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Oct 28, 2022 · If you're in the mood for a haunting watch, we've rounded up the best ghost movies of all time, including horror movies you can stream right now on Netflix.
- Hannah Jeon
- Associate Commerce Editor
- Hannah.Jeon@hearst.com
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- The Shining (1980) Director: Stanley Kubrick. Stephen King famously hates Kubrick’s 1980 adaptation of his novel The Shining, which is difficult to understand until you actually read King’s original book, whereupon things become much more clear.
- The Innocents (1961) Director: Jack Clayton. There are few sights in gothic horror more instantly iconic than the female protagonist, dressed in a flowing nightgown, wandering the halls of a pitch-black Victorian country mansion at midnight, flaming candelabra in hand, brushing cobwebs out of the way as she searches for the source of a mysterious sound.
- Kwaidan (1964) Director: Masaki Kobayashi. Ghost stories don’t get much more gorgeous than the four in Masaki Kobayashi’s sprawling Kwaidan. Between two acerbically political and widely lauded samurai epics, Hara-kiri (1962) and Samurai Rebellion (1967), Kobayashi led what was then Japan’s most expensive cinematic production ever, an anthology film with its parts loosely connected by Lafcadio Hearn’s collection of Japanese folk tales and Kobayashi’s intuitive penchant for surreal, sweepingly lush sets.
- Poltergeist (1982) Director: Tobe Hooper. They’re heeeeeeeeeere… Steven Spielberg’s first big success in the producer’s chair (and notionally directed by Tobe Hooper) was released concurrently with ET: The Extraterrestrial and could arguably be seen as the dark side of a dyad about alienation in suburbia.
Quite a few ghost films (especially English-speaking ones) didn't make my cut of the 50 best, so here are some other recommendations of good (but not great) ghost films: Pulse (2001), Wind Chill, The Uninvited (2009), The Bunker, Grave Encounters 2, A Tale Of Two Sisters, They Wait, Ghost Ship, The Haunted (1991), White Noise, Paranormal ...
- Ghostbusters (1984) We won't be getting academic or philosophical with this entry. Explaining why "Ghostbusters" tops this list is incredibly easy and can be summed up in three words: it's so good.
- The Innocents (1961) Modern audiences who dislike black-and-white films should be forced to watch Jack Clayton's adaptation of Henry James' "The Turn of the Screw" to truly understand how effective the lack of color can be.
- Ugetsu Monogatari (1953) A metaphor that isn't explored all that often in ghost stories is the concept of ghosts as temptation. It's a realistic interpretation since many of us are tempted to believe in ghosts because their existence suggests life beyond death.
- Ringu (1998) When a film is remade as successfully as "Ringu," you can't help but compare them. Gore Verbinski's take on the material ("The Ring") is creepy, stylish, and crowd-pleasing.
- The Others. Nicole Kidman, Christopher Eccleston, Alakina Mann. 708 votes. The Others, a chilling tale of suspense and mystery, is undoubtedly one of the best ghost horror movies in cinematic history.
- The Sixth Sense. Bruce Willis, Haley Joel Osment, Toni Collette. 715 votes. M. Night Shyamalan's breakthrough film, The Sixth Sense, has earned its place among the best ghost horror movies due to its outstanding character development and mind-bending plot twists.
- The Conjuring. Vera Farmiga, Patrick Wilson, Lili Taylor. 586 votes. James Wan's 2013 masterpiece, The Conjuring, revitalized modern ghost horror films with its spine-tingling tale based on true events surrounding paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren (played by Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga).
- The Shining. Jack Nicholson, Shelley Duvall, Danny Lloyd. 687 votes. Stanley Kubrick's haunting adaptation of Stephen King's novel, The Shining, is a chilling examination of isolation, madness, and supernatural terror that has earned its place as one of the best ghost horror movies.
These are the best ghost movies streaming on Netflix, Amazon Prime, Shudder and more, including funny ones, family friendly picks, and ones based on true stories.
The greatest ghost movies of all time. Everett Collection. Like witches, vampires, and zombies, ghosts can be scary as hell. But there is something about the stories of lingering dead spirits...
