The Miller family are taking their first trip to Pitch Dark Falls to meet with the local real estate agent, Harry Jones, and see their new home, which they inherited from their dead great uncle. Amanda and Josh Miller, and their dog Bonnie, immediately sense that something is not quite right. Despite the fact that it is the middle of July, the entire neighbourhood seems covered in an artificial darkness created by the shadows of massive tree limbs. Dead brown leaves, shade and shadows are everywhere. Then there is the creepy old house, that appears to have been built many years ago. It is an enormous, dark, antique home with two large windows on the second floor that look awkwardly like a pair of dark eyes staring down at the street below. 

While Josh proceed with impatience to start a protest over the family move and how tragic it is for him, Mr. Jones welcomes the family into the home. While exploring her new room, Amanda watches with amazement as she catches a glimpse of a boy standing in the doorway, before quickly disappear down the hall. Amanda feels much better after seeing her bedroom. She went outside to tell Josh about it, but both he and Bonnie are gone. Mr. Jones offers to give some directions while the family drive around town to find the missing members of the family. On the way Amanda finds it strange that there aren't any people in the houses or yards, or even on the street. Eventually they find Josh trying to catch Bonnie among the gravestones of the Pitch Dark Falls cemetery. The kids' father Mike end up catching Bonnie and putting on her a leash. Then the family went Mr. Jones at his real estate office in Pitch Dark Falls, where he mentions to the Millers that they can come back the following week to finish the contracts for the house. After their crazy first visit, the Millers family leave Pitch Dark Falls and head back home to their old neighbourhood.

It is a ‪Friday night‬ and Amanda's best friend Abby comes over for the family's last night in their old house, telling Amanda that Pitch Dark Falls is only four hours away and that it's not like she’s moving to China. The following morning is moving day, and it's a rainy, windy day in Pitch Dark Falls, where the family is going to live from now on.  

For days, Amanda keeps seeing other children inside her house and hearing strange noises. Thankfully, she’s made friends easily but they are a little bit different than the friends she used to have. Later on, she finds out that all of her friends are actually dead; they had been murdered when they were living at her house. Once a year, they must have the blood from a freshly-killed person to sustain their living dead existence for another year. Amanda tried to warn her parents but they didn’t listen to her. Suddenly, one of her undead friends, Ray, attacks Amanda in the cemetery, while her brother, Josh, is still out looking for their ever-missing dog. Josh manages to save her at the last moment, when he shines the torchlight in Ray’s face, who becomes a pile of bones. Amanda and Josh run home but when they arrive, they are attacked by the dead children, who explain to them that there was no dead great uncle and that the letter sent to their parents was a trick to bring the Millers to Pitch Dark Falls. Suddenly, Mr. Jones, the real estate agent, appears on the door and the dead children vanish. He tells them that he has already saved their parents from the dead youngsters and that he will take them to join their parents. As they are going to find their parents, they pass through the cemetery and Amanda notices a gravestone with Mr. Jones name on it. Immediately, they understand that he is also dead. Amanda and Josh manage to escape Mr. Jones after Josh hits him on the head with his flashlight. It turns out the dead children are zombies that crumble under light. Then Amanda ,with the help of her brother, knocks down a tree to kill all of the living dead. Their parents see everything from an abandoned house where they had been held as hostages. The next morning, their new house stands empty as they head back to their old house where they are certain that they will be safe and sound.   

As the family are leaving the dead house, they meet a new family on the driveway, coming to move in to the house. Someone all too familiar is there, and Amanda is sure it's Mr. Jones.