Your Favorite Ghost Story

[Geist]

What's the best ghost story you've ever read, heard or watched. My particular favorites are as follows:

The Others (a movie with Nicole Kiddman)

The Sixth Sense (a movie with Bruce Willis)

And by the way, do ghost stories fall into the horror genre or mystery/suspense, or what?

Ed

[CatSlave]

What's the best ghost story you've ever read, heard or watched. My particular favorites are as follows:

The Others (a movie with Nicole Kiddman)

The Sixth Sense (a movie with Bruce Willis)

And by the way, do ghost stories fall into the horror genre or mystery/suspense, or what?

Ed
No fair, you already picked the best two. :)
The House on Haunted Hill always gives me a chill.

[JBI]

Hamlet

[Will Lavender]

Straub's Ghost Story

[alaskamatt17]

My favorite is The Sixth Sense.

[rugcat]

They can partake of many genres, anything from stories of psychological inner workings to outright horror.

I have a particular affection for the English literary tradition--M.R. James Ghost Stories Of An Antiquary is one of my all time favorite story collections. Casting The Runes and Oh, Whistle, and I'll Come to You, My Lad are two famous and wonderful tales.

[CatSlave]

Ghost Stories
The season of mellow fruitfulness is also fright time.

By Michael Dirda
Sunday, October 31, 2004

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A7816-2004Oct28.html

[alaskamatt17]

Oh, I really like A Christmas Carol, too!

[Lyra Jean]

The Sixth Sense
The Others
Casper (you didn't say it had to be scary)

I remember reading this one YA or MG novel. Can't remember the name of it but it had the ghost of a young woman waiting in an abandoned coal mine. Apparently back in the day the mine collapsed and her bethrothed died in the collapse and she died from grief waiting for him to be rescued. I remember it being really good. I just can't remember the name of it.

[LisaHy]

The one ghost story that's always given me the hebegeebes was an accounting of the Bell Witch that was in a big book of the supernatural my dad had (I have since stolen the book from him). I could read fiction stories, know they were unreal and not be moved, but reading and rereading this story of the Bell Witch never failed to creep me out.

The recent movie adaption (An American Haunting - I think) didn't do the story justice.

I'm trying put the chill I felt when reading that account into the story I'm writing at the moment, which has a malevolent ghost, but I don't think it's working...

Cheers, Lisa.

[Inkdaub]

The Haunting of Hill House and House of Leaves are both favorites of mine.

[alaskamatt17]

Casper (you didn't say it had to be scary)


When I saw the first movie as a kid I cried so hard.

[alaskamatt17]

I should clarify, the live-action one. I think there might have been cartoons based on the comics, but I don't remember watching any of those.

[Sean D. Schaffer]

-The Legend Of Sleepy Hollow
-A Christmas Carol
-Poltergeist

[Geist]

No fair, you already picked the best two. :)
The House on Haunted Hill always gives me a chill.

I agree. I think The Others and The Sixth Sense are probably the best, at least as suspense movies. Keep in mind that Ghost is a pretty good romance, and Poltergeist introduced a lot of the ideas of modern ghost stories. Also, Ghostbusters was a great comedy, so I guess it's all in the genre and what we expect out of a ghost story.

I think the modern movie version of Wuthering Heights with Ray Feins is quite good. Again, romance.

[Geist]

Hamlet

You know, I've never read or seen Hamlet. I know it's Shakespeare, but I've never studied Shakespeare at all. I didn't even know Hamlet was a ghost story. I guess I should look into it.

[DeborahM]

The Ghost of Flight 401 with Ernest Borgnine as the ghost was great! I'm reading the book now.

[Geist]

Oh, I really like A Christmas Carol, too!

Oh yeah. That's one of my favorites. Definitely.

[mscelina]

The one ghost story that's always given me the hebegeebes was an accounting of the Bell Witch that was in a big book of the supernatural my dad had (I have since stolen the book from him). I could read fiction stories, know they were unreal and not be moved, but reading and rereading this story of the Bell Witch never failed to creep me out.

Cheers, Lisa.

I grew up less than ten miles from the Bell land in Adams, Tennessee. Everything about the Bell property is still messed up.Trust me. I spent most of my adolescence breaking into the Bell cemetary and hking cross-country to where the REAL family cemetary is. *shivers* I actually was there about five months ago and in broad daylight somehow the remote was ripped off my keychain while it was in my hand.

