Best Movie Ghosts

There's all types of ghosts portrayed in movies. The vengeful ghost is, hands down, the most prevalent, but there's also the melancholy romantic ones, the playful ones, and the mentally unstable. 

Let's have a look at some of the best portrayals of ghosts in movies.

Juggernaut (horrifying)

"Thirteen Ghosts" Juggernaut (I think the most horrifying). All the ghosts in "Thirteen Ghosts" were scary, but none were quite as unsettling as the Juggeraut (you almost don't want to say his name out loud). This junkyard ghost when he was living, would lure people to his junkyard and tear them apart with his hands. In death, this huge terrifying presence could continue his torture....

 

Sam Wheat (unconditionally loving)

"Ghost" brought us Sam Wheat, a sweet man in love with his woman who is taken too early and needs to warn her from harm. 

Daniel Gregg (reluctant romantic)

"The Ghost and Mrs. Muir" gave us the Captain, a salty, loner, curmudgeon who happens to fall for the widow who claims his seaside cottage. Admittedly, my #1 favorite ghost movie and #1 favorite ghost. 

Slimer (troublesome gross)

"Ghostbusters" Slimer was an utter delight. We were actually rooting for him to slime people. He was revolting, grotesque and hilariously funny.

Beetlejuice (obnoxious pest)

Beetlejuice from the movie "Beetlejuice," was an obnoxious intrusive ghost. You hated to love him and loved to hate him. Definitely a fine balance of fun and irony. 

Lloyd the Bartender (unsettling/disturbing)

"The Shining" Bartender was truly chilling. A man from another era offering you your worst enemy, alcohol, when you are in a mentally vulnerable time. Is he there? Did he serve and advise you? 

The Hessian Warrior (vengeful/bloodthirsty)

"Sleepy Hollow" did a fine job of bringing to life the headless horseman haunting the Hudson Valley in search of his vengeance and his head!

Joseph (helpless/victim)

"The Changeling" gave us a child ghost who was murdered, seems vulnerable, and yet is very manipulative and vengeful. Just because he's a child doesn't mean he isn't dangerous.

Leper Revengers (vengeful)

"The Fog" provided a bevy of ghosts that came in with the fog. These vengeful ghosts were haunting scraggly silhouettes wielding weapons and fear of the fog. 

Dr. Malcolm Crowe (confused/trapped)

"Sixth Sense." Dr. Malcolm Crowe maintained his place in the story helping a boy who sees dead people, only to find that a ghost can be very real to a psychic kid, so real we even assumed he was a flesh and blood man. 

Eva Galli (vengeful/angry)

Elderly friends who had a rambunctious youth, find that a ghost from their past and a dark secret are haunting them. Eva is a vengeful ghost who isn't going to let her death stay buried and she's willing to kill to get that revenge.

Freddy Krueger (terrifying/sociopathic)

"Nightmare on Elm Street" was an innovative 80s movie that became a series. The ghost of this serial killer isn't going to just go away into eternal damnation, he wants to damn you too. Freddy involves kids in their nightmares and brings them to his dead side.


Some movies had unseen ghosts and sometimes that is the most insidious kind, like in "The Haunting," and "Legend of Hell House." It allows your mind to insert the picture.