Jim (Eddie Murphy) and Sara Evers (Marsha Thomason), are realtors that go on a working vacation to the swamps near New Orleans. Along with them are their two children, 10 year old Michael (Marc John Jefferies) and 13 year old Megan (Aree Davis). They stop to examine Garcey Manor, a property they have been asked to sell. A terrible rainstorm forces them to stay the night with butler Ramsley (Terence Stamp) and Master Edward Gracey (Nathaniel Parker), who eye Sara strangely. Separated and forced to undergo various ghostly adventures, Jim and the kids eventually find each other again. They then work to defeat the mansion’s curse and save Sara, with the help of footman Ezra (Wallace Shawn), maid Emma (Dina Waters), and the exceedingly talkative head of gypsy Madame Leota (Jennifer Tilly). The movie is very loosely based on the Disney “Haunted Mansion” ride and also refers to the European version, “Phantom Mansion.”