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. The screenplay for the film was originally written by Robert Wynne-Simmons as an anthology of horror stories set in a small village, and had the working title of Satan's Skin. After director Haggard was hired for the project, he and Wynne-Simmons reworked the screenplay into a singular cohesive narrative. Principal photography took place in 1970, mainly in the Chiltern Hills region of England. Bait the Dog: Margaret is rescued from drowning by Ralph, then taken in by his family and sheared of the mark of the beast. But she rejects his offer of redemptive kinship, tempts him to the coven with promises of sex, and is ultimately compelled to cooperate purely through fear.

Director Piers Haggard was hired to direct the project, and worked with Wynne-Simmons to retool the screenplay from its anthology format to a singular, cohesive narrative. [11] Summarizing the screenplay, Haggard commented in 2003:

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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. a b c Stafford, Jeff. "Blood on Satan's Claw". Turner Classic Movies. Archived from the original on 10 April 2014. 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 Blood on Satan's Claw Limited Edition Blu-ray". Blu-ray.com. 27 March 2019. Archived from the original on 19 September 2021.The Blood on Satan's Claw first received a VHS release in the United States in 1985 by Paragon Video Productions. [31] It was re-released in this format in 1993 by MGM Home Entertainment. [32] [33] In 2005, it was released by Anchor Bay Entertainment in a Region 2 box set along with several other Tigon British Film Distributors films, including Witchfinder General, The Beast in the Cellar, and others. [32]

a b c d Simpson, Michael (2003). "Piers Haggard interview". MJSimpson.co.uk. Archived from the original on 2 May 2013. Red Right Hand: Par the course for whoever so much as sees the bones. They grow patches of fur anywhere on their bodies, sometimes even claws.Put on a Bus: Rosalind is placed in a bedlam after nearly killing Isobel; Isobel is wounded and treated, but never shown again. Similarly, Peter doesn’t make any more appearances after he warns the judge about the coven. In a rural village in early 18th-century England, farmer Ralph Gower uncovers a deformed skull with one intact eye and strange fur. He insists that the local judge looks at it, but it mysteriously vanishes. The judge disregards the incident, crediting it to Ralph's superstitious fears. Meanwhile, Peter Edmonton brings his fiancee, Rosalind Barton, to meet his aunt, Mistress Banham, with whom the judge is staying. Mistress Banham and the judge disapprove of the match and arrange for Rosalind to sleep in a disused attic room. Rosalind begins screaming during the night and injures Banham when she investigates, causing her to fall mysteriously ill. Evans-Powell, David (2021). The Blood on Satan's Claw. Devils Advocates. Liverpool: Auteur Publishing. ISBN 978-1-800-34806-6.