Best Haunted House Movies of the 1950's
The haunted house is a staple horror device. Usually hundreds of years old, ideally massive, and imposing with as many turrets as its roof can bear, at that place'southward nothing like a haunted house to give you the creeps.
But making this list wasn't equally like shooting fish in a barrel every bit y'all'd recall. To qualify for the list, a film had to characteristic an actual haunted house – which immediately rules out many of the films that spring to listen when you read that title. The Shining , for case, is nearly a haunted hotel, non a business firm. Paranormal Action initially seems like information technology's almost a haunted house, but information technology's not the house that'south haunted, and too the supernatural entity is a demon, not a ghost. Ditto Insidious , which has some ghosts, just they're not tied to any house in item. Conversely, Rebecca has a brilliant and creepy house in it, but despite the 2d Mrs. De Winter's anxieties, it's not actually haunted.
So, aye, a lot of the films that tend to ingather up on these kinds of list had to exist ruled out. What follows is a list of dandy haunted house movies and Television set shows that actually exercise accept haunted houses in them…
Poltergeist (1982)
It'south hard to get more than haunted than the Freelings' house in Poltergeist . Despite existence a brand new home in a shiny new development, something's moving the article of furniture around, causing people to have violent hallucinations, and fifty-fifty talking to the kids through the Idiot box.
It sounds terrifying, but since information technology was produced past Steven Spielberg, information technology'south actually pretty tame. If you fancy something spooky that won't requite yous nightmares, this might be the one. Information technology wouldn't be a disaster if you lot accidentally picked upwards the 2022 remake, either; it'due south faithful plenty to the original without being slavish about it, and information technology's got some decently funny moments thrown in for good measure.
xiii Ghosts (1960)
William Castle'south 13 Ghosts is also relatively low-cal on scares, but information technology'southward and so incredibly mannerly you won't mind. The haunted house in this ane was left to the Zorba family by their occult-loving uncle, and came fully furnished – with 12 ghosts.
Castle loved his gimmicks, and 13 Ghosts is presented in "Illusion-O," a take on stereoscopic 3D that meant if audiences looked through coloured lenses, they could either amp up the appearance of the ghosts or block them out completely. It'southward silly, but the dialogue is snappy, and the ghosts are at to the lowest degree original – where else have yous seen the spectre of a circus lion and his trainer?
Unfortunately, this time round I wouldn't recommend picking up the remake, which tries to be terrifying and fails, killing all of the original'south cozy fun in the process.
The Fable Of Hell Firm (1973)
Based on Richard Matheson's novel Hell House , The Fable Of Hell House sees a group of psychic investigators moving into the abode of Emeric "The Roaring Giant" Belasco. Belasco was supposedly an evil murderer, and his spirit is said to still walk the halls of his former estate. Certain enough, equally presently as the investigators start setting up their bizarre ghost-detecting machines, all sorts of paranormal activeness kicks off.
The twist catastrophe here seems daft, but if you think well-nigh information technology long enough, it becomes agonizing instead. And the set-up is a classic, although it's non as well-handled here as it is in another, like film (more than on that later!).
The Changeling (1980)
Bit of a slow-burner, this one, but it's seriously creepy if it catches y'all in the right mood. George C. Scott stars every bit John Russell, a solitude-seeking composer who rents the wrong business firm while grieving his expressionless wife and girl. The eerie old mansion is abode to the ghost of a murdered child, and when it's not pushing its wheelchair around the identify, it'southward pushing John to uncover its story and wreak its revenge. Murdered kids are the worst for that kind of ghostly pestering, only then possibly they're entitled to a scrap of postal service-death whining. You'd do the same, right?
Hausu (1977)
If y'all're bored of the standard haunted house repertoire (creaky doors, smashed religious icons, bleeding walls, etc., etc.), y'all could do worse than check out Hausu . A psychedelic Japanese horror starring mostly unknown (and inexperienced) actors, it sees a group of schoolgirls head out to visit an estranged aunt in the countryside, only to discover that the aunt isn't as kindly every bit you'd hope, and her house is total of horrors. We're talking flying lamps, evil fridges, and pianos that bite. Y'all've never seen anything like this before.
Ju-On: The Grudge (2002)
Speaking of Japanese horror, I couldn't leave out Tokyo's most haunted. Manager Takashi Shimizu has returned to the story of the murderous Saeki ghosts over and over again, making, to appointment, vi films about them and their scary firm, simply this is probably the all-time of them all. Eschewing the traditional haunted house structure where things showtime off creepy and escalate to terrifying (if you're lucky), it'southward a non-stop ghost train with the creaky-voiced Kayako (Takako Fuji) and her wide-eyed meowing son Toshio (Yuya Ozeki) popping upward every couple of minutes. Brrrrrrrr.
