The Ghost and Mrs. Muir

In the early 1900s, recently widowed Lucy Muir relocates from London to the seaside town of Whitecliff with her young daughter Anna and housekeeper Martha. She signs the lease on Gull Cottage despite her in-laws' disapproval, hoping for a fresh start. Move-in night begins with an uneasy atmosphere as the house seems to breathe around her.

A ghostly laugh echoes while Lucy tours the house, and the estate agent warns that Captain Daniel Gregg once owned Gull Cottage. On her first night, apparitions disturb her and she demands the ghost reveal himself. The haunting confirms Gull Cottage is haunted, at least to Lucy.

Captain Gregg materializes and explains that his death was an accidental gas-heater incident, not suicide. He reveals his plan to turn Gull Cottage into a home for retired seamen and agrees to appear only to Lucy if she stays. This revelation secures Lucy's resolve to remain in the cottage.

Lucy discovers her income drying up as her in-laws pressure her to return to London. Gregg warms to her and asks her to stay, signaling the start of an unlikely alliance. His implicit protection of Gull Cottage strengthens their bond and Lucy's stubborn resolve.

Lucy and Daniel decide to record his seafaring memoirs as a book, with Lucy profiting from the venture. Daniel expresses a desire to share his life with her, even if only through writing, deepening their connection. The project anchors their relationship in a practical collaboration.

As they work on the memoir, Lucy and Daniel fall in love, despite the impossibility of a conventional life together. The ghostly presence becomes a companion rather than a threat, giving Lucy a renewed sense of purpose. Their bond grows amid whispered memories and shared pages.

Realizing their romance cannot endure, Daniel tells Lucy she should find a living man to marry for happiness. He accepts that his presence would always complicate her life and promises to fade. The relationship shifts from intimate partnership to a bittersweet farewell.

Lucy travels to London to meet publisher Mr. Sproule and crosses paths with Miles Fairley. Sproule agrees to publish Daniel's recollections under a sensational title, Blood and Swash, and Lucy receives an advance that enables her to buy Gull Cottage. The deal marks a pivotal turn in her fortunes.

Miles Fairley follows Lucy back to Whitecliff and they begin a whirlwind courtship. Daniel decides to leave, fearing he is an obstacle to her happiness, and subtly convinces Lucy that she alone wrote the book, fading away with regret. The ghost's influence complicates Lucy's new romance.

Lucy travels to London to sign the contract and discovers that Fairley is married with two children. Mrs. Fairley confirms his infidelity, leaving Lucy heartbroken and returning to Whitecliff to face life without the dream of Fairley. The romance dissolves amid scandal and shattered hopes.

Years pass as Mrs. Fairley divorces, and Anna returns from university with a Royal Navy lieutenant she plans to marry. Anna confesses she believed she saw Daniel as a child and argues that he might be real, challenging Lucy's conviction that he was merely a dream. Lucy clings to the possibility that Daniel's presence was real life, not fantasy.

In old age, Lucy is ailing and Anna’s daughter, also named Lucy, is engaged to an airplane captain. Lucy resists a glass of hot milk, and after Martha leaves the room, she dies. Daniel returns, whispers that she will never be tired again, and together they reach for a final, loving moment as their spirits depart from Gull Cottage.

Unseen by Martha, Lucy's spirit and Daniel ascend from Gull Cottage, walking arm-in-arm into an ethereal mist. The mortal world fades behind them as their love endures beyond death. The cottage remains a place of memory for Lucy and the sea captain who never fully left its walls.