In October, 1994, student filmmakers Heather Donahue, Michael Williams and Joshua Leonard travel to Burkittsville, Maryland to film a documentary about a local legend known as the Blair Witch. According to legend, a woman named Elly Kedward was accused of witchcraft in 1785 in the Blair Township (currently known as Burkittsville). After her death, residents experienced signs of supernatural phenomena, notably the disappearance of many local children. Years later in the early 1940s, the deaths of more local children were attributed to a serial killer named Rustin Parr who would kidnap two children at a time. He would then take them to his basement, force one to face the corner and kill the other. Parr, a hermit who lived in a house in the woods, claimed he was forced to kill by "an old woman ghost".


Symbols left by the Blair WitchThe filmmakers visit Burkittsville, where they interview local citizens who relate further details of the Blair Witch legend. They then hike deep within the woods, where unusual events begin to unfold. Mysterious sounds from the woods awaken the filmmakers, who find that three piles of stones have been placed outside their tent. They become lost in the woods, and after several hours of hiking, realize they have returned to their starting point.

Believing the group's map to be useless, Michael kicks it into the river, causing anger and frustration among the group. The next night the group wakes up to groans and children's voices. The noises continue and the tent is battered from outside, which causes the pair to flee deeper into the woods. As the group grows increasingly paranoid, Josh disappears one night. Shortly afterwards, a bloody cloth that appears to be from the missing Josh's shirt is found, with teeth and chunks of flesh wrapped in it. Heather and Mike grow increasingly cold, worried and hungry, and in what may be the film's best-known sequence, Heather records an apology to the trio's parents, claiming responsibility for the hardships they have endured.

One night, frightening sounds become unbearable, so Heather and Mike flee into the woods. After running blindly, they discover an abandoned, dilapidated house. The duo enters the home after hearing voices and search for people, but are soon overwhelmed by the sounds of screams. Mike runs downstairs to the basement. Heather flees to the basement in search of Mike, only to find him standing in the room, facing the corner. The camera falls; Heather's screams are heard before being cut short.