Best Hero Ghosts In Movies, Ranked

Summary

• Not all ghosts in cinema are villainous. Some are portrayed as romantic leads or helpful heroes.
• Examples include Shoeless Joe Jackson in Field of Dreams and Moaning Myrtle in Harry Potter.
• Ghosts like Sam Wheat from Ghost and Yoda in Star Wars: Return of the Jedi showcase compassion and guidance.

There are many different types of creatures which have been villainized in film over the years, and ghosts are definitely one of them. The supernatural is often viewed with fear by most of the public, and this has meant that they are usually thought of as evil creatures. However, this isn’t always the case with cinematic representations of ghosts.

Although there has been something of a stigma against ghosts for many years, there have also been cases that work against the norm. From romantic leads to surprising heroes, lost souls that have passed on or are attempting to finish something so they are able to move on have become more than just faceless, invisible creatures to fear.

8

Shoeless Joe Jackson (Field of Dreams)

Build It And He Will Come

Field of Dreams sees an almost religious undertaking from Kevin Costner’s character, who hears a voice telling him to transform a field outside his farmhouse into a baseball pitch. He continues to hear the line “build it, and he will come.” Once the field is complete, it attracts various legendary baseball player ghosts to come and play on the pitch.

Although Shoeless Joe Jackson isn’t a particularly heroic character, he hasn’t got a villainous bone in his ghostly body either. The baseball ghosts that appear on the field are simply there to do what they love best, making the film a wholesome experience without any hint of horror to it.

7

Moaning Myrtle (Harry Potter)

Helps & Hinders In Equal Measure

• Played by Shirley Henderson

The Harry Potter films, set within a whole magical world, actually have quite a few ghosts in them. Generally, these apparitions and spirits aren’t evil. The house ghosts like Sir Nicholas have been helpful at different times to Harry and his friends, but interestingly, the ghost that helped them the most was probably Moaning Myrtle.

This teenage girl, killed in a Hogwarts bathroom, bitterly continued to haunt the same bathroom, which contained the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets. Although Myrtle helped in the second film when Harry needed to find the entrance, she was useful to him in Goblet of Fire as well, making her the most significant recurring ghostly character in the Harry Potter stories.

6

Sam Wheat (Ghost)

The Original Romantic Creature

It isn’t often that a creature such as a ghost is seen as a figure for romance, but Ghost was a very special film. Patrick Swayze’s character, Sam, is killed by a thug, but continues to attempt communication with his love, Molly, to try and warn her that her life is also in danger. With the help of a psychic, Sam manages to help his love remain in the world of the living.

Ghost is a very fun early 90s classic, and contains some of the best romance scenes with a ghost involved in cinematic history. Although the entire story is bittersweet, Sam manages to become a real hero even in the afterlife.

5

Malcolm Crowe (The Sixth Sense)

He IS Dead People

Although he didn’t know it, Dr. Malcolm Crowe was a ghost for almost the entirety of The Sixth Sense. The fact that the audience also didn’t know this made the reveal one of the most iconic and memorable twists in cinematic history. Malcolm, despite being dead, managed to help a little boy that was able to see ghosts with his problems over the course of the film.

Additionally, Malcolm found some peace for himself, having thought that Cole, the young child who he helped, was very similar to the man who had shot (and killed) Malcolm a few months earlier. While this film definitely has a bittersweet ending, it is memorable for many reasons, including showing Malcolm as a kind ghost.

4

Jacob Marley (A Christmas Carol)

Saving Others From His Fate

• Played by various actors in different adaptations

Another tale which features several ghosts who act as heroes within their story, A Christmas Carol is a story of how those who have passed on can return to help the living. There have been many film adaptations of Charles Dickens’ original story over the years. Jacob Marley, a man who in life worked alongside Ebenezer Scrooge, returns to warn him of the coming of three other ghosts, and to tell him that he must change his ways.

Supposedly, Jacob has already ended up in shackles, tortured for eternity because of his choices in life. Hopefully warning Scrooge and helping others to change will gain him some measure of peace, or even allow him to escape his torture through more positive actions in this famous, and constantly adapted story.

3

Casper (Casper the Friendly Ghost)

The Original Friendly Ghost

• Played by Malachi Pearson

The idea of a heroic ghost is mostly down to a refusal to do harm and a desire to do good instead, which is embodied by the happy and friendly Casper. Despite being put upon by his cruel uncle’s ghosts, Casper refuses to do harm whenever he can and makes friends in his film with Kat Harvey and her father.

Casper used his one chance at returning to life to save Kat’s father, so that she wouldn’t be alone. His plans also allowed Kat and Dr. Harvey a last chance to see Amelia, Kat’s mother and Dr. Harvey’s wife. Casper was a truly selfless hero, despite being so young when he became a ghost.

2

Bruce (The Black Phone)

Saves Others From A Killer

• Played by Tristan Pravong

A frightening but fascinating take on a ghost story, The Black Phone features a teenage boy, Finney, who is captured by the Grabber, a local child abductor and murderer, and trapped in his basement with little hope of escape. A phone in the basement rings. On the other end is a voice belonging to Bruce, who was also killed by the Grabber and who wishes to help Finney escape.

Over the course of The Black Phone, Finney receives help from Bruce and the ghosts of other children who were killed by the Grabber through the phone hanging on the wall. These ghosts continue to haunt the Grabber (played by Ethan Hawke), until Finney manages to get away. A unique take on a beloved genre, The Black Phone is an excellent film that all horror fans should see.

1

Yoda (Star Wars)

The Legendary Teacher

Although Star Wars doesn’t focus too much on the idea, ghosts are very much a thing in that universe. Force ghosts, Jedi able to return from death itself, are a rare phenomenon only available to the strongest among the Jedi. Yoda, one of the strongest Jedi ever, was capable of this and did so to help Luke more in Return of the Jedi.

In the same film, Luke saw his own father as a force ghost, and others have recurred at times throughout the series. However, Yoda was both one of the first force ghosts, and one of the most useful, continuing to impart wisdom, and not just to Luke, as time went on.