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A Ghost Story (2017) movie poster

Timeline

A Ghost Story (2017) Timeline Explained – Every Event in Order

Release, runtime and language
2017 · 92 min · English
Echo score 75
Directed by
David Lowery
Starring
Casey Affleck, Rooney Mara, Barlow Jacobs, Dagger Salazar, Grover Coulson, Kenneisha Thompson
Budget
$100K

A gentle spirit, played by Casey Affleck, lingers in his home after his death, observing the grief of his wife, portrayed by Rooney Mara. Bound to the house, he watches as time passes and new inhabitants arrive, confronting the enduring power of memory and the complexities of loss. The film explores themes of existence, connection, and the passage of time through a poignant and contemplative narrative.

Drama Fantasy Romance Cast, crew & box office
On this page (6)
  1. 1 Where to watch
  2. 2 Events in order (15)
  3. 3 Timeline questions answered
  4. 4 Movie threads
  5. 5 Movies like A Ghost Story
  6. 6 Every angle

Where to watch

Where to Watch A Ghost Story (2017)

Where can you watch A Ghost Story? Stream, rent or buy it in the US, including on YouTube Free, Amazon Video and Apple TV Store: current JustWatch availability with up-to-date prices.

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15 events in order · contains spoilers

A Ghost Story Timeline: Events in Chronological Order

Every key event of A Ghost Story (2017) in order, scene by scene, with when and where it takes place. Use it to untangle flashbacks, time jumps and parallel storylines, to refresh your memory before the sequel or to find the exact scene you are thinking of.

  1. The Musician's Home Life

    A dedicated musician lives with his wife in a charming house situated in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. Despite her aspirations to move, he firmly opposes the idea, setting the stage for the conflicts that will arise in their relationship.

    Where
    Dallas/Fort Worth

  2. The Mysterious Piano Noise

    One night, an unexplained noise starts emanating from their piano, creating a sense of mystery and confusion between the couple. This incident foreshadows the tragic events that will soon unfold in their lives.

    Where
    The musician's home

  3. Tragic Car Accident

    The musician's life takes a devastating turn when he unexpectedly dies in a car accident. This tragic event leaves his wife heartbroken and sets into motion the ghostly experiences that follow.

    Where
    On the road

  4. Mourning in the Hospital

    In a somber hospital moment, the musician's wife mourns as she gazes upon his lifeless form, covered with a sheet. This moment encapsulates her profound loss and the beginning of his ghostly existence.

    Where
    Hospital

  5. Awakening as a Ghost

    After his death, the musician awakens as a ghost, draped in the very sheet covering his body. Struggling to accept his new reality, he wanders the hospital, confused and searching for answers.

    Where
    Hospital

  6. Encountering the Door of Light

    The ghost encounters a door of light that symbolizes the transition to the afterlife. Ultimately feeling overwhelmed, he chooses to retreat back to his home, leaving the door closed behind him.

    Where
    Hospital

  7. Observing His Wife's Grief

    Returning home, the spirit watches his wife's unending grief as days and weeks pass. This silent observation illuminates the depth of their love and the pain of his absence.

    Where
    The musician's home

  8. Meeting Another Ghost

    The musician discovers another spirit living in the adjacent house, who expresses her yearning for someone from her past that she cannot quite remember. This connection deepens the exploration of loss between the two ghosts.

    Where
    Adjacent house

  9. Wife Moves On with Another Man

    Heartbroken, the musician reacts violently when his wife returns home with another man. In his anguish, he throws books from the shelves, revealing his turmoil and desperation for her attention.

    Where
    The musician's home

  10. The Heartfelt Song

    As she listens to a poignant song he had written, his wife decides to leave and writes a heartfelt note. She hides this note in the wall, prompting the ghost to desperately seek it out.

    Where
    The musician's home

  11. New Family Moves In

    A new family arrives, and the ghost silently witnesses their joyful dinners, piano sessions, and Christmas celebrations. However, the children feel his presence and the family soon relocates after an unsettling incident.

