Plot Explained Spoilers guaranteed!
Plot Explained

Browse by genre

Kill, Baby… Kill! (1966) movie poster

Timeline

Kill, Baby… Kill! (1966) Timeline Explained – Every Event in Order

Release, runtime and language
1966 · 83 mins · Italian
Directed by
Mario Bava
Starring
Giuseppe Addobbati, Erika Blanc, Quinto Marziali, Luciano Catenacci, Franca Dominici, Giacomo Rossi Stuart

Makes you shiver & shake! A 20th century European village is haunted by the ghost of a murderous little girl.

On this page (5)
  1. 1 Events in order (15)
  2. 2 Timeline questions answered
  3. 3 Movie threads
  4. 4 Movies like Kill, Baby… Kill!
  5. 5 Every angle

15 events in order · contains spoilers

Kill, Baby… Kill! Timeline: Events in Chronological Order

Every key event of Kill, Baby… Kill! (1966) 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. Autopsy of Irena Hollander

    Dr. Paul Eswai is sent to the village of Karmingam to perform an autopsy on Irena Hollander, who died under mysterious circumstances in an abandoned church. Monica Schufftan serves as his witness and observer. During the autopsy they discover a silver coin embedded in Hollander's heart.

    When
    1907
    Where
    Karmingam, Abandoned church
  2. Village superstition and a vengeful ghost

    The locals insist Karmingam is haunted by the ghost of a young girl who curses those she visits. Eswai remains skeptical, but eerie occurrences begin to ripple through the village. The haunting is tied to Melissa Graps, the Baroness Graps' dead daughter.

    When
    1907
    Where
    Karmingam village
  3. Nadienne and Ruth’s curse-reversal ritual

    Nadienne, innkeepers' daughter, is visited by the spectral girl. Ruth, the village witch, performs a ritual to reverse the curse. The ritual heightens fear and superstition as the village tightens around the mystery.

    When
    1907
    Where
    Nadienne's home/Inn area
  4. Eswai's visit to Baroness Graps and the ghostly encounter

    Eswai travels to the Graps villa and is met with a surprising denial from Baroness Graps about Inspector Kruger. He encounters the ghostly girl upon arrival, confirming that the supernatural is real. The encounter foreshadows deeper family secrets at stake.

    When
    1907
    Where
    Villa Graps
  5. Monica's nightmare and the inn stay

    Monica experiences a nightmare about the child and wakes to find a doll at the foot of her bed. Eswai offers to take her to the inn so she can sleep, hoping to shield her from the danger. The eerie omen binds their fates and deepens the mystery.

    When
    1907
    Where
    Inn in Karmingam
  6. Two gravediggers bury Inspector Kruger

    In the local cemetery, two gravediggers bury Inspector Kruger, who has been shot in the head. The burial deepens the villagers' fear as rumors swirl about the ghostly child. Eswai and Monica sense the pattern of deaths is linked to the haunting.

    When
    1907
    Where
    Local cemetery, Karmingam
  7. Nadienne's awakening and compulsion

    Nadienne awakens at her window to the ghostly girl who compels her to impale herself on a candelabra. The coercive power of the curse becomes personal and deadly. Eswai and Monica resolve to uncover what's really happening.

    When
    1907
    Where
    Nadienne's home
  8. Karl reveals Melissa’s identity and the Schufftans’ deception

    Karl, the burgomaster, informs Monica that the girl is Melissa Graps and that the Schufftans were not her real parents. He attempts to retrieve evidence proving this, but Melissa compels him to destroy the documents and kill himself. His demise underscores the supernatural control over the town.

    When
    1907
    Where
    Karmingam burgomaster's office
  9. Church bell turning point and secret passage

    Monica and Eswai ring the church bell to rally the villagers. They uncover a secret passage in the church and experience a sense of déjà vu as they reach the Graps family tomb, including Melissa. The discovery pushes the mystery toward the villa confrontation.

    When
    1907
    Where
    Karmingam Church
  10. The voyage to Villa Graps and the Baroness’s confrontation

    A staircase from the tomb leads to Villa Graps where the Baroness confronts them. Melissa's ghost appears, and Monica vanishes as Eswai pursues her through a looping series of doorways, during which he encounters a doppelgänger of himself. The night spirals into a surreal confrontation.

    When
    1907
    Where
    Villa Graps
  11. Eswai’s pursuit ends in Ruth’s home

    Eswai is left trapped in a room after the chase and is later spirited out of the villa. He wakes up in Ruth's home, where the truth of the haunting begins to come into focus. The boundaries between reality and the supernatural blur further.

