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Blood on Satan's Claw: or, The Devil's Skin
Beware the buried skull underfoot and watch out for children with fur on their backs... Blood on Satan's Claw is widely regarded as part of the ‘unholy trinity’ of cult classics which gave birth to the film genre that would become known as folk horror. Along with The Wicker Man and Witchfinder General, it found new ways to terrify audiences using elements of superstition and folklore. Now, fifty years after its release, readers can experience the unearthing of this terror in the film’s first official a compelling and frightening retelling of the fate of unfortunate villagers sacrificed by their own children as devil worship infiltrates their rural existence. Written by the film’s original screenwriter Robert Wynne-Simmons and featuring haunting new illustrations from Richard Wells, it is an atmospheric and defining cult classic in the making.
240 pages, Paperback
Published February 4, 2025
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 64 reviews
December 30, 2022
Folk horror fans will enjoy returning to the furrows for this long awaited novelisation by screenwriter, and creator of The Gothic Game, Robert Wynne-Simmons. The horror here happens at the intersection between religion and rationality, with such a pervasive atmosphere of the ancient permeating daily life to create inescapable nightmares. Multiple point of view characters and expanded scenes give greater insight into the tensions of village life in the evocative setting of Chapel Folding and the wider sociopolitical context beyond. Although I personally would have loved to have read more from Angel’s perspective, I appreciate that her presence is perhaps made all the more pernicious and powerful through the eyes of others. A marvellous companion piece to the film with the added bonus of Richard Wells’s haunting illustrations, The Blood on Satan’s Claw will have you avoiding tilling the soil in the top field for many seasons to come!
February 19, 2023
I haven't seen the film this book is based on, but the book itself is a great tale of devil worship and general folk horror madness from the 17th century. Introduction by the legendary Johnny Mains. Fantastic illustrations by Richard Well in that creepy woodcut style. If it's your kind of thing then I heartily recommend.
December 27, 2022
Adds dimension to the classic folk horror film and is faithful as it is the same writer.
December 28, 2022
Not perfect, but an excellent expansion on what is arguably the best piece of folk-horror cinema
November 27, 2022
No mere novelisation, this is a beautiful embellishment. We get a chance to know the characters more and what motivated them and it all makes a lot more sense now. The illustrations are the icing on a very well baked cake. I don't normally binge read novels but I did this one
May 14, 2024
Good old fashioned scary devil book
October 20, 2024
Actual rating 3.5 stars
Whilst I enjoyed this as I loved the film you can tell this was written by someone who isn’t used to writing in a book format.
This could have easily been a 100 or so pages longer if it had more description.
This is still a very decent book though, worth reading if you enjoyed the film
Whilst I enjoyed this as I loved the film you can tell this was written by someone who isn’t used to writing in a book format.
This could have easily been a 100 or so pages longer if it had more description.
This is still a very decent book though, worth reading if you enjoyed the film
September 30, 2025
One-to-one novelization of the movie with cool art throughout. The judge really said “to destroy this evil, I will have to employ undreamed-of measures” and pulls out a massive sword.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 12, 2025
a fiends mask is found. in a field, an evil infects the young women in the village. they're just harmless youngsters, how bad can it be?
January 18, 2023
Thoroughly entertaining and a timely release during the resurgence of folk horror. Easily digestible and vivid in its description, I highly recommend this book for people who want to start reading folk horror.
If it was written in a more cohesive style conducive to a historical account as opposed to a literary narrative, it would’ve elevated the piece.
If it was written in a more cohesive style conducive to a historical account as opposed to a literary narrative, it would’ve elevated the piece.
January 23, 2023
worth the read
I was pulled in just on the first chapter. With the focus on the more hair raising spine chilling horror made this exactly as would expect for a perfect read on folk horror
I was pulled in just on the first chapter. With the focus on the more hair raising spine chilling horror made this exactly as would expect for a perfect read on folk horror
July 30, 2023
Love me some early-modern folk horror. I'm definitely interested to watch the film this was based on now.