Sinister (2012)
Strictly speaking, the entity haunting the Oswalt family unit isn't a ghost, it's a kind of demon, but he comes with an entourage of ghostly kids, and they're just as scary as he is, and so I'm gonna' say this counts. Ellison Oswalt (Ethan Hawke) is a crime writer who drags his family into danger by moving into a house where a horrifying crime was committed, hoping it'll inspire his next volume. Just, well, things never quite plough out like that, do they?
The scariest parts of Sinister are probably the quondam Super viii movies Ellison finds in the attic, showing what happened to previous families who messed around with this particular demon – they're violent in disturbingly creative means.
Beetlejuice (1988)
Actually a fleck scarier than you think it is, Beetlejuice features Tim Burton'due south idea of a haunted house – all weird architecture and manic ghosts. They're sad ghosts as well, equally the Maitlands return to their home later a motorcar accident only to detect that their firm isn't theirs anymore, and the new inhabitants tin't meet them. If they want to accept their business firm to themselves once again, they'll need to scare off the obnoxious new family unit.
It'due south a smart inversion of the usual haunted house story where the living are trying to kicking out the expressionless, and Michael Keaton'southward "bio-exorcist" Betelgeuse, while not your usual concatenation-rattler, is a creation of nightmarish energy.
The Skeleton Key (2005)
Something spooky'due south going on in a crumbling mansion deep in the Louisiana bayou. When Caroline (Kate Hudson) takes a job as caregiver to an elderly human, she thinks she's prepared for the isolation and weirdnesses of the household, but after running afoul of the lady of the business firm, Violet (Gena Rowlands), she begins to doubtable her patient suffered more than just a stroke…
Creepy from the outset, what's great nearly The Skeleton Key is the way its heroine is slowly seduced into believing in the supernatural. The ghosts hither are particularly nasty ones (though in fairness, they were given adept cause, initially), and it'southward got ane hell of a sting at the end.
Darkness (2002)
Darkness was directed by Jaume Balagueró of REC and Sleep Tight fame, which should exist a pretty good indication that it'south not the slick early-2000s Hollywood nonsense the box art makes it await like. Nope, this is a nasty little film with a creepy atmosphere and a killer twist – though there seem to be two different cuts of it around, and the i that takes out all the swearing and violence is a scrap rubbish. The harsher one, though, will make yous consider investing in a nightlight. Only in case.
The Others (2001)
This is one of those films you ideally desire to know nothing about earlier it starts. It's got an incredibly creepy set: Grace (Nicole Kidman) is a frazzled mother, waiting for news most her soldier husband while trying to take care of her two kids. What makes that especially difficult is that the kids have a rare disease that makes them incredibly sensitive to calorie-free, so Grace moves them all into a remote country mansion where the servants are instructed to always keep the curtains closed…
Fifty-fifty if y'all think you know what happens, The Others is worth watching, considering it's a beautifully made, clever, and insanely creepy ghost story.
The Innocents (1961)
Speaking of kids with very particular needs, the children in The Innocents are a pair you definitely wouldn't fancy babysitting. Based on Henry James' The Turn Of The Spiral , the picture show sees a new governess motility into a fancy land pile to look after a couple of orphans. Their concluding governess died a twelvemonth ago in mysterious circumstances, though, and the kids take a nasty addiction of talking to people who aren't there…
Every appearance of the ghosts in this moving-picture show is chilling, but probably the scariest thing about it is Martin Stephens, the child actor who plays Miles. He besides played the leader of the creepy kids in Hamlet Of The Damned , and at that place's something actually eerie about him.
House On Haunted Hill (1959)
Some other William Castle moving picture, the gimmick for House On Haunted Hill saw a plastic skeleton flown over the heads of cinema audiences. Sadly, you probably tin't recapture that particular thrill at habitation, but that doesn't mean this isn't worth watching. Vincent Toll is on fine grade as the dastardly Frederick Loren, a millionaire who invites a group of strangers to spend the dark in his haunted house – with a $x,000 prize for anyone who makes it till morning. Ghosts should be the least of anyone's worries, considering the elaborate games the party's hosts are playing with one some other, just that catastrophe volition give anyone goosebumps.
The Woman In Black (1989)
A made-for-Television receiver adaptation of Susan Hill'southward novella, The Adult female In Blackness sees a young solicitor head out to a remote firm to deal with the affairs of a recently deceased recluse. The fact that the but fashion to get to the business firm is to cross a narrow causeway that's just attainable at certain times of the day and pretty much permanently shrouded in mist should've tipped him off that this was a terrible plan, but it's only when he starts going through the paperwork that he realizes something spooky is going on.
This version is a bit slower than the Daniel Radcliffe remake, simply it's got ane big scare that more than than makes up for information technology – and the ending is better in this one besides.
Ghostwatch (1992)
Another Boob tube production, what makes Ghostwatch so scary is how utterly believable it seems. Originally circulate "as live" on October. 31, 1992, it starred real TV presenters both inside a BBC studio and out on location, investigating a family unit's claims that their home was haunted by a poltergeist known as "Pipes." The ghost makes several appearances throughout, initially and so subtle you lot might miss them, then increasingly obvious, and by the end, even the TV studio isn't safety.
