Four Moods has become somewhat of a landmark for Taiwan, being the result of the collaboration of the industry's top directors and stars. The film consists of four stories, dealing with four very different kinds of ghosts.

In "The Ghost of Joy", a scholar chases away a grave robber from a cemetery, and restores the grave ..,, which the thief has disturbed. A beautiful girl appears, and to reward him for his good deed, accompanies him to his house. Next morning, however, she has disappeared, and .. the scholar begins a frantic search for her.

"The Ghost of Wrath" tells of Chiao Chen who, on his way to political exile, is attacked by thugs hired by his enemies. He manages to escape and puts up for the night in a small inn. At midnight the innkeeper and his wife set out to murder him . . .

In "The Ghost of Melancholy", Lan Wang frames Ugly Wei, who is sentenced to prison for seven years. On his release he returns home, only to discover that his family has been killed by Lan. He then sets out to take revenge on Lan's family. The final story, "The Ghost of Malevolence", looks at the rewards of charity and good deeds. While fishing on the bank of a river. Master Hsu encounters Wang, a ghost. Wang befriends Hsu and tens him he (Wang) will become human once again, when a young girl takes her own life. The following morning, Hsu sees a young girl about to jump into the river, and saves her life. Wang blames Hsu for depriving him of another chance to come to life. Hsu then promises he will not interfere when the opportunity comes.