The House by the Cemetery

The House by the Cemetery

Year: 1981

Runtime: 87 mins

Language: Italian

HorrorMysteryHorror

You may have just mortgaged your life. After a doctor murders his mistress and then himself while investigating the enigmatic former owner of his Boston home, his colleague Dr. Norman Boyle inherits the research and moves his family into the mansion. Soon after, Boyle’s son Bob is haunted by visions of a young girl who warns him of the danger hidden within the house.

The House by the Cemetery (1981) – Spoiler-Free Movie Summary & Plot Overview

Get a spoiler-free look at The House by the Cemetery (1981) with a clear plot overview that covers the setting, main characters, and story premise—without revealing key twists or the ending. Perfect for deciding if this film is your next watch.

In the quiet outskirts of New Whitby, Massachusetts, an imposing Victorian mansion looms over a mist‑shrouded landscape, its stone façade hinting at long‑forgotten stories. The house, once home to a reclusive doctor whose obsessive research left a lingering unease, now waits for a new chapter as a family seeks refuge within its walls. The setting is drenched in gothic atmosphere, where creaking floorboards and the echo of distant whispers turn everyday moments into unsettling questions about what lies beneath the polished veneer of domestic life.

Norman Boyle, a methodical physician and scholar, arrives with his wife Lucy and their curious son Bob, intent on using the estate as a base for his studies of historic dwellings. Norman’s intellectual curiosity clashes with the house’s ambiguous past, creating a subtle tension between rational inquiry and the inexplicable. Lucy, drawn to the home’s eerie beauty, attempts to nurture a sense of normalcy for her children, yet the mansion’s pervasive silence constantly challenges her optimism.

Bob, an imaginative and sensitive child, begins to experience unsettling visions of a young girl who appears in the shadows of the house, urging him to stay away from something unseen. These fleeting apparitions stir a blend of wonder and dread, hinting at hidden layers of memory that the walls seem to guard. Through Bob’s eyes, the audience feels the pull of the house’s secretive heart, a place where the line between reality and the uncanny blurs.

The film unfolds as a slow‑burning study of a family confronting an environment saturated with history, mystery, and an undercurrent of menace. With each creak and sigh of the old mansion, the atmosphere grows thicker, inviting viewers to linger in the suspenseful space between curiosity and fear, and to wonder what hidden truths might rise from the dust‑laden corridors.

Last Updated: December 04, 2025 at 16:24

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Claustrophobic haunted house horror like The House by the Cemetery

Stories of families trapped in a malevolent home that consumes them.A collection of terrifying haunted house movies where the building itself is the monster, creating a sense of inescapable dread. If you liked the oppressive atmosphere and family-in-peril narrative of The House by the Cemetery, you'll find similar chilling stories here. These films focus on supernatural horror where the home actively preys on its residents.

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Narrative Summary

These narratives typically follow a family or group moving into a new home, only to discover its horrific history or supernatural nature. The story escalates as the house reveals its malevolence, trapping the characters and systematically breaking them down, often leading to a tragic or bleak conclusion where the evil of the location endures.

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Movies are grouped here based on their shared focus on a terrifying, sentient location as the central antagonist. They create a consistent mood of claustrophobia and inescapable doom, featuring steady pacing that builds dread and a dark tone that rarely offers relief or hope. The emotional journey is one of mounting terror and inevitable loss.

Bleak and emotionally heavy supernatural horror like The House by the Cemetery

Supernatural tales where the horror is visceral and the endings offer no solace.Explore supernatural horror movies known for their dark tone, high emotional stakes, and bleak resolutions. If you appreciated the grim atmosphere and tragic family story in The House by the Cemetery, this collection features similar films. These are serious horror stories where the supernatural threat leads to profound loss and sorrow.

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Narrative Summary

The narrative pattern involves characters confronting a supernatural force that is deeply intertwined with themes of death, grief, or a past sin. The horror escalates steadily, revealing the true extent of the threat, which ultimately overwhelms the protagonists. The journey is one of futility, ending with the evil's victory or the permanent suffering of the characters.

Why These Movies?

These films are united by their commitment to a dark, serious tone and a high level of emotional weight. They share a steady, deliberate pacing that builds towards an inevitable, bleak ending. The intensity is consistently high, derived from both visceral horror and the psychological toll on the characters, creating a unified experience of profound dread.

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The House by the Cemetery Summary

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The House by the Cemetery Summary

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Characters, Settings & Themes in The House by the Cemetery

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