Synopsis
After using a Ouija board, a wealthy couple finds an extra room in their house that they never knew existed.
Cast
- Stuart Whitman as Edward Osborne
- Therese Pare as Cathy Osborne
- Nick Benedict as Michael Fox
- Paul Sparer as Narrator
Plot
Act I
It was a dark and stormy night. Cathy is sitting on the couch reading a compilation of the works of Charles Dickens. She looks around suspiciously for a moment. A hand rests on her shoulder and she seems surprised, but it is simply her husband Edward. When Cathy mentions that she was not aware that Edward was home, he goes on a diatribe about how quietly he creeps around the house, musing as to why Cathy puts up with him. Cathy falls into Edward's arms and they kiss. When she pulls away, she tells Edward that she puts up with him because he is such a good kisser.
The doorbell rings and Cathy wonders aloud who it could be. Edward says that it is Michael and Cathy says she did not know Michael was coming around. Edward says he won't be there long and says he will get the door. Cathy insists that she should get the door and gets up to do so. As she leaves, Edward grabs his heart as if he just had a sudden pain in his chest. He takes a bottle of pills which are presumably nitro-glycerine pills.
Cathy opens the door and it is Michael at the door. As she greets him, Michael looks Cathy over lustfully. The scene cuts back to Edward who took his pills and puts them away.
Act II
Michael hands Edward some papers, informing him that the stack is the last one he has to sign. It is business involving a plastics company and the two men talk about how Edward will have to laugh at the owner of the company's jokes.
Cathy walks into the room as Edward is signing the papers. She is carrying a Ouija board with her. Edward warns Michael that he never wants to become a rich man due to the hassle involved. Michael states that he will try to remember that and the two men walk over to where Cathy has set up the Ouija board. Edward chastises her for using it, but Cathy insists it is a harmless way for her to spend her time.
Michael seems very put off by the Ouija board. He sits down, mentioning how he has always heard bad things about Ouija boards. Edward scoffs about it and tells Michael to join the 20th century. Cathy insists that the Ouija board is just a game and suggests that they all play with it right then. She asks Michael if he has to leave right away and although he does not, he still seems uneasy about the Oujia board. Edward, however, insists that Michael indulge Cathy.
Cathy sets up the Oujia board by balancing it on both her and Michael's knees. She tells him that this particular board has a presiding spirit named Ben. He is named after Benjamin Fairchild, who was the original owner of their house. Michael and Cathy are both touching the planchette when Cathy asks Ben if he is there. The planchette moves over to YES. Edward suggests that they ask Ben a question that will put him to the test. Cathy asks Ben when he is not with the board where does he live. The planchette spells out THE MADNESS ROOM, which Cathy says out loud.
Act III
Michael seems to not understand what "the madness room" is, but Cathy claims to know. She tells Michael that she has done research on the history of their house and it is one of the oldest houses in the country. Edward insists that Cathy not tell him that the house is haunted. Instead, Cathy says there is a room in the house and everyone who ever slept in the room has gone insane.
When Edward asks Cathy where "the madness room" is, she tells him that no one knows. But Ben Fairchild's wife slept in the room and ended up shooting him through the heart, grabbed their baby, and jumped into a well. This all supposedly happened a hundred years ago. After the incident, the room was sealed off from the rest of the house.
Edward suggests that they ask Ben an important question. When Michael insists that there should be no more questions, Edward wants to know where "the madness room" is (despite him earlier saying he wanted to avoid it). Cathy asks Ben where "the madness room" is located. The planchette begins to move again and spells out FIRE RING. The trio moves over to the fireplace and Michael removes the screen. They decide they have to remove a brick after Edward mentions it has a ring on it.
Once the brick is removed, Edward reaches in and seems surprised to find a sheet of paper. He hands it to Cathy, who opens it on the floor. The paper is a blueprint of the house wrapped around a skeleton key. Cathy deduces that this will show them where "the madness room" is. She asks Michael if he will stay to help she and Edward find the room. Michael seems very reluctant until Edward insists that he stay and help. Michael finally does, but insists on having a drink first. Cathy turns down a drink and Edward cannot have one because his doctors won't let him.
