It’s a very sad day today as word is coming in that iconic scream queen and Hammer Horror legend Barbara Shelley has died. According to reports, Shelley had recently been admitted to the hospital for an unrelated issue when she contracted Covid-19. The screen legend recovered from the virus, but underlying issues led to her passing soon after. She was 88.
Confirming her death, Shelley’s agent Thomas Bowington said, “She really was Hammer’s number one leading lady and the technicolour queen of Hammer. On screen she could be quietly evil. She goes from statuesque beauty to just animalistic wildness. She was a regular favourite of Hammer events and autograph shows but also performed on stage with the RSC. She adored Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing and loved working with them, that was very dear to her.”
As Hammer Horror’s No. 1 female star, Shelley is popular with fans of classic horror. She’s perhaps best known for her Hammer work, which includes roles in titles like Dracula, Prince of Darkness, The Gorgon, Rasputin, the Mad Monk, and Quatermaster and the Pit. She also starred in the original Village of the Damned and other titles like Stranglehold, Ghost Story, and The Spy Killer. Shelley also appeared in the Doctor Who serial Planet of Fire and TV shows like The Avengers, The Borgias, and Blake’s 7.
On social media, horror fans are mourning Shelley’s passing. Writer and actor James Swanton (Frankenstein’s Creature) eloquently writes, “Barbara Shelley has died. She matched Christopher Lee’s Dracula and Rasputin for blazing bravura. She became the cat girl and the Gorgon; fought the mad medicos of Wolfit and Cushing; inhabited a village of the damned and channelled the Martians. Our greatest horror actress.”
Another tweet from film critic John Beifuss reads, “RIP Barbara Shelley, 88, the most significant actress in Hammer and arguably horror history (with the exception of the other Barbara S, Steele). Went from purse-lipped bluenose to fang-baring bloodsucker in DRACULA, PRINCE OF DARKNESS. VILLAGE OF THE DAMNED, QUATERMASS 3, etc etc.”
RIP, Barbara Shelley, and thank you for your contributions.
RELATED: Review: ‘The Midnight Sky’ Offers Bleak & Intriguing Sci-Fi to End the Year