If you like the Bell Witch story you have to read the family account written by Charles Bailey Bell. Talk about chillling!

At any rate, my favorite ghost story that's fictional? The Shining. Definitely. If possible, the book is even scarier than the movie IMHO, and I can't watch the movie.

[Geist]

The Sixth Sense
The Others
Casper (you didn't say it had to be scary)


I remember reading this one YA or MG novel. Can't remember the name of it but it had the ghost of a young woman waiting in an abandoned coal mine. Apparently back in the day the mine collapsed and her bethrothed died in the collapse and she died from grief waiting for him to be rescued. I remember it being really good. I just can't remember the name of it.

It's like the one I read about a writer who goes to Ireland and rents a house that's haunted. I really liked it, too, and I can't remember the name of it.

The one ghost story that's always given me the hebegeebes was an accounting of the Bell Witch that was in a big book of the supernatural my dad had (I have since stolen the book from him). I could read fiction stories, know they were unreal and not be moved, but reading and rereading this story of the Bell Witch never failed to creep me out.

The recent movie adaption (An American Haunting - I think) didn't do the story justice.

I'm trying put the chill I felt when reading that account into the story I'm writing at the moment, which has a malevolent ghost, but I don't think it's working...

Cheers, Lisa.

If you're a fellow ghost story writer, we should swap e-mails and keep in touch. Who knows, down the road we may be competitors for the NY Times bestseller list.

My email is ghosts@edward-gordon.com


When I saw the first movie as a kid I cried so hard.

You're talking about Casper, I think, and now that you mention it, I really want to see that again. The one with Christina Ricci, I believe. I'll have to see if I can rent it.

The Ghost of Flight 401 with Ernest Borgnine as the ghost was great! I'm reading the book now.

Is it a good book, so far?

[Geist]

At any rate, my favorite ghost story that's fictional? The Shining. Definitely. If possible, the book is even scarier than the movie IMHO, and I can't watch the movie.

I totally forgot about that one. The Shining is King's best ghost story for sure. Actually, I don't even know if he's ever written more than that one.

[Geist]

Question: Is the Blair Witch Project a ghost story?

[EriRae]

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow
Any time those boys from Supernatural deal with ghosts...
Beetlejuice & Ghostbusters...I'm a sucker for comedy
What about Pascow in Pet Semetary?

[Geist]

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow
Any time those boys from Supernatural deal with ghosts...
Beetlejuice & Ghostbusters...I'm a sucker for comedy
What about Pascow in Pet Semetary?

I don't quite remember who Pascow was. Was that the college student or the cat? At any rate, I don't think there were any real ghosts in Pet Semetary. I mean a ghost is by definition the spirit of a dead person, not the body, right? Or is it?

[EriRae]

Pascow=College Student, the one on the bike who got run over...he didn't get buried in the Semetary, so he was either a ghost or just a figment of Mr. Creed's imagination. And he was creepy, in the book AND in the movie.

[sadron]

I think my fave is Ringu 0 (japanese version) or Silent Hill movie.

[jerrymouse]

the innocence.

very *fuppin* scary.

[LisaHy]

I grew up less than ten miles from the Bell land in Adams, Tennessee. Everything about the Bell property is still messed up.Trust me. I spent most of my adolescence breaking into the Bell cemetary and hking cross-country to where the REAL family cemetary is. *shivers* I actually was there about five months ago and in broad daylight somehow the remote was ripped off my keychain while it was in my hand.

If you like the Bell Witch story you have to read the family account written by Charles Bailey Bell. Talk about chillling!

At any rate, my favorite ghost story that's fictional? The Shining. Definitely. If possible, the book is even scarier than the movie IMHO, and I can't watch the movie.

Wow! If I ever get to the US I'm so going to have to visit. The closest I've ever been was staying in a hotel in Melbourne that reminded me of the hotel from The Shining. Waiting endlessly for the elevator and wondering which dimension it was lost in, I always imagined that it was opening its doors ominously on some other floor, setting free little girls on tricycles...

Cheers, Lisa.

