Devils of Darkness

Centuries ago, a young Gypsy woman was killed by a strange and mysterious bat although she returns from the dead. In modern times, Count Sinistre and his paramour Tanya search for new victims. He leaves behind a golden relic in the shape of a bat with a snake. English guests in the village become entangled by the unknown and death waits for them. A vampire walks among them.  

This is a 1956 horror film from Pinewood studios, directed by Lance Comfort and stars includes William Sylvester, Carole Grey and Tracy Reed. The actor who played the Count Sinistre was nicknamed "Bert Christmas" by the English cast, because his name is Hubert Noel. The film makes reference to the 1675 book "Talismans: The Power of Magic" MDCLXXV.

Visually it looks quite gothic that includes a trendy 60's party with a snake dancer and an underground cult. For me it was a little boxy and lacklustre. It could've done with some atmosphere but others may enjoy it.  For rating, a dark strawberry:

Blood Strawberry 

Circle of Fear: The Phantom of Herald Square

 

Circle of Fear is a 1973 paranormal TV series, the second season of Ghost Story. The next episode is the final episode of the entire series, called "The Phantom of Herald Square" directed by James H. Brown and stars David Soul, Sheila Larkin and Murray Matheson.

A woman named Holly falls in love with a stranger called James. She's an art student and he takes an interest in her. Soon when things grow between them, James pulls back. Heart broken by his hot and cold behaviour, she wants to find out why but learning the truth is much more stranger and weirder than she could possibly imagine. An old man threatens her and she becomes even more suspicious about James.

This is more or less a  tragic love story and is the best episode of the second season. David Soul plays the character James, and the actor later went onto make successful tv shows like "Salem's Lot", "The Yellow Rose" and "Starsky and Hutch". Actress Sheila Larkin also worked with David Soul again and she appeared in one episode of "Starsky and Hutch" but she's also done work in "The X-Files" tv series playing the mother of FBI agent Dana Scully.

I rate this a nice shining strawberry.

Blood Strawberry 

Circle of Fear: The Ghost of Potter's Field

 Circle of Fear is a 1973 paranormal TV series, the second season of Ghost Story. The next episode is "The Ghost of Potter's Field" directed by Don McDougall and stars Tab Hunter, Louise Sorel and Gary Conway.

A reporter named Bob visits a grave of Potter's Field, and notices a person who looks exactly like him who disappears into thin air. Soon the phantom version of Bob keeps materialising and causing trouble, making noise, trouble and even trying to murder. Bob confides in his psychic girlfriend Nisa with knowledge of the unexplained. 

It's a doppelganger story and not scary but mysterious, sometimes weird. It's not the first time a similar story about doubles has been used. Nisa, played by Louise Sorel, has also been in "Sabrina, the Teenaged Witch" as Mrs Saberhagen and in "The Curse of Dracula" as Amanda Gibbons. Actor Ted Hunter, who played Bob, was a teen idol during the 50's. 

I rate this a double strawberry.

Blood Strawberry

Circle of Fear: Spare Parts

  

Circle of Fear is a 1973 paranormal TV series, the second season of Ghost Story. The next episode is "Spare Parts" directed by Charles S. Dubin and stars Susan Oliver, Christopher Connelly and Don Knight.

After the death of a doctor, his widow is invited to hospital by his colleague, where she learns that three patients are undergoing donated transplants. This was her husband's medicine, so things take a weird turn when the ghost of her husband haunts the patients.

Susan Oliver plays the tormented widow and she's played an Orion slave girl named Zita in "The Menagerie" episode of Star Trek series. The writer of this episode is Seeleg Lester, who also worked on "The Outer Limits" and "The Invisible Man". The director Charles S. Dubin has worked on "Starman", "Kung Fu" and "Tarzan".

I give this a ghostly strawberry

Blood Strawberry

Circle of Fear: The Graveyard Shift

 Circle of Fear is a 1973 paranormal TV series, the second season of Ghost Story. The next episode is "The Graveyard Shift" directed by Don McDougall and stars Patty Duke, John Astin and Joe Renteria.