    When
    1907
    Where
    Villa Graps / Ruth's home
  12. Ruth explains the talismans and motive

    Ruth explains that the coins placed in victims' hearts are talismans to ward off the Baroness's powers. She intends to kill the Baroness to avenge Karl, her former lover. The conflict between Ruth and the Baroness sharpens into a personal vendetta.

    When
    1907
    Where
    Ruth's home
  13. Baroness reveals Monica's true relation

    Inside the villa, the Baroness reveals that Monica is her daughter and Melissa her older sister. The revelation reframes Monica's identity and explains the Schufftans' actions as guardians rather than her true parents. Monica confronts a truth that changes everything she believed about her past.

    When
    1907
    Where
    Villa Graps
  14. Melissa's ghost, the tomb, and the balcony

    Melissa's ghost drives Monica down the staircase into the tomb, urging her to throw herself from a nearby balcony. The confrontation heightens as old wounds resurface and the supernatural presence tightens its grip. Ruth arrives to confront the Baroness amidst the chaos.

    When
    1907
    Where
    Villa Graps
  15. Climax: Ruth dies and Melissa's rest; dawn escape

    Ruth mortally wounds the Baroness by stabbing her with a fire poker, but Ruth dies soon after, her struggle lifting Melissa's curse. Eswai arrives in time to save Monica, and they escape Villa Graps as the sun rises on a new day. The village begins to breathe again, though scarred by the night's events.

    When
    Sunrise, 1907
    Where
    Villa Graps

Last updated: October 09, 2025 at 11:10

Was this helpful?

Timeline questions answered

Kill, Baby… Kill! Timeline Explained: Your Questions Answered

When does it happen, and why in that order? The questions people ask about the chronology of Kill, Baby… Kill! (1966): time jumps, flashbacks, cause and effect between scenes and the correct order of events, each answered with spoilers.

Q1

Why does the Baroness use Melissa's ghost to kill the villagers?

The Baroness Graps summoned her daughter Melissa's ghost to punish the villagers of Karmingam. Melissa died at age seven in 1887 during a drunken village festival while fetching a ball, and the Baroness blamed the villagers for not protecting her child. This supernatural vengeance was meant to make the town suffer for their negligence.

  • baroness graps
  • melissa ghost
  • curse
  • village punishment
  • revenge
Q2

What do the silver coins embedded in the victims' hearts mean?

The silver coins were placed in the victims' hearts by Ruth, the village witch. They were talismans intended to ward off the Baroness's supernatural powers and protect the villagers from Melissa's ghost. Ruth placed them as a defensive measure against the Baroness's dark magic.

  • silver coins
  • ruth
  • talismans
  • protection
  • magic
Q3

How is Monica related to the Graps family?

Monica Schufftan is the daughter of Baroness Graps and the younger sister of Melissa Graps. After Melissa's death in 1887, the Schufftan family took Monica away to be raised in Gräfenberg for her protection. The Baroness reveals this family secret when Monica and Dr. Eswai confront her at Villa Graps.

  • monica schufftan
  • baroness graps
  • melissa
  • family secret
  • adoption
Q4

What happened to Melissa Graps?

Melissa Graps died at age seven in 1887. She was trampled to death while chasing after a ball during a drunken village festival. Her death was traumatic and unresolved, leaving her mother consumed with grief and rage against the villagers who failed to protect her child.

  • melissa graps
  • death
  • trampled
  • festival
  • child death
Q5

Why does Karl destroy the documents and kill himself?

Karl, the burgomaster, is compelled by Melissa's ghost to destroy the documents that would prove Monica's true parentage. The supernatural influence of the ghost forces him to destroy the evidence and then take his own life. This moment demonstrates the ghostly curse's power over the living.

  • karl
  • compulsion
  • suicide
  • documents
  • melissa ghost
Q6

What is the relationship between Ruth and Karl?

Ruth, the village witch, was the lover of Karl the burgomaster. This personal connection motivates Ruth to seek revenge against the Baroness for Karl's death. She intends to kill the Baroness to avenge her lover's demise at the hands of Melissa's supernatural compulsion.

  • ruth
  • karl
  • lover
  • revenge
  • witch
Q7

Why does the Baroness want Monica dead if she's her daughter?

Though Monica is her daughter, the Baroness views her as a reminder of her loss, Monica was the child she sent away after Melissa's death. The Baroness, consumed by grief and madness, allows Melissa's ghost to target Monica as part of her overall revenge against the village, including her own flesh and blood.

  • baroness
  • monica
  • daughter
  • death
  • revenge
Q8

What causes Dr. Eswai to encounter his doppelgänger at Villa Graps?

