What Is Wicked Little Things About?
The premise of Wicked Little Things in 303 words, with nothing given away. The full story follows below.
In the quiet, pine‑shaded hills of Pennsylvania lies a town whose calm masks a buried tragedy. In 1913 a catastrophic mine accident trapped dozens of child laborers deep beneath the earth, leaving their small lives suspended in darkness. Decades later, the present‑day world of the film hovers over that forgotten shaft, the air tinged with the echo of unseen footsteps and the faint, lingering laughter of children who never left. The atmosphere is thick with mist‑laden woods, creaking old houses, and an ever‑present sense that the past is not quite dead.
When Karen Tunny moves her family into her husband’s childhood home, she brings along her teenage daughter Sarah and her younger sister Emma, each carrying their own blend of skepticism and curiosity. Karen’s pragmatic nature clashes with the subtle, unsettling signs that begin to appear around the property—a smear of blood on a door, strange sounds in the night, and the wary warnings of locals who know the land’s history. Sarah seeks independence and finds herself drawn to the mysteries of the surrounding woods, while Emma’s imagination flares, hinting at friendships that may exist beyond the veil of ordinary life. Their relationships pulse with the tension of a family trying to forge safety in a place that subtly refuses to let go of its hidden legacy.
The town itself feels like a character, its residents quietly aware of the old mine’s shadow and the lingering presence beneath the soil. A lone figure tied to the mine’s original owners—William Carlton—serves as a reminder that the land’s ownership is tangled with the tragedies of the past. The film’s tone remains somber and suspenseful, blending atmospheric dread with the everyday challenges of a mother protecting her children, all while an unseen, child‑filled darkness waits just below the surface, inviting curiosity and fear in equal measure.
What Happens in Wicked Little Things?
The complete story of Wicked Little Things, from the first scene to the last, in 787 words (about 3 minutes). Spoilers throughout. Names in the text link to 2 cast member pages.
Spoilers ahead
In 1913, in Carlton, Pennsylvania, the powerful owner of the Carlton Mine relies on immigrant child labor to extend his reach. A girl named Mary is sent into a tunnel to plant dynamite in a new shaft, and the blast traps her and several other children deep underground, setting a grim secret in motion that will echo through decades.
Eight decades later, Karen Tunny, Lori Heuring, moves with her two daughters, Sarah and Emma, into her husband’s childhood home near the now-deserted Carlton mine. They are warned by a wary local to steer clear of the woods after dark. On the road they almost collide with a man crossing, and what seems like a broken jar of blood lies nearby. When they reach the house, Sarah notices fresh blood on the door, and Karen digs through old photos and newspaper clippings about the mine tragedy, trying to piece together what happened to the child miners.
That first night, Karen dreams of a child with a pickaxe entering the house and attacking her; she wakes to a door left ajar and more blood on the threshold, and she even glimpses a man wandering the property. The next day, a plumber arrives to fix the failing pipes and coldly explains that the children came from the mine, admitting he intends to leave before nightfall. Emma, meanwhile, hears distant giggles and slips out to follow the sounds, disappearing briefly in the increasingly tangled mystery. When Karen and Emma reunite, they find themselves lost inside a house that seems almost to breathe with history.
The plumber’s warning resurfaces in a sharper light when Karen discovers that William Carlton, the last surviving member of the Carlton line, is buying up nearby property. On the road back from the mine, he warns them, too, that they do not truly own the house, only a miner’s lease that belongs to him. As if to confirm the danger, the plumber is later killed by the child miners in a deadly echo of the past.
Emma’s insistence that she has a new friend named Mary—who supposedly lives in the mine—deepens Karen’s fear that the mine’s haunted legacy has a way of infiltrating their family life. A chilling sign arrives when Emma appears outside one day with an old, coal-blackened doll that she insists Mary gave her. Karen’s search leads her to the Carlton mansion again, where a confrontation with William Carlton reveals a bitter truth: the Carlton name is a ledger of power and a history that seems to condemn those who hold it. William insists that Karen does not own the house and presses that the lease belongs to him, a claim that unsettles Karen and stirs old memories.
Sarah—now a teenager—finds herself drawn into a small group of three friends, and one night they go into the woods and are suddenly confronted by the children. The friends are killed one by one, and only Sarah escapes with her life, returning to a frightened Karen and an anxious Emma, who is also missing. The trio races toward the mine and encounters William Carlton again, pleading for a ride to safety, but the children descend upon the group, killing the driver and forcing the survivors to flee to Hanks’ house for shelter.
Inside, Aaron Hanks, Ben Cross, explains that the children spare blood relatives—Mary Tunny and her brother, plus Hanks’ own ancestors who were among the miners—while they seek revenge on the Carlton bloodline. William attempts to shoot the apparitions and end the threat, but the bullets go astray as the children close in. The group scrambles to escape in a truck that won’t start, and they hide in a barn as the children close in from every angle. William hides in the loft, but the children infiltrate the space and sweep him up, sealing his fate in a grim, inevitable act.