March 28, 2024
Robert Wynne-Simmons' return to the material of a film he wrote fifty years ago is in premise a fascinating endeavour and as a read, it's definitely an enjoyable time but perhaps not as revelatory as the premise suggests. It's good old-fashioned pulpy horror fun, and it's a solid page-turner but nothing here will blow your socks off - and that is completely okay. It does the job and will be finished in a brisk pace. Wynne-Simmons' writing is efficient and workmanlike, you're not likely to find any passages that will really get under your skin but evokes a certain paranoia with an ever-ramping up tension, and that paranoia turns into an excitement as you get to the increasingly hectically paced final act.
September 4, 2025
Quick and fun read! I might edit this review a bit once I’ve seen the original film. This is probably the first movie novelization I’ve read that wasn’t a young reader version from when I was younger. You can definitely tell this has cinematic roots when you read it. It feels short and to the point but as a novel I would have loved a little more in depth. I feel like the relationship of the town to the English Civil War was fascinating and would have loved to dug deeper into it. The fur bits were creepy and gross in the best way and we always love a good evil child cult. Definitely would recommend, just from reading this novel I can understand why its film is a pillar of folk horror.
August 31, 2025
2.5
Loved the atmosphere of the first half of this book, but the final chapters felt rushed and too much like a description of the screenplay. I haven't seen the film, but I think more could have been done to make the ending engaging and tense, as it felt a bit too much like a list of events and the ending was rather abrupt. A shame as the start of the book was excellent!
Loved the atmosphere of the first half of this book, but the final chapters felt rushed and too much like a description of the screenplay. I haven't seen the film, but I think more could have been done to make the ending engaging and tense, as it felt a bit too much like a list of events and the ending was rather abrupt. A shame as the start of the book was excellent!
August 1, 2023
Extremely creepy
November 9, 2025
it's a bit silly, but very enjoyable if you're into that sort of thing, which I am.
December 2, 2024
fast-paced, creepy novelisation with some really cool woodcuts. Want to revisit the film now.
October 6, 2025
Perfect gothic folky book for fall! I <3 gothic literature
October 14, 2023
This is okay I guess. A fun quick read, but not something I was particularly 'wowed' with.
This book is a novelisation of the classic folk-horror film, 'The Blood on Satan's Claw' written fifty years later by the original screen play writer. If you've seen the film then you're probably the target audience for this and it's fun reading along waiting for all the bits you remember from the film to crop up and the novel does expand on the film in quite a few ways to give the reader a little more context.
The downside, is that I don't think this is a particularly well edited novel. The individual scenes can be quite creepy and scary and the book pushes the right buttons, it's just that as a novel, it expects the reader to fill in a lot of the gaps. That's okay with a movie, but with a book you need to engage a little deeper. The book suffers a little with logical holes in 'time and place' and characters appearing several miles away from what seems possible. Likewise, a lot of important action and activities occurs 'off-screen', which again works in a film to an extent but in the book there are huge leaps where things are obviously happening in between. I'm not sure, but the mystery and uncertainty sometimes feels a little jarring rather than pulling you deeper in. Sometimes I think books are too long, but this is one where I think another fifty or so pages would have made it a great novel.
My other complaint is that paragraphs quickly change focus or seem to be describing totally different events and don't flow together well. For instance the first paragraph may be a character looking in a barn, and the next one describes a meeting in a city between two other characters. Even the word, 'meanwhile' would do a lot of lifting here!
Onto the positives - yes, this book does describe a late 17th century rural village really well. We have the unknown but ever present threat of superstition and pagan practices and good old devil worship. We have witchfinder authority figures, who never really come across as the good guys either. There are quite a few scenes which are creepy without being gratuitous.
(there is a certain infamous scene in the film which is depicted quite differently in the book - violence, and sexual violence particularly is largely implied or depicted as happening off screen)
The depiction of Angel Blake is superb! Anyone familiar with the film will be aware of Linda Hayden's performance in this film. It's quite shocking how she portrayed both virginal innocence and malevolent devil worshipping hate and seduction so well, when she was 17 when this was filmed. Maybe it is the power of Linda Hayden fifty years later but Angel says little, but she is depicted as the sweet little 15 year old model student to evil witch running a village's Satanic rites with ease. It's a testament to the author to hook into this so well.
