Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark 2019

In the eerie autumnal atmosphere of Mill Valley, Halloween night in 1968 sets the stage for a series of unsettling events. As darkness descends, Ramon (Michael Garza) drives into town, unaware that his arrival will soon entangle him with a group of thrill-seeking friends - Chuck Steinberg (Austin Zajur), Auggie Hilderbrandt (Gabriel Rush), and horror aficionado Stella Nicholls (Zoe Coletti). The foursome’s plan to play a prank on school bully Tommy Milner (Austin Abrams) spirals out of control when they’re caught red-handed by the jock and his cohorts, who are busy harassing Harold (Mark Steger), a weathered scarecrow.

Chuck’s mischief escalates as he and his friends orchestrate a revenge scheme, targeting Tommy’s car with a barrage of eggs, toilet paper, and, most notably, Chuck’s own excrement. However, their prankster antics backfire when Tommy’s car ends up stuck in a fence. The group flees to a drive-in theater for refuge, only to be chased by the vengeful bullies. As the situation becomes increasingly precarious, Ramon finds himself among the quartet of friends seeking solace from the chaos.

The tension momentarily subsides as Stella invites her new acquaintances to join her on an adventure - a visit to Sarah Bellows’ notorious haunted house, rumored to be the site of a disturbed woman’s alleged poisoning spree. As they enter the creaking abode, Ramon’s lock-picking skills gain them access to the foreboding property. The group soon becomes embroiled in a series of spooky events, with Auggie and Chuck engaging in a game of cat-and-mouse that culminates in an unsettling discovery by Chuck.

Meanwhile, Stella and Ramon uncover Sarah’s old book of frightening tales, which serves as a poignant reminder of the dark history surrounding the property. However, their exploration is abruptly interrupted when Tommy and his cohorts trap them inside the haunted house. As they struggle to escape, Ruthie (Natalie Ganzhorn) intervenes, pleading with Tommy to release her friends. But instead, he locks her in alongside the others.

In a surprising turn of events, an unseen force sets the group free, allowing them to flee the decrepit dwelling. Upon exiting, they’re met with a sense of dread as Ramon discovers his car has been vandalized with a derogatory slur - “wetback” - scrawled across the side panel. With nowhere else to go, Ramon is forced to seek help at a local shop, leaving him without a roof over his head.

In a gesture of kindness, Stella extends an invitation for Ramon to take refuge in her basement, marking the beginning of an unlikely friendship that will soon become entwined with the mysteries and terrors that lurk within the haunted house.

As Tommy stumbles home, reeling from a night of revelry, his mother lays down the law: he must deliver eggs to the neighbors. En route, he encounters Harold once more, goading him with taunts that echo through the night air. Meanwhile, Stella settles in with Sarah’s book, her eyes scanning the pages as she becomes immersed in the story. As “Harold” comes to life before her very eyes, she notes a peculiar mention of Tommy himself, a detail that sends shivers down her spine.

As the morning sun rises over the sleepy town, Ramon rolls into the local garage with his prized vehicle, only to be confronted by Chief Turner (Gil Bellows), who’s hell-bent on getting to the bottom of his mysterious visit. When the chief sets his sights on Tommy’s cryptic writings, Ramon finds himself under scrutiny, forced to reveal his true identity as Rodriguez. The chief’s tone implies that he’ll be digging deeper into Ramon’s past.

The residents of Bellows’ house are thrown into a state of panic when Roy (Dean Norris), Stella’s father, reports Tommy missing. Desperate for answers, Stella and Ramon join forces to track down the missing youth. Their search yields a shocking discovery: Harold, clad in Tommy’s clothes, appears to be very much alive. Convinced that Sarah’s book has come to life, Stella resolves to reclaim it, fearing its dark power will continue to wreak havoc.

As they return home, Ramon stumbles upon Sarah’s book once more, only to find a new tale unfolding before his eyes: “The Big Toe”. This eerie story centers on Auggie, whose gullibility leads him to devour a stew containing an unsavory ingredient. The disembodied voice rings out, demanding justice for the missing toe. Stella tries to warn Auggie, but her words fall on deaf ears. As he indulges in the suspect meal, Big Toe Woman (Javier Botet) begins to stalk him. Auggie seeks refuge beneath his bed, only to find himself face-to-face with the hideous visage of the Toe Terror. By the time Stella and Ramon arrive, it’s too late; they’re met with the gruesome evidence of Auggie’s disappearance – a trail of claw marks leading under his bed, a grim reminder that Sarah’s dark tales have once again taken a terrible toll on their quiet town.

As the trio shares the devastating news with Chuck and Ruth that Auggie is gone, they point accusatory fingers at the mysterious tome responsible for the disappearance. Chuck proposes taking the incriminating book to the authorities, but Ramon hesitates, fearing that the police might suspect him of being involved in both Auggie’s vanishing act and Tommy’s latest whereabouts, now the subject of an all-out search party. The friends’ attempt to destroy the cursed book ends in failure, a testament to its seemingly supernatural resilience.

Seeking answers and solace, they turn to the Mill Valley Gazette, scouring the archives for any mention of Sarah, whose enigmatic presence has been haunting their every move. Their investigation yields a treasure trove of secrets about Lulu Baptiste, a former employee of the Bellows family who was unceremoniously fired after Sarah took her own life. Rumors swirled that Lulu had been teaching Sarah dark magic, whispers that would haunt them as they delved deeper into the mystery.

