Ghost stories, and by extension movies, seem to be a requisite for some summer’s eves. While films with ghosts can be scary, the idea of investigating them as a job or hobby makes that scare all the more enjoyable.
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Whether for dramatic effect, laughs, or straight-up horror, films that feature paranormal investigations are always fascinating as it attempts to blend some forms of (questionable) science with a belief in the supernatural. If you’re looking for a scare and a fright, or a laugh and special effects, there are plenty of ghost-busting movies that should prove you ain’t afraid of no ghosts.
‘Grave Encounters’ (2011) — Reality Television and a Spooky Mental Asylum
2011’sGrave EncountersfromThe Vicious Brothersfollows the cast and crew of a ghost-hunting reality program in their quest to find proof of hauntings, ghosts, and life after death. The found footage film sees the group locking themselves in an abandoned mental asylum purported to be haunted. Unfortunately, they’re right.
Oftenunderrated, found footagehas been hit and miss sinceCannibal Holocaust, and it isn’t always for everyone. But if you can settle in for the shakey cam, there’s a fun, and genuinely scary tale here as these investigators discover that not only were they right about ghosts and evil, but they may not escape to tell the tale. Thank goodness their tapes were found.
‘The Frighteners’ (1996) — Con Artists and Spectral Serial Killers
Peter Jackson’s director’s cut ofThe Frighteners,starringMichael J. Fox, gives us a new spin on paranormal investigations. What starts as a bit of a comedy descends into true horror as Fox’s Frank Bannister, who can see ghosts and consequently cons people for protection from them, confronts a killer striking from beyond the grave: one that he may have a personal connection to.
While the special effects may not hold up for all of it,The Frightenersis a rollercoaster ride of a film that wasn’t appropriately marketed upon release, but since the debut of the director’s cut is finding a cult following. The film mixes comedy and horror in a delightful measure to give the viewers something new.
‘The Conjuring’ Trilogy — The Ed and Lorrain Warren Investigations
First coming to public infamy with their investigation of the Amityville haunting, real-life paranormal investigatorsEd and Lorrain Warrenserve as the inspiration for the characters of the same name that are brought to life inThe ConjuringUniverse. While the first film in the series is arguably the strongest, all three of the centralConjuringfilms (not the spinoffs) are, supposedly, in some way based on actual investigations conducted by the pair.
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DirectorJames Wanhelms two of the three films, and he balances his characters and creeping fear with well-placed jump scares. There’s something frightening about these films when the viewer contemplates the idea that they are partially based on actual events, bolstered by the use of real photos and recordings during the closing credits of the films.
The ‘Insidious’ Series —The Man with Fire on His Face and The Further
James Wan serves as the director of the first two films in theInsidiousseries, all of which were written byThe Invisible Man’sLeigh Whannell. Partly paying homage to the classic 1982 film,Poltergeist, the four films have at their core a story of family and a trio of investigators led byLin Shaye’s Elise.
They deal with several demons and ghosts while working to help troubled families, even their own, throughout the four films. While the series gets a little weaker as it progresses, the investigative team of Spectral Sightings is determined to bust some heads in a spiritual sense, of course.
‘The Legend of Hell House’ (1973) — The Classic Horror of Richard Matheson
Genre giantRichard Mathesonpenned the novel and the screenplay for the incredibly spooky and unnervingThe Legend of Hell House,starringRoddy McDowallandPamela Franklin. They are part of a group of investigators brought into to survey the Belasco House, a site of a strange series of deaths and a missing group of earlier investigators.
Violent, bloody, and suggestive, some of this is lost in the translation to the screen, but it ends up being a horrifying glimpse at things going incredibly wrong for the team, as they realize they may have bitten off more than they can chew.
‘1408’ (2007) — One Haunted Hotel Room
1408which has its basis inthe enduring work ofStephen King, seesJohn Cusacktake on the role of Mike Enslin, a paranormal investigator who doesn’t believe in the paranormal and is about to take up residence in the Dolphin Hotel. Over the course of one night, he will have his beliefs tested, and he will confront his ghosts as well as those that haunt the room.
The director’s cut of the film has more character building, driving home the spooky events in a stronger way, but either version serves as a spooky story, boasting some genuinely well-crafted sequences, and it’s tough to pass up the combination of Cusack andSamuel L. Jackson.
‘The Innkeepers’ (2011) — An Entire Hotel of Scares
Ti Westwrote and directedThe Innkeepers,which plays as more of a drama than an out-and-out horror, but the ghosts are present and accounted for. In the last few days before closing, two employees of the Yankee Pedlar Inn decide to delve into the hotel’s haunted history, and the hotel takes an interest in them.
Sara PaxtonandPat Healyare the employees turned would-be investigators who are not prepared for what they find, and West doles out the creep and the scares, slowly building to the climax. There is a sense of a ghost story brought to life with this film, and it can definitely get under the skin if the viewer lets it.
‘Poltergeist’ (1982) — Scary Suburbia
Poltergeistbrought the idea of the haunted house into the modern era by dropping right down into the heart of suburbia, putting an everyday family through supernatural events that first intrigue and then horrify. Unprepared for what they are experiencing, they turn to Tangina (Zelda Rubinstein) and her team of investigators to help them reclaim their home.
The gold standard for ’80s ghost stories, the film still scares and entertains today as it grounds the family in a believable and recognizable reality leaving the viewer to wonder what they would do in the same situation.
‘The Haunting’ (1963) — A Shirley Jackson Classic Scare
BeforeMike Flanagan(and who doesn’t have awish list of projects for him?) revolutionized the limited series with his adaptation ofShirley Jackson’sThe Haunting of Hill House, iconic directorRobert Wisedelivered his version withThe Haunting. Eschewing visual effects, the story is told through the atmosphere and sound design.
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The Hauntingis a towering achievement; a perfectly told ghost story with the now familiar elements of an investigative team arriving to explore the history and stories behind a purportedly haunted house. And once again, they aren’t ready for what they find. But is it real, or all in the mind ofJulie Harris' Eleanor?
‘Ghostbusters’ (1984) — Aim For the Flat Top
Ghostbustersis the perfect combination of comedy and horror. The film follows a group of paranormal investigators on the threshold of establishing the indispensable defense science of the next decade: professional paranormal investigations and eliminations.
A brilliant cast, an endless array of quotes, and solid visual effects bring a variety of ghosts and beasties to the screen. The film provides laughs and scares as these working-class stiffs investigate several hauntings with the safety of New York hanging in the balance. Who ya gonna call?
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