Nosferatu

A young girl named Ellen prays for a companion to ease her loneliness. She inadvertently contacts a powerful being known as the Nosferatu, forging a psychic link between them. In 1838, Ellen has married Thomas Hutter, and they live in Wisburg, Germany. Thomas is sent to Transylvania by his employer, Herr Knock, to sell the decrepit Grünewald Manor to the reclusive Count Orlok. He leaves her with his friend Friedrich Harding and his pregnant wife Anna, who have two daughters. Unbeknownst to Thomas, Knock is actually in league with Orlok. Arriving in a Transylvania hamlet, Thomas is shunned by the locals when he mentions Castle Orlok. That night, he witnesses a group of Roma exhuming and staking an alleged vampire's corpse, which gushes blood. He wakes up to the hamlet deserted and his horse gone. He continues on foot until a mysterious carriage takes him to Orlok's castle. Distracted by Orlok's appearance during dinner, Thomas cuts his hand, which agitates the Count. He wakes up on the floor of the dining room the next morning. Orlok completes the home sale and takes Thomas' locket, containing a lock of Ellen's hair. Thomas discovers bite marks on his chest and becomes increasingly ill and fearful. While attempting to escape the castle, he ends up in a crypt where he finds the Count asleep in a coffin, naked and decayed. When Orlok awakens and gives pursuit, Thomas falls into a river and is rescued by Eastern Orthodox nuns. They explain that Orlok became a vampire after making a pact with the Devil. Orlok sets sail for Wisburg inside his coffin on a ship with plague-carrying rats. Meanwhile, Ellen, under Orlok's influence, begins suffering from seizures and sleepwalking. Her doctor, Wilhelm Sievers, consults with his former mentor, Albin Eberhart von Franz, a Swiss scientist ostracized for his occult beliefs. Von Franz confirms that Ellen is under the Nosferatu's demonic influence. Knock is institutionalized after killing and eating sheep raw. Von Franz reveals that sunlight will kill the Nosferatu. Thomas returns to Wisburg as Orlok's plague ravages the populace. Knock escapes and escorts Orlok to Grünewald Manor. Orlok appears to Ellen in her nightmares and tells her that Thomas "sold" her to him for his commission of the home sale (he could not read the documents as they were in Orlok's language). He demands that she submit to him in three days or he will kill Thomas. She awakes to find Anna being attacked by plague-infested rats. Ellen berates Thomas for allowing Orlok to take advantage of him, resulting in them having troubled sex. Orlok retaliates by killing Anna and her children. Upon seeing Orlok's bites on Thomas, Friedrich realizes the couple was telling the truth. Mad with grief, Friedrich dies from the plague at his family's graves. Von Franz's research suggests that a fair maiden's willing sacrifice can destroy Nosferatu. Knowing that only she can stop the plague, Ellen conspires with von Franz to keep Thomas away. Thomas, von Franz, and Sievers go to Grünewald Manor, where they accidentally kill Knock after finding him sleeping in Orlok's coffin. Thomas realizes the deception as Ellen summons Orlok and allows him to feed on her until sunrise. Distracted by her, Orlok is killed by the sunrise. Thomas returns and holds Ellen's hand as she dies, while von Franz confirms that her sacrifice has freed them from the Nosferatu.