What actually happens
A bolted nursery, which any lawyer would leave alone
In 1889 in Crythin Gifford, three girls playing in a nursery notice a presence in the room and jump from the window. In 1906 in London, lawyer Arthur Kipps loses his wife, Stella, who dies after giving birth to their son Joseph. Four years later his firm sends him to Crythin Gifford to collect documents left by Alice Drablow, the dead owner of Eel Marsh House, before it is sold. The villagers are cold, the local solicitor Jerome is unwelcoming, and the landowner Samuel Daily is friendly. At Eel Marsh House Arthur keeps getting pulled away by strange sounds, a bolted nursery and a figure in black funeral clothes. He hears voices, a screaming child and horses from the marsh but there is nobody on the causeway. The village constable waves away his worries.
Reading this instead of watching it is the correct decision. Scaredy Cat makes that decision automatic, for free.
The village agrees on one thing, and it is Arthur
This is the scene people dread most, and it comes early on. Two children arrive at the constable's station with their sister Victoria, who has swallowed lye, and she dies while Arthur holds her. The townspeople hold him responsible. That night Sam tells Arthur that his young son and the boy's friend drowned, and Elisabeth is the boy's mother. Arthur then finds Jerome's daughter shut in the basement by her family to keep her safe, and she also thinks he is responsible for Victoria's death. Victoria's father later accuses Arthur, tearfully, of seeing 'that woman' at Eel Marsh.
The boy in the mud is the least of the marsh's problems
Back at the house, Arthur finds documents and letters showing that the Drablows' son Nathaniel was Alice's nephew, adopted from her sister Jennet Humfrye after Jennet was judged unfit to raise him. Nathaniel was later lost in a carriage accident in the marsh and drowned. Jennet blamed Alice for saving herself and leaving the boy, and Jennet hanged herself in the nursery, swearing she would hold the grudge forever. Arthur finds the nursery unlocked. From the window he watches a boy crawl out of the mud, sees many dead children in the marsh, Victoria among them, and then sees a woman's apparition hanging herself. The next day Jerome's house catches fire, and Arthur sees the Woman in Black urging Jerome's daughter to set herself alight. Elisabeth tells Arthur the Woman in Black is Jennet, who takes the village children by making them end their own lives, and Arthur realizes that Joseph, who is arriving that night, is next.
A reburial and a railway station
To lift the curse, Arthur and Sam use Sam's car to recover Nathaniel's body from the marsh and place it in his old nursery, where Arthur lures Jennet. They bury him with Jennet, though her voice says she will not forgive or forget any of it. Arthur assumes it has worked and goes to meet Joseph and the boy's nanny at the station. He spots the Woman in Black drawing Joseph onto the tracks, tries to save him, and both are killed by an oncoming train. Sam sees the ghosts of the village children standing beside the Woman in Black. Arthur and Joseph then find Stella in a peaceful, bright railway station, and the family disappears into the light together.
The ending, explained
Arthur and Sam recover Nathaniel's body from the marsh, place it in the nursery and bury it with Jennet's ghost, but she says she will never forgive or forget. Arthur goes to meet Joseph and the boy's nanny at the station, watches the Woman in Black draw Joseph onto the tracks, and is killed by a train with him while trying to save him. Sam watches the ghosts of the village children stand with the Woman in Black. Arthur and Joseph then find Stella in a bright railway station, where the family is reunited and safe from Jennet.
The post-credits ruling
Nobody has confirmed whether there's a scene after the credits.
✓ Spoiled safelyDog status: no dog dies.
Questions people ask at 1am
Is The Woman in Black scary?
Yes. The Woman in Black is a 6 out of 10 with medium dread: a gloomy haunting with jump scares, some deaths of children and a sad ending.
How does The Woman in Black end?
Arthur and Sam bury Nathaniel with Jennet, but she lures Joseph onto the railway tracks. Arthur and Joseph are killed by a train and reunite with Stella in a bright railway station.
Does the dog die in The Woman in Black?
No. No dog dies in The Woman in Black.
Is there a post-credits scene in The Woman in Black?
Nobody has confirmed whether The Woman in Black has a scene after the credits.
Who is the Woman in Black?
She is Jennet Humfrye, the sister of Alice Drablow. Jennet was judged unfit to raise her son Nathaniel, who drowned after a carriage accident in the marsh, and she hanged herself in the nursery. In The Woman in Black she takes the village children by making them end their own lives.
