Ritual is a horror novel by British actor and author David Pinner, first published in 1967. An English police officer named David Hanlin—a puritanical Christian—is asked to investigate what appears to be the ritualistic murder of a local child in an enclosed rural Cornish village. During his short stay, Hanlin deals with psychological trickery, sexual seduction, ancient religious practices and nightmarish sacrificial rituals. In 1966, when Pinner was 26, he had just written the vampire comedy Fanghorn, and was playing the lead role of Sergeant Trotter in Agatha Christie's The Mousetrap in the West End of London. He decided to write a film treatment that dealt with the occult (like Fanghorn) but which was also a detective story (like The Mousetrap).
Adaptations (1)
Ritual was adapted into a 1973 film.
The Wicker Man1973 · film · 88 min · dir. Robin Hardy · IMDb ↗Police sergeant Neil Howie is called to an island village in search of a missing girl whom the locals claim never existed. The investigation is further complicated as Howie’s religious views clash with those of the island’s residents.
