce Angela Bruce is an English actress, noted for her television work.Bruce was born in Leeds, Yorkshire and raised in Craghead, County Durham... , Frances Cuka Frances Cuka Frances Cuka is a British actress, principally on television, whose career has spanned nearly fifty years.Cuka was born in London, England, the daughter of Letitia Alice Annie , a tailor, and Joseph Cuka, a process engraver. On stage, she created the role of Jo in Shelagh Delaney's play A Taste of... , Michael Culver Michael Culver Michael Culver is an English actor.He was born in Hampstead, London, the son of actor Roland Culver and casting director Daphne Rye... , Jeff Rawle Jeff Rawle Jeff Rawle is a British actor, perhaps best known for playing the long-suffering George in the news-gathering sitcom Drop the Dead Donkey... , David Healy David Healy (actor) David Healy was an American-born actor who starred in many British and American television shows. His credits include voices for the Supermarionation series Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons, Joe 90 and The Secret Service, as well as parts in UFO, The Troubleshooters, Randall and Hopkirk , Space... , Janet Fielding Janet Fielding Janet Fielding is an Australian actress, known for her role in the BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who as Tegan Jovanka, a companion of the Fourth Doctor, played by Tom Baker, and the Fifth Doctor, played by Peter Davison. She was born in Brisbane... , Charles Pemberton
The Silent Scream	25 October 1980	Peter Cushing Peter Cushing Peter Wilton Cushing, OBE was an English actor, known for his many appearances in Hammer Films, in which he played the handsome but sinister scientist Baron Frankenstein and the vampire hunter Dr. Van Helsing, amongst many other roles, often appearing opposite Christopher Lee, and occasionally... , Brian Cox, Elaine Donnelly Elaine Donnelly Elaine Donnelly is a British actress, born in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire.-Career:Donnelly started her career in 1969 and appeared in several small British dramas... , Antony Carrick, Terry Kinsella, Robin Browne
Children of the Full Moon	1 November 1980	Diana Dors Diana Dors Diana Dors was an English actress, born Diana Mary Fluck in Swindon, Wiltshire. Considered the English equivalent of the blonde bombshells of Hollywood, Dors described herself as: "The only sex symbol Britain has produced since Lady Godiva."-Early life:Diana Mary Fluck was born in ­Swindon,... , Christopher Cazenove Christopher Cazenove Christopher Cazenove was an English cinema, television and stage actor.-Early life and career:He was born Christopher de Lerisson Cazenove, the son of Arnold de Lerisson Cazenove and Elizabeth Laura in Winchester, Hampshire, but was brought up in Bowlish, Somerset... , Celia Gregory Celia Gregory Celia Christine Gregory was a British stage, film and television actress, who became a faith healer later in life.... , Victoria Wood, Robert Urquhart Robert Urquhart (actor) Robert Urquhart was a Scottish character actor who mainly worked in British television during his career.He was born in Ullapool, Scotland on 16 October 1921, educated at George Heriot's School in Edinburgh and made his stage debut in 1947...
Carpathian Eagle	8 November 1980	Suzanne Danielle Suzanne Danielle Suzanne Danielle is an English film and television actress, the wife of the golfer Sam Torrance.Danielle is a stage name; while growing up she was Suzanne Morris.-Career:... , Anthony Valentine, Siân Phillips Siân Phillips Jane Elizabeth Ailwên "Siân" Phillips, CBE, is a Welsh actress.-Early life:Phillips was born in Gwaun-Cae-Gurwen, Neath Port Talbot, Wales, the daughter of Sally , a teacher, and David Phillips, a steelworker-turned-policeman... , Barry Stanton, Jeffrey Wickham Jeffrey Wickham Jeffrey Wickham is a British film and television actor. He is the father of the actress Saskia Wickham.-Selected filmography:* Before Winter Comes * The Breaking of Bumbo * Waterloo... , William Morgan Sheppard, Pierce Brosnan Pierce Brosnan Pierce Brendan Brosnan, OBE is an Irish actor, film producer and environmentalist. After leaving school at 16, Brosnan began training in commercial illustration, but trained at the Drama Centre in London for three years... , Richard Wren
Guardian of the Abyss	15 November 1980	Ray Lonnen Ray Lonnen Ray Lonnen is an English stage and television actor. His most prominent roles include Willie Caine in the cold-war spy drama series The Sandbaggers , and also as Harry Brown in the television mini-series Harry's Game .-Television career:Lonnen's early television appearances include The Power Game ,... , Barbara Ewing Barbara Ewing Barbara Ewing is a UK-based actress, playwright and novelist. Born in New Zealand, she graduated from Victoria University of Wellington with a BA in English and Maori before coming to Britain in 1965 to train as an actress at RADA in London.She made her film debut in the horror film Torture... , John Carson John Carson (actor) John Carson is a British actor noted for his appearances in film and television.Making his film debut in 1947, he carved out a career appearing in low budget British movies such as Seven Keys ; Smokescreen ; and Master Spy... , Rosalyn Landor Rosalyn Landor Rosalyn Landor is an English film, television, and stage actress and audio book narrator.-Early life:Landor was born in London. She began her career at the age of seven, when she appeared in the Hammer Horror film The Devil Rides Out .-Career:In 1970 she appeared with Susannah York in Jane Eyre,... , Paul Darrow Paul Darrow Paul Darrow is an English actor best known for his portrayal of Kerr Avon in the BBC science fiction television series Blake's 7...
