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Plot Summary

Ghost Fever (1987) Plot Summary Explained

Release, runtime and language
1987 · 93 mins · English
Directed by
Alan Smithee, Lee Madden
Starring
Deborah Benson, Sherman Hemsley, Jennifer Rhodes, Roger Cudney, Steve Stone, Luis Ávalos

Sherman Hemsley plays a hard‑headed city detective determined to capture a group of mischievous ghosts. When two officers are dispatched on a routine eviction‑notice delivery, they find themselves tangled in supernatural chaos, turning a simple job into a bizarre, ghost‑filled ordeal.

On this page (5)
  1. 1 What happens: full plot
  2. 2 Plot questions answered
  3. 3 Movie threads
  4. 4 Movies like Ghost Fever
  5. 5 Every angle

Full plot summary · contains spoilers

What Happens in Ghost Fever: Full Plot Summary

The whole story of Ghost Fever (1987) explained, from the opening scene to the final frame: every key event, every twist and what it all adds up to. Read it as a quick recap before the sequel, to check a scene you missed, or to finally understand what really happened.

In Greendale County, Georgia, Buford / Jethro and Benny are two police officers tasked with serving an eviction on a historic plantation, a mission that tangles the living with a haunted, stubborn past. Two ghosts, Andrew Lee, a former owner, and Jethro, a former slave, resolve to keep their old home from being foreclosed upon, setting a supernatural motive into motion from the moment the ink dries on the eviction papers.

As the pair search the mansion, [Buford] uncovers a hidden laboratory once used to experiment on and torture the plantation’s enslaved people, and a surge of aggressive, otherworldly happenings erupts around them. The two ghosts—still feeling bound to the land—are baffled and angry, not fully responsible for the dangerous acts now tearing through the hallways and grounds. The mansion creaks with unsettled histories as the living and the dead circle one another in a fragile, uneasy truce.

Buford and Benny soon meet the home’s residents, two striking sisters, Linda and Lisa. The sisters explain that their racist dead grandfather may be the malevolent force prowling the plantation, and they introduce the men to Madame St. Esprit, a respected spiritual medium summoned to hold a séance. The ritual sparks a vicious display of supernatural power, with lightning-like energy crackling through the air and the walls themselves seeming to breathe with malice.

Night deepens the strange disturbances, and the ghosts’ intrigue becomes fear as more phantoms and poltergeist activity bloom across the property. Jethro comes to a startling realization: the enslaved people placed a voodoo curse on their master, transforming him into an immortal vampire. The apparition of the vampire finally emerges, and the grounds fill with undead figures and eerie hostility. Benny meets a grim challenge, staking the vampire through the heart to end his terror, a moment of courage carved from desperation and the aid of the lingering dead.

Linda and Lisa reveal a long, sorrowful secret: they have been dead for many years and remain tethered to the house they loved. To save the plantation from foreclosure, Benny competes in a boxing match, drawing on a bit of help from Lee and Jethro, and uses the prize money to secure the property’s future, buying time for the living and the dead to coexist in peace.

As the night winds down, [Lee] and Jethro close in on the living officers, and a fatal car crash on a rural road seals Buford and Benny’s fates. Yet their spirits are freed to return to the plantation, where they join Linda and Lisa in a tranquil afterlife, ending the night with a hopeful, if haunting, sense of belonging on the land they all once protected.

Last updated: October 09, 2025 at 14:26

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Plot questions answered

Ghost Fever Plot Explained: Your Questions Answered

The questions people ask most about Ghost Fever (1987): what happens in the confusing scenes, why the characters do what they do, the twists, hidden details and what the ending means. Each answer contains spoilers.

Q1

Why do the ghosts say they're not responsible for the violent supernatural activity?

The ghosts Andrew Lee and Jethro are genuinely confused about the violent poltergeist events occurring throughout the mansion. The malevolent force is actually their racist former master, who was transformed into an immortal vampire through a voodoo curse placed by enslaved people. This vampire ancestor is the one causing the dangerous attacks, not the two friendly ghosts trying to protect the plantation.

Foreshadowing: The ghosts' confusion early on hints that another, more sinister supernatural force is at work in the mansion.

