Lydia Deetz (Winona Ryder)’s Timeline and Summary
- Lydia lives with her father and stepmother in New York City until her father announces they're moving to Winter River, Connecticut.
- On move in day, Lydia notices two people looking out of an attic window. Hmmm…
- She goes up to the attic to investigate, but experiences a whole bunch of strange sights and sounds coming out of the locked attic.
- A bit later, Lydia forces the attic door open and goes inside to find a copy of The Handbook for the Recently Deceased. She reads through it over the next few months.
- She eventually meets the ghosts from the attic. Luckily, they're nice and don't look like Night of the Living Dead under their sheets.
- Lydia befriends Adam and Barbara and tries to tell Delia that they're haunting the house. She doesn't believe her.
- That night at dinner, all the dinner guests do the Calypso while Lydia watches in amusement.
- The Deetzes are thrilled, but Lydia isn't able to get Adam and Barbara to come down to meet the family.
- After everyone leaves, a huge snake attacks the family. Lydia thinks this is part of Adam and Barbara's scare tactics. It's not very nice.
- Later, Lydia is pretty depressed. She decides she wants to die and join the Maitlands. She writes a suicide note and goes up to the attic to leave it.
- There she runs into Betelgeuse who tries to get her to say his name three times.
- She's interrupted by Adam and Barbara who tell her that death isn't all it's cracked up to be.
- Lydia watches in horror as Otho holds a séance and Adam and Barbara appear at the table and then slowly rot in front of everyone's eyes.
- Lydia thinks quick and then goes to grab Betelgeuse. He can help, but only if she'll marry him.
- Betelgeuse keeps his end of the bargain, but then starts the marriage ceremony. Adam and Barbara step in to rescue Lydia from this matrimonial mess.
- In the end, Lydia's attending school and living in the house with her parents and the Maitlands, who indulge her in some supernatural after-school fun.