10 Best Ghost Story Movies
6. The Shining
Stanley Kubrick's 1980 adaptation of Stephen King's novel is one of the most hotly debated horror films ever made, and has long divided opinion in large part because of how wildly it diverges from the source material.
Still, while The Shining may omit vast swathes of King's original story, it is without question one of the most effective representations of a haunted house ever put onto film; and, in common with other classics of the genre, the line between the supernatural and psychological is heavily blurred.
The gradual emotional breakdown of Jack Nicholson's Jack Torrance goes hand in hand with the escalation of presences from beyond the grave in the Overlook Hotel. The disorienting manner in which events unfold, with only a bare minimum of narrative detail, is key to promoting this sense of unease.
King has complained that Nicholson seems "crazy as a s**t house rat" before he's even taken up residence in the Overlook, thereby undermining his ensuing descent into madness. He may have a point, but it's still a compelling performance, and there's no denying he seems truly haunted, to say nothing of Shelley Duvall's Wendy and Danny Lloyd's Danny.
The Shining also breaks with haunted house convention given its comparatively bright, colourful and modern setting (Colorado's Stanley Hotel used for the exteriors), as opposed to the usual old dark and creepy locations.