17 Ghost Movies That Scare The Living Daylights Out Of People

There are numerous subgenres within the horror film genre, and while some of us enjoy them all, many moviegoers have a preference for one over the others—or a certain style of horror film that scares them the most.

Films about ghosts, in particular, can be terrifying. Many people believe that ghosts exist (and even visit the human realm), so when we see movies about ghosts and hauntings, we are typically filled with genuine terror—even if only for a brief moment.

We're talking about the kind of disturbing terror that gives people nightmares. Strange things that can't be explained happen all the time in the real world—babies and pets staring at the corners of rooms, indoor temperatures suddenly shifting, strange noises waking us up at night, and things falling off shelves at random—so when we see these occurrences attributed to paranormal beings in movies, it hits a nerve.

Whether it's a docu-style film about a haunting or a fully staged historical piece about the supernatural, films about ghosts are unquestionably terrifying. Sometimes we get the impression that the strange occurrences we're viewing could actually happen in real life.

That's why we can't sleep at night because of these 17 terrifying ghost flicks. Take a look at them.

1. "Session 9"

Session 9 is a 2001 film about a group of workers who are recruited to clear asbestos out of an abandoned mental institution in exchange for a large sum of money. For personal reasons, certain members of the team are at odds with one another, causing severe stress on the job site.

Unsettling happenings begin to torment them after one of the workers walks off and starts playing cassettes of one of the hospital's former patients.

USA Films

2. "The Blair Witch Project"

When The Blair Witch Project was released in 1999, it shocked the film industry. It was one of the first found-footage horror films, and the perspective alone was enough to terrify audiences.

It tells the story of a group of students who go into the woods in Maryland to produce a documentary about a local witch legend, only to be terrified by dark forces. The film serves as an excellent warning to stay out of the woods after dark.

Artisan Entertainment

3. "The Woman in Black"

The Woman in Black, starring Daniel Radcliffe, follows a sad young lawyer who travels to a rural village in England on business and soon discovers that his client's mansion is haunted by the spirit of a spiteful woman. The ghost, however, isn't satisfied with tormenting the house's occupants; she wants to inflict her vengeance on the entire community.

Through and through, the film is dark and suspenseful.

CBS Films Distribution

4. "What Lies Beneath"

A newly retired woman—who has sent her only child off to college—finds herself often alone at her lakefront house in Vermont while her husband is away at work as a university research scientist. Soon, her loneliness becomes unbearable, and she suspects that her house is genuinely haunted.

She becomes increasingly terrified and paranoid, but her husband believes she is merely losing her mind, despite the strange incidents she alleges are occurring.

DreamWorks Distribution

5. "Insidious"

Insidious is the film that launched an entire franchise based on paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren's real-life cases. It's about a family who wakes up to find their little son in a coma, with physicians baffled as to why or how it happened.

They return home with little hope of his waking up, but his mother soon notices a strange presence in their home. She enlists the services of a paranormal investigator who worked with her husband as a child to figure out what's going on and save her son.

He explains that the boy is astral projecting and is not in a coma, but that he has become trapped in an alternate universe, inadvertently allowing ghosts and demons to enter.

Film District

6. "Oculus"

Oculus is about siblings who witnessed their father murder their mother at home. When the brother is released from a mental institution for killing his father in the aftermath, his sister persuades him that if they can prove that an ancient mirror that existed in their childhood home was at the root of their traumatic experience, he will be exonerated.

It's a strange story, but it's creepy enough to make viewers avoid looking in mirrors for a while.

John Estes/Lasser Productions/Relativity Media

7. "The Uninvited"

After attempting suicide, a young woman is admitted to a psychiatric institution. Things aren't any better when she goes home.

In reality, it appears that a nefarious force is at work. Her father has remarried, and her new stepmother—who also happens to be her mother's former nurse—makes her uncomfortable.

She begins to have visions of her deceased mother and believes that her stepmother is the one who murdered her.

Paramount Pictures

8. "The Sixth Sense"

When it was released in 1999, The Sixth Sense was regarded as the year's best film. It's about a young boy who has a reputation for "seeing dead people," as in many ghosts.