A security guard hears strange noises during his late night work shift at an abandoned studio. The following night, he's convinced that a local gang of hoodlums were responsible, even though there are ghosts living and still working there. He locates the source of a noise coming from the youths but more mysteries remain.

The security guard and his wife were married in real life. There is a clip of the horror film "Dracula Has Risen From the Grave" by Hammer, found playing in a haunted cinema. Later there's a clip on a tv set at home of another Hammer horror film "Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed". All of the ghosts dress up in monster costumes, each that the actor Fred Colby (who plays the security guard) had played in various earlier horror films from the past. 

Episode is a little silly and deserves a childish strawberry

Blood Strawberry 

Circle of Fear: Legion of Demons

 Circle of Fear is a 1973 paranormal TV series, the second season of Ghost Story. The next episode is "Legion of Demons" directed by Paul Stanley and stars Shirley Knight, Jon Cypher and Neva Patterson.

A woman named Beth working in an office becomes worried about her friend Janet who doesn't return home from a meeting. After reporting her as missing, she has to return to work at the office as normal, but instead, she's offered to become Janet's replacement. Her move to the upstairs office and meeting her new colleagues seems all too nice and yet something is rotten.

This is quite a tense mystery with a few oddball characters but it seems that a lot of what's happening is part of Beth's own mental state. However, she's the only one who can hear things and is convinced her friend is stuck inside the cupboard. Also she's seen things nobody else can, including the gruesome hand in her desk drawer. Some elements are similar to "Rosemary's Baby" and also "The Wicker Man".

I rate this a diabolical strawberry

Blood Strawberry

Circle of Fear: Doorway to Death

 Circle of Fear is a 1973 paranormal TV series, the second season of Ghost Story. The next episode is "Doorway to Death" directed by Daryl Duke and stars Barry Nelson, Susan Dey and  Henry Jones.

A single father moves into a new apartment with his three kids, and all seems very normal at first. Then one of the kids sees a man in the upstairs window of the top flat, and goes to have a look. The top flat is empty, and yet the two younger children have visited their "neighbour" every day, and weird noises are going on. The eldest child is a teenager who has never seen the upstairs neighbour although weird sounds keeps them up each night.

Susan Dey is also the real life sister of Leif Garrett, who plays her brother. The story is about an unpleasant ghost of a murderer, who pretends to be a kind friendly neighbour. although there's nothing nice about him, He spends all of his time in a snowy land beyond the apartment carrying an axe, while there is a rotting corpse walled up in one of the rooms. His demands to meet the kid's older sister was full of red flags but the characters are way too curious. 

I rate this a cold wet blue strawberry.

Blood Strawberry

Circle of Fear: Earth, Air, Fire and Water

 Circle of Fear is a 1973 paranormal TV series, the second season of Ghost Story. The next episode is "Earth Air Fire and Water" directed by Alexander Singer and stars Frank Converse, Joan Blackman and Tim McIntire.

A bunch of artists rent a shop to make and sell their crafts. As the place just opened, they discover a chest full of coloured jars, and something else. They each take one jar and keep as a form of "mascot" to help them be stimulated or keen. Clearly the jars were feeding off from their energy and a lot more sinister things besides. There's an ancient curse and people start going missing.

Before she became famous in "Cagney and Lacy" Tyne Daly was in this playing one of the artists. A familiar face doesn't remove the creepiness of the story with its mysterious jars and other mysteries about the store, or the fate that happens to them. Whatever is going on is a force of evil. Just a little bit diabolical here and there, the episode is rather dull in other places.   

I give this jars of pastel strawberries!

Blood Strawberry

Circle of Fear: Dark Vengeance

Circle of Fear is a 1973 paranormal TV series, the second season of Ghost Story. The next episode is "Dark Vengeance" directed by Herschel Daugherty and stars Kim Darby, Martin Sheen and Shelly Novack. 

