It’s spooky season, and what better way to spend Halloween weekend than settling in to watch a classic Hollywood ghost story? To help you figure out what to watch, we’ve compiled a handy list of 15 classic ghost stories, presented in chronological order.
What makes a good ghost story? Everyone’s criteria (and taste) will differ, but for this list, we’ve focused on more traditional elements. There’s usually a spooky old house with a ghostly presence and/or someone who’s attuned to said presence. The living must solve the mystery of what happened to trap the ghost(s) there in hopes of setting said ghost(s) free. In that sense, the best, most satisfying ghost stories are mysteries—and sometimes also love stories. The horror is more psychological, and when it comes to gore, less is usually more.
As always, the list below isn’t meant to be exhaustive. Mostly, we’re going for a certain atmospheric vibe to set a mood. So our list omits overt comedies like Ghostbusters and (arguably) Ghost, as well as supernatural horror involving demonic possession—The Exorcist, The Conjuring, Insidious—or monsters, like The Babadook or Sinister. Feel free to suggest your own recommendations in the comments.
(Various spoilers below, but no major reveals.)
Credit: Paramount Pictures
Brother and sister Rick and Pamela Fitzgerald (Ray Milland and Ruth Hussey) fall in love with an abandoned seaside abode called Windward House while vacationing in England. They pool their resources and buy it for a very low price, since its owner, Commander Beech (Donald Crisp), is oddly desperate to unload it. This upsets his 20-year-old granddaughter, Stella (Gail Russell), whose mother fell to her death from the cliffs near the house when Stella was just a toddler.
Rick, a musician and composer, becomes infatuated with the beautiful young woman. And before long, strange phenomena begin manifesting: a woman sobbing, an odd chill in the artist’s studio, a flower wilting in mere seconds—plus, the Fitzgeralds’ dog and their housekeeper’s cat both refuse to go upstairs. Whatever haunts the house seems to be focused on Stella.