The hardback is presented brilliantly and the illustrations in the book are beautiful - worth adding a star on for them. They perfectly capture the mood of the book.
The ending felt a little flat to be honest, almost as though there was no easy way out. I wouldn't say I was disappointed but I think giving it five stars would be because I like the film more than the book.
This book is a novelisation of the classic folk-horror film, 'The Blood on Satan's Claw' written fifty years later by the original screen play writer. If you've seen the film then you're probably the target audience for this and it's fun reading along waiting for all the bits you remember from the film to crop up and the novel does expand on the film in quite a few ways to give the reader a little more context.
The downside, is that I don't think this is a particularly well edited novel. The individual scenes can be quite creepy and scary and the book pushes the right buttons, it's just that as a novel, it expects the reader to fill in a lot of the gaps. That's okay with a movie, but with a book you need to engage a little deeper. The book suffers a little with logical holes in 'time and place' and characters appearing several miles away from what seems possible. Likewise, a lot of important action and activities occurs 'off-screen', which again works in a film to an extent but in the book there are huge leaps where things are obviously happening in between. I'm not sure, but the mystery and uncertainty sometimes feels a little jarring rather than pulling you deeper in. Sometimes I think books are too long, but this is one where I think another fifty or so pages would have made it a great novel.
My other complaint is that paragraphs quickly change focus or seem to be describing totally different events and don't flow together well. For instance the first paragraph may be a character looking in a barn, and the next one describes a meeting in a city between two other characters. Even the word, 'meanwhile' would do a lot of lifting here!
Onto the positives - yes, this book does describe a late 17th century rural village really well. We have the unknown but ever present threat of superstition and pagan practices and good old devil worship. We have witchfinder authority figures, who never really come across as the good guys either. There are quite a few scenes which are creepy without being gratuitous.
(there is a certain infamous scene in the film which is depicted quite differently in the book - violence, and sexual violence particularly is largely implied or depicted as happening off screen)
The depiction of Angel Blake is superb! Anyone familiar with the film will be aware of Linda Hayden's performance in this film. It's quite shocking how she portrayed both virginal innocence and malevolent devil worshipping hate and seduction so well, when she was 17 when this was filmed. Maybe it is the power of Linda Hayden fifty years later but Angel says little, but she is depicted as the sweet little 15 year old model student to evil witch running a village's Satanic rites with ease. It's a testament to the author to hook into this so well.
The hardback is presented brilliantly and the illustrations in the book are beautiful - worth adding a star on for them. They perfectly capture the mood of the book.
The ending felt a little flat to be honest, almost as though there was no easy way out. I wouldn't say I was disappointed but I think giving it five stars would be because I like the film more than the book.
February 26, 2025
Uh.
Vidim da ovo ima dosta visoke ocene i sad sam u problemu. Knjigu sam uzela pre svega zato što je deo „the Unholy Trinity“ filmskog folk horora, a trenutno sam u tom vajbu jer sam čitala Starve Acre koji mi se dosta dopao. Nemam mnogo poverenja u novelizacije, kao ni u bilo šta drugo što se u postmodernoj kreativnoj dekadenciji „stvara“ hodom unazad – kad je priča već poznata. Međutim visoka ocena me navela (da ne kažem zavela).
Nije ovo uopšte loše, ne mogu da kažem da nisam uživala, pročitala sam je u tri-četiri navrata. Priča je stvarno dobra i zanimljiva, ima početak i kraj, likovi su simpatični, lako su zamislivi. Zaplet se zaista odmotava dinamikom koja omogućava da se dočara atmosfera i tempo života izolovanog sela daleko od Londona, a da ne deluje otegnuto i kao da dobija na vremenu.
Štaviše, s obzirom na neveliki obim knjige, stvarno je dosta toga ispričano.
Sam početak je možda i najbolji deo novelizacije (ne mogu nikako da kažem ‘romana’), sa gotskim elementima poput zapuštene, prašnjave sobe u potkrovlju koja se ne koristi, lupnjave ispod podnih dasaka, te otkrića u polju kojim ceo zaplet i počinje.
