becomes ill and dies, Marian does not attend the funeral. Ben angrily confronts Marian about her obsession with the house. When she denies it, he reveals his intention to leave the next day. Ben later sees old shingles and siding falling away, replaced by new ones as the house rejuvenates itself. Now convinced that the house is alive, Ben attempts to escape with Davey but a tree blocks the road. When Marian drives them back to the house, Ben accuses her of being a part of what is going on, then sees her as the chauffeur and becomes catatonic. The next day, while Davey is swimming and a still-catatonic Ben is watching him, the pool water turns into vicious waves, pulling the boy under as Ben is unable to move. Marian rescues her son; the incident awakens Ben from his catatonia. Marian agrees that it's time to leave but insists on going back inside to inform Mrs. Allardyce. When Marian fails to return to the car, Ben goes inside to find her, but cannot. He decides to confront Mrs. Allardyce, whom he has never seen. He is horrified when he discovers that Marian is Mrs. Allardyce, wizened by age, but clearly Marian. "I've been waiting for you, Ben!" she says, scowling at him. Ben recoils in horror from the thing that had once been his wife rises from her wheelchair, and moves towards him. Waiting in the car, Davey is shocked to see his father fall from attic window, landing on the car's windshield. In shock, Davey runs toward the house and is killed when one of the chimneys falls on him. In the final shot of the film, the voices of the Allardyce siblings are heard marveling at the restored beauty of their home and rejoicing over the return of their "mother". With the house and grounds now apparently rejuvenated, camera pans on pictures arrayed in the house, previous guests, presumably also victims of the house. The photo collection now includes photos of Ben, Davey and Aunt Elizabeth. Cast Production In a Variety piece published on December 11, 1969, it was announced a project named Burnt Offerings would be directed by Bob Fosse from a screenplay by Robert Marasco; Turman Films and Cinema Center Films would be producers and Lawrence Turman executive producer. Although it never materialized, a novel of the same name by Marasco was published in 1973.