Name That Trauma :: Reader Alicia K. on a Terrible Totem & a Witch Crushing Wheel

Oh how thankful I am to have stumbled upon your site! These two movies have been in the back of my mind for years! Yahoo Answers couldn’t help me, so I’m really hoping you can.

Both of these I saw around 1977-79, but I’m not sure when they were made. It is possible they were made-for-T.V. movies/shows since I saw them via hiding behind my mom’s lazy-boy when I wasn’t supposed to be up.

The first movie featured an evil totem pole or carved Indian statue (not huge, probably 2-4′ tall.) It was a round, wooden thing with a carved face and it seemed to glide around. I remember it sneaking down a hallway because it was going to kill someone. There was a good guy who was trying to save the lady and they had to make a protective circle to keep the evil totem out. I think at one point he had to protect someone in a hospital bed and was trying to beat the totem there.

The other movie was about witches – maybe Salem trials, since it was portraying 1600-1700s. I remember it showed a woman strapped to a big wheel or huge wooden spool and people rolling it to crush and kill her.

Any ideas are appreciated!!!

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Amanda By Night
12 years ago

Not quite sure about the first one (but I want to see it!), but I think the second one might be the Devonsville Terror:

http://www.coverbrowser.com/image/vhs-videos/335-1.jpg

Part of it is told in modern times, but I’m sure this still comes from the “Witch Trial” Flashback…

Tim Tylor
Tim Tylor
12 years ago

It’s ten years too late, but I know there’s an evil totem-pole monster in the spectacularly awful Winterbeast.

DavidFullam
12 years ago

Has to be Devonsville Terror. Nice little regional Horror film, and star Suzanna Love was hot!

VicarOfVHS
12 years ago

The first one is almost certainly THE MANITOU. The 4 ft tall indian was not meant to be made of wood, but he certainly looked it. 🙂 And everything else fits too well for it not to be, I think.

unkle lancifer
Admin
12 years ago

You guys blow my mind!

Amanda, I think you may be right on target with that witch on a wheel thing and Devonsville terror
and
Vicar, I would have NEVER thought of The Manitou! It makes perfect sense and he does look like wood!
I kept wondering to myself how a movie about an evil totem could be so obscure, wouldn’t everybody mention it along side Trilogy of Terror?
But I think you got it, the hospital, the magic circle…
man you guys are good!

craig
craig
12 years ago

I think DEVONSVILLE was more into the early 80’s (but there’s definatly a witch on a wheel in that one), so maybe if that’s not the one, it could be MARK OF THE DEVIL or maybe CROWHAVEN FARM or THE SHUTTERED ROOM(?).

Amanda By Night
12 years ago

Craig, you got me thinking Mark of the Devil now. I don’t remember wheel torture in either Crowhaven Farm or the Shuttered Room, but have only seen them once… I think MotD might have some kind of wheel torture in it (although I have not seen it)… Hmmm…

I always remember the wheel in Devonsville because of that cover I posted a link to. It’s burned into my brain!!!

unkle lancifer
Admin
12 years ago

Hmmm, yep, Devonsville is 83. My only problem with Mark of the Devil is that I wonder if it was ever shown on TV. Does anyone out there remember it being on TV? I imagine it would have to be heavily cut.

Rats, I used to think I knew a bit about witch movies but I’m drawing a blank here.

craig
craig
12 years ago

Ya, it seems like they wouldn’t have played that thing on TV, but Elvira used to show a heavily chopped print of it (again, though, we’re back to ’83 here), but it may have existed in a TV-friendly cut prior to that. Maybe…?