Vrlo zanimljivo i mom čitalačkom ukusu drago je to što se jedan deo horor scena odvija usred bela dana – to je nešto što sam kod Stivena Kinga uvek volela, kad uspe da me prepadne po sunčanom danu.
Međutim, međutim, međutim.
Ono što tu debelo fali da bi se dobilo uživanje u čitanju dobre knjige jeste to što ovo… nije dobra knjiga. Ovo je knjigovani film. I to se vidi i oseća.
Nije Vin-Simons bez spisateljskog talenta, čak mu je stil neočekivano lep, ima raskošnih, krcatih rečenica koje uspevaju da ožive miris vetra kroz krošnje i zvukove seoskog druma.
Ali to su pojedinačni elementi koji nemaju dovoljno tkiva da se povežu u celinu koja bi funkcionisala na jednako visokom nivou.
Ima tu i dijaloga koji su sasvim uverljivi i napeti gde treba da budu, ima i emocije i atmosfere, ali kako knjiga odmiče, tako se tekst sve više pretvara u scenario kom nedostaju slika i ton da bi postigao maksimalni efekat.
Drugim rečima: ovo je odlična priča u smislu dobre građe, ali joj nedostaju književni postupci koji bi je učinili koherentnijom.
Za mene koja nisam gledala film ovo je bilo super iskustvo, ali definitivno više kao tick off za film (koji sad verovatno i neću gledati) nego kao književno uživanje.
Preporuka za čitanje: da, onima koji nisu gledali film, bilo da planiraju da ga gledaju ili ne.
Ocena: trojčica.
Vidim da ovo ima dosta visoke ocene i sad sam u problemu. Knjigu sam uzela pre svega zato što je deo „the Unholy Trinity“ filmskog folk horora, a trenutno sam u tom vajbu jer sam čitala Starve Acre koji mi se dosta dopao. Nemam mnogo poverenja u novelizacije, kao ni u bilo šta drugo što se u postmodernoj kreativnoj dekadenciji „stvara“ hodom unazad – kad je priča već poznata. Međutim visoka ocena me navela (da ne kažem zavela).
Nije ovo uopšte loše, ne mogu da kažem da nisam uživala, pročitala sam je u tri-četiri navrata. Priča je stvarno dobra i zanimljiva, ima početak i kraj, likovi su simpatični, lako su zamislivi. Zaplet se zaista odmotava dinamikom koja omogućava da se dočara atmosfera i tempo života izolovanog sela daleko od Londona, a da ne deluje otegnuto i kao da dobija na vremenu.
Štaviše, s obzirom na neveliki obim knjige, stvarno je dosta toga ispričano.
Sam početak je možda i najbolji deo novelizacije (ne mogu nikako da kažem ‘romana’), sa gotskim elementima poput zapuštene, prašnjave sobe u potkrovlju koja se ne koristi, lupnjave ispod podnih dasaka, te otkrića u polju kojim ceo zaplet i počinje.
Vrlo zanimljivo i mom čitalačkom ukusu drago je to što se jedan deo horor scena odvija usred bela dana – to je nešto što sam kod Stivena Kinga uvek volela, kad uspe da me prepadne po sunčanom danu.
Međutim, međutim, međutim.
Ono što tu debelo fali da bi se dobilo uživanje u čitanju dobre knjige jeste to što ovo… nije dobra knjiga. Ovo je knjigovani film. I to se vidi i oseća.
Nije Vin-Simons bez spisateljskog talenta, čak mu je stil neočekivano lep, ima raskošnih, krcatih rečenica koje uspevaju da ožive miris vetra kroz krošnje i zvukove seoskog druma.
Ali to su pojedinačni elementi koji nemaju dovoljno tkiva da se povežu u celinu koja bi funkcionisala na jednako visokom nivou.
Ima tu i dijaloga koji su sasvim uverljivi i napeti gde treba da budu, ima i emocije i atmosfere, ali kako knjiga odmiče, tako se tekst sve više pretvara u scenario kom nedostaju slika i ton da bi postigao maksimalni efekat.
Drugim rečima: ovo je odlična priča u smislu dobre građe, ali joj nedostaju književni postupci koji bi je učinili koherentnijom.
