Roy Castle

Dr. Terror’s House of Horrors (1965) starring Peter Cushing, Neil McCallum,  Christopher Lee, Roy Castle, Max Adrian, Donald Sutherland

Dr. Terror’s House of Horrors was Amicus’ first attempt at an anthology of 5 horror stories, with a very good framing device. The entire film takes place on a train, where 5 gentlemen  — total strangers —  sit together and wait to reach their destination. To pass the time, these passengers each have their futures foretold by a 6th individual; a quiet, mild man named Doctor Sandor Shreck (Peter Cushing) — Shreck being the German word for “terror”. He relies on a deck of Tarot cards to tell the future. The Doctor instructs each reluctant participant to tap the deck three times; after, the first four images dealt tell the listener his fate. While an extra fifth card explains how it can be avoided.  The five stories foretold are: