HPPH's top ghosts on film

Shutter (2004)

"Shutter (2004) is a Thai horror classic that I first encountered as a child in India - usually between power cuts on my grandmother’s flickering cathode-ray TV, which, in hindsight, provided the perfect accidental ambience. The film became a sensation across Asia, and rightly so: Thai horror has an uncanny ability to transform the mundane - shadows, photographs, silence - into instruments of pure unease. That final scene remains indelibly etched in my mind, haunting me long after the credits faded. There’s a certain precision to Thai horror that makes it feel more psychological than supernatural, and Shutter exemplifies it beautifully. Definitely not one for anyone who startles easily (or values a good night’s sleep)." - Suman, Volunteer.

Diabolique (1955)

"As I am a wuss and generally avoid spooky and scary stories as much as possible - thinking of a film that I love with a ghost in it was really hard! I find that I am only brave enough to face psychological horrors before the grit and realism of the 1970s onwards, and so what came to mind was the 'supposed' ghost/spirit of the missing corpse in the 1955 Henri-Georges Clouzot thriller Diabolique. This film in particular has some of my favourite features, with its double female protagonists, baddies, melodrama, backstabbing, and shocking twists and turns. A murdered man - who was a cruel and abusive husband and headteacher - becomes a haunting presence as his body disappears and the women who committed the crime are in despair not understanding how their plan has gone so wrong. As the pressure mounts and paranoia builds the film reaches a dizzying climax. In my opinion, the best ghosts are the ones you don't see - the tricks your mind can play and possibly even the tricks your so-called friends can play on you too!" - Mosa, Creative Engagement Officer.

Scooby-Doo! and the Witch's Ghost (1999)

"Scooby Doo and gang are invited by Velma's favourite horror writer Ben Ravencroft to his home-town where they witness eerie occurrences allegedly caused by a witch who happens to be Ben's ancestor.

A slightly unserious entry, but an honest favourite! It gives us the most memorable Scooby-Doo ghost (too many honourable mentions to name!). Voice acting from Tim Curry, the introduction of the Hex Girls with two original songs, and a villain who is both a witch and a ghost! This film really has it all!" - Laura, Volunteer.

Beetlejuice (1988)

"After the initial shock of being dead, the recently deceased couple in Tim Burton’s iconic feature made being a ghost look like really great fun and a lot less scary, with loads of inspiration for haunting in the afterlife." - Sylvia, Young Audiences Officer.

A Ghost Story (2017)

"The ghost in David Lowery’s A Ghost Story is the low-effort Halloween costume kind, where you wear a bed sheet with two holes for eyes. If you’ve not seen it, your first thought might be that surely with a sheet rather than special effects it must be comical rather than haunting and sad, but I wish you were right. It was totally crushing. It’s been almost a decade since I watched it, but it’s haunted me ever since. The film takes on the perspective of Casey Affleck’s ghost who has left behind his wife, played by Rooney Mara. Most haunting of all is not the ghost itself, but the immense grief of Mara. There’s a lot of space in the film – space to experience how empty Mara feels, space to reflect on the film’s poetic and philosophical points and space to be walloped by the overwhelming emotions of Daniel Hart’s score – a score that will never leave me. This might all sound a little negative, but I have no regrets about being haunted by this film – I’m so glad I saw it and am in awe of David Lowery, a writer and director with incredible range. He also worked on the sweetest Christmas short I’ve ever seen, An Almost Christmas Story, which I highly recommend even though it doesn’t feature any ghosts." - Martha, Digital Marketing Coordinator.

Ghostly screenings we're looking forward to at HPPH include Casper on Sun 26 Oct & Ghost Stories For Christmas on Mon 22 Dec.