I'm always a little sheepish when I'm asked to give my top ten of anything - it's such a subjective thing, so I can only go with those characters that have struck a chord with me. And let's be honest, we're spoiled rotten with ghost stories in every medium. I know I'm going to miss something out, but here's some of my particular favourites.
10) Poltergeist. A film
directed by Chainsaw Massacre's Tobe Hooper and produced by Spielberg, it's a
great collaborative work with some incredible special effects for its time. In
particular, though, it's the "lo-fi" effects that seized my
imagination as a kid; toys coming to life, shadows playing across the window as
branches tap-tap-tap against the panes. The poltergeist shows itself in many
forms throughout the movie, most famously through the crackling static screen
of the television set. A classic.

8) The Child, The Devil's
Backbone. Guillermo Del Toro has great fun making monstrous blockbusters such
as Hellboy and Pacific Rim, but his more personal films are the ones that particularly
excite me, such as Pan's Labyrinth, and Backbone. Set in an orphanage during
the Spanish Civil War, it's a tremendous setting for a tale that is equal parts
sociological and supernatural. The use of special visual effects is as genius
as the story itself. Wonderful.

6) Jacob Marley, from A
Christmas Carol. I remember reading this aged ten in primary school, thinking
it was going to be a jolly, festive tale. OK, so eventually it is, but it takes
a while getting there. And remember, this was before the guiding gentleness
that was the Muppets to steer me through choppy, chilling waters. When
Scrooge's old partner in business puts in an appearance, I was entranced. I
recall spending weeks copying Arthur Rackham's classic bookplates into my sketchbook.
No wonder I wanted to be a writer and illustrator when I grew up.

4) The Ghost of the Suit, Heart
Shaped Box. I love Joe Hill's writing, and respect him immensely for not
"pulling a Sheen" and trading upon his dad's name (Joe's father is
horror supremo Stephen King). This is a classic ghost story given a thoroughly
modern setting, with an unstoppable, never faltering phantasm who wants our anti-hero
dead. It's incredible. When the subject of ghost stories pops up in
conversation with friends, I immediately point them toward the nearest
bookshop. Not for children, this is very definitely an adult tale.

2) The Haunting. This film by
Robert Wise was my father's introduction to the classic ghost story for me. It
was a good call. The genius of the film is that we never see the entity that is
haunting the house. Everything is implied and suggested through ingenious
cinematography and direction. Distorted camera lenses, crash zooms, eerie sound
effects. It was remade recently in god-awful fashion as one would imagine,
relying heavily upon CGI special effects and completely missing the point of
what made the original so endearing, and so chilling.

"And that name. Harry.
Such an ordinary name!
Thank you so much for a
wonderful post, Curtis! I’ve hardly seen or read any of these so I better get
cracking!
Be sure to check out Haunt: Dead Wrong – it’s brilliant;
review to come tomorrow – and the first book, Dead Scared, if you haven’t already. Make sure to pop over to
Bookbabblers tomorrow for the next stop on the tour.
Sophie
It's a great list (he said, without bias) but I now realise I should've added the WW1 soldier's ghost from Sapphire And Steel!!! #ShowingMyAge
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed the list. I agree that "The Monkey's Paw" is one of the creepiest works (short story or novel) that I have read, simply because of that unknown figure at the door that is only being blocked off by multiple locks.
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