House of the Dragon and Shetland favourites to lead horror film about famous witch trials

Upcoming British horror film Pendle 1612 has cast House of the Dragon's Maddie Evans and Shetland's Gemma Laurie, as well as newcomer Ella Moss.

The docu-horror about the 1612 Pendle Witch Trials is written and directed by Kyle and Liam Bashford, whose previous work spans writing, directing and producing a number of successful short films.

According to Deadline, Pendle 1612 will see Evans play a character called Amy, while Laurie will play Meg and Moss will star as Hannah.

The characters are described as "three young women whose documentary into the disappearance of Amy’s older sister leads them into the landscape surrounding Pendle Hill, synonymous with Britain’s 1612 witch trials".

The Pendle Witch Trials saw 12 people accused of witchcraft, with 10 of them going on to be hanged for their supposed crimes.

As well as House of the Dragon, Maddie Evans has appeared in Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton's Inside No. 9, which concluded in 2024.

Gemma Laurie has starred in Shetland, miniseries The Long Shadow, and is also set to appear in Starlight, which releases later in 2026.

Filming commences later this year, and the film will be produced by Eleven Eleven Pictures, who worked in association with Devisio and the Bashford twins on Una Notte.

Speaking about Pendle 1612, Liam Bashford said: "Growing up in Lancashire, the story of the Pendle Witches has always been around us.

"There’s something about Pendle itself, the landscape, the isolation and the history beneath it. That has stayed with us since we were kids.

"We didn’t want to recreate 1612. We wanted to ask what might still be there today."

Kyle Bashford added: "It was also incredibly important to us to bring a feature film home. There is so much filmmaking talent in the North West, and we want to show that ambitious independent films can be made here in Lancashire."

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Pendle 1612 begins shooting later this year.

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