Shaun Brumder is a local surfer kid from Orange County who dreams of going to Stanford to become a writer and to get away from his dysfunctional family household. Except Shaun runs into one complication after another, starting when his application is rejected after his dim-witted guidance counselor sends in the wrong form.
Peter Ustinov stars as the eponymous wraith, who returns to Earth to aid his descendant, elderly Elsa Lanchester (Stowecroft). The villains want to kick Lanchester and her friends out of their group home so that they can build a crooked casino. Good guy Steve Walker (Jones) gets caught in the middle of the squabble after evoking Blackbeard's ghost.