Description

In 1795, after moving to her fiancé Charles Fengriffen’s family estate, Catherine experiences visions of an undead corpse with a heavily birthmarked face, empty eye sockets and a severed right hand. On her wedding night, she is attacked and raped by an evil spirit in her bedroom at Fengriffen House. Later, she is disturbed to encounter Silas, a woodsman who lives in a nearby lodge and has a birthmark identical to the corpse’s. Charles and others are reluctant to tell her anything about Silas, and those who try to answer her questions are killed in bizarre circumstances: Maitland, Charles’ solicitor, is hacked to death with an axe; Mrs Luke, the housemaid, is thrown down the stairs; and Aunt Edith, Catherine’s chaperone, is strangled by the severed hand, which then vanishes.

Announcing that Catherine is pregnant, physician Dr Whittle urges Charles to tell her the story of the estate’s dark past. Charles refuses, believing it to be nothing more than a legend. Deciding that Catherine’s visions are the result of mental disorder, he instead sends for psychiatrist Dr Pope. Pope approaches the mystery with an open mind and almost forces the truth out of Whittle, but before Whittle can speak, the hand re‑materialises, strangles him, and vanishes again.