  • ghost
  • vampire
  • voodoo curse
  • supernatural activity
  • polargeist
Q2

How did the vampire come to exist on the plantation?

Jethro discovers that enslaved people placed a voodoo curse on their master, transforming him into an immortal vampire. This curse was placed as retribution for the torture and experiments conducted in the hidden laboratory. The vampire has been haunting the plantation grounds as an undead force, creating the hostile atmosphere that escalates throughout the night.

Foreshadowing: The discovery of the hidden torture laboratory foreshadows the voodoo curse reveal.

  • vampire
  • voodoo curse
  • immortal
  • enslaved people
  • curse
Q3

Why do Buford and Benny die in a car crash at the end?

The ghosts Lee and Jethro deliberately cause a fatal car crash on a rural road, killing both Buford and Benny. This appears to be their plan all along, getting the officers to the plantation, using them to stop the vampire and save the property, then ensuring they die so their spirits can join the ghost community permanently. The crash is framed as the ghosts recruiting the officers into their afterlife.

Foreshadowing: Lee and Jethro's initial interest in the officers goes beyond just needing help with the eviction.

  • car crash
  • death
  • Buford
  • Benny
  • spirits
  • afterlife
Q4

What was the purpose of the boxing match?

Benny enters a boxing match to win prize money that will prevent the plantation's foreclosure. The ghosts Andrew Lee and Jethro provide spiritual assistance to help Benny win the fight. The money successfully halts the foreclosure, allowing the living and dead to coexist on the property. This subplot provides both comic relief and a practical solution to the eviction problem.

Foreshadowing: The need to stop the foreclosure drives the entire narrative forward.

  • boxing match
  • foreclosure
  • prize money
  • Benny
  • plantation
Q5

Why do Linda and Lisa reveal they've been dead for years?

Linda and Lisa are the sisters who live in the mansion and reveal they have actually been dead for many years, remaining tethered to the house they loved. They explain this to the officers as part of their goal to save the plantation and protect its legacy. Their revelation connects them to the other ghosts and reinforces the theme of spirits bound to the land.

Foreshadowing: The sisters' knowledge of the mansion's supernatural history suggests a deeper connection.

  • Linda
  • Lisa
  • dead
  • ghosts
  • house
  • spirits
Q6

How does Benny defeat the vampire?

Benny confronts the vampire manifestation on the plantation grounds and drives a stake through its heart, effectively destroying the undead threat. This act ends the vampire's terror and removes the malevolent force that had been causing the violent supernatural attacks. After the vampire is defeated, the remaining undead figures wander the grounds but no longer pose the same threat.

Foreshadowing: The emergence of the vampire creates the film's primary horror conflict.

  • vampire
  • stake
  • Benny
  • defeat
  • undead
Q7

What was the hidden laboratory in the mansion?

Buford discovers a hidden laboratory inside the mansion that was used to experiment on and torture enslaved people. This dark history explains the origin of the voodoo curse and why the plantation is so heavily haunted. The laboratory's discovery triggers the escalation of supernatural events, as if the house reacts to this uncovered trauma.

Foreshadowing: The laboratory's existence sets up the voodoo curse motivation.

  • laboratory
  • torture
  • enslaved people
  • experiments
  • plantation history
Q8

Who is the malevolent force terrorizing the plantation?

The racist grandfather ghost of Linda and Lisa is the malevolent force prowling the plantation. This ancestor's spirit is far more hostile than the friendly ghosts of Lee and Jethro. He is the one behind the violent supernatural attacks, including the lightning-like energy during the séance. His presence represents the dark history of the plantation come back to haunt the living.

Foreshadowing: Linda and Lisa hint that their racist grandfather may be causing the disturbances.

  • grandfather ghost
  • racist
  • malevolent force
  • ancestor
Q9

What happens during the séance scene?

Madame St. Esprit conducts a séance to communicate with the spirits, but the ritual triggers a vicious display of supernatural power. Lightning-like energy crackles through the air, and the walls appear to breathe with malice. This attack represents the grandfather vampire's resistance to being contacted and intensifies the film's horror elements.

Foreshadowing: The séance is the first major encounter with the malevolent force.

