Cast: Dana Andrews, Peggy Cummins, Niall MacGinnis, Maurice Denham, Athene Seyler, Liam Redmond, Reginald Beckwith, Ewan Roberts, Peter Elliot, Rosamund Greenwood, Brian Wilde, Richard Leech, Lloyd Lamble, Peter Hobbes, Charles Loyd-Pack, John Salew
Professor Henry Harrington (Denham) is pursued by a supernatural entity while driving home and meets a horrible death. Dr. John Holden (Andrews), an American psychologist, travels to London to attend a symposium on the paranormal. He learns that his colleague, Professor Harrington, has died in an accident and meets his niece Joanna (Cummins). Holden meets other experts planning to attend the symposium where he intends to expose a claimed paranormal expert, Dr. Julian Karswell (MacGinnis), as a fraud. Joanna suggests that Karswell had something to do with Professor Harrington’s death. Holden discounts Karswell as a charlatan and continues his preparations for the symposium. While Holden is doing research at the library, Dr. Karswell approaches him and, unnoticed, inserts a piece of parchment among his papers. Holden and Joanna visit Karswell at his estate. Cultured and charismatic, Karswell performs magic tricks for a group of children and, displaying some disturbing powers, warns Holden off. Holden is undeterred, but then strange experiences, noises and physical discomforts similar to those Professor Harrington had encountered before his death, begin to make him wary. Holden finds the parchment Karswell slipped among his papers and learns its runic inscription is a curse. With Joanna’s help, Holden must deal with a demonic menace or face a ghastly death. Based on the story Casting the Runes by Montague R. James.
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