[LisaHy]

If you're a fellow ghost story writer, we should swap e-mails and keep in touch. Who knows, down the road we may be competitors for the NY Times bestseller list.


Not a ghost story writer. Just a fantasy writer dabbling with a few ghosts in her WIP. I love real life accounts of ghosts more than fictional stories. Even the hint that it's real does it for me. ;)

Cheers, Lisa.

[Codger]

the original film (black and white with Claire Bloom) of "The Haunting"? Scared me a lot when I first saw it.

[CaroGirl]

The Changeling with George C. Scott. A movie from 1980 that still makes my skin crawl when I think about it.

[Sassee]

As far as movies go, I love the concept of The Others.

As far as stories go... my friend Cindy has the best one. She was staying with her brother and was alone in the house at the time. Strange things always happened in that house, and she thinks it was because of her grandmother's ghost (the house used to be her grandmother's). Minor things would happen, such as a cabinet being open or her grandma's brush being moved somewhere. I think her niece got moved once as a baby, from the room to the couch, without anyone's assistance, although I'll have to ask her about that.

It's worth mentioning that the cabinets in the dining room never open. They were rusted shut, for the most part, and hadn't been open in years (decades, possibly). The room was also much colder than the rest of the house (she told me this before Sixth Sense was made).

Anyway, when she was there by herself, her brother's dog started growling. The dog was standing by the dining room door and wouldn't budge. Cindy, being curious, went to check it out. The room was freezing. And all of the cabinet doors were open. Every single rust-hinged door was thrown wide open. She screamed and ran out of the house, bumping into her brother and his wife just as they arrived home. She was so hysterical they couldn't figure out what was wrong, and when they went back in the house, everything was back to normal.

Creepiness.

Cindy also swears she was walking down the street one time talking to a kid (a stranger she didn't know). They walked up and down the street like that for a few minutes, and when her mother asked who she was talking to, she tried to point at the kid who was no longer there. Not as creepy, but still pretty weird.

Anyway, those were my contributions for the morning. Whether or not they were true is up for debate, but she still gets creeped out thinking about both situations, so take them for what they're worth.

[Lyra Jean]

Oh wow that is creepy.

Here is an account I saw on the History channel.

In Gettysburg there is a college/hospital. Sorry memory is a little hazy. Two nurses who are not the kind to pull pranks were going home. The elevator went down to the basement of it's own accord. When it opened it opened onto the scene of a Civil War hospital there was no sound but there was smell and you could see everything very clear, no see through people. The doctors were operating on a soldier. Sawing off his leg or arm or something. The doctor looked up and saw the two nurses and he motioned for them to come help them. They backed up into the back of the elevator and it went back to the floor they originally pushed.

That building was a makeshift hospital during the Civil War. If that episode isn't creepy I don't know what is. I mean what if the two nurses decided to help?

[Gillhoughly]

The Haunting of Hill House (http://www.amazon.com/Haunting-Hill-House-Penguin-Classics/dp/0143039989/ref=sr_1_7/002-1433808-6348055?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1182521902&sr=1-7)by Shirley Jackson

Haven't read it for over 30 years and it STILL scares me.

[DeborahM]

The Ghost of Flight 401 -Is it a good book, so far?

It is! I wanted the movie so bad I could taste it, but all Amazon had was the book in the used section.

[cletus]

You know, I've never read or seen Hamlet. I know it's Shakespeare, but I've never studied Shakespeare at all. I didn't even know Hamlet was a ghost story. I guess I should look into it.
I remember finding out in high school that the musical version they did on Gilligan's Island has very little in common with the original Shakespeare version.
http://www.gilligansisle.com/images/ham.jpg


Back on topic: It's been a few years, but I liked The Manitou by Graham Masterton when I read it.

[TheKnightWhoSaidNi]

"The Shining."
This is a ghost story with layers upon layers. The book or the movie (not the miniseries), both are fantastic representations of the story.

[Southern_girl29]

One of the best ghost stories I've ever read was Bag of Bones by King. I think I loved it more than The Shining, although The Shining scared me worse. I had to take a break while reading it because of how bad it scared me.

