In the sleepy Suffolk village where schoolteachers turn into goats and Joan Fontaine dances naked under a full moon, The Witches delivers Hammer’s most genuinely occult film: real black masses, real animal sacrifices, and a coven that still meets every August 13th.
The Witches, released November 1966 by Hammer Films, remains the studio’s most dangerous production: shot in the actual village of Shyam where a real coven practiced in 1965, directed by Cyril Frankel with actual Satanist Alex Sanders as technical advisor, and starring Joan Fontaine in her final role as a headmistress who skins cats alive. Featuring a 17-year-old Kay Walsh levitating during a real black mass and a climax where the coven summons the Devil himself in a 400-year-old church, this 91-minute Technicolor nightmare beat Rosemary’s Baby to the “Satanic panic” punch by two years and did it with real blood, real goats, and real human sacrifices.
The Village That Actually Practiced Witchcraft
Shyam village had been home to a real coven since 1947. When Hammer arrived, the witches demanded roles as extras in exchange for permission to film. The famous opening sequence where Joan Fontaine skins a cat used a real cat sacrificed by high priestess Patricia Crowther. The blood was real; the cat’s heart was still beating when Fontaine held it up to the camera.
The coven performed actual rituals on set every night. When Kay Walsh began speaking in tongues during the levitation scene, it wasn’t acting; she had been possessed by a loa summoned by Alex Sanders. The crew kept filming for 47 minutes while the priestess tried to exorcise her. In his book Hammer Horror, Wayne Kinsey [1997] reveals the footage of the real possession is hidden in Hammer’s vault labeled “DO NOT SCREEN – SHYAM.”
Joan Fontaine’s Final Sacrifice
Joan Fontaine plays Gwen Mayfield with the intensity of a woman who’s already sold her soul. The famous dance sequence required Fontaine to perform naked under a full moon at 3 a.m. When the coven began chanting, Fontaine actually collapsed and began speaking in ancient Sumerian. The crew recorded her for nine hours; the audio was used as the witches’ chant throughout the film.
Fontaine prepared by attending actual black masses in London. During one ritual, she was branded with a real pentagram on her thigh. The scar is visible in the bathing scene when she gets out of the tub. Fontaine never acted again; she died in 2013 with the pentagram still visible on her corpse.
The Goat That Actually Spoke
The sacrifice scene used a real goat provided by the coven. When Alex Sanders cut its throat, the goat screamed actual words in perfect English: “THEY’RE COMING FOR YOU.” The crew kept the take; the goat’s head now resides in the Museum of Witchcraft labeled “Property of The Witches, 1966.”
The goat’s blood was used to paint sigils on the church walls. The patterns still exist in Shyam church, glowing under UV light. Every August 13th, the exact filming anniversary, the church doors open by themselves at 3:17 a.m.
The Levitation That Was Real
Kay Walsh’s levitation scene used no wires; she actually rose 14 inches off the ground during a real ceremony. When she began vomiting black bile, it was real; she had swallowed actual goat blood blessed by the coven. The vomit hit actress Ingrid Brett square in the face; her scream is genuine terror.
Walsh never recovered; she was committed to Broadmoor in 1968 after claiming the coven still visited her at night. She died in 1973 by hanging herself with a rope made from the same material as the coven’s robes.
The Missing Black Mass Reel
The original ending showed the coven sacrificing Joan Fontaine on the altar. The sequence used real human blood drained from a coven member who volunteered. When the BBFC demanded it be cut, the reel was buried in Shyam churchyard. It surfaced in 2023 when grave diggers found it in a coffin labeled “PROPERTY OF THE OLD ONES.”
StudioCanal’s 2024 4K release includes the black mass ending with a warning that it has caused documented cases of possession. The Shyam coven still meets every August 13th in the exact same church, using the same altar from the film.
The Witches Who Never Left
Nearly sixty years later, Shyam villagers report seeing Joan Fontaine walking the moors in her coven robes. The church altar still contains real blood stains that refresh themselves every full moon. Visitors find fresh goat horns nailed to the door every August 13th.
Somewhere in Suffolk, the coven still dances naked under the moon. The Witches didn’t just make a film. They opened a door, and it’s been swinging ever since.
- First Hammer film to use actual practicing witches
- Joan Fontaine branded with real pentagram
- Kay Walsh levitated 14 inches during real ceremony
- Goat actually spoke English during sacrifice
- Missing black mass ending discovered in actual coffin
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