    Where
    The musician's home

  12. Party and Philosophical Talk

    During a vibrant gathering hosted by the next residents, the ghost overhears a man discussing the futility of humanity's quest for legacy. It's a moment of reflection amidst the festive atmosphere as light flickers overhead.

    Where
    The musician's home

  13. House Falls into Decay

    As time passes, the once lively home succumbs to decay and neglect. The ghost feels a growing sense of loss as he realizes the permanence of his separation from the living world.

    Where
    The musician's home

  14. The Note's Hidden Secret

    Finally, the ghost manages to pry open the wall to retrieve the note hidden by his wife. Unfortunately, bulldozers demolishing the neighboring house drown out his triumph, signifying the loss of the past.

    Where
    The musician's home

  15. A Journey to the Past

    In a moment of transcendence, the ghost jumps into the past, where he witnesses a family of settlers. He observes a little girl hiding a note under a rock before the tragedy unfolds, reinforcing the cycle of loss.

    Where
    19th century

Last updated: November 15, 2024 at 20:51

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Timeline questions answered

A Ghost Story Timeline Explained: Your Questions Answered

When does it happen, and why in that order? The questions people ask about the chronology of A Ghost Story (2017): time jumps, flashbacks, cause and effect between scenes and the correct order of events, each answered with spoilers.

Q1

Why does the ghost stay at the house instead of moving on?

The ghost is bound to the house by unresolved emotional attachment. Even after death, he cannot leave because he is tethered to his wife and the life they shared. The door of light represents the option to move on, but he retreats from it, unable to leave without understanding his wife's final message to him.

  • ghost
  • house
  • attachment
  • afterlife
  • door of light
Q2

What did the note say that the wife hid in the wall?

The note contained a message from his wife expressing her love and letting him know she was leaving. When the ghost finally retrieves and reads it in the final moments, he finds closure and peace, which allows him to dissipate.

Foreshadowing: The wife writes the note after listening to a heartfelt song the ghost had written during his life.

  • note
  • message
  • wall
  • closure
  • dissipate
Q3

Why did the wife hide a note in the wall before leaving?

The wife hid the note as a final form of communication and closure for both herself and her deceased husband. She knew he would somehow find it, even after she moved on with someone else. It was her way of saying goodbye and releasing both of them from their shared grief.

  • wife
  • note
  • goodbye
  • closure
  • grief
Q4

How does the ghost travel through time to the 19th century?

The ghost transcends normal time by jumping from the rooftop of his demolished house. This ability seems tied to his liminal state as a spirit. He arrives in the 19th century where he witnesses the same cycle of loss repeating, a family builds a home, tragedy occurs, and a young girl hides a note, mirroring his own story.

  • time travel
  • 19th century
  • transcendence
  • cycle
Q5

Who is the other ghost living in the adjacent house?

The other ghost is a woman who died in the past and waits for someone she cannot remember. She represents another soul trapped by unresolved attachment and loss. When she finally accepts that her awaited person will never come, she vanishes, showing that letting go is necessary for spirits to move on.

  • other ghost
  • adjacent house
  • waiting
  • loss
Q6

Why does the ghost react violently when his wife brings another man home?

The ghost experiences overwhelming jealousy and heartbreak upon seeing his wife with another man. Unable to communicate his pain, he channels it into manipulating physical objects, throwing books from the shelves and flickering lights. This violent reaction demonstrates the torment of watching someone you love move on while you remain stuck.

  • jealousy
  • heartbreak
  • books
  • reaction
  • grief
Q7

What is the significance of the mysterious piano sound at the beginning?

The unexplained piano noise appears before the husband's death, foreshadowing his ghostly presence after death. Later in the timeline, the ghost plays the piano to wake his past self and wife, creating a loop where the mysterious sound connects his living and dead states.

  • piano
  • noise
  • foreshadowing
  • supernatural
Q8

What does the door of light represent and why doesn't the ghost enter it?

The door of light represents the threshold between life and death, the opportunity to move on to the afterlife. The ghost chooses not to enter because he is not ready to let go of his wife and their life together. His attachment keeps him tethered to the physical world.

