This episodes centres on 42 Colman Road, a semi-detached
house with a gruesome past that terrorises its new
occupants. In the opening sequence we see an old couple
in the kitchen drinking hot chocolate and relaxing when
the husband hacks his wife to death with one of the
ornamental knives that he takes from the wall. The new occupants, Mr. and Mrs. Peters (Nicholas Ball and Rachael David) move in with their young daughter but are soon subjected to a series of alarming events, including blood dripping from the daughters bedroom wall and the cat having its throat slashed.
The climax comes when the daughter is having a birthday party and opens one of her presents only to find the two knives used by the old man at the beginning of the story. Later in the party William Peters tries to fix a blockage in the house's water system. The pipes in the house start to vibrate loudly then suddenly the pipes break open through the ceiling and blood floods out all over the children at the party.
Mrs. Peters is admitted into hospital suffering a nervous breakdown. Jean and George Evans (Pat Maynard and Brian Croucher) are friendly neighbours and go to visit her only to find she left in the middle of the night
The story ends showing William and Emma Peters relaxing beside a pool of an LA mansion. William apologises to Emma for putting her through such an ordeal, but says it was worth it for the payment they received from Mr. Powers, the so-called estate agent who wrote a book all about the house that bled to death and made a fortune selling the movie rights.
The closing sequence shows William and Emma's daughter opening an old suitcase in which we see the knitting needles, the doll and the knives. William and Emma are in bed, when in walks their Sophie. William tells her to get out, but Sophie just walks up to him and then lashes down with one of the ornamental knives. A splash of blood hits Emma.
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| William Peters Nicholas Ball |
Emma Peters Rachael Davis |
Sophie Peters Emma Ridley |
Jean Evans Pat Maynard |
George Evans Brian Croucher Also known for his roles as Space Commander Travis in Blakes 7 and as Ted in Eastenders |
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| A. J. Powers Milton Johns |
Old Man George Tovey |
Old Woman Una Brandon-Jones |
Journalist Max Mason |
Journalist Anna Perry |
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| 1st Mother Jo Warne |
2nd Mother Sarah Keller |
Sister Marilyn Finlay |
Production details for The House That Bled to Death
| Script David Lloyd |
Director Tom Clegg |
11th October 1980 (UK ITV)
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| 42 Colman Road | The opening sequence in which the old man kills his wife | The knives | The bloody severed hand in fridge | Newspaper cutting of murder |
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| Sophie gets a knife for a birthday present | Whats that noise ? | Blood everywhere | The Peters in LA | Sophie has an idea |
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| The final shot | Video clip of the bloody party scene |
Film locations used in The House That Bled to Death
The house used was in Chairborough Road High Wycombe (the actual house number is known but not declared to protect the privacy of this residential address). Thanks to Nikki who actually lived in the house used for the Evans' house. She has kindly provided these unique photographs taken by herself during filming of this episode !
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| Nicholas Ball during a pause between filming | Shooting a scene | A small crowd watch the filming |
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