Sally Farnham gets more than she bargained for when she inherits her grandmother's house, complete with little, demonic creatures that want to make her one of their own. In a made-for-television movie that delivers the chills.

This flick certainly opens up with the all the proper haunted house requirements – a black cat, wind blowing leaves around, a looming mansion, and a very appropriate score. Sally and her husband Jim are moving into the large home. And the fact that something is amiss does not go unnoticed by our heroine. Although, she starts off believing they have a mouse problem. Until they little creatures start grabbing at her and she hears them whispering her name. That'll do it every time.

Of course, no one believes her stories of being stalked by tiny creatures. Especially her husband. So Sally has to learn to fend for herself. Which never seems to work out well in horror movies. She inadvertently learns that light hurts the wee beasties. But even evil creatures can figure out how to turn off the electricity. Will anyone come to her rescue?

I'm not exactly sure how tall these little creatures are. But there are a couple of occasions where it seems that someone else should have got a glance of them. The creatures themselves are quite malicious. They really take joy in torturing the people who are aware of their existence.

The little demons were accidentally freed from an old fireplace in a dark study. The fireplace was sealed using “bricks cemented four deep and reinforced with iron bars.” And the door to remove the ashes was sealed using … a bolt. I don't claim to be a genius, but if you're going to go to such lengths to seal the one of the ways in (or out), it's probably a good idea to go the same route with the other way. A local handyman sealed it up and is the harbinger of doom that nobody listens to, but he could have made it a little more difficult to open up.

The movie stars lots of talented, veteran television actors from the time – William “Uncle Charley” Demarest from My Three Sons, Jim Ellery Queen Hutton, & Barbara Anderson from Ironside. Kim Darby is known to many SciFi fans as the title character of the Star Trek episode, Miri. And I personally have to mention Celia Kaye, who did do some guest roles a number of television series, but is more familiar to me from the '70s slithering serpents b-movie, Rattlers.

The little creatures are played by actors, of course. And it's a little funny when a close-up is done of two of them talking, and their masks' lips aren't moving. Other than that, the shots of them are mostly quick or dark, which works quite well. The writer, Nigel McKeand, envisioned creatures that were thinner, faster, and more demonic looking. Which would have been difficult for a television movie shot at that time. Impossible for one that was shot in just over two weeks, as this one was. (He does seem to be getting his wish with Guillermo del Toro's big budget remake.)

Can a made-for-television movie shot in the early '70s still be scary today? I was watching this over at some friends' house. In the dark, as all horror movies should be viewed. We decided to go on a quick beer run, leaving his wife alone for a few minutes. When we returned all the lights in the house were turned on. We could see it a few blocks away.

So, yes. This is a spooky little movie with a great accompanying score. Don't believe me. Watch Sally's descent into terror yourself. In the quiet darkness. Was that a sound in the other room? It was probably nothing. The dog or the cat. Or maybe … something else.