During the surreal pursuit through Villa Graps, Eswai encounters a doppelgänger of himself as he navigates a looping series of doorways. This bizarre encounter represents the film's giallo-style surrealism and the supernatural distortion of reality within the cursed villa.

  • eswai
  • doppelganger
  • villa
  • surreal
  • doorways
Q9

How do the Baroness and Ruth die in the climax?

Ruth arrives at Villa Graps to confront the Baroness. The Baroness stabs Ruth through the chest with a fire poker, but Ruth, despite her mortal wound, manages to strangle the Baroness to death before succumbing to her injuries. Their mutual destruction lifts Melissa's curse and ends the supernatural terror.

  • ruth
  • baroness
  • death
  • fire poker
  • strangle
Q10

Why does the Baroness reveal Monica's true parentage?

The Baroness reveals that Monica is her daughter and Melissa is her older sister during their confrontation at Villa Graps. This revelation serves to shock Monica with the truth about her identity while also explaining why the Schufftans raised her away from Karmingam, they were protecting her from the Baroness's grief-crazed vengeance.

  • baroness
  • monica
  • revelation
  • truth
  • family
Q11

What happens to Nadienne after the ghost visits her?

Nadienne, the innkeeper's daughter, is visited by Melissa's ghost, who compels her to impale herself on a candelabra. This violent death demonstrates the deadly power of the curse and the ghost's ability to directly influence and harm the villagers she targets.

  • nadienne
  • candelabra
  • compulsion
  • death
  • curse
Q12

What is the secret passage discovered in the church?

Monica and Eswai discover a secret passage in the Karmingam church that leads directly to the Graps family tomb, including Melissa's burial site. This hidden passageway connects the church to Villa Graps above, explaining how the supernatural threats can emerge from beneath the village.

  • secret passage
  • church
  • tomb
  • villa
  • graps

Movie threads

More Movies Like Kill, Baby… Kill!, by Mood & Story

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

Movies about gothic hauntings and curses like Kill, Baby… Kill!

Eerie curses rooted in family tragedy fester within isolated, gothic settings. If you liked the gothic dread and tragic curse of Kill, Baby… Kill!, explore more movies like it. These films feature eerie hauntings in isolated villages or mansions, where investigators unravel dark family secrets tied to supernatural vengeance and collective grief.

  • gothic
  • eerie
  • dread
  • melancholic
  • oppressive
  • supernatural
  • Tone: tense, melancholic, dark
  • Pacing: steady, deliberate
Why these movies?

The story pattern: The narrative follows an investigation into a supernatural disturbance within a closed-off, gothic community. The horror is inextricably linked to a specific past trauma, often involving a child or family, and the resolution requires confronting this buried history, leading to a bittersweet or tragic conclusion.

Why they belong together: These films are grouped by their shared foundation in gothic atmosphere, a central curse or haunting tied to familial grief, and a methodical investigative structure that builds palpable dread. The experience is defined by a sense of inescapable history and melancholy.

Supernatural investigation thrillers similar to Kill, Baby… Kill!

A steady, tense unraveling of a supernatural mystery with heavy stakes. Fans of the investigative dread in Kill, Baby… Kill! will enjoy these movies. They feature a similar pattern of a methodical inquiry into supernatural events, creating a tense and suspenseful atmosphere where the search for answers leads to psychological terror and dark revelations.

  • tense
  • suspenseful
  • investigative
  • supernatural
  • dread
  • paranoid
  • Tone: tense, suspenseful, paranoid
  • Pacing: steady, methodical
Why these movies?

The story pattern: A protagonist, often an outsider or expert, is compelled to investigate bizarre occurrences. The plot unfolds through a series of discoveries that challenge their rationality, steadily increasing the tension and danger. The journey is cerebral and suspenseful, leading to a confrontation with a powerful supernatural force.

Why they belong together: These movies share a core structure of a procedural investigation into the paranormal, characterized by a steady pace that meticulously builds suspense and a tense, oppressive tone. The appeal is the intellectual and emotional engagement of piecing together a frightening puzzle.

If you liked this

Movies Like Kill, Baby… Kill!

Similar movies to Kill, Baby… Kill!: 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

Kill, Baby… Kill! (1966) Explained: Plot, Timeline & Characters

Everything about Kill, Baby… Kill! 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.

Coming soon on iOS and Android

The Plot Explained Movie Summary App

Plot summaries, endings explained and timelines on your phone. Catch up on any movie in minutes, save your favorites and never miss a twist again.

Be the first to know when we launch. Your email stays private, always.

Learn more about the app