10 Best Ghost Story Movies

Another 1980s entry in the ghost story canon that brings spooks and spectres out of traditionally Gothic locations and into more familiar, modern settings - but, of the titles we've listed so far, this is the one that relies the least on the power of suggestion.

Directed by the late Texas Chain Saw Massacre legend Tobe Hooper (although there has always been, and doubtless always will be speculation as to the extent of writer-producer Steven Spielberg's control), Poltergeist sees a family in a newly built suburb come under attack from restless spirits.

While there's a hint of political subtext (the houses are built on an 'Indian burial ground'), for the most part we can forget about symbolism here. Poltergeist is first and foremost a special effects movie, going out of its way to bring the supernatural to life in a more vivid fashion than any film before - or, quite possibly, since.

It might come off as lurid and populist by comparison with its more subdued forebears, but Poltergeist is still a terrific ghost movie, like an especially lavish fairground haunted house come to life.

It also goes hand-in-hand with Jaws as one of the prime "how the hell did this ever get a PG rating?" movies (who can forget that face-scraping mirror scene...)