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Blood on Satan's Claw  By  cover art

Blood on Satan's Claw

By: Mark Morris - adapter, Piers Haggard, Robert Wynne-Simmons
Narrated by: Mark Gatiss, Reece Shearsmith, Thomas Turgoose, Alice Lowe, Ralph Ineson, Rebecca Ryan
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Publisher's summary

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)

What listeners say about Blood on Satan's Claw

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    5 out of 5 stars

It was great but

This was a wonderful story. The different characters and sound effects it was perfect. If I had any complaints it would be the bit of confusion I had without the narrative like where they were, at times I wondered who was speaking. Nonetheless I loved it. It was great I just wish it were longer.

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13 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Satanic Horror at it's best!

This audio adaptation of Blood on Satan's Claw is as enjoyable to listen to as the film was to watch. This is a creepy tale that begins in the furrows of a ploughed field and leads to demonic possession of school children in a rural 17th Century English village, with plenty of supernatural happenings along the way. The acting and sound production are top notch and Blood on Satan's Claw is probably best listened to with the lights on, as this is a story dripping with a creepy macabre atmosphere.

This is an audio drama and not a narrated audiobook but the performances from the whole cast are superb and they bring this good old fashioned horror tale to life in this well produced 'Audible Original' dramatisation.

Blood on Satan's Claw is highly recommended for anyone who likes a scary horror story at bedtime.

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10 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

A decent production of a puritanical mess

Maybe I was just in the wrong mood for this fundamentalist proto MRA business about lying, sexy, devil-women making false rape accusations against innocent, heroic clergymen. I like horror stuff and demon stuff, but this is so exactly what actual people actually believed during the Satanic Panic, or Qanon as it is known today, that I felt too grossed out by the moralism to enjoy the ritual murder. Remember, kids, Satan is not real and can't hurt you! But the church is real, and it can. The church has a much stronger record of organized abuse than Satan has ever had.

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8 people found this helpful

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    2 out of 5 stars
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Great Performance

...but a hard to follow story with too much drama and not enough substance. Character formulation was all wrong for me..save your credit.

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2 people found this helpful

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    4 out of 5 stars
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Fun little story

The cast really brought this to life. The story was decent, nothing too special, but the performance was what made it really interesting.

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2 people found this helpful

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Blood on Satan’s Claw Indeed

This was a fantastic audio drama of a classic horror story. The cast was fantastic and the production was outstanding. A first rate effort all around. Filled with music, sound effects but no narration, this eerie story progressed to a shocking climax. I was not familiar with this work before. Mark Gatiss led a stellar cast.

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2 people found this helpful

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    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Almost great

The Northern English Accent gives it a great feel.

The quality of production top notch.

There was suspense but could have been really horrifying if the identity of the evil was kept a mystery longer.

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    1 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars
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Abandon Ship

Holy cow is this story so poorly aged and not at all ripe for adaptation. Forgive me, but in the year of our lord 2021, a story that pivots on an underage girl making up rape allegations against a preacher... Not really what the zeitgeist is calling for.

The performances in this run the gamut of "over doing it" to "just kind of annoying". Really kind of damning to a performance when I find someone's voice so annoying that I am eager for the cult to just hurry up and kill him so his whining will end. I gave the production 2 stars because the presence of a full cast is something to applaud even if I did not enjoy the execution, I appreciate the attempt.

I was not prepared for how much I would dislike this. Just terrible.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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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.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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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.

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