Hauntings: Classic Ghost and Haunted House Movies

 

 

13 Ghosts (1960)

When an impoverished family inherits a ramshackle house, they get more than they anticipated. Twelve ghosts are in residence, looking for a 13th to set them free. Starring Martin Milner, Rosemary De Camp, Donald Woods; produced and directed by William Castle. Not rated.

Beetlejuice (1988)

A yuppie ghost couple hire a freelance "bio-exorcist" to rid their home of trendy New Yorkers. Starring Alec Baldwin, Geena Davis, and Michael Keaton; directed by Tim Burton. Rated PG.

The Blair Witch Project (1999)

Three student filmmakers set out into the forest to film a documentary on a legend known as The Blair Witch. As they become lost in the woods, an unseen evil begins to stalk and harass them. They soon realize that what they are filming is not a legend, but their own descent into a horrifying encounter with the supernatural. Starring Heather Donahue, Michael Williams, Joshua Leonard; written, directed and edited by Daniel Myrick & Eduardo Sanchez. Rated R.

The Changeling (1979)

A man becomes the unwilling instrument of a ghost's revenge. Starring George C. Scott, Trish Van Devere, Melvyn Douglas; directed by Peter Medak. Rated R.

Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands (1977)

When a passionate young widow marries a respectable but undemonstrative man, the ghost of her first husband returns to make her life more interesting. Based on the novel by Jorge Amado. In Portuguese with English subtitles. Starring Sonia Braga, Jose Wilker, and Mauro Medonca; directed by Bruno Barreto. Rated R.

Don't Look Now (1973)

Psychic terror in a Gothic setting provides the chilling backdrop in this tale of a couple's search for the ghost of their dead daughter. Set in Venice. Based on the story by Daphne du Maurier. Starring Julie Christie and Donald Sutherland; directed by Nicolas Roeg. Rated R.

The Fog (1980)

The story of revenge by the demonic victims of a century-old shipwreck who stalk their victims in the fog. Starring Adrienne Barbeau, Jamie Lee Curtis, and John Houseman; directed by John Carpenter. Rated R.

The Frighteners (1996)

A conman who converses with the dead finds himself caught up in a series of murders committed by the ghost of a serial killer. Starring Michael J. Fox, Trini Alvarado, and Peter Dobson; directed by Peter Jackson. Rated R.

Ghost (1990)

A ghost teams up with a psychic to uncover the truth behind his murder--and to rescue his beloved from a similar fate. Starring Patrick Swayze, Demi Moore, and Whoopi Goldberg; directed by Jerry Zucker. Rated PG-13.

Ghost and Mrs. Muir (1947)

At the turn of the century a young widow and her daughter move into a cottage on the English coast. Soon she learns that the cottage is haunted by the ghost of its former owner, a sea captain. When he finds he can't scare her away, they soon fall in love. From the novel by R.A. Dick. Starring Gene Tierney, Rex Harrison, and George Sanders; directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz. Not rated.

Ghostbusters (1984)

When ghosts go on a rampage, only three men can save the world. If you want your spirits raised, who you gonna call? Ghostbusters! Starring Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, and Harold Ramis; directed by Ivan Reitman. Rated PG.

Ghost stories. Semester 1, Freshman Frights (2005)

Retells traditional Japanese folk tales in a modern setting. From Fuji Television.

Ghost Stories: The Stuff That Screams Are Made Of... (2008)

40 spine-tingling episodes of the Fox series. Narrated by Rip Torn.

Ghost Story (1981)

Four elderly men, members of The Chowder Society, fall victim to a vengeful ghost. Based on the novel by Peter Straub. Starring Fred Astaire, Melvyn Douglas, and Douglas Fairbanks, Jr.; directed by John Irvin. Rated R.

The Haunting (1963)

A psychic researcher explores the horrors of the unseen and the unexplained in the reputedly haunted Hill House. Truly chilling. Based on the novel The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson. Starring Julie Harris, Claire Bloom, and Richard Johnson; directed by Robert Wise. Not rated. Remade in 1999 starring Liam Neeson, Catherine Zeta-Jones, and Owen Wilson.

House on Haunted Hill (1959)

A homeowner offers five strangers ten thousand dollars if they can last out the night in his haunted house. Starring Vincent Price with Carol Omhart, Richard Long, Alan Marshal; directed by William Castle. Not rated. Remade in 1999 with Geoffrey Rush, Famke Janssen, and Taye Diggs.

