For our first Favorite Question, we’re going to go with something easy.
What is your favorite ghost story or haunted house movie? The reason I combined them because sometimes a ghost story doesn’t necessarily take place in one location. Or sometimes a haunted house doesn’t even involved a ghost. But I think you get the idea.
So feel free to leave your thoughts in the comment section below. Let’s get this conversation going!!!
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It’s not a horror film, but I was completely taken with the ghost story in Claude Autant-Lara’s ‘Sylvie et le fantôme’. https://letterboxd.com/hooded_justice/film/sylvia-and-the-ghost/
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Another one added to my list! Thanks Craig!
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I am going to drop two. The changeling and 1944 the uninvited.
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Good to get these two classics out of the way! I love both of these, especially The Changeling. It scared me when I first saw in on VHS years ago and still think it is an essential title in this sub-genre. I love the ghost stories that have a puzzle to solve and this one does it perfectly.
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The Changeling – YAAAASSSSS
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I’ll have to go with Carnival of Souls.
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I had watched this recently and it has some incredible shots in there. But I’ve always considered it like a Twilight Zone episode that is drawn out for 90 minutes. None the less, it is some incredible cinema. Once I retire, that bridge is one place I’d like to visit.
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I’m going to follow James on this. I’m torn. I think Changeling is probably the greatest ghost story on film. But my personal favorite is Legend of Hell House, so it would be hard to decide.
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While The Changeling would be in my top 5…maybe even top 3, the first two spots will always be The Haunting (which I’m sad nobody has mentioned yet) and The Legend of Hell House.
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Gavin and James posted 2 of my absolute favorites (the Changeling and Legend of Hell House) so I’ll pick another one – The Awakening (2011). It’s a literal ghost story as well as a look at how we are haunted by our pasts, and how they shape us as we grow.
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I thought I had seen The Awakening, but I think I missed this one. Going to have to bust it out and double check!
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My personal favorite ghost film would have to be The Innocents (1961), followed by The Others (2001). Both of these films had spooky atmosphere and a suspenseful storyline.
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YES! The Innocents is another one that would be in my Top 5. Un-freaking-believable cinematography in this one, plus the performances are damn chilling, especially from the young Martin Stephens. Definitely a must!
I haven’t seen The Others since seeing it in the theaters when it first came out. This is another one I’ll be busting out soon.
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Would Ringu count? If not, or even if it does, how about Kuroneko?
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Well, she is a ghost, so yes, I think it would count. I would agree that it is pretty damn scary. I’m also glad you mentioned Kuroneko, one that doesn’t get a lot of attention. The Japanese really liked their ghost stories and made a ton of them over the years. A lot of their ghosts were always out for revenge.
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The Legend Of Hell House. Definitely. Intricately, masterfully made movie.
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And another one for Hell House! Emeric would be pleased!
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The Legend of Hell House is tops for me.
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Looks like Hell House is definitely one of the tops.
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Okay, trying to log on a different way since my comment t didn’t show up before! The Haunting is my fave classic haunted house story. Hell House is okay, but the book was better. For a more contemporary movie, I’d say The Devil’s Backbone, or The Woman in Black remake. It doesn’t get a lot of love, but I think everyone’s choices reflect that this genre is largely about style and atmosphere. There are a lot of enjoyable jump-scare filled ghost stories, like The Conjuring franchise, but they just don’t seem to have those traits that set this sub-genre apart from others.
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Thanks Cate for having someone else choose The Haunting!!! I also would love someone to remake Hell House and be able to follow it a lot more closer than they could in 1973.
I also love you mentioned Devil’s Backbone too. But I have to say I think I prefer the original version of The Woman in Black than the remake, though that is good too.
And your last comment really made me happy because a truly good ghost story is a lot more to it than jump-scares.
If anybody hasn’t seen The Witch in the Window…add that to your list!
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I don’t get why people love the original Woman in Black more, but I admit the soundscape was superior!
