A Haunted House (2013) Plot Summary & Timeline

As the oppressive August heat envelops their newly-acquired home, the young couple, Malcolm and Kisha, attempt to adjust to their life together. Their peace is shattered, however, when Kisha accidentally runs over Malcolm’s cherished dog, Shiloh, with her car, leaving an emotional scar that lingers. Adding to the tension, Kisha’s incessant gassiness at night disrupts Malcolm’s sleep, forcing him to retreat from their shared bed.

The following morning, Kisha finds her keys on the floor, sparking her imagination to consider that their new home might be haunted. In an effort to debunk her theory, Malcolm enlists the help of Dan the Security Man and his brother Bobby to install an array of security cameras. Despite initial apprehensions, Malcolm attempts to create a romantic atmosphere while the cameras record, but Kisha insists he turn them off. Unbeknownst to her, Malcolm secretly reactivates the camera, capturing their intimate moments. The next day, while reviewing footage, they are startled to find that a door has mysteriously moved, which Malcolm comically attributes to his own desires.

As paranormal events become more pronounced, Malcolm’s fear escalates. He wishes to flee the house but feels trapped by the real estate market’s stagnation. In a desperate bid for clarity, they bring in Chip (self-proclaimed psychic) to examine their home. Chip finds nothing amiss, but Kisha’s unexpected confession about a pact with the devil for shoes sends them into chaos. Chip warns her that she’s in deep trouble and invites Malcolm to join his amateur wrestling group.

As the night progresses, Kisha unveils a disturbing childhood video from her eighth birthday party, revealing interactions with her imaginary friend, Tony, which were marked by eerie occurrences. That very night, she starts a haunting solo dance in the kitchen, leaving Malcolm bewildered as he discovers her amidst rancid leftovers and expired milk. When he tries to restrain her, she erupts in wild abandon, waking the next day with no memory of her actions.

Driven by growing anxiety, Kisha pushes Malcolm to investigate troubling sounds within the house. They soon discover that the source is Rosa, their devoted Hispanic housekeeper, who decides to resign. To alleviate their stress, the trio attempts a herbal retreat, engaging in therapeutic marijuana smoking. The next day, Malcolm’s friend, Steve, and his girlfriend, Jenny, show up with a Ouija board, hoping to connect with whatever haunting them. However, when the board misprints “gost” instead of “ghost,” it leads to laughter, only for the spirits to retaliate by hurling the board across the room, sending Jenny and Steve fleeing in terror.

One fateful evening, the ghost takes a sinister turn, seizing Malcolm and taking him from his room, while shocking intimacy occurs between Kisha and the spirit. Realizing the ghost’s influence, a panicked Malcolm reaches out to his cousin Ray Ray, who witnesses the supernatural event and retreats in fright. Meanwhile, Kisha chooses to stay, but the entity turns its wrath upon Malcolm, leaving him feeling compromised and uneasy.

As the relationships among the trio deteriorate, they reach a boiling point of hostility. In the dead of night, Kisha is violently attacked by the malevolent spirit while Malcolm remains oblivious, engulfed in music through his headphones. Upon discovering Kisha’s condition the next morning, Malcolm calls for Father Doug to perform an exorcism. When this fails, Malcolm gathers Dan and Bobby for support while Chip reappears as well.

During the chaotic exorcism, Kisha slips into the living room, where she witnesses the unfortunate demise of Rosa, who was there to collect her last paycheck. As the group converges, Kisha’s behavior becomes unpredictable; in a desperate attempt to escape, she flees to the basement for a moment of solitude. Malcolm’s attempt to comfort her is met with unexpected ferocity, provoking a group intervention that ultimately drives the ghost from her.

As night falls, Malcolm and Kisha succumb to their passions once more, the security cameras capturing intimate moments that last three hours. However, their peaceful night is abruptly interrupted when Kisha awakens next to their bed, her presence unsettling and violent as chaos erupts. As she rages against Malcolm, the camera suffers a blow in the scuffle, its lens shattering in the tumult.

Eventually, when Kisha enters, her shirt stained with signs of a vicious struggle, she crawls toward Malcolm in a horrifying manner, her eyes radiating otherworldly fury. As she becomes fixated on him, he feels the full weight of her dark transformation as she sniffs him and then recoils in disgust over an inexplicable foul odor.

In the midst of this pandemonium, Kisha lunges at the camera, her features twisted with demonic rage, while Malcolm awakens to a suffocating silence, only to find Kisha looming above him with a terrifying intensity, prompting him to scream as he realizes something has gone irreversibly wrong.