A well-known child psychologist is enlisted for assistance after learning that he failed a previous child with a similar condition. The film is eerily disturbing, giving the impression that spirits lurk around every corner.

Buena Vista Pictures

9. "Paranormal Activity"

Another found-footage film that spawned a franchise is Paranormal Activity. Although some of the films are a little goofy, the original is genuinely terrifying.

It follows a couple who move into a new home and begin to notice strange and unexplained occurrences that become progressively dangerous. They set up a night-vision camera with the intention of recording whatever is troubling them at night, but instead end up documenting some terrifying events.

Paramount Pictures

10. "The Orphanage"

The Orphanage is a fantastic film about a mother who relocates her children to her childhood home. She intends to reopen the house, which was originally an orphanage for handicapped children, to care for the children herself.

Meanwhile, her young son has been conversing with mysterious new acquaintances whom no one else can see. She dismisses him... until he vanishes, and she is forced to seek the help of a paranormal investigator, who explains that the orphanage is haunted.

Esta Vivo! Laboratorio de Nuevos Talentos

11. "Poltergeist"

Poltergeist is the quintessential ghost movie, despite the frequently ridiculous visual effects—which were great for their time. It tells the story of a family who moves into a newly constructed home and discovers otherworldly forces at work.

When their youngest child is kidnapped during a paranormal occurrence, they seek the help of ghost hunters, who help them realize that their home is inhabited by hundreds of lost souls, who have enticed their daughter into their realm.

Warner Bros

12. "The Nun"

The Nun, another story from Ed and Lorraine Warren's files, is the stuff nightmares are made of. The Vatican sends a jaded priest with a tumultuous history and a novice nun to a secluded Romanian village to investigate the death of a young nun. They are confronted by an evil entity that turns out to be the ghost of a malevolent nun who's out to terrorize the convent.

Martin Maguire/Warner Bros

13. "Ghost Ship"

Ghost Ship may be one of the most glamorous ghost films ever made, but that doesn't mean it's without its scares. This suspenseful horror film features plenty of gore and some of the most bizarre ghost interactions you'll ever see. Imagine being trapped on a cruise ship in the middle of the ocean, haunted by dozens of the dead!

Warner Bros

14. Winchester

It's difficult not to be terrified by Winchester, which stars Helen Mirren. Not only do the film's performers deliver on the suspense, but it's also about perhaps the world's most haunted mansion.

It's based on true events surrounding the eccentric Winchester firearms heiress, who became convinced that she was being haunted by the ghosts of individuals slain by the Winchester repeating rifle while living in her remote mansion in California.

Talk about remorse!

Ben King/Lionsgate

15. "Velvet Buzzsaw"

While the genre of Jake Gyllenhaal's Velvet Buzzsaw is difficult to classify (it's quite comedic), it is undeniably frightening. The film's seemingly incomprehensible happenings kept fans buzzing for weeks after it was released on Netflix.

It involves a group of people from the elite art world who are being pursued by a supernatural being bent on punishing them for their greed.

Netflix

16. "The Invisible"

The Invisible, starring Justin Chatwin and Marcia Gay Harden, is a lesser-known film about a teenage boy who is violently abused after being mistaken for someone else. The day after the incident, he wakes up in a sewer, only to discover that no one can see him.

He's dead, but he hasn't crossed over, and he has no way out of the endless loop he's trapped in.

Buena Vista Pictures

17.

Years after a man has a mental breakdown and murders his wife, their two daughters are found living alone in the woods. The devastated girls are adopted by their uncle and his new wife, who quickly discover that something terrible has followed them to their new home.

A spirit they call Mama refuses to let go of the girls so they can continue their normal lives.

George Kraychyk/Universal Pictures

Movies about ghosts can be very scary. And we love that feeling of sheer terror when something unexpected happens.

Most people find them more frightening than movies about monsters and similar themes. Maybe because, deep down, most of us believe in ghosts.

Sometimes we feel like all these things shown in movies are not that far-fetched. Right?