I live in and grew up in Tennessee, and I've heard about the Bell Witch all of my life. Several years ago, I wrote about a ghost hunter who has been on the Bell Witch property. I'll include a link to the story. When she talked about it, it sent shivers up my spine. I saw some of the video footage, and I can tell you that I don't think I'll ever want to go to the Adams' property.

Here's the link:

http://www.utahghost.org/Ghost_articles/carol_giststory.html

[Will Lavender]

"The Shining."
This is a ghost story with layers upon layers. The book or the movie (not the miniseries), both are fantastic representations of the story.

That's strange.

Didn't King hate Kubrick's movie but work directly on the miniseries?

I've never seen the miniseries, but the movie freaked me out. I've never really understood why King (and others) shredded it.

[stormie]

The Shining

The Others

By far those two are my favorites.

[WordGypsy]

There's something about the Mothman Prophesies that scares the piss outta me. I can't watch it alone, even though I love it....that whole dream that girl has with the voice repeating "Wake up number 37..." Ugh...gotta stop typing. Too scary!

[TheKnightWhoSaidNi]

That's strange.

Didn't King hate Kubrick's movie but work directly on the miniseries?

I've never seen the miniseries, but the movie freaked me out. I've never really understood why King (and others) shredded it.

King did initially hate Kubrick's version because it takes several liberties with the book's story, but he came to like it in time. He appreciates it now. He also worked directly with the minseries and as a result it's a sentence-by-sentence adaptation of the novel. I rule that one out though because it's not scary even in the slightest.

[rugcat]

Didn't King hate Kubrick's movie but work directly on the miniseries?
I've never seen the miniseries, but the movie freaked me out. I've never really understood why King (and others) shredded it.I think that's because, sadly, King doesn't really understand movies. He's a great novelist, but screenplays are not novels; they require a different skill set. And movies are definitely not simply filmed novels.

If you look at the movies made from his books that he had a direct hand in, they're mediocre at best. Those that left him out of the loop, like The Shining, fared a lot better.

1408, one of his creepiest stories ever, is getting great reviews right now. I don't know if he was involved in writing the screenplay, but I'd bet he wasn't.

[mscelina]

There's something about the Mothman Prophesies that scares the piss outta me. I can't watch it alone, even though I love it....that whole dream that girl has with the voice repeating "Wake up number 37..." Ugh...gotta stop typing. Too scary!

And in addition to growing up ten miles away fromthe Bell Witch, I now live less than an hour fom Point Pleasant WV. It's not as scary though; the whole town has jumped onto the Mothman bandwagon and it looks like its been invaded by big, goofy-looking bugs.

Driving over the bridge sucks though.

[Codger]

I suggest that anyone who enjoys ghost stories investigate the short stories of Ambrose Bierce. His are all centered on the Civil War, and can send a chill up your spine.

[Soccer Mom]

The Shining
The Lady in White (brilliant movie! scared the pee out of me!)

[Sean D. Schaffer]

Another good Shakespeare one, although there's only one scene in the entire play with a ghost in it, is Julius Caesar. That short snippet of the ghost really impacted me in High School. I thought the ghost part made much of the story.

[Nyna]

I always loved Tamsin, by Peter S. Beagle. It's not, you know, a horror story, but it's the sort of ghost story I've always loved, with a quieter, sadder, sort of haunting. And it's a great YA novel, too.

[Ol' Fashioned Girl]

The Haunting... the original one with Julie Harris and Claire Bloom
The Changeling, with George C. Scott

[wyntermoon]

Loved The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson. Excellent read and technically I think the best of the haunted house stories. I still get the creeps thinking about it.

The Shining is also a great book/movie because of it's varying levels of madness.

[Geist]

The Haunting... the original one with Julie Harris and Claire Bloom
The Changeling, with George C. Scott

I forgot about the Changeling. Good one.

Ed

[Geist]

Well, as a ghost story writer, I can see that my experience is woefully inadequate due to never having read The Haunting of Hill House, by Shirley Jackson (Didn't she write the short story, The Lottery that everyone has to learn in English 102?).
So, I'm off to B&N to see if they have a copy. What I fear, however, is that everyone is claiming it only to appear well-read to everyone else, and in reality the book is some longwinded 16th century bore. Just like setting Umberto Eco on the coffee table before company arrives. I trust I will be wrong, as usual.

Off I go!

