Not Scary Ghost Stories - Which Is Your Favorite?
Instead of a list of scary ghost stories for Halloween, how about a list of ghost stories that were never meant to scare? Or may have some scary moments in them but that the main object of the film was not meant to be scary? Maybe just play around with the ghost and spirits theme a bit. Here is a list of films that were mostly comedies, some romantic, mystery, and even a musical. And true, most of them are in black and white, and are comedies but that goes to show that this concept existed before Beetlejuice (1988) and Ghostbusters (1984) and done with comedians like Bob Hope, ‘Abbott and Costello’, ‘Martian and Lewis’, Eddie 'Rochester' Anderson, and even Cary Grant who could get more laugh per minute than Micheal Keaton with special effects. Which one is your favorite?
If you got any to suggest for this list, investigate this haunted mansion. (Most of the films have that or a castle. Just plain suburban haunted houses, hospitals, and insane asylums are in the minority here.)
If you got any to suggest for this list, investigate this haunted mansion. (Most of the films have that or a castle. Just plain suburban haunted houses, hospitals, and insane asylums are in the minority here.)
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- DirectorDavid KoeppStarsRicky GervaisGreg KinnearTéa LeoniBertram Pincus is a man whose people skills leave much to be desired. When Pincus dies unexpectedly, but is miraculously revived after seven minutes, he wakes up to discover that he now has the annoying ability to see ghosts.
- DirectorJason ReitmanStarsCarrie CoonPaul RuddFinn WolfhardWhen a single mom and her two kids arrive in a small town, they begin to discover their connection to the original Ghostbusters and the secret legacy their grandfather left behind.
- DirectorTim BurtonStarsAlec BaldwinGeena DavisMichael KeatonThe spirits of a deceased couple are harassed by an unbearable family that has moved into their home, and hire a malicious spirit to drive them out.
- DirectorBrad SilberlingStarsBill PullmanChristina RicciCathy MoriartyAn afterlife therapist and his daughter meet a friendly young ghost when they move into a crumbling mansion in order to rid the premises of wicked spirits.
- DirectorJerry ZuckerStarsPatrick SwayzeDemi MooreWhoopi GoldbergAfter a young man is murdered, his spirit stays behind to warn his lover of impending danger, with the help of a reluctant psychic.
- DirectorNeil JordanStarsPeter O'TooleDaryl HannahSteve GuttenbergWhen a hotelier attempts to fill the chronic vacancies at his castle by launching an advertising campaign that falsely portrays the property as haunted, two actual ghosts show up and end up falling for two guests.
- DirectorIvan ReitmanStarsBill MurrayDan AykroydSigourney WeaverThree parapsychologists forced out of their university funding set up shop as a unique ghost removal service in New York City, attracting frightened yet skeptical customers.
- DirectorPaul FeigStarsMelissa McCarthyKristen WiigKate McKinnonFollowing a ghost invasion of Manhattan, paranormal enthusiasts Erin Gilbert and Abby Yates, nuclear engineer Jillian Holtzmann, and subway worker Patty Tolan band together to stop the otherworldly threat.
- DirectorIvan ReitmanStarsBill MurrayDan AykroydSigourney WeaverThe discovery of a massive river of ectoplasm and a resurgence of spectral activity allows the staff of Ghostbusters to revive the business.
- DirectorJoseph L. MankiewiczStarsGene TierneyRex HarrisonGeorge SandersIn 1900, a young widow finds her seaside cottage is haunted and forms a unique relationship with the ghost.This is one of the best romantic films of its era. I don’t know how good the remake was. Yes, this film was remade.
- DirectorGeorge MarshallStarsBob HopePaulette GoddardRichard CarlsonA radio broadcaster, his quaking manservant and an heiress investigate the mystery of a haunted castle in Cuba.
- DirectorDavid LeanStarsRex HarrisonConstance CummingsKay HammondA man and his second wife are haunted by the ghost of his first wife.
- DirectorNorman Z. McLeodStarsCary GrantConstance BennettRoland YoungA fun-loving couple, finding that they died and are now ghosts, decide to shake up the stuffy lifestyle of a friend of theirs.
- DirectorRoy Del RuthStarsJoan BlondellRoland YoungCarole LandisA fun-loving young woman is murdered after trading bedrooms with her wealthy friend. Her ghost seeks aid from Topper to find the murderer.
- DirectorSidney PoitierStarsBill CosbyKimberly RussellDenise NicholasA widowed father tries to support his children after he becomes a ghost in an accident.
- DirectorRob MinkoffStarsEddie MurphyMarsha ThomasonJennifer TillyA realtor and his wife and children are summoned to a mansion, which they soon discover is haunted, and while they attempt to escape, he learns an important lesson about the family he has neglected.
- DirectorGeorge MarshallStarsDean MartinJerry LewisLizabeth ScottFleeing a murder charge, a busboy and a nightclub singer wind up on a spooky Caribbean island inherited by a young woman.(It is a remake of The Ghost Breakers (1940).)
