The Haunting of Sharon Tate

Plot[edit]

In August 1968, actress Sharon Tate describes to a journalist a nightmare she had, in which she and Jay Sebring, her friend and former lover, had their throats slashed. One year later, a very pregnant Sharon returns home after spending six months in Europe filming The Thirteen Chairs. She is initially happy to be reunited with Jay, as well as friend/house-sitter Abigail "Gibby" Folger and Abigail's boyfriend Wojciech Frykowski. Sharon's husband , Roman Polanski, has stayed behind in Europe to complete the script for his next film The Day of the Dolphin, but has assured Sharon he will be home in time for the birth of their baby. That night, Sharon tells Jay that she believes Roman is having an affair; Jay tells her it doesn't have to be this way, but Sharon is determined to save her marriage for the sake of the baby. Later, Sharon becomes angered upon finding that a new caretaker, Steven Parent, is living in a trailer on the property without her knowledge and asks what happened to the previous caretaker, William Garretson. She is told Garretson "hasn't been around in awhile." That night, while the group is socializing, Wojciech answers a knock at the door to find Charles Manson asking to see the house's former owner, music producer Terry Melcher. Wojciech tells Manson he has the wrong house.


The following morning, Sharon and Abigail go for a walk, where they encounter two strange women, and subsequently find Sharon's pet dog dead alongside the trail. In the house's study, Sharon uncovers a recording of folk music by Manson, left behind by Melcher. The music disturbs her, and she remembers Manson's voice from her nightmare. Sharon later tells to Jay that she finds Abigail and Wojciech's extended stay at her home oppressive, and that she wishes they would leave. That night, Abigail sees a woman standing outside the window of her bedroom. Sharon has a nightmare in which she, Jay, Abigail, and Wojciech are brutally murdered by Tex Watson, Patricia Krenwinkel, and Susan Atkins.


Sharon becomes convinced that Manson and his "family" are plotting to kill her, but Abigail and Wojciech dismiss her fears as paranoia stemming from her pregnancy. Sharon brings the Manson recording to Steven, who is knowledgeable about technology, and he determines that it contains subliminal messages when played in reverse, revealing the phrase "Helter Skelter." Sharon subsequently has a nightmare in which she finds Steven's corpse in his car, and becomes convinced the dreams are premonitions. When Sharon believes she is going into labor, Steven runs to start his car. Sharon sees that Manson's followers have arrived, and rushes to the car, attempting to thwart his impending murder. Steven crashes the car into a fence, and he and Sharon flee back to the house on foot, as Tex shoots in their direction repeatedly.


In the house, Sharon, Abigail, Steven, and Wojciech attempt to barricade the entrances, and find the power has been cut. Jay arrives at the house as the group is confronted by Tex, who tells Jay he is the devil and has come "to do the devil's business." Tex and Susan usher them into the living room, where Steven and Wojciech are bound and gagged. Sharon stabs Tex with a penknife and frees Jay. In the ensuing melee, Abigail kills Susan by smashing her head on the corner of a table.


Sharon, Jay, Abigail, and Steven retreat to Steven's trailer, while Patricia searches the house for Wojciech. She attempts to kill him, but he violently beats her before drowning her in the bathtub. Tex, injured but still alive, tracks the group as Steven attempts to use a CB radio to call for help. Tex breaches the camper, but Steven beats him with a shovel before Sharon shoots him to death.


At dawn, the group approaches the house. As the others continue to the main road, Sharon returns to observe the crime scene. She is shocked to discover the corpses of Jay, Wojciech, Abigail and herself. Sharon realizes that the previous events were merely imagined, her "premonitions" were actually memories, and she and the others are, in fact, ghosts. Sharon, Jay, Abigail, Wojciech and Steven — realizing they are in the afterlife — walk away from the house, Sharon holding the child that she did not live to give birth to.