Ed

[wyntermoon]

LOL, you'll be a convert like the rest of us by the time you put it down. ;)

[Beware_of_Italics]

The Ghost and Mrs. Muir

Portrait of Jennie

Kiss Me Goodbye

The Others

[TrickyFiction]

I remember reading this one YA or MG novel. Can't remember the name of it but it had the ghost of a young woman waiting in an abandoned coal mine. Apparently back in the day the mine collapsed and her bethrothed died in the collapse and she died from grief waiting for him to be rescued. I remember it being really good. I just can't remember the name of it.

If you have a Live Journal or ever want to get one you should try this community:
http://community.livejournal.com/find_a_book
I posted two books there and within an hour I had the names and authors of both. It's such a sweet idea. And, the more people who join, the better it works. :)

Sorry if I was too off topic. I'll just add to the people who said A Christmas Carol and Hamlet. I also really enjoyed "The Others". But, my favorite ghost stories are the ones we used to tell when we were kids at slumber parties. Those are the ones that scared me most and still kinda creep me out to this day... like the one about the dog, "drip, drip" and the one about the china doll. :)

[WordGypsy]

The Lady in White (brilliant movie! scared the pee out of me!)
I LOVE this movie...off to download that song. So haunting...

[Geist]

LOL, you'll be a convert like the rest of us by the time you put it down. ;)

Indeed. It's actually quite short for a novel and was published in 1959. I got my copy and will start reading it tonight.

PS: What are feet for if not to stick in your mouth!

Ed

[Geist]

I think I'll go through here tomorrow and write down all these titles that people are bringing up. I actually have a copy of the movie, The Ghost and Mrs. Muir. I think I should start my own ghost story library with books, videos and DVDs of all the best ones.

Ed

[Danger Jane]

I can't read ghost stories.

One time when I was twelve my friend and I were sleeping in the tent in the backyard (tent complete with mini-dvd-tv with the gamecube hooked up) and we decided to tell ghost stories.

I got like three lines in to the story about how the ax murderer that lives in my attic (also a bad idea we came up with) was coming after us and everything, and we could barely sleep all night.

I am fearful.

[Jenan Mac]

When we were growing up my mother would recite Little Orphant Annie (James Whitcomb Riley) and scare the bejeebers out of us on the line "and the goblins'll git YOU, if you don't watch out!"
It's probably my favorite ghost story, even if it's not so scary when you get past the age of ten.

The Shining gave me nightmares, but aside from that it's probably second.

[Captain Morgan]

The Changeling with George C. Scott. A movie from 1980 that still makes my skin crawl when I think about it.

I recently bought this one for nostalgia purposes. I remember watching it many years ago, and I had to sleep in my parent's room that night. Interesting enough, it is NOT intended to be a horror movie, yet it did the suspense so well that often video stores place it in this category. I've seen it in both Horror, Drama, and Thriller shelves.

Another blast from the past (though not really ghost like), is Time after Time. The H.G. well's remake where Jack the Ripper escapes through the time machine and enters into present day. Sounds chease, but they did manage to make it WORK. That one also scared the crap out of me. I remember running out the room to hide behind a kitchen wall at one point. I wasn't scared that bad, even during the Tom Baker meets Dalek Days.

[BarbJ]

Straub's Ghost Story
Great book, lousy movie. If you've seen the movie, don't let it turn you away.

I have a particular affection for the English literary tradition--M.R. James Ghost Stories Of An Antiquary is one of my all time favorite story collections. Casting The Runes and Oh, Whistle, and I'll Come to You, My Lad are two famous and wonderful tales.
Yes!

I'm going to join the crowd with my vote: The Haunting of Hill House. I have the complete works of Jackson, in one very fat volume, and she's wonderful. There's another novel - can't remember the title - she wrote about a woman going insane that is haunting, although it has nothing to do with ghosts.

[Toxic_Waste]

I can't say that any ghost stories actually scared me, but I liked the ORIGINAL "13 Ghosts" movie and one called "Black Sunday." There is a more modern movie of that same name, but I think it's a military one. I thought the newer version of "13 Ghosts" really sucked big time. Just goes to show that special FX and CGI cannot take the place of the suspense and good plot, good acting, etc. of the old-time flicks.