The Little Stranger
Ivy writes a letter to her dead cousin Danny, expressing her loneliness. She recalls a visit to town during which she invited the young children of a supermarket clerk, Brenda, to visit her mansion and its surrounding woods.
Brenda refers Ivy to a plumber, Jack Swierzbowski, to examine the strange sounds made by her large house when the water runs.
Ivy explains that Danny feels less dead than her parents, whom she saw embalmed and buried.
Swierzbowski explores the house but fails to find a problem with its plumbing. After he leaves, Ivy hears the house groan.
Walking through the woods, Ivy recalls her time spent there with Danny and envisions Brenda’s children at play in the forest. She stumbles across the remains of the Hopkins house, its subfloor exposed to the elements. Ivy recalls her long-missing cat Pussums and wishes for another.
The house moans overnight, and Ivy concludes that it is pining for a companion. To set her mansion at ease, Ivy announces that she will build a small house nearby.
A truck towing a trailer breaks down in front of Ivy’s house. She watches from a window as a swarthy family of five climbs out – two men, two women, and a baby.
The older man, Mr. Zoltan, asks Ivy permission for his family to stay on her property until his vehicle is repaired. Ivy agrees, standing aside as Mr. Zoltan and his son, Johnny, winch the truck away from the road. Ivy observes that her mansion has fallen silent since the arrival of the strangers.
Zoltan joins Ivy for breakfast and explains that he has limited means to buy the parts necessary to repair his truck. Ivy offers the use of her property in exchange for Zoltan and Johnny building her a small cottage. Zoltan readily agrees and surveys the woods for a suitable site.
Returning from the forest, Zoltan tells Ivy about the stone foundation of the Hopkins house. Ivy explains that she does not own the land but calls her banker to inquire about purchasing it. Several days later, Ivy finds herself in possession of the adjacent property.
Johnny and Zoltan set to work clearing the foundation of the Hopkins house. Zoltan asks for money to repair his truck so that he may retrieve supplies from town, but Ivy declines.
Ivy drives Zoltan and Johnny into town to select lumber for their project. She brings along Johnny’s wife, Suzette, who has opened a psychic reading business.
Suzette phones Ivy, calling herself Yvonne, and asks for directions to the mansion. Suspicious of Suzette’s false name, Ivy resolves to speak with Zoltan’s wife, Marmar.
Ivy recalls seeing Danny’s ghost wandering the forest, entering Zoltan’s trailer, and exploring the Hopkins house. She asks him to linger on his next visit.
With Suzette at work and Marmar busy cleaning the trailer, Ivy volunteers to watch Johnny’s baby, Little Ivy. Zoltan emerges from the woods pallid and quaking.
Ivy invites Danny to visit and sets a key beneath a rock for him. She notices strange yellow glyphs on the underside of the stone and, discomforted, washes them away.
While visiting her home under construction, Ivy encounters a black cat. Zoltan and Johnny avoid the creature. Ivy summons the cat and, believing it to be a descendant of Pussums, names it Pusson.
Ivy receives a visit from Mr. Cherigate, a building inspector, who rejects her plan to run utilities to the cottage with unlicensed contractors. Ivy calls on Swierzbowski to install the plumbing and asks that he bring an electrician.
Over tea, Cherigate asks Ivy whether she is aware of whispers in town that she is a witch. Ivy denies the suggestion and learns that the rumor originated with Suzette.
Ivy intends to visit Suzette and Marmar but resolves to stop by the worksite when she finds Little Ivy nursing. Seeing Ivy, Zoltan and Johnny fall to their knees and beg for the use of their truck. Ivy assents, and the men thank her tearfully.
The sound of an engine turning over echoes through the woods, and Zoltan and Johnny rush to their trailer. Ivy walks after them, carrying Pusson in her arms.
Marmar explains that Suzette ran away, taking Zoltan’s truck. Ivy suggests that the girl is merely visiting her storefront in town, but Marmar and Johnny disagree. Little Ivy cries at the loss of her mother.
Swierzbowski arrives, and Zoltan and Johnny show him the property. The plumber recommends several trees be felled to make room for his work. Ivy instructs Zoltan and Johnny to dig up the roots so as not to kill the trees. To overcome their reluctance, she promises to purchase a new truck should Suzette not return.
Ivy phones Suzette’s boutique to no avail.
Ivy tells Danny of Little Ivy, asleep beside Pusson, and reflects on the family Zoltan.
After several abortive attempts to reach Suzette, Ivy calls the police to report the truck stolen. At the mention of Yvonne, the officer promises to send a detective from the bunko squad to speak with Ivy in person.
Ivy notices a police cruiser in her yard and spots Zoltan and Marmar flee into the woods, abandoning Suzette’s baby. After retrieving Little Ivy from the trailer, Ivy invites Sergeant Lois Anderson inside for tea.
The sergeant proposes placing Little Ivy in foster care, but Ivy misunderstands the suggestion. Ivy asks that she be permitted to look after the baby until Suzette’s return, and Anderson agrees before departing.
Emerging from the forest, Marmar expresses her unhappiness over Little Ivy’s placement with Ivy. Johnny and Zoltan appear unfazed.
Ivy tells Danny of the completion of her cottage and its first visitors, young twins named Hank and Greta.
After putting Little Ivy down for a nap, Ivy stops by her new home to see whether the furniture she ordered had arrived. She comes across Hank and Greta outside the cottage. The children ask whether the building is made of gingerbread, and Ivy invites them indoors.
Ivy tells Hank and Greta about her new car, which she took from Cherigate with Danny’s help. She thanks Danny for his assistance and that of the Hopkins girl in battering the building inspector. Ivy decides to name her home the Gingerbread House to honor Hank and Greta.
Worried about the baby, Ivy returns to her mansion with Hank and Greta. She introduces the twins to Little Ivy, and the foursome play games and bake gingerbread. As night falls, Ivy leads the children back to the Gingerbread House, where they are surprised to see furniture delivered as if by magic. Hank asks to return to Ivy at Halloween.
Brenda calls Ivy, telling her that her children claim to have played with a witch in the woods. Ivy acknowledges spending time with Hank and Greta but denies there being any witches afoot.
(c) Matthew Chiarello 2025
