Grab that candelabra, my friend...
...and together we'll step into this darkened attic and investigate a few ghost movies you may not have seen yet.
You'll find no Amityville Horror here. No Poltergeist, Sixth Sense, or The Haunting either. No, those movies are popular, famous, out in broad daylight. Those movies are for other lists.
You and I are more interested in what lurks in that dark, unexplored corner. Beneath the cobwebs, inside that dusty old trunk.
Perhaps, if we look carefully enough, we'll find a few hidden gems...
You'll find no Amityville Horror here. No Poltergeist, Sixth Sense, or The Haunting either. No, those movies are popular, famous, out in broad daylight. Those movies are for other lists.
You and I are more interested in what lurks in that dark, unexplored corner. Beneath the cobwebs, inside that dusty old trunk.
Perhaps, if we look carefully enough, we'll find a few hidden gems...
Contents
- 1. The Changeling (1980)
- 2. Burnt Offerings (1976)
- 3. The Devil's Backbone (2001)
- 4. The Innocents (1961)
- 5. A Tale of Two Sisters (2003)
- 6. Below (2002)
- 7. Saint Ange (2004)
- 8. The Woman in Black (1989)
- 9. The Watcher in the Woods (1980)
- 10. The Uninvited (1944)
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1. The Changeling (1980)
Composer John Russell (George C Scott) loses his wife and child in a tragic automobile accent. Seeking time to heal from the incident, he rents a secluded mansion in Seattle, but he soon discovers that he is not alone in the house.An entity bent on revenge and justice shares the dwelling, and Russell begins to uncover a decades old mystery that goes to the highest echelons of society.
If you're looking for the ultimate, "slow-burn" haunted house movie then look no further than The Changeling. This movie seethes with atmosphere, relying on subtle scares more than cheap jump moments, and the finale will leave you breathless with fright!
curated content from YouTube
2. Burnt Offerings (1976)
The Rolf Family become the summertime caretakers of a beautiful, yet suspiciously low-priced, mansion and it's elderly occupant - Mrs Allardyce. They soon discover that the house effects each of them in different, mysterious ways.Ben Rolf (Oliver Reed) becomes increasingly violent toward his son; his wife Marian (Karen Black) becomes obsessed with the unseen elderly lady in the attic; and Aunt Elizabeth (Bette Davis, putting in a wonderfully sassy performance) becomes physically sicker by the day. Can the family escape before the house, quite literally, consumes them?
Burnt Offerings is typical of the great era of 70's horror, relying on thick atmosphere and psychedelic creepiness rather than gore to deliver its scares. And scare you it will!
curated content from YouTube
3. The Devil's Backbone (2001)
It is 1939 and the Spanish civil war is drawing to a bloody close. A young boy named Carlos (Fernando Tielve) is sent to an isolated orphanage in the dusty Spanish wasteland when his father is killed in the war. There he must put up with not only the cruelty of the bullying children and the adult caretakers, but also with the fearsome spirit of a murdered child called Santi.The Devil's Backbone (Spanish title: El Espinazo del diablo) is director Guillermo Del Toro's crowning achievement. Although some of Del Toro's other movies have seen more publicity (Hellboy, Pans Labyrinth, and The Orphanage among others), it is unlikely he will beat this work for sheer substance and style. It is beautifully shot and wonderfully written and acted - enough to make some American ghost movies seem anorexic by comparison - but sadly because it is subtitled, it has been relegated to the little-seen cult status that it has today.
The Devil's Backbone
curated content from YouTube
Buy "The Devil's Backbone" on Amazon
The Devil's Backbone (Special Edition)
Amazon Price: $11.99 (as of 12/25/2009) 
4. The Innocents (1961)
It's rare to find a movie that can get inside your head and live there for a long time after the end credits have rolled. But Jack Clayton's "The Innocents" does just that. Based on Henry James' novellas "the Turn of the Screw" and shot in atmospheric black and white, this movie haunts you even after the lights are back on and normal life has resumed.Deborah Kerr plays an inexperienced governess who is assigned to look after two eerily perfect young children in a bleak British mansion. As time passes she begins to believe the children are being haunted by the spirits of their previous caretaker and her evil lover.
There are no cheap scares in The Innocents, and no simple answers as to whether the events are genuinely supernatural or simply in the mind of the protagonist. Instead, there is layer upon layer of dread, laced with disturbing sexual undertones, that builds into a truly haunting experience for the viewer.
curated content from YouTube
5. A Tale of Two Sisters (2003)
Before you go to see this winter's remake - The Uninvited - you should check out the Korean original - Janghwa Hongryeon, directed by Ji-woon Kim. This film is beautifully shot, with great sweeping camera movements and cinematography that is truly artful. I predict that the American remake will come nowhere close to the poetry and style of the original, and I also have doubts it will pack anywhere near the chills and thrills either.
The story centers on the tense relationship between two unusually close sisters and their mysterious new stepmother who may or may not be psychologically abusive. It sounds simple enough, but far from being a straightforward ghost story, A Tale of Two Sisters weaves in some of the greatest twists yet seen in the genre. You may have to watch the ending over a couple of times to truly appreciate it, but this is not because of bad storytelling - it is more akin to the way you have to listen to a complex work of classical music multiple times to truly understand it. And when you do understand, you will likely sing its praises with the rest of its admirers.
