A local legend turns into a horrifying reality for a group of young grad students seeking to debunk a Wisconsin haunted house.

A beautiful young girl returns to her peaceful rural home town to find that the house she grew up in has been defaced, her parents are missing, and the whole town hates her father, a bank supervisor who foreclosed on many of the local farms. Only "Marvelous Mervo," who wanders around town dressed in a clown's suit with a permanent grin painted on his face, seems happy to see her. As Mervo's brother tries to rekindle his love affair with Jill, those closest to her are slaughtered like cattle, one by one.

Three bored millionaires gather nine people in an old mansion, and give them a proposition--if they can meet and conquer their biggest fears, they'll get one million dollars in cash.