10 Horror Movie Characters Punished For Their Faith

As detailed by Sir Christopher Lee's Lord Summerisle, Sergeant Neil Howie was unknowingly the perfect human sacrifice once he turned up on the shores of the Hebridean island of Summerisle in The Wicker Man.

While Edward Woodward's Howie is on the isle to investigate the disappearance of a young girl, he ends this 1973 picture by being burnt alive.

For the inhabitants of Summerisle, they embrace a pagan lifestyle based around offering up a human sacrifice whenever there's been a poor harvest. Sgt. Howie believes that missing youngster Rowan has been earmarked to be killed in order to appease the gods, yet it's revealed how Howie himself is the ideal candidate for this murderous ritual.

From Lord Summerisle, Howie meets the four requirements of having the power of a king (see: man of the law), is a fool (having adorned a Punch outfit by this point), arrived on the island of his own free will, and, most importantly, is a virgin.

The reason for Howie's virginity is due to his strict Christian beliefs, and this faith is tested by the beautiful Willow MacGregor (Britt Ekland) trying her best to seduce him. Once the Sergeant had rebuffed Willow's advances, he'd essentially signed his own death warrant.