Visitor from the Grave	22 November 1980	Kathryn Leigh Scott Kathryn Leigh Scott Kathryn Leigh Scott is an American television and film actress who is best remembered for playing Maggie Evans, Josette DuPres Collins, Rachel Drummond, Lady Kitty Soames Hampshire, and Maggie Evans PT on Dark Shadows.-Early life:Scott was born Marlene Kringstad in Robbinsdale, Minnesota in 1943... , Gareth Thomas Gareth Thomas (actor) Gareth Thomas is a Welsh actor.Thomas is best known for the part of Roj Blake in the dystopian science fiction television series Blake's 7, but has taken roles in many other films and television programmes, including Adam Brake in Children of the Stones.Thomas trained at RADA and is now an... , Simon MacCorkindale Simon MacCorkindale Simon Charles Pendered MacCorkindale was a British actor, film director, writer and producer. MacCorkindale spent much of his childhood moving around due to his father's commission with the Royal Air Force. Poor eyesight prevented him from following a similar career in the RAF, so he instead...
The Two Faces of Evil	29 November 1980	Gary Raymond Gary Raymond Gary Raymond is an English actor.He made his film debut as Cliff Lewis in Tony Richardson's film adaptation of John Osborne's Look Back in Anger , opposite Richard Burton and Claire Bloom... , Anna Calder-Marshall Anna Calder-Marshall Anna Calder-Marshall is a British actress.Her husband is actor David Burke and her son is actor Tom Burke.-Filmography:-External links:... , Philip Latham Philip Latham Philip Latham is a British actor. He was educated at Felsted School.In the late 1960s/early 1970s he was well known to British TV viewers for his portrayal of chief accountant Willy Izard, the "conscience" to hard-nosed oil company industrialist Brian Stead in the BBC series The Troubleshooters... , Jenny Laird Jenny Laird Jenny Laird was a British film and television actress.-Selected filmography:* Passenger to London * Black Eyes * Just William * The Lamp Still Burns... , Brenda Cowling Brenda Cowling Brenda Rose Cowling was an English actress. A native of London, Cowling wanted to be a film actress from the time she was a child; however, upon leaving school, she trained instead as a shorthand typist.After a time she joined the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, where she was a member of the same...
The Mark of Satan	6 December 1980	Peter McEnery Peter McEnery Peter McEnery is an English stage and film actor. His daughter Kate, by his first marriage to British actress Julie Peasgood, is an actress.... , Emrys James Emrys James Emrys James , 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... , Georgina Hale Georgina Hale Georgina Hale is an award-winning English actress notable for many stage, film and television appearances; often in the works of director Ken Russell and writer Simon Gray... , Peter Birrel Peter Birrel Peter Birrel was an English actor.He played numerous bit parts in British TV series for nearly forty years.... , Conrad Phillips Conrad Phillips Conrad Phillips is a British film and television actor, born in London. His real name is Conrad Philip Havord.He is best known for portraying William Tell in the popular ITV television series The Adventures of William Tell which ran for 39 episodes from 1958 to 1959. Philips also played Stefan,...