Watching it at present, with years of distance and knowing information technology'due south not real, you'd think it'd lose some of its power, but nope. Information technology'south still really, properly scary.
The Conjuring (2013)
James Wan'southward ode to '70s horror sees a pair of paranormal investigators coming to the assistance of an unfortunate family who've moved into one of the most terrifyingly haunted houses e'er. At that place are jump scares galore, as Wan lets his characters wander into darkened basements and play with antique children'south toys in excruciating sequences you just know are going to cease with a ghost leaping out at you.
In between the scares, if you can look out from betwixt your fingers long enough to observe, this is a smart film with a strong emotional cadre. Information technology'southward got some brilliant set design, some great performances, and some of the nearly gleefully swoopy camerawork in whatever film made since 1980.
The Uninvited (1944)
A sort of cuddlier have on Rebecca – with actual ghosts! – The Uninvited sees a brother and sis moving from London to Cornwall to have advantage of a gorgeous abandoned house they've establish on the clifftops. Considering how long it's been empty, the house is immaculate… except for ane upstairs room, which is always cold, and somehow ugly, and, well, yeah, obviously it's haunted. The dialogue is snappy, the characters well-realized, and the story engrossing. The Mrs. Danvers counterpart is properly sinister too.
The Haunting (1963)
Based on Shirley Jackson'southward properly creepy novel, The Haunting Of Loma Business firm , at that place are a lot of similarities between this and The Legend Of Hell Business firm . Simply this came first, and though its scares are more subtle, for my money they're also far more effective. The group of paranormal investigators here don't take any fancy electromagnetic machinery to measure the effects of the supernatural; instead, they've got but their own senses. And Hill House is happy to provide all kinds of phenomena for them to puzzle over, from mysterious chills to banging on the walls to unseen, cold hands in the night…
This story gets inside your head and never quite goes abroad. And then niggling nearly information technology is ever explained, and it ends so horrifically that there'southward no closure, only a creeping sensation that perchance, simply maybe, some houses are actually evil.
The Haunting Of Hill Business firm (2018)
Shirley Jackson'due south novel was adjusted again in 1999 equally a lame Scooby-Doo rip-off starring Lian Neeson and Owen Wilson, but it got a Netflix reboot this year courtesy of Mike Flanagan ( Oculus, Before I Wake, Gerald's Game ). Proving that the haunted business firm premise tin can piece of work over 10 hours instead of just two, Flanagan'due south smart, fashionable, downright frightening take on the genre feels like a bit of a milestone. With enough space and time to burrow into Jackson'southward archetype novel (and for it to burrow into u.s.), the series is a triumph of manner and substance – atmosphere over inexpensive thrills.
A graphic symbol based horror that doesn't skimp on the details, Flanagan's testify is a wonderful celebration of the original novel – repairing the damage washed past the '99 version. What'due south more, it's got ane hell of beautiful, terrifying, haunted house in it that really feels like it's worth staying in for an all-night rampage-spotter.
Crimson Superlative (2015)
Crimson Tiptop seems poised to take its place in the official canon of brilliant haunted business firm movies. The titular Crimson Peak, known officially every bit Allerdale Hall, is the most elaborately designed haunted house y'all've always seen, with its gaping roof, weeping walls, and sinking foundations; it's a maze of tiny, darkened rooms, each one promising new horrors.
The ghosts themselves are similarly well-designed; they appear as skeletal forms, the injuries that killed them still clearly visible, their ectoplasm stained with the claret-red clay they're cached in. Director Guillermo del Toro hired two of the best monster performers in the business organisation, Doug Jones and Javier Botet, to play the ghosts, and used practical rather than digital effects wherever possible – an extra bit of effort that pays off massively, because these are some of the most physically nowadays ghosts y'all'll ever run across.
The Amityville Horror (1979)
The Amityville Horror , based on the book of the same title by Jay Anson, claims to be based on a true story. And while that seems like information technology probably isn't actually true, at all, it'southward nevertheless a brilliant haunted house motion-picture show – it'due south an obvious choice, but there's a reason for that. Information technology's just great.
For starters, it gets right what so many haunted business firm movies get wrong: the Lutzes know they're buying a firm with a history from the off, but the business firm itself is so big and so yard (and then affordable!) that they're tempted into information technology anyway. George (James Brolin) and Kathy (Margot Kidder) are conceivable, likeable characters from the starting time, and y'all can really feel their excitement and promise when they starting time move into the firm. A few flies and a broken window aren't going to put them off… but then the scares amp upwards (and, spoiler: when it gets properly scary, they do what any sensible person would exercise and motion out!). The build-up of tension is effective, and it all only works.
The same can't be said for almost of the sequels, but the 2005 remake isn't terrible – information technology's just not as good equally the original.
Source: https://www.denofgeek.com/tv/20-best-haunted-house-movies-of-all-time/