Thriller s01e07 - A Place To Die

[michaellevenson]

Bruce and Tessa Nelson, newly weds arrive in a charming village to start their new life. He is a doctor and is taking over the General Practice of the now deceased Dr Henry Sharpe who sadly died falling down stairs and broke his neck.
The surgery is in an annexe of the house itself, and Tessa and Bruce enter the property, Tessa is limping and is using a walking stick, the result of a skiing accident on their honeymoon.
As they look in the living room a middle-aged lady enters, she is Bess Tarling the housekeeper. After introductions Bess notices Tessa's foot, bandaged, she looks in awe at her, and says welcome to the village Doctor, you and your moonpale moongold lady. In walks a young lady, Bess introduces her as Jill , her niece, and that she's been staying here since Dr Sharpe passed away, but can go straight away if need be. Tessa says of course Jill can stay as long as she wants. Bess says she'll be gone by tomorrow anyway as it's Lady Day. A puzzled Bruce and Tessa look at each other.

In the village store, the residents are going about their business when Bess runs in excitedly claiming, " she's here, the Lady, moongold moonpale with a limping on the left foot as was prophesied."
Everyone is stunned by this news, the schoolmistress Nan , a learned lady, is not so sure, sometimes the heart sees what it wants to. Burt the storekeeper is convinced, Lady Day this year coincides with the full moon, it must be her.
Into the shop runs Nick, a pleasant looking young man, he is jumping for joy , laughing, but no sound is emanating from his mouth, he is mute. Everyone congratulates Nick on the news, his Day has come!

 

[michaellevenson]

Bruce enters the surgery waiting room on the first day, the room is packed with villagers, all of them have walking sticks and limp with the left foot. Truth is as they admit themselves there's nothing wrong with any of them, they just want to pay their respects to the new doctor and of course his wife. Later Tessa enters the store, everyone hushed as she enters, Nan introduces her to everyone and then Tessa produces her shopping list. Everyone is so friendly, Burt offers ridiculous knock down prices for her , and Nick offers to take the shopping home for her. It's all packed in a cardboard box, and Nick picks it up and follows Tessa home.
At the end of the day, Tessa and Bruce are getting ready for bed , tired but happy with their new life. Bruce explains about all the villagers limping, he says in a community like this, relatively cut off, there's probably generations of in- breeding and a foot deformity has been passed down, and it's probably seen as a mark of shame, which explains why none of them would let him examine their feet.
Bruce puts away a pair of socks in the dresser and discovers the draw won't shut, on examining why he discovers a bundle of letters, tied with a rubber band shoved at the back of the drawer. A close look reveals that oddly they are letters from Dr Sharpe , all stamped but never posted. Bruce says he'll send them to the executors of Sharpe's estate. As Tessa and Bruce settle down to sleep, outside a tree overhangs the bedroom window, Nick is up the tree leering in at them.

 

[michaellevenson]

The next day Tessa finds an old surgical bag that belonged to Dr Sharpe , Bruce looks inside interested as he is short a few instruments, inside they find a bible and a crucifix. In the kitchen Tessa finds a string of garlic hanging up in a cupboard, and when Nick enters the kitchen once again having carried the shopping from the store, Tessa asks Nick why did Dr Sharpe keep garlic. Nick presses his finger to his lips as if saying that question should not be asked.


At the store Burt the storekeeper tells Bess that's it's just as well she has her niece Jill here, as she'll be perfect for Lady Day. Burt's wife Jane is there, different in attitude to any of the villagers, she seems totally intimidated by Burt, weak willed and snivelling. She says she doesn't like what's happening, Burt tells her to stop snivelling, if she wants no part in it , fine.
In the kitchen there is a huge old fashioned stove and oven, an Aga, and Tessa opens the oven and sees something in it, she reaches in and pulls out a wooden doll. The face is of an old man with realistic hair on top of it, Tessa looks at it thinking what an ugly thing, the head of the doll suddenly falls forward as if having a broken neck.
Agitated she runs with the doll into the surgery into Bruce's office, he is with a patient, who says Old Man Benjamin makes them for the kiddies.
That evening Tessa is still upset by the doll, Bruce says Dr Sharpe was a crotchety old man and probably the doll was left by a kid, Sharpe didn't like it and threw it in the Aga, end of story.
In the middle of the night Tessa wakes Bruce up again agitated , Bruce is furious, Tessa has opened one of Dr Sharpe's letters, which he says is immoral and illegal. Apparently written to someone called Oliver, Sharpe was extremely worried, desperate even. Tessa wants to open more of these letters to find out why he was so worried. Bruce says perhaps he had money troubles, and anyway it's none of their business.

