College professor Ben Rolf (Oliver Reed), his wife Marian (Karen Black), and their young son David (Lee Montgomery) arrive at a somewhat dilapidated Victorian mansion in upstate New York, which Marian has seen advertised for a summer letting.
Although they are not initially impressed, the mansion’s owners, Roz Allardyce (Eileen Heckart) and her brother Arnold (Burgess Meredith), welcome them warmly.
The house is tastefully furnished with many valuable antiques, and the Rolfs are pleasantly surprised by the very low rent.
Roz, however, makes one stipulation. In exchange for the low rent, Marian must leave a tray of food outside a bedroom in a remote part of the house three times a day for the couple’s aged, reclusive mother.
Marian is told the old lady will require nothing further from them – in fact, they are unlikely even to see her.
By now, Marian is so attracted to the house that she willingly agrees to the condition, and in a few days the Rolfs move in along with Ben’s Aunt Elizabeth (Bette Davis), an old but vivacious lady.
The family are delighted with their new surroundings and begin to enjoy themselves. Ben and David clear the debris from the swimming pool and make it usable, while Marian is charmed by the contents of the house, especially the family photographs, which fascinate her.
She tries to contact Mrs Allardyce without success, but when the partly eaten meal is left on the tray, Marian concludes that all is well with the old lady.
Then strange things start to happen.
One day Ben and David are in the pool as Aunt Elizabeth watches them clowning around. Suddenly,
Ben begins to scare David by repeatedly ducking him, much to the older woman’s alarm.
It seems that Ben is trying to drown the boy until David hits him hard in the face with his goggles and escapes, sobbing hysterically, to be comforted by Aunt Elizabeth.
Ben is later horrified by his outburst, which he can’t for the life of him either understand or explain.
That night, Ben is deeply disturbed in his sleep and has a nightmare. He sees himself at a funeral where the chauffeur driving the hearse is a tall, thin-faced individual in dark glasses who smiles chillingly at Ben.
The nightmare is to recur frequently.
Marian begins to spend more time in Mrs Allardyce’s quarters, although she never actually sees the old lady. Aunt Elizabeth gets frailer each day, and her hair goes perceptibly whiter. Marian, too, has more grey in her hair but dismisses it as probably heredity.
Incidents increase in number and terror, while the house begins to literally heal itself. Dead flowers bloom, broken roof shingles repair themselves, and the murky, debris-filled swimming pool becomes crystal clear.
In the end, Aunt Elizabeth passes away, and the Rolfs decide to leave. This, however, is easier said than done.
Marian Rolf
Karen Black Ben Rolf
Oliver Reed Arnold Allardyce
Burgess Meredith Roz Allardyce
Eileen Heckart David Rolf
Lee Montgomery Walker
Dub Taylor Aunt Elizabeth
Bette Davis Ben’s Father
Joseph Riley Young Ben
Todd Turquand Minister
Orin Cannon Dr Ross
Jim Myers Chauffeur
Anthony James
Director
Dan Curtis
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The house is tastefully furnished with many valuable antiques, and the Rolfs are pleasantly surprised by the very low rent.
Then strange things start to happen.
That night, Ben is deeply disturbed in his sleep and has a nightmare. He sees himself at a funeral where the chauffeur driving the hearse is a tall, thin-faced individual in dark glasses who smiles chillingly at Ben.