- DirectorBrian Desmond HurstStarsAlastair SimJack WarnerKathleen HarrisonEbenezer Scrooge, a curmudgeonly, miserly businessman, has no time for sentimentality and largely views Christmas as a waste of time. However, this Christmas Eve, he will be visited by three spirits who will show him the error of his ways.Like it or not, this is a ghost story.
- DirectorHenry KingStarsGordon MacRaeShirley JonesCameron MitchellFifteen years after his death, a carousel barker is granted permission to return to Earth for one day to make amends to his widow and their daughter.
- DirectorPeter JacksonStarsMichael J. FoxTrini AlvaradoPeter DobsonAfter a tragic car accident that kills his wife, a man discovers he can communicate with the dead, and he uses that gift to con people. However, when a demonic spirit appears, he may be the only one who can stop it from killing the living and the dead.
- DirectorHenry SelickStarsDanny ElfmanChris SarandonCatherine O'HaraJack Skellington, king of Halloween Town, discovers Christmas Town, but his attempts to bring Christmas to his home causes confusion.
- DirectorElliott NugentStarsBob HopePaulette GoddardJohn BealWhen an eccentric family meets in their uncle's remote, decaying mansion on the tenth anniversary of his death for the reading of his will, murder and madness follow.
- DirectorArthur LubinStarsBud AbbottLou CostelloRichard CarlsonAfter inheriting a fortune from a gangster, two dim-witted service station attendants find themselves stranded in a haunted house.
- DirectorCharles BartonStarsBud AbbottLou CostelloMarjorie ReynoldsA psychiatrist stays in a mansion haunted by prankish ghosts from the Revolutionary War.Lou Costello is the ghost and Bud Abbott is the psychiatrist who is the great great great grandson something of the man who betrayed Lou in the American Revolution.
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsLaurence OlivierJoan FontaineGeorge SandersA self-conscious woman juggles adjusting to her new role as an aristocrat's wife and avoiding being intimidated by his first wife's spectral presence.A suspenseful and mysterious ghost story without a ghost. The memory of Rebecca is the ghost.
- DirectorLewis AllenStarsRay MillandRuth HusseyDonald CrispA composer and his sister discover that the reason they are able to purchase a beautiful gothic seacoast mansion very cheaply is the house's unsavory past.This is more of an intense suspenseful gothic romantic mystery than a scary ghost story. It is very good too. A must see for ghost story and horror fans.
- DirectorLee UnkrichAdrian MolinaStarsAnthony GonzalezGael García BernalBenjamin BrattAspiring musician Miguel, confronted with his family's ancestral ban on music, enters the Land of the Dead to find his great-great-grandfather, a legendary singer.They may appear as skeletons but they are spirits.
- DirectorGene WilderStarsGene WilderGilda RadnerDom DeLuiseTwo radio voice actors are getting married. Larry has fits of fear. A shrink needs 36 hours to scare him to death and cure him - during a family reunion at a scary family castle.There is a 1940 Robert Montgomery film of the same name but it is a murder mystery and not nearly the same as this one.
- DirectorWilliam WylerStarsMerle OberonLaurence OlivierDavid NivenA servant in the house of Wuthering Heights tells a traveler the unfortunate tale of lovers Cathy and Heathcliff.Suggested by MarioJacobs
- DirectorFrank CapraStarsJames StewartDonna ReedLionel BarrymoreAn angel is sent from Heaven to help a desperately frustrated businessman by showing him what life would have been like if he had never existed.1, Angels (second class) are spirits. 2, Clarence says that he had died in the undershirt he was wearing. Suggested by Breumaster.
- DirectorHenry KosterStarsCary GrantLoretta YoungDavid NivenA debonair angel comes to Earth to help an Episcopalian bishop and his wife in their quest to raise money for the new church.
- DirectorVictor FlemingStarsSpencer TracyIrene DunneVan JohnsonA dead World War II bomber pilot, Pete Sandidge becomes the guardian angel of another pilot, Ted Randall. He guides Ted through battle and helping him to romance his old girlfriend, despite her excessive devotion to Sandidge's memory.Inspired by Pencho15’s suggestion of “Always”. This is the original film.
- DirectorSteven SpielbergStarsRichard DreyfussHolly HunterBrad JohnsonThe spirit of a recently deceased expert pilot mentors a newer pilot while watching him fall in love with the girlfriend that he left behind.Suggested by Pencho15
- DirectorMark WatersStarsReese WitherspoonMark RuffaloDonal LogueA lonely landscape architect falls for the spirit of the beautiful woman who used to live in his new apartment.suggested by Pencho15
- DirectorMark WatersStarsMatthew McConaugheyJennifer GarnerEmma StoneWhile attending his brother's wedding, a serial womanizer is haunted by the ghosts of his past girlfriends.Suggested by Pencho15