The haunted London church used to film a horror classic
50 yards from the bustle of Fulham High Street, at the foot of Putney Bridge, stands an incongruous church with a ghostly reputation. It’s set back from the hubbub a matter of meters, but somehow its gated greenery seems to be a place of quietude, a world away from the urban hive. To enter those gates is to step back through a mystic capsule to simpler leafy times, but that tranquility away from the traffic might not last long.
In one of The Omen’s most iconic scenes, Father Brennan is literally mounted on a spike after a lightning conductor topples from the church’s tower and impales him. All the while, Damien sickeningly grins like an evil cat. This chilling moment of madness is embedded in the psyche of many folks too young to have viewed The Omen, like a stone that stays in your shoe and says boo.
But is it purely the church’s cinematic history that proves spooky? Well, some say not. After all, if you’re looking for somewhere to film something frightening, surely the best place to look is on haunted terrain. You wouldn’t impale a man with a spike at a soft play and picnic spot and still expect to win an Oscar.
A church has resided on this ancient spot for 900 years, with documents referring to it as All Saints as early as 1445. And in that time, many noble figures of history were laid to rest in the surrounding graveyard. Here, some claim sights befitting of The Omen have been seen long before and after the cameras were rolling on the doomed spot of poor old mad Father Brennan.
However, perhaps recent ghouls wisping around the area are merely a result of the church’s place in cultural history. Parapsychologists point to the fact that the famed tower is irreversibly connected to horror history. So much so that even if you haven’t seen The Omen or can’t remember it, the subconscious associations with a devil child twist the pleasant grounds and ancient edifice into something far more frightening.
On the free Make Your Own Movie Tour, this ageless Fulham oddity is a stop-off spot alongside the Newman Arms Pub (for a bit of Dutch courage) from the classic Peeping Tom. It also includes Weston Park Grocery from Sean of the Dead, more fabled holy ground with St Anne’s Church from 28 Days Later, and the spooky Dollis Hill Lane from Hellraiser—all of which are within walking distance.
Why is it we’re obsessed with these landmarks when the cameras stop rolling anyhow? We all love a good spooky story; enjoying their mystery is almost ingrained in our DNA to help aid problem-solving and keep us on our toes. Thus, all the thrills and spills of the film set may have departed, but that eerie sense stays behind.
However, some might argue that by enacting some devilry, the spooks are conjured to the fore and have remained at the famed All Saints Church. After all, and this is a truth beyond doubt, The Exorcist was famously delayed when the set caught fire, and the only room left intact was the curse bedroom.
Perhaps this spire toppling embodies the same kismet between cinema and reality. It might not seem that way on a sunny Tuesday noon when the beauteous spot basks in timeless glory, but try it on an evening, when the fog lifts off the river, and the shadows seem to move.