The book, it seems, has other plans, weaving a new narrative - “The Red Spot” - around Ruthie’s misfortune. While preparing to take center stage in a school production of “Bye Bye Birdie”, Ruthie finds her performance interrupted by an unsettling development: a spider bite on her cheek that rapidly worsens. As she tends to the wound, a disembodied voice beckons her name, and then, to their horror, a single spider leg emerges from her cheek, soon followed by a swarm of biting arachnids. The friends intervene just in time, dousing Ruth with water to repel the relentless attackers and whisking her away to the hospital for treatment.

In a desperate bid to unravel the tangled threads of the mystery, they track down Lulu Baptiste, now an elderly woman shrouded in blindness. Despite her physical limitations, she remains evasive about her past, fueling the friends’ suspicions that the truth may be more sinister than they initially imagined. As they press her for answers, the book’s malevolent presence seems to overwhelm Lulu, as if its dark energies have finally claimed another victim.

As the trio ventures into a decaying hospital, Chuck’s recollections of a haunting dream resurface - a pale woman in a crimson room warning him to flee while he still can. Unbeknownst to the children, this eerie vision is a harbinger of the terror that lies ahead. Stella and Ramon cautiously navigate through the desolate corridors, seeking any shred of information that might shed light on the Bellows family’s dark past.

Their search leads them to an ancient recording room, where they stumble upon a series of audio tapes documenting Sarah (Kathleen Pollard) as she endured electroshock therapy at the hands of her brother Ephraim. The children are stunned as they listen to Sarah’s voice, revealing the shocking truth that she was innocent and never poisoned them. Instead, it was her family’s reckless actions that contaminated the water supply, leading to a tragic cycle of torment and betrayal.

As Chuck delves deeper into the hospital’s labyrinthine passages, he becomes increasingly disoriented, his senses overwhelmed by the eerie atmosphere. Suddenly, an alarm blares, bathing everything in a blood-red hue, and Chuck is confronted by the Pale Lady (Mark Steger), her grotesquely swollen form and macabre grin sending chills down his spine.

Despite his desperate attempts to escape, the Pale Lady closes in, her relentless pursuit ultimately resulting in Chuck’s absorption into her very being. As Stella and Ramon frantically search for their missing friend, they are met with a cold, unforgiving response from the hospital authorities - they are forcibly ejected from the premises, leaving the trio to pick up the pieces of their shattered investigation.

As desperation sets in, Stella frantically reaches out to her father from the precinct, her fears of impending doom fueled by the mysterious book’s dark power. She assuages his concerns, insisting that she’s not fleeing, but rather seeking a way to break free from the curse. Her father, Roy (actor’s name), offers words of comfort, reminding her that her mother’s departure was never her fault. Meanwhile, Turner, skeptical of Stella and Ramon’s claims about the book’s connection to their friends’ disappearances, subjects them to a grueling interrogation. Despite their explanations, his doubts remain firmly entrenched.

As the situation grows increasingly dire, Stella and Ramon are confined to adjacent cells, where they concoct a plan to escape. Ramon shares the harrowing tale of his brother’s fate in Vietnam, which drove him to flee before being drafted himself. The eerie atmosphere is further heightened by the emergence of the Jangly Man (Troy James), a monstrous entity born from the book’s dark magic. Turner becomes its first victim, his neck snapped with chilling efficiency as the creature carelessly tosses his lifeless body into Stella’s cell.

In the ensuing chaos, Stella seizes the opportunity to liberate herself and Ramon from their cells. However, the Jangly Man is hot on their heels, driven by an insatiable hunger for destruction. As they flee, Ramon takes a drastic measure to evade capture – deliberately crashing Turner’s car into a train, pinning the monster beneath.

With the Jangly Man momentarily subdued, Stella and Ramon make a break for the Bellows house, desperate to put an end to the terror. But their reunion is short-lived, as they become separated in the chaos. The Jangly Man gives pursuit, targeting Ramon with relentless ferocity. Meanwhile, Stella finds herself ensnared by the Bellows family’s vengeful ghosts, who seek to trap her within their own dark narrative.

It is here that Sarah’s ghost materializes, poised to entrap Stella in a web of deceit and tragedy. However, as Stella stands firm against the spectral forces, she draws strength from Ramon’s reassuring voice, urging her to reveal the truth about the Bellows family’s sinister deeds. With a resolute determination, Stella confronts the ghosts, exposing their role in the tragic events that befell them.

As the truth begins to unravel, Sarah’s ghost undergoes a transformation, her malevolent energy replaced by a sense of peace and redemption. The Jangly Man, sensing its master’s demise, dissipates into nothingness, its dark presence vanquished. With the terror finally laid to rest, Stella and Ramon are reunited in an emotional embrace, their bond stronger than ever as they face the challenges ahead.

As Ramon embarks on his journey to Vietnam, he reluctantly says goodbye to Stella, who presents him with a treasured letter and a heartfelt promise to keep in touch. The poignant moment is etched in his mind as he settles into the bus ride, where he tenderly unfolds the letter and absorbs its words, written with the passion and vulnerability of a true soulmate. Amidst the uncertainty of war, Stella’s plea for him to return home soon serves as a beacon of hope.

Meanwhile, back in their small town, Stella takes up her pen to chronicle the Bellows family’s long-buried truth in the school paper. Her determination to reveal the authentic story, no matter how few ears are listening, is a testament to her unwavering commitment to justice and her unshakeable sense of morality. As she shares her discovery with Roy and Ruth - now reunited after their own trials - they join forces to harness the power of Sarah’s book, seeking a way to reunite with Auggie and Chuck, whose disappearance still haunts them all.