What actually happens
A hoax reporter finds a real doll
In 1845, in Banfield, Massachusetts, a woman named Mary Elnor is accused of witchcraft, hanged from a tree and burned. Her ashes are sealed in a doll wrapped in chain, and her spirit stays inside it. Meanwhile, Gerry Fenn was caught making up stories as a journalist and now works a job reporting hoax stories. His latest assignment sends him to Boston, where the strange activity turns out to be a teenage prank. On the way out, he finds Mary's doll in the base of the long-dead tree and crushes it, which lets her spirit loose. Driving off, he crashes his car after a young girl runs across the road. He follows her to the tree, hears her speak, and collapses. The girl, Alice Pagett, is deaf and mute, and Gerry stays in town to chase a real story.
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The statue cries blood and the Church sends a monsignor
The next day Alice speaks in front of the community and says the Virgin Mary healed her. Other apparent miracles follow, the media arrive in force, and a statue of the Virgin in the church weeps tears of blood. The Catholic Church sends Monsignor Delgarde and Bishop Gyles to investigate. Alice tells Gerry that the voice she hears says it is Mary, and she only assumed it was the Virgin. Gerry begins having visions of this "Mary" as a horrific creature and teams up with Alice's uncle, Father William Hagan, whom Alice healed and who also doubts where the cures come from. Hagan finds a book about Mary Elnor, a woman who performed miracles for Satan, and before he can warn anyone she goes after him. His body turns up hanging in the church, and Gyles talks Gerry into keeping the apparent suicide quiet. Gerry also meets a doctor, Natalie Gates, and the two of them piece together that Elnor sold her soul to Satan so that she and her descendants, Alice among them, could work miracles and collect pledges of loyalty.
A shrine built around the witch's tree
Gerry and Delgarde learn that Gyles knew the story of Elnor but did not think it was linked to the recent miracles, and Gyles warns Gerry that nobody will believe him because of his reputation. Elnor tries to kill Gerry, but Delgarde uses prayer and a crucifix to send her off. Alice, who they believe knows nothing about Mary's true nature, wants to hold a church service at the tree, inside a shrine that has been built there, and to broadcast it to as many people as possible. Delgarde warns that every person who pledges themselves to Elnor makes her stronger and condemns their soul to Hell. Gerry, Natalie and Delgarde try to stop it with a ritual inside the church, but Elnor shows up and crushes Delgarde with a burning cross.
The service, and a tree that does not want visitors
At the service, which Gyles leads, Alice asks the crowd three times to pledge themselves to Mary of Banfield. Gerry stops them from finishing by announcing that the miracles were more of his hoaxes and a placebo effect. Natalie uses sign language to tell Alice to end the service, and Mary tells Alice to continue or never speak again. Alice understands what Mary really is and says the miracles were not from God. Then the tree bursts into flames, the crowd runs, and an angry Mary comes out of the tree. This is the scene people dread most, and it comes near the end: Mary stepping out of a burning tree, burning Gyles to death and going after Gerry.
The ending, explained
Mary burns Bishop Gyles to death and then goes after Gerry. Alice sacrifices herself to save him and dies, and because Alice was Mary's link to the living world, Mary crumbles into dust. Gerry, shaken by what Alice did, begs God to save her, and she comes back to life. She is deaf and mute again, and everyone she healed returns to how they were before. Father Hagan died earlier, and Elnor crushed Monsignor Delgarde with a burning cross.
The post-credits ruling
Nobody has confirmed whether there's a scene after the credits.
✓ Spoiled safelyDog status: no dog dies, and no cat or other animal does either.
Questions people ask at 1am
Is The Unholy scary?
Somewhat. The Unholy is a 4 out of 10: a haunted-miracle mystery with frequent jump scares, a low dread level and a finale at the burning tree.
How does The Unholy end?
Alice says the miracles were not from God, Mary burns Bishop Gyles and goes after Gerry, and Alice sacrifices herself to save him. Mary turns to dust, and Gerry's prayer brings Alice back, deaf and mute again.
Does the dog die in The Unholy?
No dog dies in The Unholy, and no cat or other animal dies either.
Is there a post-credits scene in The Unholy?
Nobody has confirmed whether The Unholy has a scene after the credits.
Who is Mary in The Unholy?
Mary Elnor is a woman accused of witchcraft and hanged in Banfield, Massachusetts, in 1845. Gerry crushes the doll holding her ashes and frees her by accident, and Alice at first assumes the voice she hears is the Virgin Mary.
