An intelligent, fearless boy living in a superstitious Transylvanian village goes out into the world to figure out what everyone else is afraid of, "the shivers." A king hires him to rid his castle of ghosts and evil spirits, expecting him to die like all who have tried before him, but the boy is more fearless than he could have known.

Peter MacNicol
as Martin

Christopher Lee
as King Vladimir V

Dana Hill
as Princess Amanda

David Warner
as Zandor, the Inkeeper

Frank Zappa
as Attila

Vincent Price
as Narrator (voice)

Jeff Corey
as Father

Jack Riley
as Sexton / Deacon

Gary Springer
as Older Brother

Gary Schwartz
as Headless Man