10 Best Ghost Story Movies
7. The Fog
After making his name on 1978 classic Halloween, director John Carpenter stepped away from the slasher genre and moved into classic ghost story territory with this 1980 effort, which proved to be every bit as masterful a chiller.
Boasting a great ensemble including Adrienne Barbeau, Tom Atkins, Jamie Lee Curtis, Hal Halbrook and Janet Leigh, The Fog is set in a coastal town whose centennial celebrations are torn asunder when a ghostly pirate crew comes in from the sea in search of vengeance.
This particular ghost movie largely eschews the psychological overtones of earlier greats, in favour of a more political element, as the ghosts' wrath is rooted in local government corruption.
Few filmmakers of modern times can craft a sinister atmosphere as well as Carpenter, and The Fog stands up proud amongst his finest work. It's a little more visceral and gruesome than your standard ghost movie, but this never undermines the thick air of spookiness.
Carpenter is of course just as celebrated for his directorial vision as he is for his iconic, minimalist synthesizer soundtracks, and The Fog is no slouch in this department either, with an eerie signature theme slightly reminiscent of Mike Oldfield's Tubular Bells (used so memorably in The Exorcist).