Za mene koja nisam gledala film ovo je bilo super iskustvo, ali definitivno više kao tick off za film (koji sad verovatno i neću gledati) nego kao književno uživanje.
Preporuka za čitanje: da, onima koji nisu gledali film, bilo da planiraju da ga gledaju ili ne.
Ocena: trojčica.
October 30, 2023
A bewitching folktale of terror.
The discovery of a skull buried in a field begins the horror that befalls the rural community of Chapel Folding.
The children begin to act strangely, their childish games and squabbles developing a more sinister nature, a cult forming around the girl who holds a vicious claw.
Now a disease is spreading throughout the village, visible by the fur growing on the skin. Evil, malignant and contagious, has taken root, the idyllic countryside blighted and cursed in a war for the soul.
'Blood on Satan's Claw; or, The Devil's Skin' is the novelisation of the 1971 film 'The Blood on Satan's Claw', a story of supernatural horror, devil worship, demonic possession and religious mania, and one of the forebears of the folk horror sub-genre. Written by Robert Wynne-Simmons, who wrote the original screenplay and co-wrote the reworked version alongside director Piers Haggard, the novel combines a vivid depiction of its rural setting and its inhabitants with slow-burning, ominous plotting to produce a vision of nightmarish, vintage horror.
Set in the early 18th century, this is a time when the beliefs and customs of folklore and old Paganism still held firm and Christian fears of witchcraft and Satanism were at the height of hysteria, beliefs combining and conflicting, with the English Civil War and England's witch trials still in living memory. Exploring the epidemic qualities of terror and hysteria, which we've witnessed so often throughout history and continue to this day, Wynne-Simmons crafts an atmospheric narrative of compelling and creeping dread.
Following a dizzying amount of characters, with the switch between narratives sometimes feeling a little disjointed, it has the feel of a story once told orally, transcribed on to the page from a tale around the campfire. At its centre is teenager Angel, who, under the influence of the devil, becomes sorceress and seductress, a pawn in his plan to return to the realm of flesh and bone. Meanwhile, surrounding the cult building around her are those who hope to combat the evil, yet many may fall before it is thwarted, as the superstition and horror mounts to a final crusading attempt to prevent Satan setting foot upon the earth.
A folk horror classic, 'Blood on Satan's Claw' creeps beneath the skin to explore the influence of superstition and the supernatural on the human mind.
The discovery of a skull buried in a field begins the horror that befalls the rural community of Chapel Folding.
The children begin to act strangely, their childish games and squabbles developing a more sinister nature, a cult forming around the girl who holds a vicious claw.
Now a disease is spreading throughout the village, visible by the fur growing on the skin. Evil, malignant and contagious, has taken root, the idyllic countryside blighted and cursed in a war for the soul.
'Blood on Satan's Claw; or, The Devil's Skin' is the novelisation of the 1971 film 'The Blood on Satan's Claw', a story of supernatural horror, devil worship, demonic possession and religious mania, and one of the forebears of the folk horror sub-genre. Written by Robert Wynne-Simmons, who wrote the original screenplay and co-wrote the reworked version alongside director Piers Haggard, the novel combines a vivid depiction of its rural setting and its inhabitants with slow-burning, ominous plotting to produce a vision of nightmarish, vintage horror.
Set in the early 18th century, this is a time when the beliefs and customs of folklore and old Paganism still held firm and Christian fears of witchcraft and Satanism were at the height of hysteria, beliefs combining and conflicting, with the English Civil War and England's witch trials still in living memory. Exploring the epidemic qualities of terror and hysteria, which we've witnessed so often throughout history and continue to this day, Wynne-Simmons crafts an atmospheric narrative of compelling and creeping dread.
Following a dizzying amount of characters, with the switch between narratives sometimes feeling a little disjointed, it has the feel of a story once told orally, transcribed on to the page from a tale around the campfire. At its centre is teenager Angel, who, under the influence of the devil, becomes sorceress and seductress, a pawn in his plan to return to the realm of flesh and bone. Meanwhile, surrounding the cult building around her are those who hope to combat the evil, yet many may fall before it is thwarted, as the superstition and horror mounts to a final crusading attempt to prevent Satan setting foot upon the earth.
