THRILLER FILM SCRIPT
“The Haunted”
Genre: Supernatural Thriller
Tone: Dark, eerie, atmospheric
Themes: Grief, trauma, the unknown, isolation
Setting: A remote countryside house surrounded by woods
Introduction:
A grieving psychologist retreats to an old family home after the sudden
death of her daughter. But as strange events unfold and her memories
start unraveling, she begins to suspect the house isn’t haunted by a
ghost—but by a version of herself she tried to bury.
OPENING SCENE
EXT. RURAL ROAD – NIGHT
A two-lane road winds through thick, silent woods. Fog rolls in,
swallowing the trees. A single car drives slowly—headlights piercing the
darkness.
INT. CAR – NIGHT
DR. LENA MORROW (40s), sharp, composed, yet hollow-eyed, grips the
steering wheel. Her daughter’s stuffed rabbit is tucked in the passenger
seat.
On the radio: a fuzzy talk show.
A voice is mid-conversation.
RADIO HOST (V.O.)
Do you believe in ghosts, Dr. Fallow?
RADIO GUEST (V.O.)
Ghosts? No. But grief? Grief can build rooms in your mind. Rooms you
don’t remember walking into...
Click, Lena turns it off.
She pulls up to a dark, looming house at the edge of the forest.
EXT. OLD HOUSE – NIGHT
She steps out of the car. Wind whispers through the trees. An old
swing creaks slowly in the breeze.
She stares at the house—its tall windows like watching eyes.
LENA (V.O.)
They say when you return to a place of pain, it remembers you.
She walks to the door with her bag. As she inserts the key—
THUMP.
From inside the house. She freezes.
Then—
A faint child’s giggle.
INT. OLD HOUSE – FOYER – MOMENTS LATER
Dust motes float in the beam of her flashlight. Furniture covered in
white sheets. A chandelier above, swaying gently.
She walks through. Every creak of the floor echoes.
She pauses at the bottom of the stairs. Her eyes fix on the top floor.
A door just barely ajar—moves slowly as if just nudged.
LENA
Hello?
Silence.
She slowly ascends the stairs, heartbeat audible. Each step groans
underfoot.
As she reaches the top—
The door SLAMS shut in front of her.
CUT TO BLACK.
TITLE CARD: THE HAUNTED
PLOT OUTLINE
ACT 1 – THE RETURN
Lena, a trauma psychologist, comes to her late parents’ house to grieve
her daughter’s death.
Flashbacks suggest her daughter drowned, but details are unclear.
She hears strange sounds: whispers, footsteps, childlike laughter.
She finds drawings pinned to the walls—drawings she doesn’t remember
making.
ACT 2 – THE DESCENT**
The house plays tricks: rooms change, clocks rewind, shadows move.
Lena begins to see a girl in mirrors and dreams—a girl who calls her
“Mommy.”
She uncovers journals from her own childhood, referencing imaginary
voices and “the girl behind the door.”
A local priest warns her: “The house doesn’t have ghosts. It reflects
them.”
ACT 3 – THE TRUTH
Lena realizes the girl is not her daughter—but *her*, as a child.
Her daughter didn’t drown. Lena had a psychotic break after
confronting repressed childhood trauma.
The house forces her to relive her past, confront her guilt, and face the
part of her that she tried to forget.
CLIMAX SCENE (SAMPLE)
INT. ATTIC – NIGHT
Lena opens the attic door. Inside: children’s toys, drawings on the
walls, and a mirror.
In the mirror: her daughter stands behind her.
DAUGHTER (softly)
You left me.
LENA
You’re not her.
DAUGHTER
No. I’m you.
Lena sees her younger self in the mirror. Screaming. Pointing.
The attic erupts with whispers, flickering lights, and chaos as Lena
finally *remembers* what she buried: years of abuse, silenced pain,
and her mind's collapse.
ENDING OPTION A – Psychological
She wakes in a hospital. The house was abandoned for years. She’s
been there for days.
No one believes what she saw.
But when she returns home, her daughter’s stuffed rabbit is waiting on
her bed.
ENDING OPTION B – Supernatural
She accepts her guilt and embraces the child version of herself in the
attic.
The house quiets.
As she leaves, the swing outside stops creaking. Peace at last.
But in the final frame—
A window on the top floor opens... by itself.
