10 Underrated Ghost Story Movies You Need To See
These underseen ghost stories will have you sleeping with the lights on after watching them.
Within the various subgenres that exist within the vast and frightening world of horror cinema, none are quite as unique and terrifying as a ghost story.
Unlike slasher flicks where the film’s horror is rooted in the physical presence of the killer, the fear generated from ghost stories is something that tends to be less tangible in design. Likewise, whereas other supernatural affairs like Insidious or Paranormal Activity depict their ghostly antagonists as forces of pure evil, the ghost story spectres exist to represent something that’s more human in nature. Whether that be a deep-seated psychological trauma, echoes of a tragic event, or as vehicles to explore other aspects of humanity, ghost stories are often as intriguing as they are terrifying.
The most iconic ghost stories are classics like Kwaidan, The Haunting, and The Innocents, alongside more contemporary chillers including Ringu, Ju-On, and The Others - each of which is brimming with suspense as they weave their spooky tales.
There are likewise plenty of other fantastically frightening ghost story horrors out there that don’t get the attention they deserve. All as spine-chilling as the last, viewers are bound to lose sleep after watching these underappreciated ghostly delights.
10. Grave Encounters (2011)
Written and directed by The Vicious Brothers, Grave Encounters is a found footage gem that tends to be overlooked by horror fans.
Created as a satire of paranormal shows like Ghost Adventures, the picture follows a production crew who lock themselves in the notorious Collingwood Psychiatric Hospital overnight to film an episode of their titular show. However, while jaded host Lance (Sean Rogerson) is expecting just another, ghost-free day on the job, the crew finally get what they’ve been looking for when they encounter genuine paranormal events.
As the night wears on, the group slowly lose control of their sanity as they're gradually picked off by the malicious spirits inhabiting the hospital. Moreover, with the building changing its layout to keep them trapped inside, escape proves impossible.
With no shortage of horrifying spectres roaming the pitch-black corridors, Grave Encounters is a delightfully spooky ride that revels in genre tropes to deliver spine-chilling scares. Likewise, a suitably chilling history to uncover mixed with a fiendish sense of humour only adds to the sense of ghoulish fun that viewers are bound to have with this flick.
And if that's not enough, there's even a sequel which builds on the lore in some intriguing ways.