Best Movies About Ghost Hunting

Summary

• Ghost-hunting movies vary in approach, from found footage styles to scientific equipment, like in Poltergeist and The Haunting in Connecticut.
• Films like The Others and Winchester tackle ghost-hunting themes in unique settings and ways, offering a diverse movie experience.
• Ghostbusters revolutionized the genre by infusing comedy with supernatural occurrences, setting a new standard for ghost-hunting films.

Films about ghost hunters often involve paranormal and mystery events. The chosen locations for this genre tend to be isolated Victorian mansions and abandoned mental hospitals that bring panic and horror to the viewers. However, there are ghost hunter movies, like the iconic Ghostbusters, that take the genre to a whole different level by mixing comedy with paranormal occurrences.

The filmmaker’s approach to the ghost-hunting genre varies. Some films choose to take advantage of the found footage styles, like Grave Encounters (2011) and Gonijam: Haunted Asylum (2018), while others rely on scientific equipment to communicate with all types of diabolical entities like viewers can see in The Haunting in Connecticut (2009) and Poltergeist (1982) movies. There are no spoilers included in this list.

8

The Others

A Slow-Burn Haunting Mystery

• Release date: August 2, 2001
• Duration: 1h 41m
• Director: Alejandro Amenábar

Starring Nicole Kidman, The Others is a slow-burning horror movie that focuses on a single mother who is grieving for her husband’s death. Trying her best to raise her two photosensitive children, she hires the help of three odd servers. Based on the children’s allergy to daylight, strict rules need to be followed.

This movie takes place in a British Victorian mansion post-WW2. And, while not traditionally a “ghost hunters movie,” it touches on supernatural ghost investigations. Viewers can see the family’s journey into uncovering the truth about who else is living in that same haunted house.

7

Winchester

A Ghost Hunting Story Based On Actual Events

• Release date: February 2, 2018
• Duration: 1h 39m
• Director: Michael Spierig, Peter Spierig

Winchester is a ghost-story movie inspired by the true events that happened in the Winchester Mystery House in San Jose, California. Considered one of the most haunted places in history, the film stars Helen Mirren as Sara Winchester. She believes she’s cursed by the spirits of the people who got shot by Winchester rifles. She plans to build 40 bedrooms with 47 staircases, to hunt these souls, spirits, ghosts, and all kinds of diabolical beings.

Viewers can expect the classic jump scares and the creepy atmosphere of a typical ghost-hunting movie. While this film has mixed critics, most of them are unfavorable because everyone had high hopes based on its cast and directors, the Spierig Brothers.

6

Gonjiam: Haunted Asylum

A Team Of YouTubers Creating Paranormal Content

• Release date: April 13, 2018
• Duration: 1h 35m
• Director: Jung Bum-shik

Gonijam: Haunted Asylum falls into the found footage genre. The plot centers around a team of broadcasters who choose the Gonijam Psychiatric Hospital to create online content. They do a night investigation of this abandoned hospital where it is believed odd experiments and torture took place that led to the suicide of all the patients. Viewers have the point of view of live cameras intensifying the tension of the supernatural horrors within those walls.

In this ghost-hunting Korean film, the combination of technology and social media gives a more realistic experience and makes the place seem more intimate. The positive critical reviews mention the sound design professionalism and the great choice of the cast members.

5

The Haunting in Connecticut

A Desperate Mother And An Ill Son Witnesses Supernatural Events

• Release date: March 27, 2009
• Duration: 1h 32m
• Director: Peter Cornwell

The Haunting in Connecticut gets its inspiration from the true story of the Snedeker family. In the film, viewers can view a desperate mother, facing financial struggles, who decides to rent a surprisingly cheap property located close to her son Matt’s cancer facility center. The mother regrets the decision when her son Matt starts to witness supernatural events. Unable to relocate, the family gets help from a local priest and spiritual investigator to confront the ghosts, which includes a young child with a burnt face.

Viewers can expect classic ghost-hunting components such as slamming doors, blackbird appearances, and scratches on walls.

4

Grave Encounters

A Ghost-Hunting Crew Terrified By Founded Paranormal Events

• Release date: August 25, 2011
• Duration: 1h 32m
• Director: Colin Minihan, Stuart Ortiz, The Vicious Brothers

Grave Encounters‘ plot revolves around a group of four people on a reality TV show led by Lance Preston. The crew voluntarily lock themselves inside an allegedly haunted mental hospital—Collingwood Psychiatric Hospital, Maryland—to discover if there’s life after death. As the film unfolds, viewers can see the genuine terror of the cast members when paranormal events take place.

Grave Encounters is a must-watch that cleverly uses the found footage format to deliver terror and jump scares to fans of horror. The movie was successful, resulting in a sequel a year later.

3

The Conjuring

The Winner of Multiple “Best Horror” Awards

• Release date: August 21, 2013
• Duration: 1h 52m
• Director: James Wan

The Conjuring is inspired by the actual paranormal events that happened to the Perron family. After they moved to their dream farmhouse in Rhode Island, disturbing events started to occur. From strange noises in the middle of the night to sudden apparitions inside the bedrooms. As a result of the supernatural occurrences, the family hires paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine to aid them in unraveling the ghosts and spirits in their home.

James Wan—who also directed Saw and Insidious—delivers another successful hit with The Conjuring, which is considered one of the most frightening movies in the genre. Viewers must be ready for intended jump scares in this psychological paranormal investigation film, rated 7.5/10 on IMDb.

2

Ghostbusters

Three Students Create A Ghost-Hunting Business

• Release date: June 8, 1984
• Duration: 1h 45m
• Director: Ivan Reitman

Ghostbusters took ghost-hunter movies in a different direction. Ghostbusters is a comedy and supernatural fantasy that centers around three parapsychologist students who graduate from Columbia University in New York City. Using their knowledge and skills, they decide to open a ghost-hunting business to aid frightened yet skeptical people with a professional ghost removal service.

Unlike the other ghost movies, Ghostbusters was a hit in the 80s upon its release. Director Ivan Reitman mixed supernatural interventions with comedy like never seen before. With an IMDb rating of 7.8/10, Ghostbusters uses the humor of the one and only Bill Murray to deliver a whole new narrative in the genre.

1

Poltergeist

An American Family Hires Spirit Investigators To Bring Their Abducted Daughter Back

• Release date: November 11, 1982
• Duration: 1h 54m
• Director: Tobe Hooper

Poltergeist is a ghost-hunting movie centered around an American family that starts to witness the presence of spirits inside their home. The movie has haunting components like furniture and objects moving independently to the real terror that ends up with the abduction of their youngest daughter, Carol. Carol is taken away to another dimension, or to “the other side,” after making contact with the TV people, as she calls them.

The desperate family proceeds to hire help from professional spirits/ghost investigators who take extreme approaches to fight these evil presences. The paranormal investigators in the film can communicate with the other side by using scientific equipment to fight the entities that enter the home. A must-watch for fans of the genre.