Whatever happened to Sladden (Richard Shaw) in the pit sends him screaming from the alien ship and into the streets of London. Barbara Judd (Christine Finn) happens to be just entering the pit. Having experienced a fraction of what Sladden did, screams. Captain Potter (John Stratton) comes running. Leaving Barbara with the Sergeant (Michael Ripper), Potter takes off, looking for Sladden. He eventually finds the man in a church under the care of Vicar Gilpin (Noel Howlett). Sladden is still in a panic and shaking uncontrollably.
Barbara tells Quatermass (Andre Morell) and Dr. Roney (Cec Linder) what happened in the pit. When Captain Potter calls to tell them he found Sladden, Quatermass and Barbara rush there. Sladden is calmer but still affected by what happened. He tells Quatermass that he saw the creatures in this mind, hundreds and hundreds of them. Quatermass is convinced that what Sladden saw was an echo of life on Mars five million years ago. An echo that is imprinted on the alien ship.
Quatermass recalls that Dr. Roney, a part time inventor, had created a device that could record mental thoughts. Quatermass decides to use the device but it appears that Quatermass is not as psychically sensitive as Barbara. When Barbara puts the apparatus on her head the monitor picks up the activity and records it.
Quatermass takes the recording to the Ministry of War to try to convince the Minister (Robert Perceval) and Colonel Breen (Anthony Bushell) that what is in the pit is actually a space ship from Mars and that the three dead insects are aliens from Mars. The tape shows a massacre of insect creatures. Quatermass refers to it as The Wild Hunt. The Wild Hunt is a form of culling out of the weak. A feverish purging of the Martian hives to reduce overpopulation. The Martians were trying to create a pure race for colonization of Earth.
Colonel Breen refuses to accept any explanation other than Nazi propaganda. With cooperation from the Minister of War Breen holds a press conference in the pit condemning Quatermass’ allegations. Quatermass calls Breen a coward. Their dispute is cut short when a light begins to emanate from the space ship. The capsule discharges an electrical current. An electrician inside the capsule is electrocuted.
As with the first two Quatermass series, Hammer Film Productions produced theatrical films based on adaptations of Nigel Kneale’s stories and scripted by Kneale. Kneale’s Quatermass films and series influenced other science fiction writers. Stephen King’s “Tommyknockers” is a version of “Quatermass and the Pit” as is Colin Wilson’s “Space Vampires”. Space Vampires was theatrically done as “Lifeforce” 1985.