The Haunted Mansion(2003)

Plot Summary

• Jim and Sara Evers are successful realtors with two children, Michael and Megan. A workaholic with little time for his family, Jim misses his wedding anniversary and tries to make amends by suggesting a vacation to the nearby lake. Sara is contacted by the occupants of Gracey Manor, located in the nearby bayou; Jim, eager to make a deal after learning where the mansion is, takes his family there, meeting its owner, Edward Gracey, his butler Ramsley and his other servants; maid Emma and footman Ezra.When a rainstorm floods the nearby river, Gracey has the family to stay for the night. Ramsley takes Jim to the library to discuss the deal with Gracey, but Jim becomes trapped in a secret passage. Gracey gives Sara a tour of the mansion, discussing his past and his "grandfather"'s death after the suicide of his lover, Elizabeth Henshaw. Megan and Michael follow a spectral orb to the attic, where they find a portrait of a woman that bears an almost identical resemblance to Sara. Emma and Ezra appear, and identify the woman as the late Elizabeth.Meanwhile, Jim meets Madame Leota, the ghost of a gypsy whose head is encased in a crystal ball. He runs into Emma, Ezra and his children, and returns to Leota for answers about Elizabeth's likeness to Sara. It is then revealed that the mansion's inhabitants are ghosts, cursed a century ago by Elizabeth's and Gracey's untimely deaths, and can only enter the afterlife when the lovers are reunited; Sara is believed to be Elizabeth's reincarnation. Leota then sends the Evers to the mansion's cemetery to find a key that will reveal the truth about Elizabeth's death. In a crypt beneath a mausoleum, Jim and Megan find the key, but inadvertently disturb its undead residents. However, they escape with help from Michael, who overcomes his arachnophobia.Leota leads them to a trunk in the attic, which Jim unlocks to find a letter Elizabeth wrote to Gracey, revealing she truly loved him and wanted to marry him, indicating that she did not commit suicide as everyone believed. Ramsley then appears and reveals he murdered Elizabeth to prevent Gracey from abandoning his heritage, as he believed their relationship was unacceptable. To hide the truth, Ramsley traps the children in a trunk and literally throws Jim out of the mansion.As Gracey and Sara rendezvous in the ballroom, she is confused when he asks if she recognizes him, and he insists she is his beloved Elizabeth. The room fills with dancing ghosts as Gracey reveals his ghostly self, but Sara denies being Elizabeth. This gives Gracey second thoughts, but Ramsley insists that Sara is Elizabeth and, in time, she will remember. Ramsley blackmails Sara into marrying Gracey in exchange for her children's safety.Encouraged by Leota, Jim manages to re-enter the mansion, rescue his children, and stop Sara and Gracey's wedding. He gives Gracey Elizabeth's letter and Ramsley's crime is exposed. As Gracey angrily confronts Ramsley, the latter rages at his master's apparent selfishness for loving Elizabeth and summons wraiths to attack the group. However, with the truth revealed, a fiery entity emerges from the ballroom's fireplace and prepares to drag Ramsley down to Hell to face eternal punishment. Ramsley attempts to take Jim with him, but he is saved by Gracey.Sara collapses, having been poisoned by Ramsley during the wedding ceremony, but the spectral orb appears and, possessing Sara. It is revealed to be Elizabeth's ghost, who could only be released from her current form once the truth was revealed. Elizabeth and Gracey reunite as Sara is subsequently revived. With the curse finally lifted, Gracey gives the Evers the deed to the mansion and departs to Heaven with Elizabeth, Emma, Ezra, and the mansion's other inhabitants. The Evers drive across the Lake Ponchartrain Causeway for a proper vacation, accompanied by Leota and four singing busts that they encountered while searching for the mausoleum, strapped to the back of their car.

Storyline

• Realtor workaholic Jim Evers and his wife and business partner Sara gets a call late one night from mansion owner Edward Gracey, who is looking to sell his property. Smelling the biggest deal of their career, Jim, Sara and their two children pay a visit to the mansion, located on a remote bayou. A torrential thunderstorm of mysterious origin strands the Evers family in the old mansion with the brooding, eccentric Gracey, his mysterious butler, Ramsley, and a variety of residents both seen and unseen. At first Jim scoffs at Gracey's stories about ghosts and hauntings, until he unearths the mystery of the mansion and finds that his wife Sara has unexpected connections to its haunted past! — Anthony Pereyra {hypersonic91@yahoo.com} Under the guise of a happy family vacation, workaholic real-estate agent Jim Evers drags his wife Sara and their two children to the warm Louisiana bayou in what appears to be a lucrative business deal. Jim, of course, secretly hopes to put on the market a gloomy old villa. As a result, the Evers spend the night at the palatial estate as guests of Master Gracey, the cryptic proprietor, and Ramsley, his cadaverous butler. However, there's more to the creepy house than meets the eye. After all, the entire manor oozes with blood-chilling supernatural manifestations. But first things first. Now that the Evers have set foot in the spooky Gracey Manor, will they ever escape from the haunted mansion? — Nick Riganas Real Estate agent Jim Evers and his wife Sarah are always busy and barely have any time to spend with their two children. But their workaholic lives are turned upside down when they are summoned to a massive mansion by one Edward Gracey to sell it. However, their plans are pushed aside when they stay for the night. As Jim and the kids explore the house, they quickly discover that a mysterious curse has engulfed the house for several years. And Jim also discovers that there is a connection to his wife and Gracey's lover. Now Jim must work to uncover the mystery and get his family out of the house. — Blazer346