With “The Haunted Mansion” reboot coming to theaters Friday it’s a great time to recommend some great haunted house movies you could watch before or after. Or if you’re not planning to see “The Haunted Mansion,” you could watch these movies instead. In either case, here are five great haunted house movies I highly recommend if you want some good chills, thrills, and scares.
The Cat and the Canary (1927)
“The Cat and the Canary” is so influential on the haunted movie sub-genre that it’s been remade five other times throughout the 1900’s. The original 1927 film from Paul Leni remains one of the quintessential haunted house mysteries that set the standard. It garners all the tropes you see in typical haunted house movies, but played to a better effect. Leni is able to take the play and successfully transplant it on to film with some of the best fright devices and uses of sound and sharp direction, as well as plays with shadows and suspense. I love it.
The Conjuring (2013)
Still considered a contemporary horror classic, “The Conjuring” is an influential, and near flawless ghost film is based on the case by the Warrens, the infamous ghost hunters. Played by Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga, “The Conjuring” delivers on scares, frights, a terrifying villain, and some of the best direction ever delivered for a movie of this kind. There’s also some top notch performances from the aforementioned Wilson and Farmiga, as well as Lilli Taylor (previously seen in another haunted house movie we do not speak of), Ron Livingston, and Joey King, respectively.
The Haunting (1963)
Robert Wise’s classic adaptation of the Shirley Jackson novel is a brilliant cerebral trip in to madness and a haunted house that is an absolute source of pure horror. Julie Harris and Claire Bloom headline what is still one of the most effective and creepy ghost films of all time, as a group of people find themselves stuck in a massive haunted house that just might be sentient and is hell bent on tormenting every one of them. Even by today’s standards, “The Haunting” is absolutely chilling and garners some of the best scenes of this sub-genre. You can skip the 1999 remake. I insist, as a matter of fact.
Hold That Ghost (1941)
Abbot and Costello have fought criminals and various monsters, and I love their underrated horror comedy where they have to stay in an inherited haunted mansion overnight with other travelers. “Hold That Ghost” is a near flawless (there’s an—erm–unfortunate dated night club musical number in the beginning) comedy with some of the best physical gags and pratfalls by Lou Costello. He works wonders off of Joan Davis who is just as funny as Lou Costello and engages in some great gaffs with the comedian. It’s a shame she never re-appeared in future Abbot and Costello films.
13 Ghosts/Thir13en Ghosts (1960, 2001)
Whether it’s the original or the remake, you simply can’t go wrong. The 2001 remake from Steve Beck is a punk rock remix of the original involving a high tech house that doubles as a prison for thirteen really sinister ghosts. The creature designs are brilliant, the special effects are dynamite, and the narrative is engaging. I also love the twist ending. The William Castle original is a nice, spooky ghost adventure in his tradition. It’s filled with some great scares, some decent effects for its time and classic gags that Castle was known for. They especially work well as companion pieces to each other, if you’re in the mood for a double dose of ghost chaos.