A folk horror classic, 'Blood on Satan's Claw' creeps beneath the skin to explore the influence of superstition and the supernatural on the human mind.
August 17, 2023
"Blood on Satan's Claw: or, The Devil's Skin" is the novelization of the 1971 landmark British folk horror film of the same name, written by its original screenwriter. The novel is narratively better, or at least clearer. The film, as it should be, is more showing than telling and in the process certain plot points are harder to grasp. The violence, especially the scene where a young woman is raped and murdered, is easier to ingest on the printed page than film, but never the less may make this book a work to be avoided for some.
The story and its themes are stereotypical binary folklore: women are both more mystical and thus more prone to evil or darkness; men represent civilization, rational thinking and authority; Christianity must prevail against an ancient pre-Christian evil. It's still a weird and engaging story, just rooted in traditional tropes.
As with the film, there's no good reason for why the devil cult is allowed to grow so out of hand. The narrative justification does not make sense, nor does the true motivation for why the person most capable of stopping it choses not to. It's not about punishing the village or setting an example, it's just Patriarchal stubbornness about how things should be done. It's akin to the part in "Dracula" where Van Helsing and the menfolk philosophize in another building, after having put Mina to bed swathed in garlic, instead of actively watching for Dracula: they assume their authority is true, extends over all things, and will go unquestioned. And they are wrong; the supernatural doesn't give a pair of dingo's kidneys what these authoritarian men think is the proper way things should proceed. I suppose this only reinforces the binary themes of the work instead of illustrating that a binary approach to the world is shortsighted and foolish.
The story and its themes are stereotypical binary folklore: women are both more mystical and thus more prone to evil or darkness; men represent civilization, rational thinking and authority; Christianity must prevail against an ancient pre-Christian evil. It's still a weird and engaging story, just rooted in traditional tropes.
As with the film, there's no good reason for why the devil cult is allowed to grow so out of hand. The narrative justification does not make sense, nor does the true motivation for why the person most capable of stopping it choses not to. It's not about punishing the village or setting an example, it's just Patriarchal stubbornness about how things should be done. It's akin to the part in "Dracula" where Van Helsing and the menfolk philosophize in another building, after having put Mina to bed swathed in garlic, instead of actively watching for Dracula: they assume their authority is true, extends over all things, and will go unquestioned. And they are wrong; the supernatural doesn't give a pair of dingo's kidneys what these authoritarian men think is the proper way things should proceed. I suppose this only reinforces the binary themes of the work instead of illustrating that a binary approach to the world is shortsighted and foolish.
October 13, 2025
This was cool! So basically the author is the screenwriter of the film that came out in the 70s, and kind of founded the folk horror genre—50 years later he still thought there was room to expand on the story that the studio’s timeline didn’t allow him for the film, so he novelized it. I haven’t watched the movie but I’m excited to. The story was really creepy and cool and the occult nature of it kinda gave me nightmares that I can’t remember, I think? Like I don’t want to hold onto the book because it feels kinda demonic. Which is rad. I will be putting it in one of those little free library boxes, though. I also didn’t expect to take such a liking to some of the characters considering it takes place in like the 1680s and they would usually bore me. Oh, and there wasn’t much actual dialogue—more so like, paragraphs telling us how the conversations went, which I thought was funny since the author was a screenwriter… I’m not sure how much dialogue is in the film, though, but maybe it would’ve felt redundant to go through it all again rather than spending time just expanding on the story itself like he intended. Anyway, not SUPER excited to read another old timey folklore horror book like this soon, but I do think it was super interesting and had never made the classism connections to folklore myself until I read the foreword. Overall, fun B&N find on the BOGO50% table (where the actual book I was looking for that day was). OH but I loved the illustrations, especially the groaning rock one. That was an awesome touch that made me feel like I was really consuming something that was an important work of art to the author.
June 5, 2025
(Disclaimer: I have not seen the movie this book was based on).
A classis folk horror tale about a satanic cult in a poor christian town. Written in a very old-timey way, which makes it a more interesting read and does make it easy to be transported into the time period.
