A short life of the author
David Pinner (born 1940) is an English actor, playwright, and novelist. He has had a long career in British theatre, but he is known primarily for a single novel: Ritual (1967, Hutchinson), a story about a devout Christian police officer sent to investigate a child’s death in a remote Cornish village where pagan practices have survived.
The novel’s premise — an outsider of strong Christian faith investigating suspected pagan sacrifice in an isolated British community — is essentially the plot of Robin Hardy’s classic 1973 film The Wicker Man, written by Anthony Shaffer. The connection has been debated for decades: the film’s producers optioned Pinner’s novel, but Shaffer claimed his screenplay was original. The consensus among horror scholars is that Ritual was a direct source, even if the film departed significantly in tone and execution.
Collecting Pinner
Ritual (1967, Hutchinson) first editions are scarce and highly sought by collectors of folk horror and cult cinema ephemera. Fine copies with dust jacket bring $500–$2,000, driven almost entirely by The Wicker Man connection.
The 2011 reprint made the text accessible but did not diminish demand for originals, which remain prized by folk horror devotees.