Reporter John Klein is plunged into a world of impossible terror when fate draws him to the sleepy West Virginia town of Point Pleasant, whose residents are being visited by a great winged shape that sows hideous nightmares and fevered visions.

A man who specializes in debunking paranormal occurrences checks into the fabled room 1408 at the Dolphin Hotel. Soon after settling in, he confronts genuine terror.

Animal control officer Walter Sparrow becomes obsessed with a novel that he believes was written about him, as more and more similarities between himself and his literary alter ego seem to arise.