Virginia Madsen in spirit of "Haunting"

Virginia Madsen poses as she arrives at the annual Race to Erase MS in Century City, California, in this April 13, 2007 file photo. [Reuters]

Virginia Madsen will star in the supernatural thriller "A Haunting in Connecticut."

The film tells the true story of a family forced to relocate near a clinic where their teenage son is being treated for cancer. There, they discover that the home they have rented is a former mortuary with a dark history that might account for the extraordinary manifestations of the boy's illness and the supernatural events that threaten the family.

Peter Cornwell is directing the Gold Circle Films project. A late summer start is being eyed.

Madsen, who was nominated for an Oscar for her performance in "Sideways," most recently appeared on the big screen opposite Jim Carrey in "The Number 23."