However, I think there is a lot of unconscious misogyny in this book. The cult leader, Angel, is a girl: a 15 year old child, yet she is made out to be the most evil being on this earth. She is constantly sexualised, much like the other female children in this book. In fact, most of the cult is made up out of women (at least, the members with power). The men with an explicit role in this story are either victims, or saviors. Not only that, but there is an explicit scene where another young girl becomes a victim of the cult and before she is killed she is violently raped by multiple men. Yet nothing like this happens to any of the male victims, which leads me to believe that this was purely added as shock value due to misogyny. Horror with explicit violence toward women does not go over well with me.
Other than that, I also did not think this story had a satisfying ending. A lot of the book works up to a ‘final ritual and battle’, yet this event only lasts a couple of pages. It’s not even an entire chapter.
Although, one part that did interest me is that as a reader you never find out if the events that took place were just due to the harmful imaginations and beliefs of the people, or due to actual supernatural circumstances. It opens up a bunch of theories.
A classis folk horror tale about a satanic cult in a poor christian town. Written in a very old-timey way, which makes it a more interesting read and does make it easy to be transported into the time period.
However, I think there is a lot of unconscious misogyny in this book. The cult leader, Angel, is a girl: a 15 year old child, yet she is made out to be the most evil being on this earth. She is constantly sexualised, much like the other female children in this book. In fact, most of the cult is made up out of women (at least, the members with power). The men with an explicit role in this story are either victims, or saviors. Not only that, but there is an explicit scene where another young girl becomes a victim of the cult and before she is killed she is violently raped by multiple men. Yet nothing like this happens to any of the male victims, which leads me to believe that this was purely added as shock value due to misogyny. Horror with explicit violence toward women does not go over well with me.
Other than that, I also did not think this story had a satisfying ending. A lot of the book works up to a ‘final ritual and battle’, yet this event only lasts a couple of pages. It’s not even an entire chapter.
Although, one part that did interest me is that as a reader you never find out if the events that took place were just due to the harmful imaginations and beliefs of the people, or due to actual supernatural circumstances. It opens up a bunch of theories.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 10, 2025
It probably seems like a form of heresy, but to date I have not yet seen the film. This novelization, completed years later, was therefore my first visit to Chapel Folding. As such, it provided a completely new experience for me, for I had little notion of what actually took place in the story.
Thanks to its medium, the novel offers us insights into the thinking of the characters in the story, making it clear that the village had already become a tinder box of competing animosities before the evil that lay hidden beneath the ground was laid bare. In some respects, it becomes a classic example of a witch-frenzy, with the only anomaly being that this takes place after the last of the major witch-hunts. (The circumstances of Salem, Massachusetts are specifically referenced in the story as a feature of the past.)
The story is highly entertaining, if at times it feels a bit anecdotal: a chance occurrence unleashes the evil, which has a way of seizing even those who would resist it as long as even casual contact facilitates the growth of "the Devil's skin." Those drawn into the being's orbit exhibit ever more monstrous behavior until the authorities can no longer ignore it.
As an early contributor to the lore we now call "Folk Horror," this story can be a bit idiosyncratic in comparison with other stories in the subgenre; still, it plays an important role in that field and fans of Folk Horror are well advised to explore this story in one medium or the other.
Thanks to its medium, the novel offers us insights into the thinking of the characters in the story, making it clear that the village had already become a tinder box of competing animosities before the evil that lay hidden beneath the ground was laid bare. In some respects, it becomes a classic example of a witch-frenzy, with the only anomaly being that this takes place after the last of the major witch-hunts. (The circumstances of Salem, Massachusetts are specifically referenced in the story as a feature of the past.)
The story is highly entertaining, if at times it feels a bit anecdotal: a chance occurrence unleashes the evil, which has a way of seizing even those who would resist it as long as even casual contact facilitates the growth of "the Devil's skin." Those drawn into the being's orbit exhibit ever more monstrous behavior until the authorities can no longer ignore it.
As an early contributor to the lore we now call "Folk Horror," this story can be a bit idiosyncratic in comparison with other stories in the subgenre; still, it plays an important role in that field and fans of Folk Horror are well advised to explore this story in one medium or the other.
