The Living Ghost

Walter Craig vanishes, prompting his best friend Ed Moline to hire Nick Trayne, a retired private detective who moonlights as a quasi-psychic to take the case. Nick arrives at the estate to begin the inquiry and assesses the suspects among Craig's circle. The case soon centers on who could have paralyzed Craig’s brain and why.

As Nick interviews the household, suspicion falls on nearly everyone living on the estate, including Helen, Tina, Arthur Wallace, Delia, George, Tony, Billie, and Cedric. Nick quickly rules out Billie as a suspect and instead takes her on as his assistant. The tension rises as hidden motives and forbidden affairs come to light.

Delia screams in the parlor after finding Craig seated as if a zombie. Dr. Bruhling, the neurologist, explains that Craig seems to suffer from a paralyzed cerebral cortex that could only have been induced by someone else. Because of the danger, Craig must be monitored.

Nick questions George in the garden and discovers him stabbed to death, with Craig standing by the body. The scene makes it clear that a killer is still at large and that Craig's condition may be tied to the motive. In the initial sweep, clues point toward Arthur Wallace as the prime suspect, though doubt remains.

Later, Craig wanders into the parlor with a knife and tries to stab Nick, but the attack fails. The incident confirms that Craig's unpredictability makes him a dangerous element in the case. The team continues to search for the person who can manipulate his brain.

With new information from Dr. Bruhling about Craig's condition, Nick searches for a laboratory device that could alter brain cells. The trail leads him and Billie to a spooky, deserted house rented by a Dr. Carson, where danger lurks in the storm outside. They explore the place with a flashlight, and a locked cellar door becomes a looming obstacle.

Inside the house, Nick and Billie press on and quietly profess their love. They descend to the cellar and are locked inside; a gunman shoots at them, forcing them to retreat. They later encounter another man who seems to be in the same zombie-like state as Craig, deepening the mystery.

Nick and Billie question realtor Homer Hawkins, who reveals he only spoke with Dr. Carson by phone. Hawkins offers a tenuous thread to follow, but provides few concrete answers about the scientist and the brain-altering scheme. The interrogation tightens the focus on those connected to the Carson setup.

Nick arranges that every estate member records their voice, hoping Hawkins will identify Dr. Carson by voice alone. The plan is designed to flush out the impostor and reveal the truth behind the brain-altering plot. Tension rises as everyone lends their voice to the night.

Two assailants break into Nick's bedroom in an attempt on his life; Tony Weldon and Helen are arrested, their affair exposed. Nick explains their motives: Tina would inherit the entire estate if Craig were removed by killing him, so they chose a brain-paralysis device to manipulate him. The confrontation clears many of the earlier suspicions.

Nick explains that Tony obtained a machine capable of paralyzing Craig's brain cells, enabling Helen to seize control of the estate. Tony killed George after he saw them transporting Craig back to the house, exposing the dangerous ruse. Tina's inheritance becomes the sole incentive behind the convoluted plot.

With the danger dispelled, Tina offers to pay Nick the $25,000 reward, but the couple decides they would rather marry, solidifying Nick and Billie’s collaboration and future together. The estate returns to a calmer state as the truth about Dr. Carson and the brain-altering scheme comes to light. The case closes on a note of personal commitment for Nick and Billie.