The Innocents (1961)

Shortly after coming to live with orphans Flora and Miles in their dark, eerie mansion, the new governess mistakes their strange behavior for precociousness. But she soon comes to believe that the charming, beautiful children are possessed by evil, malicious spirits--the souls of their previous governess and estate manager who are now dead. Based on The Turn of the Screw by Henry James. Starring Deborah Kerr, Peter Wyngarde, and Megs Jenkins; directed by Jack Clayton. Not rated.

Lady in White (1988)

A boy locked in the school cloakroom on Halloween night witnesses a girl-ghost in the grip of a killer. He himself is almost strangled and has another vision of the same girl begging him to expose the killer and put her spirit to rest. Starring Lukas Haas, Len Cariou, and Katherine Helmond; written and directed by Frank Laloggia. Rated PG-13.

Legend of Hell House (1973)

It sits there, shrouded in mist and mystery, a nesting place for living evil and terror from the dead. It's Hell House. Based on the novel, Hell House, by Richard Matheson. Starring Pamela Franklin, Roddy McDowall, and Clive Revill; directed by John Hough. Rated PG.

The Others (2001)

A woman who lives in a darkened old house with her two photosensitive children becomes convinced that her family home is haunted. Starring Nicole Kidman, Fionnula Flanagan, and Christopher Eccleston; written and directed by Alejondro Amenábar. Rated PG-13.

Poltergeist (1982)

A family's home is haunted by a host of ghosts. Starring JoBeth Williams, Craig T. Nelson, and Beatrice Straight; directed by Tobe Hooper. Rated PG.

The Shining (1980)

A young boy and his parents spend the winter in a resort hotel which is possessed by ghosts of its evil past. Based on the novel by Stephen King. Starring Jack Nicholson, Shelley Duvall, and Scatman Crothers; directed by Stanley Kubrick. Rated R.

Sixth Sense (1999)

"I see dead people." A noted child psychologist attempts to help a frightened 8-year-old boy who is experiencing terrifying visions of the dead. Starring Haley Joel Osment, Bruce Willis, and Toni Collette; written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan. Rated PG-13.

Topper (1937)

A sophisticated and playful couple become ghosts and haunt the life of a stuffy banker. Based on the novel by Thorne Smith. Starring Constance Bennett, Cary Grant, and Roland Young; directed by Norman Z. McLeod. Not rated. Followed by Topper Returns (1940).

Truly Madly Deeply (1991)

A young woman's world falls apart when her boyfriend dies. When he unexpectedly returns to life as a ghost, she must choose between the man she truly, madly, deeply loved--and a new man who is truly, madly, deeply alive. Starring Juliet Stevenson, Alan Rickman, and Bill Paterson; written and directed by Anthony Minghella. Rated PG.

The Uninvited (1944)

In this horror classic set on the remote coast of Cornwall, a music critic and his sister move into a bargain-priced house, only to discover that it is haunted. Starring Ray Milland, Ruth Hussey, and Donald Crisp, with a bone-chilling performance by Cornelia Otis Skinner; directed by Lewis Allen. Not rated.

The Uninvited (2009)

Anna and Alex's mother dies a mysterious death. Late, Anna returns home to her sister and best friend, Alex, after a stay in a mental hospital. Her recovery is jeopardized thanks to her aloof father and the presence of a ghost in their home. The sisters are confronted with terrifying nightmares, ghostly visions, and deadly consequences when they begin to investigate their father's cruel new fiancee. Starring Emily Browning, Arielle Kebbel, David Strathairn; directed by The Guard Brothers. Rated PG-13.

Watcher in the Woods (1981)

When a family moves to an English country house, their children encounter something in the woods. Something waiting. . . watching. Based on the novel by Florence Engel Randall. Starring Bette Davis, Carroll Baker, and David McCallum; directed by John Hough. Rated PG.

What Lies Beneath (2000)

When Claire Spencer begins seeing ghostly images and hearing mysterious voices in her home, her husband Norman suspects it is just her imagination, until the images turn real. Together they uncover the truth. Starring Harrison Ford and Michelle Pfeiffer; directed by Robert Zemeckis. Rated PG-13.

Woman in Black (1989)

A solicitor sent to a small village to settle the estate of a dead client fuels the wrath of a sinister, mysterious woman in black and is driven to the brink of insanity. Based on the book by Susan Hill with a screenplay by Nigel Kneale. Starring Adrian Rawlins, Bernard Hepton, and David Daker; directed by Herbert Rise. Not rated.

Updated 10/09

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