Tomb of Ligeya

England, 1821 At the cemetery in the ruins of a medieval Gothic abbey, Dr. Verden Fell buries his beloved wife, Ligeya. At the same time, there is a version that the woman did not die, as evidenced by the inscription on the gravestone - Ligeia does not betray herself ( Eng. Ligeia nor lie in death forever ). At the last moment, a black cat jumps onto a stone.

While hunting for foxes, Lady Rowena Trevenon lags behind other hunters and wanders into the old abbey , where she meets Fell. He makes such a strong impression on her that the girl decides to marry him. At the same time, she is forced to refuse her old friend Christopher Goch, whom she finds too boring and prosaic. Nevertheless, Goh remains a friend of the family.

After the wedding, Verdun tries to establish a family life, even tries to sell the abbey, but before that, the newlyweds must live there. Before the sale, it turns out that the monastery was recorded in Ligeya, and there are no documents about her death. And strange things happen to Rowena herself - once Verden conducts a hypnosis session during which a woman recalls the events that happened to her at the age of three. However, at the end of the session, Rowena speaks the phrase that Ligeya once said. At night, Rowena has nightmares, and when she wakes up, she sees in her bed a stuffed fox belonging to the former mistress of the abbey. The woman also finds out that at night Verden does not sleep in her room. She shares all this with Christopher.

In the evening, Goh arrives at Fell's house. He is trying to find out from Kenrick's old servant where Ligeia is. Not receiving a clear answer, Christopher decides to exhume the body of Fell's former wife. He finds out that in the grave is not the body of Ligeya, but only his wax copy. Meanwhile, Rowena, chased by a black cat, runs into strange rooms, where she had never been before. Here Rowena meets her husband, and also finds Ligeyya's body on a black bed. Christopher and Kenrick come there. The servant talks about the hypnotic spell that Ligeya put on her husband before her death.

Rowena decides to take a desperate step - she pretends to be Ligeya with the aim of removing the spell from her husband. However, this has a strange effect on Warden - he throws Ligeya's body into the fire, and then transfers Rowena to the black box. Then Fell thinks that he sees his former wife, he tries to strangle her, not seeing that it is Rowena. Only the intervention of Goh saves a woman. The cat rushes at Fell, which scratches his eyes. Wandering around the room to the touch, Verdun topples the counter into the hearth, which is why a fire starts in the room. The cat meows mockingly, forcing the unfortunate person to look for him in the fire, until Fell finally catches the damned animal. In a frenzy, he strangles a cat who screams heart-rendingly .... In the last scene, Fell lies on fire, holding his former wife by the throat.

• Vincent Price - Warden Fell
• Elizabeth Shepherd - Lady Rowena Trevenon
• John Westbrook - Christopher Goh, Attorney
• Derek Francis - Lord Trevenon
• Oliver Johnston - Kenrick Butler
• Richard Vernon - Dr. Vivien
• Frank Thornton - Pepper
• Ronald Adam - Servant in the Cemetery
• Denis Gilmore - Servant Boy
• Penelope Lee - Servant Girl

The film is included by Stephen King in the list of the most significant works of the genre from 1950 to 1980 .

• The Tomb of Ligia on the Internet Movie Database