The Bat People

Dr. Beck and his wife Cathy arrive for a honeymoon and while exploring Mitchell Caverns, a fruit bat lands on their picnic blanket. They sense an eerie omen as Beck, a bat specialist, chases the creature away. The moment foreshadows the odd disturbances to come in the cavern and beyond.

Inside the cave, Beck hears strange noises and warns Cathy that one bat seems to be getting closer. He is bitten on the forehead by the approaching bat, a wound that triggers his later transformation. Cathy watches in alarm as the nature of their trip shifts dramatically.

Back at their motel, Beck experiences mild seizures and Cathy grows increasingly worried. The episodes intensify as they try to enjoy a moment of respite, revealing something is deeply wrong. The strange symptoms mark the start of a terrifying transformation.

Dr. Kipling, a local physician, suspects rabies from the bat bite and prescribes the Pasteur treatment. Cathy pressures Beck to take the precaution seriously after the concerning symptoms. Beck agrees and prepares for the experimental inoculations.

Beck receives the first of twenty rabies inoculations and immediately suffers a violent seizure. The nurse and staff hasten to respond as Cathy notes the timing in relation to the inoculation. The episode heightens fear that the disease is taking control.

A nurse informs Cathy that the seizures appeared before the Pasteur injections, challenging the rabies diagnosis. Dr. Kipling remains convinced the incubation period would prevent such symptoms, creating tension between belief and reality. Cathy grows more worried about Beck's true condition.

That night Beck's body fully transforms as he lies in his hospital bed. Cathy wakes to find her husband no longer human, and she struggles to comprehend the magnitude of what he is becoming. The first clear manifestation of the creature is now undeniable.

The next day Beck has another seizure while shopping for a gift for Cathy, drawing the attention of Sheriff Ward. Ward reveals he has been tracking Beck and shows him a patient ID bracelet as evidence. The encounter intensifies the danger Beck poses to others.

After wandering from the motel, Beck murders a woman in a trailer park during the night, a violent act that confirms his predation. Cathy later dismisses it as a dream when Beck screams in their motel room. The line between nightmare and reality sharpens.

Beck escapes the hospital through a window, steals an ambulance, and crashes into a ditch after a police pursuit. He hides in a barn, tends to a homeless man and sips his booze, then experiences another seizure and kills the man. The rampage moves him toward the cavern again.

Beck returns to Mitchell Caverns as a fully transformed creature and kills a visiting tourist. The violence confirms the horrifying extent of his change and sets the stage for the confession that follows. The cave becomes a sanctuary and a killing ground.

Beck records a confession about his crimes and transformation, but Cathy refuses to believe him, blaming the Pasteur treatment for his behavior. The couple's bond strains as doubt and fear conflict with love. The record remains an ambiguous window into Beck's mind.

In bed, Cathy professes her love for Beck, but he bites her, sealing her fate as part of his human-bat world. The bite marks the start of her own transformation. The two share a dark, intimate moment that foreshadows their future together.

Sgt. Ward tracks Beck to Mitchell Caverns, and a brutal fight leaves Ward disarmed but alive until catastrophe strikes. As Cathy begins to hear the same noises, a swarm of bats attacks Ward's car and he dies. Cathy accepts her fate and joins Beck in the cave, completing their human-bat union.