FAQ

Guy Cooley (Justin Theroux) and his family—wife Jeanne (Julie Delpy) and two young daughters Molly (Kathleen Regan) and Lucy (Cassidy Hinkle)—move to a house in the small town of Princeton, Massachusetts where Guy has been hired by developer Samantha Porter (Brooke Adams) to build eight windmills in an attempt to supply the town with eco-friendly power. The project requires the townspeople to approve construction on the land where 4-year-old Lucy Keyes disappeared 250 years earlier, but many of the locals are against the construction. Two residents in particular, Gretchen Caswell (Jamie Donnelly) and neighbor Jonas Dodd (Mark Boone Junior), want to stop the project, whatever the cost.

The screenplay was written by John Stimpson, who also directed the movie. The story is based on a New England legend about the disappearance of 4-year old Lucy Keyes on Wachusett Mountain, Massachusetts in 1755. The legend says that the ghost of her mother Martha still haunts the area searching for her lost daughter.

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No one knows for sure. One theory is that she was abducted by Indians. Another is that she was murdered over a property line dispute with a neighbor. A third theory is that she was attacked and killed by wild animals. The third theory is unlikely, since no evidence of her remains, not even shreds of her clothing, were ever found.

In real life, who knows? In the movie, Martha (Rachel Harker) is depicted as real and seen by Jeanne as well as Dodd and their neighbor Sheila Travers (Michele Greene). In one scene, Martha Keyes even attempts to get at Lucy Cooley, apparently mistaking her for her own Lucy.

Awakened by a bad dream, Jeanne discovers that Lucy is missing. The police are called, and she and Guy go looking for her throughout the house, in the barn, in the woods, even in Dodd's house and barn, but Lucy is not to be found. While looking through Lucy's bedroom for clues, Jeanne finds the note given to Lucy by the ghost of Lucy Keyes (). Jeanne figures out that Lucy is in the foundation of the burned-down Keyes barn behind Dodd's property. Lucy is then shown running toward the barn. She slips and rolls down a hill. Dodd's body falls on top of her, and Lucy runs. When she reaches the barn, she is silenced by Samantha Porter. who begins to bury her behind a wall of stones. Suddenly, Martha Keyes appears. When Jeanne and Guy reach the barn, they find Lucy and the bones of Lucy Keyes. In the final scene, Jeanne and Lucy place a bouquet of flowers on the memorial grave of Lucy Keyes.

To the family of Robert Keyes. I, Eli Farnam, am an old man. I cannot die until I tell the true story of Lucy Keyes and the sin I committed against Robert and Martha after their passing. Keyes and I quarreled about the line fence between our farms and the referees decided against me. So injured was I by this robbing of my land, I became a demon of hate. One day I was crossing the path near Keyes" field when I saw the child Lucy. She saw me and appeared frightened as if I were a wild beast. She began to run away. My anger was aroused and I gave chase. Easily overtaking her, I gave a heavy cuff to the child's head. I did not mean to kill her but mad with hate and fear I struck her three heavy blows on the head with a stone. I then hid the body in a hollow log. After the search parties were gone, I retrieved the body and hid it for good in a makeshift crypt in the abandoned barn on the Keyes' property. Setting fire to the barn, I was certain no one would ever find her. My ugly faith persisted, and I found a way to take back what was rightfully mine. After Robert's and Martha's passing, I was able to switch the deeds to our lands with those of my own creation.