The Wicker Man (novel) for the film, but were cut to reduce running time and have not been seen since the loss of the film negative. For example, the character of Lord Summerisle's gillie is restored, and the reader learns of Howie's interest in bird-watching. The novelization reveals that Sergeant Neil Howie had originally attempted to become a priest, but that he was daunted by the prospect of preaching the minority faith of Episcopalianism in the staunchly Presbyterian Scottish Highlands. Howie's relationship with his fiancée, Mary Bannock, is explored in greater detail. Allan Brown writes that Howie's arguments with Lord Summerisle have more impact
The Wicker Man Shaffer, and they agreed to work together. Film director Robin Hardy and British Lion head Peter Snell became involved in the project. Shaffer had a series of conversations with Hardy, and the two decided that it would be fun to make a horror film centering on "old religion", in sharp contrast to the Hammer films they had both seen as horror film fans. Shaffer read the David Pinner novel "Ritual", in which a devout Christian policeman is called to investigate what appears to be the ritual murder of a young girl in a rural village, and decided that it would