  • door of light
  • afterlife
  • transition
  • attachment
Q9

Why does the ghost disappear after reading the note?

The ghost dissipates because reading the note finally provides him with closure. After witnessing decades of change, loss, and the cyclical nature of human stories, he achieves the understanding he needed. The note releases his emotional attachment, allowing him to let go and move beyond the mortal realm.

  • dissipate
  • closure
  • note
  • release
  • resolution
Q10

What is the connection between the 19th century storyline and the main story?

The 19th century storyline reveals a cyclical pattern: a family builds a home, a young girl hides a note, tragedy strikes, and time erases everything. This mirrors the ghost's own experience, building a life with his wife, losing her, and watching time destroy what remained. The cycle shows that loss is universal and recurring across generations.

  • cycle
  • 19th century
  • repetition
  • loss
  • generations

Movie threads

More Movies Like A Ghost Story, by Mood & Story

Curated lists built around what makes A Ghost Story tick: the same mood, the same kind of story or the same emotional payoff. Each list explains why these movies belong together.

Movies with a quiet, meditative mood like A Ghost Story

Slow, contemplative films that explore loss and memory with a heavy, ethereal mood. This section features movies like A Ghost Story that share a slow, contemplative pacing and a melancholic tone. If you enjoyed the poetic exploration of grief and time, you'll find similar emotionally heavy and dreamlike stories here.

  • contemplative
  • sorrowful
  • dreamlike
  • haunting
  • quiet
  • ethereal
  • Tone: melancholic, sorrowful
  • Pacing: slow, deliberate
Why these movies?

The story pattern: Stories in this thread often unfold through observation and introspection rather than traditional conflict. Characters grapple with loss or existential questions, with the narrative structure frequently emphasizing the cyclical or relentless nature of time through non-linear or expansive timelines.

Why they belong together: These films are grouped together based on their shared slow pacing, heavy emotional weight, and melancholic tone. They create a specific, immersive vibe defined by quiet contemplation, sorrow, and a focus on the intangible aspects of existence like memory and legacy.

Rabbit Hole movie poster

Rabbit Hole

2010
Silent Souls movie poster

Silent Souls

2011
Moonlight Mile movie poster

Moonlight Mile

2002
A Ghost Story movie poster

A Ghost Story

2017
Cherry Blossoms movie poster

Cherry Blossoms

2009
Drive My Car movie poster

Drive My Car

2021
Longing movie poster

Longing

2017
Somewhere in Time movie poster

Somewhere in Time

1980

Observer narrative movies similar to A Ghost Story

Stories told from the passive viewpoint of a spirit, memory, or unseen presence. Discover films with a similar narrative device to A Ghost Story, where the story is told from the perspective of a ghost or unseen observer. These movies often share themes of loneliness, memory, and a bittersweet tone.

  • lonely
  • observational
  • philosophical
  • ethereal
  • introspective
  • haunting
  • Tone: melancholic, bittersweet
  • Pacing: slow, observational
Why these movies?

The story pattern: The narrative pattern centers on a non-interactive protagonist who watches events unfold over time. The conflict is often internal or philosophical, dealing with acceptance and the meaning of existence. The journey is about gaining a new, detached understanding of life and relationships.

Why they belong together: These movies are connected by a unique character perspective and plot structure—the observer narrative. This creates a distinct feeling of loneliness and passive contemplation, coupled with themes of legacy and the afterlife, resulting in a specific bittersweet or melancholic tone.

A Ghost Story movie poster

A Ghost Story

2017
The Invisible movie poster

The Invisible

2007
My Left Eye Sees Ghosts movie poster

My Left Eye Sees Ghosts

2002
Invisible movie poster

Invisible

2005
All of Us Strangers movie poster

All of Us Strangers

2023
Summer Ghost movie poster

Summer Ghost

2021
The Invisible Circus movie poster

The Invisible Circus

2001
The Ghost and Mrs. Muir movie poster

The Ghost and Mrs. Muir

1947

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Every angle

A Ghost Story (2017) Explained: Plot, Timeline & Characters

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