In London, lawyer Arthur Kipps still grieves the death of his beloved wife Stella on the delivery of their son Joseph four years ago. His employer gives him a last chance to keep his job, and he is sent to a remote village, Cryphin Gifford, to sort out the affairs of a recently deceased eccentric lady, Mrs Drablow. Arthur meets Mr. Daily on the train and the man offers a ride to him to the Gifford Arms inn. Arthur has a cold reception and the owner of the inn tells that he did not receive the request of reservation and there is no available room. The next morning, Arthur meets solicitor Jerome who advises him to return to London. It soon becomes clear that everyone in the town is keeping a deadly secret. Mr. Daily wants to help Kipps and invites him to his house, where he will meet the strange Mrs. Daily, a woman with a tragedy in her past.
Although the townspeople try to keep Kipps from learning their tragic history, Arthur goes to the isolated manor in the middle of the foggy marsh and soon he finds that Eel Marsh House is haunted by the vengeful ghost of a woman dressed in black. The woman is determined to find someone and something she lost… and no one, not even the children, are safe from her vengeance.