Stranger in Our House

Stranger in Our House is a 1978 American television horror film directed by Wes Craven and starring Linda Blair, Lee Purcell, Jeremy Slate, Jeff McCracken, and Jeff East. It is based on the 1976 novel Summer of Fear by Lois Duncan. The film premiered on NBC on October 31, 1978, and subsequently received theatrical releases in Europe under the title Summer of Fear. Plot Teenager Julia is orphaned after her parents and housekeeper die in a car accident on the east coast. She is taken in by her aunt Leslie and uncle Tom at their ranch in California, along with their teenage children Rachel and Peter and adolescent son, Bobby. Rachel is initially thrilled at the thought of having a girl her age around the house and even offers to split her bedroom with her cousin, but Julia seems painfully shy. The family takes note of her strange accent, which is uncharacteristic from the east coast. Trying to open up, Julia gets a makeover and develops a more sophisticated façade. One day, Rachel's horse Sundance attacks Julia and tries to trample her. Julia recovers and begins ingratiating herself into the family. Odd things continue to happen—after having earlier found a human tooth among Julia's belongings, Rachel discovers a photo of herself missing, and shortly after finds in Julia's dresser drawers burned hair from her fallen horse. Soon Rachel's face breaks out in hives, preventing her from attending a dance. Julia accompanies Rachel's boyfriend Mike instead, borrowing a dress that Rachel had made for herself. Soon after Julia begins dating Mike, while forging a close friendship with Carolyn, Rachel's best friend. The day after the dance, Rachel enters into a competition with Sundance, where the horse is spooked, breaking its leg in the process and forcing a vet to euthanize it. Rachel speaks to their neighbor, Professor Jarvis, who tells her it may indeed be the work of someone who practices black magic. She looks in Julia's drawer to find evidence to show Jarvis and discovers a missing photo covered in red paint spots. Before she can show him the evidence however, the professor collapses and is rushed to the hospital. A letter that Julia receives from a friend gets the best of Rachel's curiosity. Rachel phones the friend in Boston and discovers that Julia supposedly sings in her school's glee club. Knowing that the person living in her house doesn't have any interest in music, Rachel further suspects something is not right.