May 28, 2025
Es curioso que tras tantos años Robert Wynne-Simmons, autor del guion de la película en los años 70, vuelva al mundo de Blood on Satan's Claw para escribir lo que viene a ser la novelización oficial. El resultado es interesante por su ampliación, tampoco exagerada, del mundo pero un poco decepcionante en cuanto a que muestra la gran contribución de Piers Haggard a la película.
Está claro que Wynne-Simmons es, sobre todo, un guionista. Sus descripciones son cortas, directas y funcionan, sus diálogos están bien... pero el ambiente no existe. Eso en algunas obras puede no ser un problema, pero en este caso es un defecto bastante notable. Despojados de la fatalidad y del misterio, los sucesos de la película a veces se convierten en poco más que una narración casi periodística, pero con el agravante de que no parece esto una decisión estilística, sino una limitación.
Si eres un fan de la película, como es mi caso, es recomendable por poner nombre al pueblo y a algunos personajes, mostrar un poco las ideas del guionista... pero si no es una obra bastante ignorable.
Está claro que Wynne-Simmons es, sobre todo, un guionista. Sus descripciones son cortas, directas y funcionan, sus diálogos están bien... pero el ambiente no existe. Eso en algunas obras puede no ser un problema, pero en este caso es un defecto bastante notable. Despojados de la fatalidad y del misterio, los sucesos de la película a veces se convierten en poco más que una narración casi periodística, pero con el agravante de que no parece esto una decisión estilística, sino una limitación.
Si eres un fan de la película, como es mi caso, es recomendable por poner nombre al pueblo y a algunos personajes, mostrar un poco las ideas del guionista... pero si no es una obra bastante ignorable.
September 21, 2023
It's difficult not to compare the book to the film, but the story easily translates between the two mediums. The film's visceral power is reeled in a little, as it seems Wynne-Simmons has had plenty of time to marinate his characters and themes. A quiet sense of foreboding permeates the majority of the book as the narrative rattles along, at times a little too quickly; a bit more of what life was like before Ralph plowed that field, or how the villagers understood the Old Ways, could have enriched the events that unfold.
My favourite part of the book was how Wynne-Simmons contrasts pastoral imagery with the rot and decay of the land beneath the green and pleasant surface. There is something typically English in that dichotomy and a closer reading might reveal a more topical subtext.
My favourite part of the book was how Wynne-Simmons contrasts pastoral imagery with the rot and decay of the land beneath the green and pleasant surface. There is something typically English in that dichotomy and a closer reading might reveal a more topical subtext.
October 24, 2024
A fantastic read for lovers of folk horror. The writer also wrote the screenplay for the movie that came out in 1971. He was able to expand on the movie in this book, fleshing it out (ha!) with more details and vision.
Unlike some folk horror novels, this keeps a nice steady pace and rhythm, keeping the horror just under the skin (snicker), popping up with more often. It also is a traditional folk horror novel, with the landscape taking a major role and revealing only what is necessary for the characters and the plot as its needed, rather than overdoing exposition or talking at the start.
I’ve watched the movie, listened to the audio adaptation, and have now read the book. This is my favorite of the trio, but recommend doing them all.
Unlike some folk horror novels, this keeps a nice steady pace and rhythm, keeping the horror just under the skin (snicker), popping up with more often. It also is a traditional folk horror novel, with the landscape taking a major role and revealing only what is necessary for the characters and the plot as its needed, rather than overdoing exposition or talking at the start.
I’ve watched the movie, listened to the audio adaptation, and have now read the book. This is my favorite of the trio, but recommend doing them all.
April 19, 2025
The Blood on Satan's Claw is a 1971 British folk horror film, and part of what is known as the 'unholy trinity' of the genre, along with The Wicker Man and Witchfinder General. Robert Wynne-Simmons, the screenwriter of the original film, revisits one of his most well known works in the guise of this novelisation, and what a cracking read it is. It follows the exploits of those who reside in Chapel Folding, where something devilish is stirring. Soon, the children of the town begin to fall under the influence of a beast, with their victims sprouting strange fur and a penchant for evil worship. It's classic folk horror and a lot of fun, and Wynne's prose is simple yet effective as he moves from one plot beat to the next. Will definitely have to check out the film now.
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