Nancy Bradley

**Nancy Bradley** is a character in Netflix's *Cabinet of Curiosities*, appearing in "The Murmuring." She is portrayed by Essie Davis.

## Profile

Nancy Bradley is an avid ornithologist and the husband of Edgar Bradley. The two have made a successful career studying the unusual murmuration habits of the birds known as dublins in the wild. The two have also recently suffered the tragic loss of their daughter, Ava, as a baby, and Nancy has grown cold and distant from Edgar since Ava's death.

## History

Around one year following the death of their baby, Ava, Nancy and her husband Edgar travel to remote island. The trip is intended to serve two purposes: to allow them to study the unusual habits of the birds known as dunlins and hopefully bring them closer together. Upon arrival on the island, the two are brought by a caretaker to a large mansion which was left to the state by its former owners. It is much more than they expected, as they had planned to simply set up in a tent.

The two quickly settle into a routine of studying the birds. Nancy, however, begins hearing odd sounds from the house, sounds that Edgar can't seem to hear. One evening, she discovers a flock of dunlins roosting in the home's attic. This is highly unusual, as there are previous records of the birds roosting in a human structure.

As the days continue, it becomes clear that all is not well between Nancy and Edgar. Edgar keeps making romantic gestures towards Nancy, which she entirely ignores, stating that it is too soon for her. When he attempts to talk about the issue, she either ignores him or changes the subject. Meanwhile, the supernatural phenomena surrounding Nancy grow stronger, with her seeing both the apparent ghost of a young boy and his mother. It soon becomes clear to Nancy that these are the ghosts of the home's former occupants, the mother, in a fit, of insanity, having drowned the boy before committing suicide.

When the caretaker returns to provide supplies, Nancy asks him about the home's past occupants. The caretaker is wary, asking why it's his business and incredulous when Nancy suggests that he should have told them of the home's history. Things then come to a head between Nancy and Edgar when the two get into an argument about her showing of emotions, or lack thereof. Edgar admits that he doesn't understand how she could have lost a child and yet not shed a tear in over a year. He tells her that he's angry and that he feels like she's never let him in. He decides to sleep on his own and gets up early in the morning to observe the birds separately from her.

Nancy once again encounters the ghost of the boy, who tells her that his mommy is mad at him. She tells him that he did nothing wrong, that his he was a perfect child and his mother did a terrible thing to him. She tells him to come into the light and he races into her arms and vanishes. She then goes to the ghost of the mother, but is unable to stop her from leaping from the home's roof and vanishing. At this, the birds roosting in the attic all fly off. Nancy races downstairs and the birds surround her, then fly away for good. Nancy goes to Edgar, telling him that she loves him and that she wants to talk about Ava.