The finale episode of “Cabinet of Curiosities,” titled “The Murmuring,” is a typical horror story with old houses and ghosts trying to communicate. In this episode, we don’t see any demonic creatures like in the other episodes. However, in their place, we see the Dunlin birds. Anyway, before we explain the ending of the “Cabinet of Curiosities” finale episode, let’s take a look at what happens in the story.
Spoilers Ahead
‘Cabinet of Curiosities: Episode 8 ‘The Murmuring’ Recap And Ending
Nancy Bradley and her husband, Edgar Bradley, were ornithologists who had recently lost their daughter, Ava. Nancy was still trying to recover from that trauma, and Edgar was always there to support her. They decided to go to an island to pursue further studies on dunlin birds. Edgar thought this vacation could also help him and Nancy get over their recent tragedy. A person named Mr. Grieves and his wife had arranged a nice house for their stay. The birdwatching started off really well, and the couple found some very fascinating data about the Dunlin birds. However, as time progressed, Nancy started seeing things in the house. Her mind started to believe in the presence of the ghost. Soon, she and Edgar got into fights all of a sudden. Edgar tried to console Nancy, but her mind was filled with the ghosts she saw at night.
Soon, Nancy confronted Edgar about seeing the ghosts of a boy child and a woman in the house. Edgar wanted to believe in her, but he was worried that Nancy hadn’t slept well in a year and hadn’t expressed her grief over Ava’s death, which might cause her mind to crumble. Mr. Grieves informed her that the woman who lived in the house, Claudette (according to IMDb), drowned her own son and then committed suicide. Nancy started to gather all the information about the past inhabitants of the house. One night, she saw the boy who was seeking help from her. The boy was running away from his mother, and Nancy followed him. Nancy learned that the mother of the boy was very angry. She shut the door to stop the mother from harming the boy and screamed at her to let go of him. The mother stopped banging on the door after the screaming. Nancy then helped the boy’s ghost to be free. It also helped the mother as well, to be free once and for all. Later, Nancy herself was filled with great relief and called Edgar. She said she was finally ready to express her grief by talking to her husband about the daughter she had lost.
‘Cabinet of Curiosities’ Episode 8: Ending Explained – How Did Nancy Free Claudette And Her Son’s Ghost?
Claudette was a lonely woman who was betrayed by a soldier. The soldier was already married, but he told Claudette that he would leave his wife for her when he got back from the war. But when the war was over, things went in a different direction. He left Claudette with the baby and went back to his wife instead of her. However, he did still send her tender, romantic letters. Claudette and her kid were the only people in that house. The house was on an island that was cut off from the rest of the town. So there wasn’t much for her to do. Claudette felt suffocated by the whole situation. She wanted freedom. In her spare time, she even made some handkerchiefs. One of the handkerchiefs even had a picture of Claudette standing on the island in a gesture that showed she wanted to be free. In that painting, there were images of dunlins flying around her. It was even titled “Freedom.” After being alone for years, she finally killed herself and her son. She may have done this because she felt guilty about killing her own child or because she had been suffocating for years. But even after that, she still couldn’t get away.
Nancy’s own child, Ava, had died not long ago. Edgar was hurting too, but now that he could talk about it, Ava’s death was getting easier for him to handle. But Nancy tried to hide her sadness, which hurt her a lot. She put up a wall around herself, and no matter what Edgar told her to do, she couldn’t fit in. She wasn’t yet ready to feel the happiness. She wanted to be free, but because she didn’t say much, she didn’t get there. When she saw Claudette for the first time and later found out how much pain she was in, she felt a little sorry for her. So, instead of being scared of the ghosts, she enjoyed their company. She could only understand Claudette’s desire for freedom because she had the same desire. When Nancy saw Claudette’s boy one night, she told him not to be afraid of the dark. The darkness was covering the boy because he couldn’t understand that he was dead. Nancy told him to stop fighting death and run toward the light. The boy listened to Nancy and ran toward the light. He was freed in the end. Since her son was free, Claudette was finally able to come out into the light and set herself free.
When Nancy saw that the two souls were free, she too thought that the only way to be truly free was to share their pain with their loved ones. At the same time, she was completely covered by dunlin birds. It gave her the feeling of freedom she’d always wanted. She finally gave Edgar a call and told him she wanted to talk to him about Ava. Nancy gave Claudette the freedom that she had always wanted. In exchange, Nancy was shown the right way to get her share as well.