'Arabella' begins with a group of young girls having a sleepover. One of the girls, Poppy teases the others that the night is boring her, so Effie suggests that due to it being Halloween, they should try to scare each other with stories. Effie tells a story about an urban legend she was told about when she was a child. The story suggests that a little girl who died in the Victorian Era still haunts the town that they live in, and if her name is said 6 times by candle light her spirit will reveal itself to you and make you pay for disturbing her rest.
Georgia, the most skeptical of the group, does not believe this story and makes it obvious that the legend does not scare her. So Effie challenges her to try it and say Arabella's name six times by candlelight. The other girls are not comfortable with her doing this but desperate to prove her point, Georgia does.
Initially, nothing happens and the girls display obvious signs of relief as the tension slowly dissipates. Suddenly, the candle blows itself out and Sophie screams as something touches her shoulder. The candle strangely relights itself and when the room is illuminated, Georgia is missing from the room.
The story moves forward in time to follow Effie into adulthood. As we see Effie go through her daily routine, we see a newspaper article in her house dated back to the night before Halloween. The night Georgia went missing. The newspaper article briefly informs us that Georgia is dead; she died on that night and her body was not found until three weeks later. Effie clearly leads a guilt ridden life as she feels a sense of responsibility for what happened to her friend.
It is the 10 year anniversary of Georgia's death later on in that week and the girls have decided to meet up to commemorate her death.
The girls meet up and go for a drink in the local pub. Conversation gets out of hand and Sophie gets angry at Effie, blaming her for Georgia's death and asking her how she had the nerve to return to their home town after what she did. Effie, lost in rage goes back to the house they originally summoned Arabella in, lights a candle and says Arabella's name six times. Nothing happens and Effie screams, shouting Arabella and daring her to reveal herself. The candle goes out and Effie hears the giggling of a small girl, followed by the singing of a traditional nursery rhyme. Effie is not scared, she laughs back and screams questions to the spirit, asking why she took Georgia and why she haunts innocent people. The candle relights itself and when the room illuminates, Arabella is in Effie's face, smiling sadistically.
Effie runs out of the house and manages to escape without being harmed, but Arabella's spirit is loose and will not settle until it has taken a life. Effie, desperate to stay alive researches Arabella's history and finds out that she is a 7 year old girl who was murdered by her mother who became obsessed with dark magic and witchcraft. Arabella's body was not found and the legend states that until it is located and buried in a stable, peaceful place Arabella's spirit will not rest. Effie tells Sophie and Poppy about her findings and persuades them to travel back to the town Arabella lived in and track down her body.
During the journey, the girls are haunted by Arabella and have their lives constantly threatened in various ways. Poppy and Sophie are uncomfortable with the task and fear that their lives will end the same way that Georgia's did. Therefore, in the middle of the night when Arabella endangers them again, they pack up and leave. Effie, however stays to finish what she went there to do. Effie locates Arabella's childhood home, which is abandoned in the woods and goes inside to look around. Whilst inside, Arabella's spirit is angry that Effie is intruding and tries to get her to leave by endangering her life. Arabella waits until Effie is upstairs and then breaks the ceiling so that Effie falls through into the basement.
In the basement, Effie is passed out from her fall and when she wakes, realises that she has broken her leg and is therefore struggling to move. She recognises a repulsive scent and uncovers Arabella's remains in the corner of the room. A candle in the basement lights itself and Arabella's spirit begins to walk towards Effie, her expression angry and ready to claim Effie's life. Effie grabs the remains and runs out of the basement and drives away quickly. Effie takes the remains to a graveyard and buries them, leaving a white lily on the grave. Arabella's spirit is rested and therefore no longer haunts the girls.
The story moves forward in time to show Effie in her old age, peacefully asleep in a care home. A candle next to her lights itself, revealing the spirit of Arabella watching her as she sleeps. Arabella looks into the camera and smiles sadistically, the shot cuts to show us the graveyard her remains were buried in, her grave dug up and her body missing.
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