Frank works in construction and finds a mysterious box that he takes home. Unable to open it, his wife Cindy begins suffering nightmares about an eerie hobby horse. Once the box is opened, there's a toy horse inside that looks like the one in Cindy's dreams. Strange things happen and the toy horse seems to be growing in size and appears dangerous.

The idea of a toy horse for subject of a scary story is original and actually very creepy. Many people have claimed to be terrified of this episode. Usually memories of seeing it when they were children brands this being a very creepy episode. The "ghost" of the toy horse and it's powers is quite sinister, although many things needed known. 

I rate this a dark strawberry for giving out decent creepiness.

Blood Strawberry  

Circle of Fear: Death's Head

Circle of Fear is the second season of Ghost Story. The first episode is "Death's Head" directed by James Neilson and stars Janet Leigh, Gene Nelson and Rory Calhoun. 

A man named Steve is obsessed with insects, he mounts them and collects them. However, his wife Carol doesn't share his enthusiasm and she's much more interested in his friend and colleague named Larry. During a date together, Carol meets a strange woman who owns a shops full of herbs and potions. She gives Carol some special "ingredients" that will ensure her dreams. It doesn't turn out the way she wanted.

Ghost Story (season one) featured host Winston Essex played by Sabastian Cabot doesn't appear in the second season. The whole series changed from season two, from the title, the credits and music score. IMHO it was better with Winston Essex and his charismatic presence. In this particular episode the house was also used in the 1960's tv series "Bewitched". The director James Neilson has worked on Ghost Story before and he has also done work for Disney. 

This insect filled episode is rather moth eaten and gets a grey strawberry.

Blood Strawberry

Ghost Story: Time of Terror

 

This is a horror anthology TV series from the 1970's, originally named "Ghost Story" and later it changed the title to "Circle of Fear". Each episode has a different tale of the spooky kind, and sometimes nightmarish. It was hosted by a fictional gentleman character named Winston Essex, owner of a haunted hotel, who introduced the stories. The next episode is "Time of Terror" directed by Robert Day, and stars Sabastian Cabot, Patricia Neal and Craig Stevens.

A woman named Ellen has woken up to find that her husband has gone. She's in a big fancy hotel with a swimming pool and casino, where everyone is perfectly happy and drinks are freely given. Unable to locate her husband, she becomes wary when her husband's things have also gone and nobody can say why. The hotel becomes a strange place and she feels alone and incredibly lost. 

It must be pointed out that this is the last episode of season one, and things drastically change by season two, from the title from "Ghost Story" changing into "Circle of Fear" and the character Winston Essex no longer hosting each episode. The episode "Time of Terror" is based on the story "Travelling Companion" by Elizabeth Walter. The director of this episode Robert Day has also done work in horror films "Ritual of Evil" and "The Initiation of Sarah".

This episode was good deserving a hot and spicy strawberry.

Blood Strawberry

Ghost Story: Creatures of the Canyon

This is a horror anthology TV series from the 1970's, originally named "Ghost Story" and later it changed the title to "Circle of Fear". Each episode has a different tale of the spooky kind, and sometimes nightmarish. It was hosted by a fictional gentleman character named Winston Essex, owner of a haunted hotel, who introduced the stories. The next episode is "Creatures of the Canyon", directed by Walter Doniger, and stars Sabastian Cabot, Angie Dickinson and John Ireland.

There is a strange dog that appears everywhere to a woman, that doesn't behave normal. The dog was once owned by her late husband until it began displaying weird traits and aggressive behaviour. Then the dog was given to a creepy neighbour. Now this dog is harassing the widow and her own gentle dog every night but there's something supernatural going on.

Back in the 1970's it was considered fashionable to portray doberman pinscher dogs as hellhounds and they appeared in a lot of horror films. After this annoyingly scary dog was poisoned, there's still a dog harassing her. It makes for a lukewarm ghost story and doesn't explain much. I rate this a tepid and bruised purple strawberry.

Blood Strawberry