A Candle for the Devil (1973) Timeline Explained – Every Event in Order

Marta pushes May because the British guest was sunbathing topless on the inn's terrace, which the sisters consider a grave moral transgression. Their strict religious beliefs view May's exposed body as obscene and sinful. The argument escalates quickly, and Marta shoves May down the staircase, causing her to crash through a glass window and die.

• marta
• may
• pushed down stairs
• topless sunbathing
• religious beliefs

Marta and Verónica kill guests whose behavior they deem immoral according to their extreme religious standards. They see themselves as moral enforcers, believing they are punishing sinners. May was killed for topless sunbathing, Helen for breaking the 11pm curfew, and Norma for being an unmarried mother. Their religious fanaticism justifies murder in their minds.

• marta
• verónica
• kill guests
• religious fanaticism
• moral standards

Marta kills Helen Miller after she returns to the inn late at night, violating Marta's strict rule that guests must be back by 11pm. When Helen argues and defies Marta's authority, Marta stabs her to death in the kitchen. The murder is triggered by Helen's perceived disrespect of the sisters' house rules, which they enforce with religious conviction.

• helen miller
• stabbed
• curfew
• 11pm rule

Marta kills Norma because she is a single, unmarried mother, which Marta considers morally reprehensible. During a confrontation in the kitchen where Marta and Verónica are holding Norma's baby, Marta stabs Norma in the back, killing her. Marta remains unmoved even after learning Norma was actually married but going through a divorce, showing her rigid and judgmental nature.

• norma
• killed
• unmarried mother
• baby
• stabbed in back

The police chief tells Laura that Marta's fiancé disappeared on their wedding day years before the events of the film. This mysterious disappearance haunts Marta and adds psychological depth to her character. The backstory suggests Marta may have become even more Fanatical and emotionally unstable after this traumatic loss, possibly contributing to her current murderous behavior.

• marta
• fiancé
• missing
• wedding day
• backstory

Eduardo discovers horrifying evidence of the sisters' crimes: pieces of flesh and bones floating in red wine inside the large vats, along with Norma's severed head. This reveals that the sisters have been murdering guests and disposing of their bodies through cannibalism and disposal in the wine vats used by the inn.

• eduardo
• wine vats
• flesh
• bones
• norma head
• cannibalism

Laura returns to the inn because her sister May never returned after arriving at the inn, and she becomes increasingly suspicious of the sisters' behavior. After May's mysterious disappearance, Laura pretends to leave but continues investigating, eventually breaking into the inn to search for evidence and discovering the truth about the murders.

• laura
• may sister
• investigate
• search for evidence

During dinner, a guest becomes violently ill after eating a piece of meat that contains an eyeball. This disturbing clue is taken to the police and confirms the horrors occurring at the inn. The meat originated from one of the victims, and it is this incident that ultimately prompts the police to investigate the inn more thoroughly.

Foreshadowing: The meat clue is foreshadowed earlier when Laura investigates the vats, stirring up evidence.

• meat
• eyeball
• flesh
• food poisoning
• police clue

Eduardo is killed by Marta after he discovers the gruesome contents of the wine vats in the basement. While inspecting the vats, he finds Norma's severed head and other body parts floating in red wine. As he steps back in horror, Marta stabs him to death from behind.

• eduardo
• stabbed
• wine vats
• discovered
• killed

Marta grows suspicious of Eduardo when Laura brings him to the inn posing as her husband. Marta believes she has seen this man before in town, causing her to become wary of their intentions. Her suspicion increases as she realizes Laura may be investigating the disappearances of previous guests.

• marta
• eduardo
• suspicious
• husband
• laura
• recognize

Laura discovers Eduardo's dead body in the sisters' bedroom and is then cornered by Marta and Verónica. The sisters bind and gag her, pushing her toward a window. Laura struggles free and pulls back the drapes, revealing the police and villagers outside who have come to confront the sisters. The film cuts at this moment of maximum tension, leaving Laura's immediate fate uncertain but exposing the sisters' crimes to the watching crowd.

• ending
• laura
• revealed
• police
• villagers
• window
• confronted