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Kwaidan
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Great answer! My only issue with Kwaidan is it is so freaking long!!! But great stories. I remember the first time I saw it, which was after seeing Tales from the Darkside: The Movie and thinking the Woman in the Snow story seemed very familiar…
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I saw the “twist” in the Woman in the Snow story coming from a mile away for the very same reason that you mentioned as well Jon. Lol!
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“The Innocents” The editor at KTVU Channel 2 must have read Ivan Butler’s “Horror in the Cinema”, and clipped the Michael Redgrave prologue off the print shown on the station in the 1970s. The film still worked, brilliantly. – GPA
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One of my top favorites is “Ghostwatch”. Done by the BBC in 1992, it was presented as a live broadcast. It is absolutely terrific!
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Maybe seeing this live might have been effective, but years later when I watched it, it just didn’t work for me. Maybe by then I had become so done with “reality” shows that it just didn’t get my interests.
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I also have to mention my second favorite and that’s The Abandoned. I absolutely love the atmosphere of that one!
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NICE! More people need to talk about that one. Very moody!
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You know that I love many of the films already listed here (with special nods to The Haunting, Legend of Hell House, The Changeling, The Innocents, and Ringu). So, I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that The Beyond is at its heart a ghost story, and it’s packed with so many memorable moments I don’t even know where to begin. From the first time I saw it, the ending completely knocked me out with its existential dread – I would go so far as to say it’s maybe my favorite ending of a horror film of all time.
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Hmm, I don’t really think of The Beyond as a ghost story, but you’re not wrong. That ending…has anyone else ever come close to portraying existential dread? It’s like it should be in the dictionary as the very definition of it.
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I like the way you think, Cate! And it didn’t even have Demons in it!?!?!
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This is one that needs further discussion on if it qualifies. I think it could pass as a haunted house, just as easily as The Amityville Horror. But the ones that remain there, could those be considered ghosts? Very gooey ones, but still ghosts.
Of course, The Beyond is one of my tops as well, but this is a tough nut to crack.
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This was exactly why I tossed it out there mwahahahahahaha
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My favorite has always been the changeling. Glad to see a lot of other people like the slow burn and build up of this movie too. Next I would have to say the Grudge. Havent seen anyone mention it so maybe I’m alone here but I loved it.
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I’m right there with you, Christopher. The fact that The Changeling is still so highly regarded makes me proud being a horror fan. It is not action paced, no fancy CGI movies, just mood, atmosphere, great story, and a killer score.
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I forgot about my other favorite! “Marrowbone”
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False alarm. Not really a ghost story. Forgot I said it.
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I’m glad you posted this because I was all ready to reply! I do love that movie, but yeah…no ghosts….
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BBC televisions annual “Ghost stories for Christmas ” adaptations of M R , James stories during the 1970s , e. g ; “Whistle and i’ll come to you”. “Theatre of Blood’s ” Micheal Hordern’s in this eerie tale.
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Now maybe I wasn’t in the right mood, but I finally got to see this after hearing about it for years and it just seemed a bit dry. Yes, there are a couple of creepy moments, didn’t make the impact I was expecting. I need to rewatch it.
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Because most people think of Dr. Freudstein being a… zombie or whatever, and the film’s being loosely one of Fulci’s “Gates of Hell” films, House By the Cemetery usually isn’t thought of as a haunted house film, but it totally is if you assume that the little girl is a ghost and not somehow crossing time from her time to the time in which the film takes place. So, following that premise, that’s mine.
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This is right up there with (oddly enough) the other Aaron’s post about Fulci’s The Beyond. Yes, the little girl and the mother are in fact ghosts, so by that note it would count, but I’m not sure if I’d classify it as one. Another tough call.
But again, some could consider Psycho a haunted house movie….
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Not my favorite sub genre and not to beat a dead horse, but The Haunting for sure. I still remember that door from my first viewing as a wee one.
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Thanks Tim! And yes, that door sequence is simply amazing.
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I watched it again after watching the Netflix series and I think it’s very powerful about how women and people with mental illness are viewed.
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The “Chopper” episode of Kolchak: The Night Stalker – It’s not a full-length move and it doesn’t have the highest production values, and I’m not even sure it’s a ghost but it is fun and memorable.
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