When the Lights Went Out (2012) Plot Summary Explained

The monk, while alive, preyed on young, uneducated girls in the neighbourhood and cut off their tongues so they could not expose his crimes. He targeted girls who were too young or uneducated to report his abuses, removing their ability to speak against him.

Foreshadowing: Earlier scenes show the spirit's obsession with silencing Sally, hinting at the monk's historical method.

• monk
• tongues
• abuse
• silencing

The Pale Girl was educated and could write, which meant she could have exposed the monk's crimes by documenting what he did to her. Unlike his other victims who were too young and uneducated to speak out, her literacy made her a threat that required murder.

Foreshadowing: Sally's ability to read and write may have intensified the monk's fixation on her.

• pale girl
• murder
• educated
• writing
• exposure

The exorcism drove out the monk's spirit temporarily, but it was not permanently destroyed. The evil presence eventually returned with renewed force, attacking Sally in her bedroom. The ritual had weakened but not eliminated the supernatural threat.

Foreshadowing: The exorcism scene shows the spirit violently resisting before being forced out, suggesting it was not fully vanquished.

• exorcism
• spirit returns
• monk
• attack

Sally used the Pale Girl's locket, which contained the girl's spirit, as a way to draw out the evil presence. By burning the locket in the electric heater, she created a confrontation between the Pale Girl's spirit and the monk's spirit, allowing them to battle each other.

• sally
• locket
• heater
• fire
• pale girl

When the locket burned, the Pale Girl's spirit emerged and confronted the evil monk's spirit directly. The two spectral forces clashed within the house, and the Pale Girl's spirit ultimately overpowered and drove the monk's presence out for good.

Foreshadowing: The Pale Girl had been trying to protect Sally throughout the haunting, hinting at her eventual role in defeating the monk.

• final confrontation
• pale girl
• monk
• spirits

Despite the traumatic events, the family remained in the house after the monk's spirit was finally driven out. The house had become their home, and the immediate threat was eliminated. However, the trauma persisted, Sally never entered her bedroom again, showing the lasting psychological impact.

• family stays
• house
• aftermath
• sally

Father Clifton initially refused to perform the exorcism because the church had not given him permission. However, Len and Brian discovered photos of Clifton engaging in an illicit affair with his housekeeper Mrs Blithe. They used this evidence to force him to help by threatening to expose his infidelity.

• father clifton
• blackmail
• affair
• exorcism

The paranormal specialist attempted to make contact with the spirit during a séance, but the entity violently attacked the group during the session. The specialist was unable to remove or banish the spirits, proving that the supernatural threat was too powerful for standard paranormal methods.

Foreshadowing: The violent attack during the séance demonstrated the monk's aggressive nature and resistance to expulsion.

• paranormal specialist
• séance
• failed
• spirits

After the monk murdered the Pale Girl in the forest, his crimes were discovered but kept hidden to preserve the church's honour. He was secretly tried, hanged, and buried in secrecy rather than facing a public trial and execution. This cover-up allowed the church to protect its reputation while the monk's evil continued to linger as a spirit.

Foreshadowing: The church's decision to hide the monk's crimes directly led to the haunting that plagued future occupants.

• monk
• hanged
• church
• secret trial
• cover-up

The monk's spirit targeted Sally because she reminded him of the Pale Girl, both were educated and could potentially expose evil deeds through writing. The spirit's attempt to hang Sally mirrored the original murder in the forest, as the monk sought to silence another educated girl who could reveal truth.

Foreshadowing: Sally's schoolwork and writing throughout the film made her a target parallel to the Pale Girl's fate.

• sally
• attack
• hanging
• monk
• pale girl