Paste - The 50 Best Ghost Movies of All Time

Paste - The 50 Best Ghost Movies of All Time's icon

Created by bono_212.

Favorited 6 times, disliked 0 times, added to 4 watchlists.

When we set out to create a list of the best “ghost movies,” we didn’t quite realize at the start exactly how diverse that list would eventually be.

We began with horror cinema in mind. Sure, there are hundreds of classical cinematic ghost stories and haunted house tales, right? All the way back to 1944’s The Uninvited, through The Amityville Horror and onto The Conjuring and others—it’s not like there’s a shortage of malevolent spectres out there.

But then, in assembling the list, it became clear that this was another beast entirely from our recent ranking of the 50 best slasher movies of all time. Even more so than our list of the best zombie movies, “ghosts” have been co-opted into seemingly every genre, and they all belong on a list of the “best ghost movies.” After all, A Christmas Carol revolves entirely around its visiting ghosts, doesn’t it? So does Field of Dreams and its ghostly major leaguers, or the title character of Beetlejuice. So yeah, there’s plenty of horror on this list—but there’s also plenty more ghost movies suitable for fans of every genre, from romance to comedy to science fiction.

Here then, are the best “ghost movies” of all time.

Remove ads

Pssst, want to check out the Paste - The 50 Best Ghost Movies of All Time list in our new look?

Filter

  1. 1 new

    The Shining

    1980, in 28 top lists Check
  2. 2 new

    The Innocents

    1961, in 12 top lists Check
  3. 3 new

    Kaidan

    1964 — a.k.a. Kwaidan, in 13 top lists Check
  4. 4 new

    Poltergeist

    1982, in 9 top lists Check
  5. 5 new

    The Haunting

    1963, in 6 top lists Check
  6. 6 new

    The Changeling

    1980, in 3 top lists Check
  7. 7 new

    Ghostbusters

    1984, in 13 top lists Check
  8. 8 new

    El espinazo del diablo

    2001 — a.k.a. The Devil's Backbone, in 5 top lists Check
  9. 9 new

    The Sixth Sense

    1999, in 20 top lists Check
  10. 10 new

    Beetlejuice

    1988, in 5 top lists Check
  11. 11 new

    A Ghost Story

    2017, in 4 top lists
    Check
  12. 12 new

    El orfanato

    2007 — a.k.a. The Orphanage, in 3 top lists Check
  13. 13 new

    Personal Shopper

    2016, in 2 top lists Check
  14. 14 new

    ...E tu vivrai nel terrore! L'aldilà

    1981 — a.k.a. The Beyond, in 4 top lists Check
  15. 15 new

    Coco

    2017, in 14 top lists Check
  16. 16 new

    We Are Still Here

    2015, in 0 top lists Check
  17. 17 new

    Field of Dreams

    1989, in 10 top lists Check
  18. 18 new

    Lake Mungo

    2008, in 1 top list Check
  19. 19 new

    The Others

    2001, in 9 top lists Check
  20. 20 new

    A Christmas Carol

    1984, in 0 top lists Check
  21. 21 new

    The Fog

    1980, in 3 top lists Check
  22. 22 new

    Crimson Peak

    2015, in 1 top list Check
  23. 23 new

    The Canal

    2014, in 0 top lists Check
  24. 24 new

    Carnival of Souls

    1962, in 5 top lists Check
  25. 25 new

    Grave Encounters

    2011, in 1 top list Check
  26. 26 new

    Ringu

    1998, in 12 top lists Check
  27. 27 new

    Oculus

    2013, in 1 top list Check
  28. 28 new

    The Conjuring

    2013, in 4 top lists Check
  29. 29 new

    Hausu

    1977 — a.k.a. House, in 8 top lists Check
  30. 30 new

    The Uninvited

    1944, in 2 top lists Check
  31. 31 new

    Under the Shadow

    2016, in 1 top list Check
  32. 32 new

    The Innkeepers

    2011, in 1 top list Check
  33. 33 new

    Ghost

    1990, in 9 top lists Check
  34. 34 new

    House on Haunted Hill

    1959, in 1 top list Check
  35. 35 new

    The Frighteners

    1996, in 1 top list Check
  36. 36 new

    The Ghost and Mrs. Muir

    1947, in 8 top lists Check
  37. 37 new

    Janghwa, Hongryeon

    2003 — a.k.a. A Tale of Two Sisters, in 5 top lists Check
  38. 38 new

    Candyman

    1992, in 1 top list Check
  39. 39 new

    Ouija: Origin of Evil

    2016, in 0 top lists Check
  40. 40 new

    Session 9

    2001, in 2 top lists Check
  41. 41 new

    Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey

    1991, in 1 top list Check
  42. 42 new

    1408

    2007, in 1 top list Check
  43. 43 new

    The Legend of Hell House

    1973, in 1 top list Check
  44. 44 new

    Mama

    2013, in 1 top list Check
  45. 45 new

    The Amityville Horror

    1979, in 2 top lists Check
  46. 46 new

    Ju-on

    2002 — a.k.a. Ju-on: The Grudge, in 3 top lists Check
  47. 47 new

    Stir of Echoes

    1999, in 2 top lists Check
  48. 48 new

    The Entity

    1982, in 1 top list Check
  49. 49 new

    The Woman in Black

    2012, in 1 top list Check
  50. 50 new

    Casper

    1995, in 2 top lists Check
Remove ads

Last updated on Oct 25, 2018; source