  • séance
  • Madame St. Esprit
  • spiritual medium
  • energy attack
Q10

Why do the ghosts want to save the plantation from foreclosure?

Andrew Lee and Jethro, as former owner and former slave respectively, remain spiritually bound to the plantation and consider it their home. Despite their historical differences in life, death has united them in a common goal to protect the property. They work with the living officers and the sister ghosts to preserve the estate so they can continue existing there in peace.

Foreshadowing: The ghosts' decision to prevent foreclosure establishes their protective motivation from the start.

  • Andrew Lee
  • Jethro
  • foreclosure
  • plantation
  • protect
  • ghosts
Q11

Why are Buford and Benny at the plantation in the first place?

Buford and Benny are two police officers dispatched to serve an eviction notice on the historic plantation in Greendale County, Georgia. This routine job becomes anything but routine when they encounter the supernatural inhabitants. Their initial mission to facilitate the foreclosure sets the entire plot in motion.

Foreshadowing: The eviction notice is the inciting incident that brings the living and dead together.

  • eviction notice
  • Buford
  • Benny
  • officers
  • plantation
Q12

What happens to Buford and Benny's spirits at the end?

After the fatal car crash, Buford and Benny's spirits are freed to return to the plantation where they join Linda and Lisa in a tranquil afterlife. The film ends with a hopeful, haunting sense of belonging as all the ghosts coexist on the land they once protected. The bittersweet ending shows loss transformed into peaceful companionship.

Foreshadowing: The ghosts' recruitment of the officers hinted at this permanent joining.

  • afterlife
  • spirits
  • Buford
  • Benny
  • ghost community
  • happy ending

Movie threads

More Movies Like Ghost Fever, by Mood & Story

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

Spoofy Haunted House Movies like Ghost Fever

Lighthearted comedies where spooky shenanigans are played for laughs. If you liked the goofy ghostly antics of Ghost Fever, you'll enjoy these other comedies. This list features movies with a similar lighthearted, humorous take on haunted houses and supernatural encounters, perfect for fans of spooky spoofs.

  • comical
  • spooky
  • lighthearted
  • cheesy
  • playful
  • bizarre
  • Tone: light, comical
  • Pacing: fast, frantic
Why these movies?

The story pattern: These stories typically involve ordinary characters, often skeptics or authority figures, stumbling into a supernatural situation. The narrative unfolds as a series of comedic set pieces, where ghostly encounters are defanged into playful pranks and absurd confrontations.

Why they belong together: Movies are grouped here for their shared commitment to comedy over horror. They share a light tone, fast pacing, and a focus on delivering laughs through supernatural premises, making them ideal for viewers seeking fun rather than frights.

Supernatural Buddy Cop Films similar to Ghost Fever

Law enforcement partners forced to deal with bizarre, otherworldly cases. Fans of Ghost Fever will enjoy these other movies featuring cops out of their depth in supernatural situations. These films blend comedy, action, and the paranormal, often focusing on the dynamic between partners facing ghostly threats.

  • buddy cop
  • supernatural
  • comical
  • action-comedy
  • bizarre
  • unlikely duo
  • Tone: light, bizarre
  • Pacing: fast, steady
Why these movies?

The story pattern: The narrative follows a classic buddy-cop structure but replaces the standard criminal underworld with a supernatural one. The journey involves initial disbelief, chaotic investigation, and a final confrontation where conventional methods fail, forcing an unconventional resolution.

Why they belong together: These movies are linked by their core premise: combining the procedural or comedic elements of a cop film with a supernatural plot. The appeal lies in the contrast between straight-laced (or comically flawed) authority figures and the irrational forces they must confront.

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Movies Like Ghost Fever

Similar movies to Ghost Fever: the same genre, themes or kind of story. Each one comes with its own plot summary, timeline and ending explained.

Browse all movie summaries

Every angle

Ghost Fever (1987) Explained: Plot, Timeline & Characters

Everything about Ghost Fever in one place: what happens in the plot summary, the timeline in chronological order, the characters and meaning and a spoiler-free summary. What's After the Movie adds the cast, box office and post-credit scenes.

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