Blood on Satan's Claw

An Audible Original Drama

By: Mark Morris - adapter, Piers Haggard, Robert Wynne-Simmons

Narrated by: Mark Gatiss, Reece Shearsmith, Thomas Turgoose, Alice Lowe, Ralph Ineson, Rebecca Ryan

Gold Winner for Best Drama Special at the 2018 New York Festivals® International Radio Awards.

Seventeenth-century England, and a plough uncovers a grisly skull in the furrows of a farmer's field. The skull disappears, but its malefic influence begins to work in insidious ways upon the nearby village of Hexbridge. First, the cows stop milking and the fruit turns rotten on the trees. Then, an insolent ungodliness takes hold of the local children, mysterious fur patches appear on limbs and people start disappearing....

Something evil is stirring in the woods. Something that is corrupting the village youth, who retreat to the woodland deeps to play their pernicious games. Hysteria spreads as it becomes clear that the devil has come to Hexbridge, to incarnate himself on earth. Can the villagers, led by the Squire Middleton (Mark Gatiss) and Reverend Fallowfield (Reece Shearsmith), prevent the devil gaining human form?

This digital audio exclusive stars Mark Gatiss and Reece Shearsmith, alongside the original film's Angel Blake, Linda Hayden. Gatiss and Shearsmith are both huge fans of the original film, even recording a commentary for the DVD release.

An Audible Original drama adapted from the original screenplay by horror writer Mark Morris, Blood on Satan's Claw stars Mark Gatiss (Sherlock, Doctor Who, The League of Gentlemen), Reece Shearsmith (The League of Gentlemen), Alice Lowe (Sightseers, Prevenge), John Heffernan (Ripper Street, Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell), Ralph Ineson (The Witch, The Office), Thomas Turgoose (This Is England), Rebecca Ryan (Shameless) and Philip Hill-Pearson (Good Cop).

©1971 Tigon Pictures Ltd (P)2017 Audible, Ltd

Critic reviews

"What marks out Blood On Satan’s Claw as a truly credible piece of audio drama is the atmospheric yet unintrusive score by Edwin Sykes and the evocative sound design by Simon Robinson, which transplants you straight into this bucolic, sinister environment from the first crowing of birds as they wheel in the evening sky as something inhuman is unearthed by the farmer’s plough." ( We Are Cult)

"The story is a rare example of diving headlong into the action done right. It spends little time establishing the status quo prior to its disruption, but instead gives a general impression of what it might have been prior to the supernatural horrors which stalk the land. While in many cases this could have been abrupt, the audio drama uses a strong cast and a building sense of dread to hook the listener very early on ... The excellent sound design and voice acting is really what helps to convey the story’s atmospheric strength, and the script knows when to let them take the heavy lifting when it comes to drama. Between this and the excellent sound effects, it manages to outshine its source material in moments of true terror ... It’s easily one of the best adaptations Audible Studios have made to date, and a must-buy for any fan of quintessentially English horror." ( Starburst)

"If you're a fan of classic horror, then The League of Gentlemen's Mark Gatiss and Reece Shearsmith have a treat in store for you." ( Digital Spy)

“Heartily recommended for a long cold winter’s night. 9/10” (Paul Simpson, SFB)

Awesome mind getaway!

Great, fun little adventure. LOVED it. What a great performance. So immersive! Worth a listen.

Short and scary

The characters are very well executed and acted and the story is very well written, set in older times but still I found it quite scary. Really enjoyed it!

Short but horrified

Makes you feel you are witnessing how evil opens its presents. Amazing casting! Very well done! They say some gifts comes in small packages, and this one is one of those. Very good story! Must have in library.

Loved this because of the narrator's tones.

The narrator's were great and made the story scary by the way they told it.

Old Time Radio Production

Great voices in an 1800s setting. Good Vs evil, well sort of. Not frightening to me but probably a good young adult story.

The League of Gentlemen go full horror

I had been a fan of the movie for some years (a great example of the folk horror genre) and knew that it had been an influence on the League of Gentlemen team -- they even did a commentary for the recent Blu-Ray re-release. Having them now partake in a reimagined audio version is a sheer joy! The entire cast is phenomenal (including Linda Hayden from the original film) and deliver excellent performances.

The story itself adheres closely to the original, but places (understandably) more emphasis on the dialogue between characters. As such, there are some great new lines ("Do you like my crown? It's made of things that grow!") and the horror placed in the realm of the imagination, rather than wonky 1970s special effects.

This is highly recommended to fans of the League, or of horror in general. In the wake of a folk horror renaissance, it's nice to have this reminder of its roots.

Problematic Tropes but a Spooky Woods Devil!

This was easy to enjoy while at work because of the full cast narration. It makes the plot and action very clear and comprehendible. It also has a spooky vibe similar to "The Witch" folk horror movie, but unfortunately it includes many damaging tropes. It has lots of gender stereotyping, and as other reviewers pointed out, the church and its narratives are far more likely to be the evil force upon people. So, making the church and its men the good guys reenforces problematic propaganda that harms people in reality. If you're aware that this story is going to have some backwards nonsense and you're in the mood for a folk horror, you'll still like this one.

Good story, lots of screaming

When I say lots of screaming, I mean elongated bouts of screaming, most fairly anticipated, about every 3-5 minutes.
Good story, rough to follow at times, but really easy to catch back up.

Another great story from a great studio

These narrators really do a great job. The story is original and is very suspenseful. Worth the time to listen to it.

Pretty good story

I really enjoyed the performance. The story was a bit weak but the voice actors made up for it.