A young college student arrives in a sleepy Massachusetts town to research witchcraft; during her stay at an eerie inn, she discovers a startling secret about the town and its inhabitants.
A young coed (Nan Barlow) uses her winter vacation to research a paper on witchcraft in New England. Her professor recommends that she spend time in a small village named Whitewood, his hometown, and also recommends that she stay at the "Raven's Inn" run by Mrs. Newless. When she arrives at Whitewood, she notices macabre happenings, and soon things really start happening in earnest, and she finds herself "marked" for sacrifice by the coven of undead witches. It seems that the innkeeper is actually the undead spirit of Elizabeth Selwyn, and the "guests" at the inn are the other witches who have come to celebrate the sacrifice on Candlemas Eve; as Nan walks away, one of them says, "HE will be PLEASED."—John A Kostecki <[email protected]>
On 3 March 1692, in Whitewood, Massachusetts, a witch named Elizabeth Selwyn is sentenced to be burned at the stake, and her partner Jethrow Keane asks Lúcifer to save her. About 300 years later, college student Nan Barlow decides to spend her vacation in the town to research witchcraft. Her professor Alan Driscoll suggests Nan to lodge in the Raven's Inn, managed by Mrs. Newless. Once in the village, naive Nan is advised by the local priest, Reverend Russell, to immediately leave the place, where the devil has ruled over for 300 years, but she decides to stay--and finds that she is in a coven of evil witches. Nan vanishes, and the granddaughter of Reverend Russell, Patricia Russell, pays a visit to Nan's skeptical brother Richard Barlow and her boyfriend Bill Maitland, and they decide to follow her steps. Once in New England, they realize that a group of immortal witches must sacrifice two beautiful women per year, one on Candlemans Eve on February 1, and the other on the Witch Sabbath, to stay alive forever, and only the shadow of a cross would be able to destroy them.—Claudio Carvalho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
In 1692, accused witch Elizabeth Selwyn (Patricia Jessel) is burned at the stake in Whitewood Massachusetts. She appeals to compatriot Jethrow Keane (Valentine Dyall) for help, and Lucifer intercedes, causing a rainstorm. Cut to the modern day, where History Professor Alan Driscoll (Christopher Lee) is regaling his class with tales of witchcraft in New England. Student Nan Barlow (Venetia Stevenson) decides to study the subject further, over the objections of boyfriend & fellow-student Bill Maitland (Tom Naylor) and her brother & Science Professor Richard Barlow (Dennis Lotis). Driscoll sends Nan to Whitewood (his hometown it turns out), where she meets Innkeeper Mrs. Newless (Patricia Jessel), Jethrow Keane, a mute servant girl who tries to warn her, the blind local reverend and his granddaughter Patricia Russell (Betta St. John). Nan gets murdered by the coven of witches, Maitland and brother Richard get suspicious and follow up, eventually destroying the coven, which practices human sacrifice in exchange for immortal life. In the end, Mrs Newless is revealed as the charred Elizabeth Selwyn, finally fulfilling her fate to be burned at the stake.