 

[michaellevenson]

The next day Lob the gamekeeper is having his shoulder examined by Bruce, who tells him the pain he's getting is an occupational hazard from being a gamekeeper using a shotgun regularly. Bruce asks what did Sharpe prescribe for the pain, Lob tells him he never told Dr Sharpe, he didn't like him, no one did, he was too nosey by half.
Later, it's about an hour to midnight and Bess has brought Jill to the shop. Jill puzzled as she sees all the villagers here at this ungodly hour. An old lady presents Jill with flower petals which she places in Jill's hand, another lady holds up a bright yellow dress for her to wear , Nan the schoolmistress says she should wear it as she comes before the bride. The next time we see Jill she is mud splattered, dress ripped running through dense woods being chased by villagers in fancy dress, one leading the chase wearing a goat's head costume. Jill comes to a clearing in the woods, cut in the face by thorns and bracken, she turns and screams in horror.

 

[michaellevenson]

A phone call awakes Tessa and Bruce in bed, it's the police, they need Bruce to accompany them, someone has reported a dead body in the woods.
Later Bruce and a uniformed officer are staring down at the body of Jill, dead ,and head shaved. Bruce is appalled that this could happen here, the policeman says it's identical to a killing this same date last year, a young woman , found in the woods head shaved and mutilated.
At the house Tessa is alone when she hears a knock on the back door she opens it, no one there, but someone has left a pottery jug. She brings it in, puzzled by it, there's no way of opening it it's totally sealed, so she holds it over the sink and smashes it open, out comes blood and blonde hair! She screams and runs out into the living room, Nick is there, dressed in top hat and suit he beckons Tessa to follow him, she refuses, goes to the sideboard and picks up the crucifix and asks Nick why did Dr Sharpe keep this, Nick reacts in terror to the crucifix.

Bess comes in and explains Nick has come to take her to the ceremony at the shop. Tessa says she's not going to any ceremony without her husband, Bess laughs, "husband? Which one?"
Tessa runs into the surgery, all the villagers are there, Tessa screams at them to get out. Nan says she's just nervous poor thing, after all she is The Lady. Nan instructs Lob to hold her and to pour the cordial down her throat.

 

[michaellevenson]

Bruce returns home, sees the bed empty and looks for Tessa, he goes into the kitchen and sees the blood and hair in the sink, " oh my God!!"

At the store a religious ceremony is starting, Burt dressed in a black robe is conducting it, on the floor is a chalk pentagram, on the wall a painting of a goat's head, black with horns. Jane looks on nervously and unseen creeps out of the shop.


Nick arm in arm with Tessa stand on the pentagram, Tessa drugged unable to exercise free will. Burt finger dipped in blood from a chicken that has its throat cut, marks Tessa's forehead with an inverted crucifix sign.


The whole village is there. Suddenly Burt stops and shouts, " where's my wife, where's Jane?"
Jane has slipped out crying and heading for the surgery. Lob takes over the ceremony as Burt armed with shotgun leaves.
Bruce has run up to the bedroom and grabs Dr Sharpe's letters and tears one open and reads. Sharpe tells Oliver in the letter that he had discovered a tradition of devil worship in the village going back centuries. The village is waiting for a prophesy to be fulfilled. When Lady Day coincides with the full moon a bride of Satan will arrive she will be moongold moonpale and limp with the left foot. She will marry Satan and then accept death at his hands in return for satanic powers for the village. This is all nonsense says Sharpe, this bride of Satan will simply never show up, but worryingly the tradition is when Lady Day coincides with the full moon a fair haired girl must be sacrificed whether the bride of Satan turns up or not.
Sharpe finishes the letter saying that the villagers have guessed his knowledge, and he found a doll with a broken neck , he tried to burn it but it would not burn.

At the store the " wedding " of Tessa and Nick who the villagers think is the embodiment of Satan is proceeding. Tessa sits on a stool, Bess slowly unwinds the bandage from around her foot, and screams as a normal bruised foot is revealed, "arrgghh, she's not the one, she's an imposter".
Nan says she's seen too much and must die.

Bruce's tears open another letter but is interrupted by a banging on the door, it's Jane sobbing and tells Bruce his wife is to be sacrificed at the store. In runs Burt covering Bruce with the shotgun, Jane pleads with Burt to end this madness. Burt pushes her away, Bruce grapples with him, the shotgun goes off.

 

[michaellevenson]

Tessa is laid out on the counter, used as an altar, Lob hands Nick a ceremonial dagger, he stands over Tessa about to strike, when a shot rings out. Bruce has shot Nick in the back....dead.

Later police are in the village, villagers led away, the body of Nick carried out on a stretcher to an ambulance. Bruce asks them to stop a second. He removes Nick's boot and sock on the left foot, to reveal a huge misshapen foot with two large toes only. The watching policeman says, " the cloven hoof?"
Bruce replies, " no, an in bred deformity"

Cast:
Bruce.....Bryan Marshall
Tessa.....Alexandra Hay
Nick....Juan Moreno
Burt....John Turner
Bess.....Lila Kaye
Jill.....Sally Stephens
Lob......Glynn Edwards
Nan...Jenny Laird

On to next episode

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