Emma finally steps forward from the crowd of children and, in a moment that shifts the balance, allows Hanks and the Tunny family to slip away. In the aftermath, the Tunnys choose to relocate, but they do not sell the house, which somehow transfers to them after William’s death. The haunting conclusion suggests that the children have found a new place to reside within the Tunny home, with Mary and her brother lingering in the background, seen at last in the house that has become theirs by both vengeance and memory.
This story intertwines past and present with a steady, somber cadence, tracing a family’s struggle to claim a sense of safety amid a lineage of violence and unfinished business. The atmosphere is thick with wind-swept corridors, the echo of children’s laughter that never fully vanishes, and the relentless push-pull between legacy and home.
Wicked Little Things Timeline: Every Key Event in Order
12 key events in the order they happen, from “1913 Carlton Mine Disaster” to “Final Showdown and Aftermath”. 12 events name a place, across 9 locations.
- 1
1913 Carlton Mine Disaster
The Carlton Mine owner uses immigrant child laborers during a shaft expansion. Mary is sent into a tunnel with dynamite to excavate a new shaft. The explosion buries her and several other children, sealing their fate and staining the mine's history with tragedy.
When:1913 Where:Carlton Mine, Carlton, Pennsylvania
- 2
Move to the Carlton House
In 1993, Karen Tunny and her daughters Sarah and Emma relocate to the husband’s childhood home near the now-abandoned Carlton mine. A local warns them to avoid the woods after dark. The house carries the weight of the tragedy and hints at a lingering, haunted history.
When:c. 1993 Where:Carlton mansion and nearby mine
- 3
Roadside Omen and Near-Miss
While driving, Karen nearly hits a man crossing the road. She then discovers what appears to be a broken jar of blood on the ground, a grim omen tied to the mine’s past. The encounter foreshadows the danger that surrounds the property.
Where:Road near Carlton estate
- 4
Blood on the Door and Old Clippings
The family arrives and finds blood on the front door. Karen uncovers old photographs of the child miners and newspaper clippings about the accident, anchoring the house to its buried victims. The past seems to reach into the present home.
Where:Carlton house
- 5
Nightmare Vision
That night, Karen dreams of a child with a pickaxe entering the home and attacking her. She wakes to find the door open with fresh blood and spots a man crossing the property again. The dream blurs the line between memory and haunting.
Where:Carlton house
- 6
Plumber's Visit and Warning
A plumber arrives to fix the pipes and explains that the victims were child miners. He is determined to leave before nightfall, fearing the house's cursed history. His warning foreshadows the danger that will follow.
Where:Carlton house
- 7
Emma’s Giggling and the Mine
Emma begins hearing giggling and ventures toward the old Carlton mine. She is found at the mine entrance, insisting she met a girl named Mary. The family begins to suspect Mary’s lingering presence in the mine.
Where:Old Carlton mine
- 8
Hanks’ Warning and Carlton’s Expansion
Hanks confronts Karen, admitting ties to the mine and warning them to keep to daylight hours. He explains that Mary has promised not to hurt Emma, but others may be at risk. He also reveals that William Carlton is buying up property around the mine.
Where:Carlton mansion
- 9
The Lease of the House
Karen learns that William Carlton holds the legal power over the property, claiming she does not own the house and that her 'miner’s lease' is illegal. He asserts control over the family’s fate.
Where:Carlton mansion
- 10
Sarah's Night and the Teens’ Fate
Sarah meets three other teenagers and begins hanging out with them. One night, two boys investigate after being spooked, and the child miners attack them, killing one and injuring the other; Sarah escapes back home, terrified, while Emma remains missing.
Where:Woods around Carlton
- 11
Mine Confrontation and Escape
The trio returns to the mine to search for Emma and is confronted by all the children. William Carlton tries to shoot them but fails; they flee toward Hanks’s house, pursued by the children.
Where:Carlton mine and surrounding property
- 12
Final Showdown and Aftermath
In a final showdown at Hanks’s barn, the children overwhelm William Carlton and kill him, and Emma emerges from the crowd, allowing the Tunny group to leave. The family decides to stay in the house but cannot sell it, and the town’s haunting persists, with Mary and her brother seen in the Tunny home.
When:Post-1993 onward Where:Hanks' barn and Carlton property
Who Are the Main Characters in Wicked Little Things?
6 characters, among them Emma Tunny (Chloë Grace Moretz), Karen Tunny (Lori Heuring) and Sarah Tunny (Scout Taylor-Compton): who each one is and the part they play in the story. Every profile links to the actor’s page.
