The Haunting of Helena

The Haunting of Helena

Year: 2012

Runtime: 87 mins

Language: English

Directors: Christian Bisceglia, Ascanio Malgarini

ThrillerHorrorHorror

Following a divorce, Sophia seeks a fresh start in southern Italy with her daughter, Helena. They move into an apartment within a stark building from the fascist era, hoping for a peaceful life. However, an old storage room holds a hidden closet and a disturbing secret. After Helena loses her first baby tooth, a chilling obsession takes hold, and a ghostly apparition begins to haunt her dreams, suggesting a sinister presence is watching over them.

Warning: spoilers below!

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Timeline – The Haunting of Helena (2012)

Trace every key event in The Haunting of Helena (2012) with our detailed, chronological timeline. Perfect for unpacking nonlinear stories, spotting hidden connections, and understanding how each scene builds toward the film’s climax. Whether you're revisiting or decoding for the first time, this timeline gives you the full picture.

1

Car crash and Helena's first tooth

A car accident shatters the routine of Sophia and Helena's life in Italy. At the same moment, Helena loses her first tooth, triggering a cascade of unsettling events. The incident plants the seed for the haunting that follows.

Day of the accident Sophia and Helena's home, Italy
2

Helena's visions begin

After the crash, Helena starts reporting unsettling visions that she attributes to the apartment's past. She describes seeing figures and a growing fixation on teeth. Sophia grows concerned and vows to uncover the truth behind the eerie occurrences.

Days after the accident Home in Italy
3

Sophia investigates the apartment's history

Sophia digs into the building's history and uncovers a dark legacy from Fascist Italy: a former resident brutalized his wife by removing her teeth and locking her in a closet. The discovery links the present hauntings to that trapped woman's teeth. She realizes the apartment itself may be the conduit for the violence.

Shortly after Apartment and archives
4

The closet's haunting begins

Helena begins speaking to an invisible presence living in the closet and fixates on the teeth that she believes must be given to The Fairy. The line between truth and apparition blurs as the haunting takes a personal turn for the mother and daughter. Sophia starts to consider the possibility that their home is actively malevolent.

Soon after Apartment closet
5

Mosquito murder ties to the apartment

A teacher at Helena's school is killed by a swarm of mosquitoes, a grisly clue that the violence may be anchored to the apartment. The burning question becomes how a place could birth such a chain of deadly happenings. Sophia and others grow wary as the case widens beyond the family.

Shortly after Helena's school
6

Warning from upstairs

An elderly man who lives upstairs issues a warning about the growing danger, but Sophia dismisses it. The ignored warning foreshadows the escalating threat that will soon reach them. The house's layered history keeps pushing boundaries between memory and fear.

Before the attacks Upstairs neighbor's apartment
7

The family attacked by the toothless ghost

The malevolent force escalates as a toothless ghost from the past torments the living. Teeth rain down and the closet seems to appear in new places, intensifying the sense that the apartment is a living, malevolent entity. The family struggles to stay ahead of the haunting's changing manifestations.

During the haunting escalation Apartment
8

Father's return and death

Helena's father returns to Italy and becomes entangled in the nightmare. He is killed by a swarm of mosquitoes after he opens a door that shouldn't exist. The death deepens the mystery and adds a personal cost to the curse.

Soon after father's arrival Apartment
9

Medical scrutiny and a troubling clue

Doctors at the institution where Helena is placed question Sophia's fitness as a parent. A link emerges between Patrick, Sophia's dead ex-husband, and bloody teeth found in Helena's locker. The past intrudes into the present as memories surface.

After the father's death Institution/hospital
10

A vision of the killer and the window

Sophia's visions sharpen as she glimpses the killer standing at the window of an abandoned psychiatric wing, urging her to uncover the truth. The entity seems to reach for the living through the windows and corridors of the old wing. The search grows more urgent as clues accumulate.

During investigation Abandoned psychiatric wing / window
11

Treasure of teeth and closet ritual

Guided by fragments of the past, Sophia tracks down the killer's file and uncovers a stash of the dead woman's teeth. When the closet door reappears, she hurls the teeth inside in a desperate bid to placate the restless spirit. Helena's voice returns, offering a possible end to the haunting.

Midpoint to climax Archive and closet
12

Truth revealed and haunting final image

A recorded interview reveals that the deceased wife was a serial killer who preyed on children, and her husband killed her to stop her reign of horror. An elderly man who warned Sophia decades earlier finally bears witness to the truth. A patient with a maimed face confirms that the ogre has Sophia's teeth again. Sophia flees through the institution's corridors, collapses in Helena's room, and becomes a patient herself; Helena's ghost stands at the window with the dead wife's husband, their figures trapped with half of the victim's face missing as credits roll.

End of story Institution / abandoned wing

Last Updated: October 03, 2025 at 10:33

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The Haunting of Helena Summary

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The Haunting of Helena Summary

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Characters, Settings & Themes in The Haunting of Helena

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The Haunting of Helena Spoiler-Free Summary

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