Arthur Kipps is a man haunted by a memory he can no longer carry in silence. To free himself, he enlists a young actor to help him restage the "true story of haunting and evil" that began years ago at the isolated Eel Marsh House. As the two men work in an empty theatre, the line between reality and the past begins to blur. Through the power of imagination, the audience is transported to a world of sea-frets, mortal dread, and the silent figure of a woman in black.