On Christmas Eve 1950, Wilfred Butler dies in a burning accident outside his mansion in East Willard, Massachusetts. The residence is bequeathed to his grandson, Jeffrey. Twenty years later, lawyer John Carter arrives in East Willard on Christmas Eve with his assistant and mistress Ingrid, having been charged by Jeffrey (now registered as a patient in a mental asylum) to sell the house. The house, the town, even Jeffrey himself — all hold dark secrets that will be brought to light.

Snagglepuss, a stowaway on a voyage to England, is tossed overboard by the irate skipper. He manages to get ashore on a bleak coast. But the castle in which he seeks wealth and shelter is haunted. The ghosts, Harem and Scarem, decide they haven't had this much fun in 900 years, as they make Snag's life miserable.

James Cagney has a rare chance to show his song-and-dance-man roots in this low-budget tale of a New York bandleader struggling with a Hollywood studio boss.