What are your favorite GHOST STORIES?

[Juno Styles]

i'm working on a supernatural thriller and looking for some inspiration (or somethings to avoid because it's been done to death).

what movies do you feel were great stories that had a supernatural element like ghosts, demons, etc?

not really looking for hardcore horror, but something that had great storyline or mystery.

[peasblossom]

I've done two of these, and am now in rewriting mode for both - trying to up the thriller part of their storylines. It seems to me that to make ghost stories the most effective, there needs to be a relationship between at least one of the ghosts and the main character (who, I suppose, would NOT be a ghost?).

The ghost stories that have affected me the most had that kind of plot - i.e. The Ghost and Mrs. Muir, Ghost, The Sixth Sense, etc. Also, watching Ghosthunters might give you some ideas (the show about the plumbers who are ghosthunters on the side).

[RGF]

Seems to me that a lot of Ghost movies lately involve the Ghost trying to get a message to the living. Think of White Noise, where his dead wife was speaking to him thru recordings. Or think of Dark Water or Mothman Prophecies, or Firefly, where the dead are trying to get the attention of the living...in order that someone is brought to justice for their murders, to get a message to them...or to warn them of some bad event to come. I think this structure is probably overdone.

Still, in other ghost stories, the ghosts are trying to drive the protagonist mad, like in The Shining or Paranormal Activity, and then possessing them as they get weaker. This seems a scarier story to me.

I think what Ghost did was turn the ghost into a protector of the living, which was fresh at the time. I think what 1408 did wrong was that all this crazy stuff was going on in the hotel room, it completely disregarded the laws of physics, and became just stoopid.

Anyway, I'm not sure what I'm trying to say, other than pretty much every type of ghost story has been done well, and also done poorly. So, the trick is coming up with a take on it that works for todays Ghost Hunters style of audience, (Paranormal Activity did this), is fresh and unique, but also satisfies your own creativity. Oh, and it had better be scary. There's just not enough real scares out there these days. Too much blood for bloods sake for my liking.

[wcmartell]

THE CHANGELING
HELL HOUSE
THE HAUNTING

- Bill

[seh]

The original THE UNINVITED
BELOW

[Xnod]

The Orphanage

[Fortean]

i'm working on a supernatural thriller and looking for some inspiration (or somethings to avoid because it's been done to death).

what movies do you feel were great stories that had a supernatural element like ghosts, demons, etc?

not really looking for hardcore horror, but something that had great storyline or mystery.

Why not look to the literature of occult phenomena? Hollywood has a knack for trying to improve upon a good ghost story, and spoiling it.

My first feature-length screenplay was about THE TALKING MONGOOSE (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gef_the_talking_mongoose), (about an alleged poltergeist haunting and its investigation), and I need to do some local investigation before finishing a draft about the Watseka Wonder (http://www.mysteriouspeople.com/Lurancy_Vennum.htm), (one of the most unusual cases of alleged spirit possession).

For some inspiration, I'd recommend a few films that aren't on most lists:

DOROTHY MILLS (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1034306/combined) (2008)

THE JOURNALS OF KNUD RASMUSSEN (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0478366/combined) (2006)

THE WOMAN IN BLACK (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0098672/combined) (1989)

KAIDAN (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0478366/combined) (1964)

[NikeeGoddess]

nothing better than ghost w/swayze (the ghost), moore (the romantic), and goldberg (comic relief) = wider audience appeal

[Gwai Lo]

The Shining
The Orphanage
The Devil's Backbone
The Innocents
The Haunting
The Changeling
The Entity
The Others
The (I'm starting to notice a trend here) Fog
Ghost Busters
Don't Look Now
Poltergeist
Candyman

[Gwai Lo]

Oh and SOLARIS (1972)

[Biohazard]

The original The Eye.