My 5 Favorite #Ghost #Movies ~ #haunted house #haunting

I have a bit of an obsession with ghosts, as anyone who has read my books knows -- three of my novels feature a haunting as well as some steamy romance (HAUNTED SOULS just released as of June 2016!).  I've made lists before of my favorite ghost stories in terms of books, but I do enjoy the movies as well...whenever my sister comes to visit, we usually have a marathon watch of creepy films.  Anything paranormal will do, but the ones with a spooky and convincing ghostly presence get top billing.  Over the years, a few have really resonated with me, and helped inspire my novels.  Keep in mind, I'm no movie critic...I just found these films to have the solid backbone of a believable ghost story, with a decent mystery behind the haunting, as well as a lack of the plot holes I find in so many others.  The suspense kept me guessing, and certain scenes gave me serious chills.  I'll try to throw a little blurb out there for each one without revealing too many spoilers, in case you'd like to give one a try!

Such a spine-chilling scene

The Changeling - 1980 - George C. Scott stars as a widower who moves into a spooky old house in Seattle in the beginning of this film.  The ghost of a young boy inhabits the house, and the tragedy that befell him will eventually expose a cruel plot.  Now, the ghost wants justice, and Scott's character, plagued by scary surprises and terrifying noises, begins to investigate the mystery.  Admittedly, it's an oldie...and at the risk of dating myself, it was one of my favorites when I was in middle school.  In fact, my best friend had an upstairs bedroom that opened upon an attic that bore a spine-tingling resemblance to the one in the movie...late at night, we'd scare ourselves silly imagining that ball bouncing down the stairs.

A Stir of Echoes - 1999 - a film starring Kevin Bacon, loosely based on a novel by Richard Matheson (also the author of Hell House and I Am Legend, among others).  Bacon's character, Tom, has a son who seems to possess the ability to speak with the dead...and there is something in their house that wants to be heard.  After being hypnotized at a party, Tom begins to experience visions as well, of a violent altercation which is tied to a neighbor's disappearance.  Clearly the desperate spirit wants its body found, but there are others with a vested interest in making sure that doesn't happen.

Such a creepy poster!

What Lies Beneath - 2000 - starring Michelle Pfeiffer and Harrison Ford (two of my favorites!)  Claire (Pfeiffer) and Norman (Ford) are a married couple living in Vermont; Claire is suffering from a memory lapse due to an accident.  When strange occurrences begin plaguing Claire, she investigates a possible killing in the neighborhood.  There is a ghost trying to communicate with Claire, but it's not who she first believes it is...and the spirit is not the only one hiding dangerous secrets.  (Update: a reader recently left a review of my debut novel SILVER LAKE, saying if you liked What Lies Beneath, you'd like this book.  I was thrilled with the comparison!)

The Orphanage - 2007 - a Spanish film set in...yes, a closed orphanage...along the Spanish coast in 1975.  My sister and I watched this one with subtitles, but I believe a remake is in the works.  This movie is dark, but full of creepy atmosphere and amazing cinematography.  The basic plot involves a couple and their adopted son returning to the orphanage where the mother once lived.  The family's plan is to reopen the old building as a home for disabled children, but their son soon claims to have befriended a boy named Tomas.  Terrible things happened here, and the truth will come out before the spirits can rest. (Side note - I recently signed a permission slip for my son to watch this in his high school Spanish class!  I was so jealous and of course, he, being a fan of ghost stories like his mom, loved it.)

The Others - 2001 - Nicole Kidman plays Grace, a mother residing in a remote manor with her two young children after World War II.  Both children must avoid exposure to sunlight due to a rare condition, so as you can imagine, the shadowy, secluded house presents itself as the perfect gothic setting for the mysterious events to unfold.  There's quite a bit of psychological suspense in this one too, so I don't want to say too much about the plot for fear of spoilers. 

In most of these movies, there is a very similar theme: a desperate spirit who cannot rest because of unfinished business.  The ghost seeks revenge or justice, or wants its story told or its remains found.  Barriers to communication make this difficult, but not impossible.  These are all ideas that inspired my first two novels, SILVER LAKE and GULL HARBOR.  Of course, there are many other ghost movies I've enjoyed that rely more on terrifying imagery than an underlying mystery to ramp up the screams, or that veer more into what I would categorize as demons/possession tropes.  Still fun to watch, but my mind usually can't stop looking for an answer to the question, "Why is this happening?" (ie, motive - even ghosts should have one imho).  But even if the motive turns out to be shaky, or the plot leaves a few unfilled holes, I'll take a creepy thriller over gunfights and explosions any day!  So please share your favorite ghost movies below, especially any "lesser-known" ones, so I can add them to my list!  Thanks for stopping by :)