Shot on a 25 day schedule in the UK, a big difference to the 15 day schedule used in the US for the previous Roger Corman "Poe" movies. The director attributed the extra time to the British crew's obsession with taking "tea breaks."
Director Roger Corman has referred to this movie as the biggest and most exciting of all his Edgar Allan Poe adaptations.
The exterior of the building is a real building, it is Castle Acre Priory in Norfolk, UK, which is a National Heritage monument, and is still open to the public at time of writing (2018). Fake parts of scenery added just for the movie include the tombstones seen among the ruins, and the tallest part of the residential wing (the part that catches fire first) which does not exist in reality.
Roger Corman wanted to break away from his standard technique of shooting his "Poe" features entirely on soundstages. There are many scenes, including the entire first reel, that were shot outdoors.
Proposed titles included "The House at the End of the World" and "The Tomb of the Cat."