What actually happens
A fresh start in a house with a loft
In 1968, Rose Fairbairn moves her four children, Jack, Jane, Billy and Sam, into the Marrowbone Residence, the house in rural Maine where she grew up, after leaving England. They take her maiden name, Marrowbone. A girl from town named Allie becomes friends with them. Rose gets sicker and dies. Before she does, she makes Jack, the eldest, promise to keep the siblings together and to hide her death until he can be made their legal guardian. Later a man turns up on the property, and Jane and Jack panic.
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Covered mirrors and a forged signature
Six months later the siblings are still in the house, with the mirrors covered to protect them from a ghost in the loft. Jack goes into town for supplies and courts Allie, who works at the library, without telling her about his past. Tom Porter, the town lawyer who manages the Marrowbone estate, has feelings for Allie that she doesn't return. Tom tells Jack he will collect his fee and Rose's signature to finish transferring the estate to her. Desperate for money and afraid Tom will learn that Rose is dead, the siblings use their father's money box and fake her signature. After several incidents, they come to believe the ghost is their father, whom they think was walled into the attic and starved after he discovered them.
A lawyer's folder and a library employee
Before leaving for a new job in New York, Tom gives Allie the Marrowbone family's history. She learns that Simon Fairbairn, the siblings' father, is a convicted serial killer who escaped from jail, possibly to hunt his family. Allie also finds out that Simon abused Jane, and that Jane's son Sam is Simon's child. Jane is convinced Simon is still alive. Tom's employer offers him a partnership he can't afford, so he decides the siblings must have money and blackmails Jack. Billy confronts Jack about Simon and wants them to deal with him together, and then Jack has a seizure. Jane decides they should tell Allie the truth.
A diary with the full explanation
The siblings set up a meeting with Allie at the secluded spot where they first met, but she only finds their diary. The diary says Simon tracked down the house half a year earlier, and Jack locked his siblings in the attic to keep them safe. Jack tried to give Simon the money box back, and Simon led him to the secluded place, threw him from a cliff and knocked him out. When Jack woke up, he went back to the house and found that Simon had murdered his siblings. He bricked up the attic, and in his grief he nearly took his own life. Instead he developed personalities for each of his siblings so he could believe they were alive. He covered every mirror so he wouldn't be reminded he was alone, and he went into the attic for the same reason.
An attic with a bricked-up door
This is the stretch people dread, and it comes near the end. Tom arrives at the house, finds the bricked-up attic entrance, and tears down the wall because he is sure the money is behind it. Simon attacks him. Allie goes to the house and finds Jack's personalities arguing with each other. She can't snap him out of it, and he drives her away because he won't accept that his siblings are dead. She notices Tom's belongings, climbs to the attic, and finds the desiccated bodies of Billy, Jane and Sam, along with Tom, who is dying of his injuries. Simon attacks her while she calls for Jack's other personalities to help.
The ending, explained
Jack finally lets his Billy personality take over, and Billy shoots Simon dead. Simon killed the siblings months earlier, and Tom is left dying from his wounds. Sometime later, Allie looks after Jack after he comes out of a psychiatric hospital. She ignores the doctor's advice to make sure Jack takes his medicine, because he is happier believing his siblings are alive and he will never be alone again.
The post-credits ruling
There is no post-credits scene. You can leave when the credits start.
✓ Spoiled safelyDog status: fine, no dog dies.
Questions people ask at 1am
Is Marrowbone scary?
Yes, Marrowbone is a 5 out of 10. It's a slow gothic ghost story with some jump scares, and the ending is sad.
How does Marrowbone end?
Jack's Billy personality shoots Simon, who attacked Allie in the attic. Allie then looks after Jack when he leaves a psychiatric hospital, and she lets him go on believing his siblings are alive.
Does the dog die in Marrowbone?
No, no dog dies in Marrowbone. A pet raccoon does die off-screen, and its body shows up later.
Is there a post-credits scene in Marrowbone?
No. Marrowbone has no post-credits scene, so you can leave when the credits start.
Who is the ghost in Marrowbone?
At first the siblings believe the ghost is their father, Simon Fairbairn, who they think was bricked up in the attic. In fact Simon is alive and killed Jack's three siblings, and Jack keeps them alive in his head as separate personalities.