While Edward looks at the blueprint, Michael and Cathy ask Ben if he has any last words for them. When Edward remarks that the blueprint is like looking for buried treasure, the Ouija spells out SCOFF AT ME AND DAMNED YOU'LL BE. It then spells out LOCK THE DOOR BEHIND US FOUR. While the planchette keeps moving, Edward finds an area on the west side of the house that has a room which he has never seen. The planchette then spells DROP KEY IN CRACK THE ONLY WAY BACK
Act IV
The threesome are in the west hallway mentioned by Edward when he looked at the blueprint. Edward points to a spot on the wall where the drawing indicates "the madness room" must be. Michael taps the wall with a crowbar and the hollow sounds convinces him it must be the location of "the madness room". Michael tears the wall up and there is a door behind it. Cathy hands Edward the key and lets him be the first person to enter "the madness room".
Edward unlocks the door with the key. As he does, Cathy pulls a gun out of her pocket. Both Michael and Edward look up, shocked to see Cathy with a gun. Edward asks why she has it, and she tells him for protection. Edward scoffs since a gun will not protect against ghosts. Edward gets the door open and the three enter a very dark room. Cathy asks if there is a light switch and Edward scoffs again, telling her a room that has been closed for a hundred years would not have a light switch. He and Michael find a lantern and they light it.
"The madness room" is very odd, with cobwebs and dolls hanging from the ceiling. The three look around the room. Edward comments about Ben living in "the madness room" and that seems to trigger Cathy's memory about the Oujia board and Ben's instructions: LOCK THE DOOR BEHIND US FOUR, which seems to indicate that it is those three and Ben. Michael seems reluctant to lock the door but Edward decides to play by Ben's rules. He goes to lock them inside "the madness room".
As they explore "the madness room", each finds something different. Michael finds the windows filled with bricks. Edward finds a crack and muses on the oddness of Ben's instructions. Cathy finds Ophelia Fairchild's diary. Ophelia wrote about her baby crying and how she wants to make it stop crying. When Michael tries to get Cathy to stop reading, she begins acting scared and tells him not to touch her.
The next passage makes Ophelia look like she is going crazy, saying that the raindrops are telling her words like deceit and death. Edward looks worried and Cathy begins to look like she is going mad. When Edward tries to help her, she yells at him not to touch her and she pulls the gun on him. She appears to be channeling Ophelia.
Trying to make sense of the situation, Michael assumes "the madness room" is getting to Cathy. Cathy agrees, talking about all the things that are getting to her. She mentions that most of all Edward is getting to her. Edward starts to clutch at his heart and Michael tries to help him. Michael takes Edward over to the bed and when he suggests they get him to the hospital, Cathy refuses. Michael tells her he has a weak heart, but Cathy insists that Edward has no heart at all.
Michael gets up and tries to get the gun from Cathy. When he insists, she shoots him. Michael falls dead against the door. As Edward lays on the floor, he remembers the message about dropping the key in the crack in order to get back. Assuming that dropping the key in the crack will break the spell over Cathy, Edward drops it in. Cathy is not affected, however. She puts the gun up to her head and Edward watches as she shoots herself and falls down dead. In shock, Edward appears to be on the edge of death.
Act V
Once Edward is dead, Michael begins to smile. He was only pretending to be shot. Cathy also is still alive, having only pretended to commit suicide. They kiss and then get up and look at Edward. Cathy explains that when Edward was in the hospital, she had "the madness room" built. Edward asks them what they will do if he does not cooperate and refuses to die. Cathy hands Michael a pillow and tells Edward that Michael will kill him. Edward grabs the lantern, throws it against the curtain, and sets "the madness room" on fire.
Michael and Cathy run to the door. Upon realizing that the only key was the one Edward dropped in the crack, they both wonder why the other one spelled out the rule about dropping the key in the crack. They both deny doing it, implying that it was Ben who did it. All three die as Ben laughs.
Trivia
- Ophelia is the name of a character in Shakespeare's Hamlet who goes insane over the course of the play.