-
Emma Tunny (Chloë Grace Moretz)
Played by Chloë Grace Moretz
Emma is the younger Tunny daughter who becomes drawn into the mine's history and believes she has a friend named Mary living in the mine. She is curious and brave, luring the family deeper into danger. Her perceptions blur the line between childhood imagination and supernatural reality.
- 👧 Young
- 🪄 Imaginative
- 🕯️ Haunted
- KT
Karen Tunny (Lori Heuring)
Played by Lori Heuring
Karen is the mother who moves with her daughters into the old Carlton property after her husband’s death. She is protective and pragmatic, trying to shield her family while uncovering the house's dark history. As the supernatural events escalate, she must decide what she is willing to risk to keep her daughters safe.
- 👩 Protective
- 🧭 Pragmatic
- 🕯️ Supernatural danger
- ST
Sarah Tunny (Scout Taylor-Compton)
Played by Scout Taylor-Compton
Sarah is the teenage sister who befriends trouble and becomes a focal point for the ghostly children. She is brave, impulsive, and resourceful, helping to uncover the mine's truth while facing escalating danger.
- 🧒 Teen
- 🗺️ Adventurous
- 💪 Courage
- WC
William Carlton (Martin McDougall)
Played by Martin McDougall
William Carlton is the last surviving member of the Carlton line who attempts to capitalize on surrounding property. He is ruthless, maintaining wealth and control as the past intrudes. His confrontation with the ghosts ends in violent consequences.
- 🧔 Wealthy
- 🗝️ Legacy
- ⚔️ Confrontation
-
Aaron Hanks (Ben Cross)
Played by Ben Cross
Aaron Hanks is the local who warns the family and explains the mine's history. He ties up a pig to lure the child miners and reveals the curse, acting as an uneasy ally whose ties to the mine’s past complicate the present.
- 🧑 Local
- 🗝️ Keeper
- 🧭 Ambiguous ally
- M(
Mary (Helia Grekova)
Played by Helia Grekova
Mary is the girl miner whose death in the 1913 explosion haunts the mine and the house. She befriends Emma and presents a childlike, tragic presence that promises not to hurt, though she remains part of a larger, vengeful ghostly chorus.
- 👼 Ghost
- 🕯️ Tragedy
- 🧵 Legacy
Where and When Is Wicked Little Things Set?
Wicked Little Things is set in Carlton, Pennsylvania, Carlton Mine and Carlton Mansion (1913; 1993). Here is why the time and place matter to the story.
When
1913; 1993
In 1913, a dynamite explosion seals Mary and several child miners inside the Carlton Mine. About eighty years later, in the early 1990s, Karen, Sarah, and Emma move into the same house to start over, only to confront the lingering horrors tied to the mine and the Carlton curse. The two eras are linked by a blood feud and a need to confront the past to survive the present.
Where
Carlton, Pennsylvania; Carlton Mine; Carlton Mansion
The story unfolds around Carlton, Pennsylvania, anchored by the long-closed Carlton Mine and the nearby Carlton Mansion. The town's industrial past left scars in the landscape and in the families who worked in the mine. In present-day, Karen and her daughters move onto the property and must confront a hidden history that resurfaces after dark.
- 🏚️ Abandoned town
- 🛠️ Industrial past
- 🌲 Wooded surroundings
What Are the Themes of Wicked Little Things?
3 ideas the story keeps returning to, among them Haunted past, Revenge and Family ties.
-
01
Haunted past
A buried history of child labor and a deadly mine explosion returns as ghosts and warnings in the modern home. The mine's tragedy shapes the town's present, turning doors into portals and whispers into threats. The living characters must acknowledge the past to break the curse.
-
02
Revenge
The ghostly children seek vengeance on the Carlton lineage for past wrongs, targeting those who threaten the mine while sparing only close blood relatives. The confrontation escalates to a fatal retaliation that cements the ghosts' control over the house. The theme explores how vengeance can be both protective and destructive.
-
03
Family ties
Karen and her daughters form a fragile unit as they face a supernatural threat that tests trust and resilience. The haunting becomes a catalyst for bonding, forcing them to confront family secrets and the town's legacy. In this landscape, family acts as both shield and target.
What Kind of Film Is Wicked Little Things?
Dark in tone, with steady pacing and a moderate story, going by the plot summary.
- Tone
- Dark
- Pacing
- Steady
- Story
- Moderate
- Intensity
- High
- Ending
- Bittersweet
A steadily paced and deeply unsettling horror film that generates a heavy, oppressive atmosphere through a decades-old tragedy, trapping a vulnerable family in a claustrophobic legacy of violence and supernatural vengeance.
- ominous
- claustrophobic
- somber
- anxious
- haunting
- gloomy
- family legacy
- supernatural haunting
- revenge
- grief and loss
Content notes: child death, graphic violence, murder, child endangerment, traumatic death.
Quiz
How well do you remember Wicked Little Things? Test yourself on the story.
