Screams of a Winter Night

Screams of a Winter Night

Year: 1979

Runtime: 118 mins

Language: English

Director: James L. Wilson

HorrorHorror

In the icy glow of moonlight, ten college friends spend a winter weekend camping at Lake Durand, staying in an old cabin where the original owners were found dead. Local Native Americans claim the site is haunted by the spirit Shataba. As night falls, the group exchanges scary stories, and the darkness reveals a terrifying presence.

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Screams of a Winter Night (1979) – Full Plot Summary & Ending Explained

Read the complete plot breakdown of Screams of a Winter Night (1979), including all key story events, major twists, and the ending explained in detail. Discover what really happened—and what it all means.

During winter, a college student named John, Matt Borel, drives nine friends to Lake Durand for a weekend at his family’s ramshackle cabin. They settle in as snow begins to fall. Elaine, [Mary Agen Cox], tells her boyfriend, Alan, Charles Rucker, that she wishes they had not come. John, meanwhile, shows Cal the nearby graves of the Durand family, who were mysteriously killed at the cabin and found scattered across the property. The police suspect a gas explosion, but Native American locals insist a powerful winter spirit called “Shataba” roams the woods and may have caused the deaths.

That night, as the fire crackles, the friends swap spooky stories. John recounts the Moss Point Man—a dwarf-like creature that haunted a date: after running out of gasoline on a country road, Roger leaves his girlfriend in the car while he walks toward a station; later the woman hears scraping on the car roof and discovers Roger hanging from a tree. The following morning she is found alive, with teeth marks on her ankles. Cal departs with Lauri, [Jan Norton], as the wind begins to rise. Steve, [Gil Glasgow], then shares the “Green Light” legend, in which three fraternity pledges spend a night in a supposedly haunted, abandoned hotel; warned not to venture to the upper levels, the men disobey and wake in a trance-like state, two bleeding and one driven mad. Jookie, [Beverly Allen], grows increasingly unsettled and asks to leave. Harper, [Ray Gaspard], her boyfriend, tries to calm her as the wind grows louder around the cabin.

Inside, John and Steve step out to fetch more lamp oil, but in their absence they terrify Sally, [Robin Bradley], and Liz, [Brandy Barrett], by peering in at the kitchen window wearing a grotesque gorilla mask. Elaine, [Mary Agen Cox], chooses to share a chilling high-school memory: a timid girl named Annie faced a date-rape attempt, stabbed the attacker to death, and afterward struggled with mental balance. Later in college, Annie allegedly murders her dorm roommate for wearing Annie’s shawl without permission. Jookie’s panic grows, and the group debates leaving while the wind rattles the cabin. The storm intensifies, and the group wonders if they should stay or flee.

Suddenly, the window shatters with a forceful gust; Elaine is killed by shards of glass. Cal, Lauri, Harper, and Jookie dash into the woods as the cabin collapses behind them, driven by the relentless wind. In the darkness at the edge of a precipice, the four survivors hear a menacing growl draw closer, leaving their fate uncertain as the night closes in.

Last Updated: October 05, 2025 at 12:20

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Anthology horror movies like Screams of a Winter Night

Tales told around a campfire begin to bleed into the characters' terrifying reality.If you liked the nested storytelling in Screams of a Winter Night, you'll enjoy these anthology-style horror films where campfire tales turn real. Discover movies that blend folklore, ghost stories, and supernatural legends with a framing narrative, creating a unique meta-horror experience.

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Narrative Summary

These films typically feature a framing device—often a group sharing stories—where the tales being told begin to manifest in the real world. The narrative structure adds layers of fear, as the fictional horror slowly invades the primary storyline, leading to a convergence where the characters become part of their own worst stories.

Why These Movies?

Movies are grouped here for their shared use of embedded narratives that heighten the horror. They create a specific kind of tension by making the audience question what is a story and what is real, often culminating in a climax where the fictional horror becomes the characters' inescapable fate.

Isolated siege horror films similar to Screams of a Winter Night

A group is trapped in a remote location, besieged by a supernatural force with no escape.Fans of the trapped-in-a-cabin tension in Screams of a Winter Night will find more chills here. Explore movies about groups isolated by weather or location, facing a relentless supernatural siege. These films master claustrophobic dread and the psychological breakdown of characters facing inevitable doom.

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Narrative Summary

The narrative pattern involves a group being cut off from the outside world, often by a storm or remote location. A malevolent force, whether ghost, monster, or ancient legend, begins to systematically target them. The story focuses on survival, paranoia, and the group's deteriorating mental state as they realize there may be no way out.

Why These Movies?

These movies share a potent combination of a confined setting, a group dynamic under extreme stress, and a slow, steady escalation of an external supernatural threat. The similarity comes from the oppressive atmosphere of inevitability and the focus on the psychological toll of being hunted in a place with no refuge.

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Screams of a Winter Night Timeline

Characters, Settings & Themes in Screams of a Winter Night

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Characters, Settings & Themes in Screams of a Winter Night

Screams of a Winter Night Spoiler-Free Summary

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