Fear in the Night

A one-armed intruder with a prosthetic hand assaults Peggy in her own home, leaving her unconscious. The attack heightens the fear surrounding her upcoming move to the secluded boys’ boarding school. This incident sets the ominous tone for what is to come at the school.

The couple travels to the countryside and moves into a chalet across from the main school building. The stark isolation of the setting amplifies Peggy’s unease as they plan to meet the Carmichaels for dinner that evening. The move marks a shift from city life to a remote academic complex.

The next morning Peggy wanders through vacant classrooms, hearing voices of boys but finding no students present. Michael Carmichael appears and gives her a guided tour, explaining the building and its history. The encounter unsettles Peggy as she senses something eerie about the place.

Upon returning to her cottage after the tour, Peggy is attacked once more, deepening her fear and suggesting the danger is tied to the school. The assault leaves her rattled and more suspicious of her surroundings. She struggles to articulate what she experienced to Robert.

Robert comes back and doubts Peggy’s account of the attacks, questioning her mental state. He cancels the planned dinner with the Carmichaels and urges Peggy to rest, while unease festers between them. The tension foreshadows a fractured trust that permeates the story.

During a drive around the grounds they encounter Molly, the headmaster’s wary wife, who is rabbit-hunting. Peggy senses Molly’s cool, distant attitude toward her, layering suspicious interpersonal dynamics. The encounter hints at hidden tensions behind the school’s façade.

That evening Robert departs, and Peggy believes an intruder has entered the chalet. She arms herself with a shotgun and confronts Michael, noticing his prosthetic arm as he enters. She shoots him and flees into the school, where the eerie chorus of boys’ voices and a dormitory chase culminate in a collapse of the scene as she faints.

Robert returns to Peggy, finding her nearly catatonic and a pool of blood in the hallway. Michael is nowhere to be found, and Peggy cannot remember what happened. Robert explains the school’s dark history and Michael’s habit of replaying its past with intercom recordings.

Robert reveals to Peggy that he and Molly are involved and plotted to murder Michael to threaten Peggy into compliance. They bring Peggy into the main hall as Molly searches for Michael’s body. The web of deceit heightens the danger surrounding the school.

In a tense confrontation, Robert prepares to kill Michael but shoots Molly instead, revealing her bound body under a sheet. The ruse collapses as the truth becomes clear, leaving Peggy exposed to further peril. The betrayal escalates the already tangled motives at the school.

Robert drags Peggy outside and attempts to hang her from a tree as a final act of staged suicide. Michael suddenly seizes control and restrains Robert, saving Peggy for the moment. The intervention disrupts the plot long enough for the next phase of danger to unfold.

Two policemen arrive after receiving a call from Michael and confront Peggy about the situation. They learn the school has been shut down for years, but a boys’ choir begins to echo from the building. In the tree behind the school, Robert’s lifeless body hangs from a noose.