THE FEARFUL FIVE! #16

Continuing our monthlong celebration of Halloween with various scary movie and TV-related lists. Check out our online movie database at channelguidemag.com to see if any of these or other scary titles are on this month. (Note: Videos may contain graphic violence, disturbing images and language.)

GHOSTS WITH THE MOST:
TOP 5 SUPERNATURAL FILMS

Ghosts might have the power to creep us out more than any other type of horror movie creation — they are often unseen, they are all around, and they can make us feel out of control and unnerved even in the supposed comfort and sanctuary of our own home. The following films expertly play on the range of fears that ghosts bring — from that quiet, disembodied sobbing voice you hear coming from down the dark hall, to a paranormal fireworks display of poltergeist activity, and everything in between:

5. The Changeling (1980)

One of the last films to tackle the quieter form of the ghost story, setting it in a classic old haunted house before Poltergeist offered a modern razzle-dazzle, FX-driven twist, (and before current returns to classic form like The Others and The Orphanage), The Changeling stars George C. Scott as a composer who loses his wife and son in an accident, only to unknowingly pick up a replacement child in the form of a phantom that inhabits the creepy old house into which he has moved. Subtly scary scenes include a toy ball bouncing down the stairs, an ancient wheelchair springing to life, and an automatic writing scene with a psychic.

4. The Uninvited (1944)

A classic ghost story with just the setting you would expect for such a tale — an old house on an English seaside cliff, with the wind and waves roaring and a phantom voice crying in the night. Ray Milland and Ruth Hussey play a brother and sister who buy the place dirt cheap, only to find they have also made a down payment on a supernatural mystery involving a young woman, at least one ghost, and the “scent of mimosa.”

3. Poltergeist (1982)

As mentioned above, Poltergeist changed the landscape of the modern haunted house tale, moving its setting from the old spooky country home on the hill, to the modern ranch homes dotting suburbia. It also took the quieter, unseen scares of ghost stories past and put the frights right in our face, amped up with amazing special effects. While the film’s followers (including its own two sequels) concentrated on the wrong aspects of this new approach, Poltergeist does not let the FX overwhelm things or forget the scares. There is terror aplenty as every child’s (and probably many adult’s) nightmares spring to life in the Freeling home, from gnarled old trees, to creepy toy clowns, to spectral parades, to rotting corpses and plenty more.

2. The Sixth Sense (1999)

Still M. Night Shyamalan’s best film, this blockbuster again demonstrates how quiet scares in ordinary places can be extremely jolting. Haley Joel Osment (also in his best work) is the kid who can see dead people, and his encounters with various ghosts are quite chilling. The ending was genuinely surprising when the film was released (even more surprising was the fact that it managed to stay fairly under wraps for a while), and still packs a punch.

1. The Haunting (1963)

Probably the best example of how what you don’t see can often be scarier than what you do, this absolutely frightening adaptation of Shirley Jackson’s The Haunting of Hill House is superbly directed by Robert Wise, who, um, wisely, lets the terror unfold quietly, which imbues Hill House with even more of a sense of menace — and aliveness.

The Uninvited photo from videodetective.com