No sooner has Mark Eden predicted that Karloff would pop up in the creepy mansion he's visiting (searching for his brother who disappeared after sending him a note on the castlesc stationary) than he does! The wheelchair bound Karloff, having haunted more houses than actual ghosts, is a minor supporting charachter here, playing a castle resident who is a historian, he claims, of the past, present and future, and gives Eden both facts and warnings about the evening he's spending there. Having already joined forces with fellow horror film legends Bela Lugosi, Vincent Price, Peter Lorre, Basil Rathbone and Lionel Atwill, now shares the screen with two other legends of the genre, Christopher Lee and Michael Gough.
While Lee and Karloff are top billed, the real lead is Eden, walking in on a yearly ceremony surrounding the burning death of witch Barbara Steele, seen here in flashbacks and nightmares as the green body painted , horn helmuted evil enchantress. She haunts Eden as he tries to solve the mystery of his brother's disappearance, with Gough claiming that the brother is dead. This isn't so much scary as it is erotic, utilizing gratuitous nudity to sell seats. Virginia Wetherell gets to bare quite a bit as Lee's niece, aiding Eden and accused of betraying the family which obviously has its share of secrets. A fairly spooky atmosphere makes this only slightly more interesting with a potentially eerie plot that really goes nowhere and concludes with a weak finale.
While Lee and Karloff are top billed, the real lead is Eden, walking in on a yearly ceremony surrounding the burning death of witch Barbara Steele, seen here in flashbacks and nightmares as the green body painted , horn helmuted evil enchantress. She haunts Eden as he tries to solve the mystery of his brother's disappearance, with Gough claiming that the brother is dead. This isn't so much scary as it is erotic, utilizing gratuitous nudity to sell seats. Virginia Wetherell gets to bare quite a bit as Lee's niece, aiding Eden and accused of betraying the family which obviously has its share of secrets. A fairly spooky atmosphere makes this only slightly more interesting with a potentially eerie plot that really goes nowhere and concludes with a weak finale.