When her Naval captain husband dies, Margaret Carey (Fay Bainter) is left struggling to support her family, which includes a young son and daughters Nancy (Anne Shirley) and Kitty (Ruby Keeler). They hop from residence to residence, just scraping by, but ultimately land in a fixer-upper that seems just right. That is, until their lack of funds moves the landlord to try to force them out, prompting Nancy and Kitty to concoct a "haunted house" scheme aimed at frightening away prospective buyers.