A Tale Of Two Sisters Trailer
curated content from YouTube
Buy "A Tale of Two Sisters" on Amazon
A Tale of Two Sisters (Two-Discs)
Amazon Price: $17.49 (as of 12/25/2009)
6. Below (2002)
The year is 1943 - the midst of WW2 - and a United States submarine picks up three survivors from a British hospital ship that has been torpedoed. One of the survivors is a woman - considered bad luck on a boat in those days, and another turns out to be a German. As tensions rise between the crew and their new guests, other paranormal events start to occur on the submarine.Director David Twohy (Pitch Black, The Arrival, Chronicles of Riddick) weaves a tight and fascinating ghost story in the claustrophobic confines of the sub. The agenda of the haunting entity is gradually and carefully revealed with a subtlety all too often lacking in many Hollywood productions. There's a good deal of action and drama woven in also.
I first picked up this movie without knowing anything about it and it turned out to be one of those rare surprises - strong on all fronts, from the tight script to the beautiful special effects. It shocks me that Below didn't have a wider, more celebrated release.
Nick Chinlund: "Below" Trailer (2002)
curated content from YouTube
7. Saint Ange (2004)
Directed by Pascal Laugier - the man responsible for the recent acclaimed "Martyrs" - Saint Ange (aka. House of Voices) is a thoughtful and expertly handled Ghost Story.Anna Jurin, (Virginie Ledoyen) stays at a remote french orphanage to act as a caretaker during the buildings last days. While doing her job, she begins to suspect that a terrible tragedy in the past has left the orphanage haunted by the ghosts of several children. Anna, following her motherly instinct, must face her own demons and unravel the mystery of the building.
Saint Ange is beautifully shot and mesmerizing in it's cinematography. The story bears some resemblance to the far inferior "The Orphanage" although that film somehow has better critical acclaim. It takes a brave and unusual approach to scare scenes - never relying on darkness but instead building atmosphere in broad daylight and even in bleached, whitewashed surroundings. It's an interesting experiment and the final result is an unsettling, yet touching, ghost story.
Saint Ange aka House of Voices (2004)
curated content from YouTube
Buy "Saint Ange" (aka House of Voices) on Amazon
House of Voices
Amazon Price: $26.99 (as of 12/25/2009)
8. The Woman in Black (1989)
The Woman in Black is a 1989 British made for TV movie but don't let that turn you away. It is a common favorite amongst ghost story fans and is loaded with some of the heaviest, creepiest atmosphere of any movie in the sub-genre.The story takes place in the 1920's, a young solicitor moves to the seaside village of Crythin Gifford (located on misty salt marsh) to handle a dead clients estate that is haunted by the malovelent spirit of a woman in black.
This movie is in my opinion one of the most effective ghost movies ever made. The viewer only sees the ghosts a few times, yet spends the whole movie in a sense of dread anticipation, expecting her to pop up at any moment. Watch it with the lights on. Watch it with a friend.
THE WOMAN IN BLACK
curated content from YouTube
9. The Watcher in the Woods (1980)
Watcher in the Woods may be a children's Disney flick but it is also responsible for terrifying a whole generation of youngsters when it was released in 1980. The story centers on a family who move into an manor located deep in the English woodland. Two young sisters, Jan (Lynn-Holly Johnson) and Ellie (Kyle Richards), begin to experience ghostly visions phenomenon and sense a dark presence in the woods. They come to believe that the spirit is that of the houses caretaker, Mrs. Aylwood (Bette Davis), and set out to unravel the mystery of the terrible events that occurred years before.
The film retains a family feel, but it still delivers great atmosphere, some effective chills, and a the tight mystery that every ghost story fan has come to expect.
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10. The Uninvited (1944)
I saved the best for last. The Uninvited could be considered the first true 'haunted house' story to grace the silver screen and it is so effective - even now almost 65 years later - that no ghost movie fan should miss out on its chills and charms.Siblings, Roderick and Pamela Fitzgerald happen across a lovely old deserted Georgian house while chasing their dog across the Cornish seaside clifftops. The Fitzgeralds purchase the small mansion but almost as soon as they move in, ghostly events begin. Roderick takes a liking to the Commander's granddaughter, the luminous Stella. When Stella enters the house, the disturbances increase alarmingly, threatening her life. The Fitzgeralds set about unraveling the scandal and tragedy that occurred in the house 20 years earlier.
The true strength of the Uninvited is how charming its characters are - each in their own unique way - and the dialogue is energetic and more lively than any more recent Hollywood offerings. It's the kind of ghost movie that can both scare you and leave you feeling good afterwards - a true classic and a true accomplishment.
curated content from YouTube
Perfect Attire for the Ghost Movie Fanatic
Halloween - Redrum (Murder) Baseball Jersey
Price: 26.99
Amityville Real Estate Baseball Jersey
Price: 26.99
There's Something in the FOG Black T-Shirt
Price: 24.99
Ghost Hunter Black Cap
Price: 17.99
Ouija Me Fitted T-Shirt
Price: 19.99
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Reply
- Barkely Barkely May 16, 2009 @ 4:18 pm
- Thanks for adding this lens to the Top Ten Lists Group:-)
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Reply
- drifter0658 drifter0658 May 11, 2009 @ 8:21 pm
- Well done! I know I have seen Burnt Offerings, and pretty sure I saw the uninvited.
by PerCapitaSmile
PerCapitaSmile lives in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and is particularly good at scaring himself. (more)
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