It has been six months since the death of ALICE DRAKE. Her husband EDWARD writes to his sister-in-law Elizabeth -- 'Auntie Liza' to his two children MATHILDA and JAMES -- that life is beginning to return to normal at their estate of Ravensmoor. But everything changes when the children exhibit strange behavior after visiting the forest beyond the manor gate. Claiming to have seen their late mother, as well as a figure they call The Rickety Man, but Edward forbids them from venturing out any more.
However, as days pass, the servants flee and Edward is left to fend for himself and the children. Then one night Edward discovers James dead, killed by Mathilda. Wandering the house, he finds himself facing the malevolent Mathilda, who attacks him and drives him back into his study. But Mathilda gains entrance, and Edward begs the entity that has taken his child to release her. But the ghost of Alice whispers to Edward, putting him in a trance, and Mathilda stabs him in the neck.
As Edward dies, Mathilda puts the finishing touches on his letter to Aunt Liza, begging her to come visit, promising her to 'show her all the sights.'