Directed by Park Chan-wook in his English-language debut, 'Stoker' is a stylish and darkly psychological thriller with a gothic aesthetic, though it doesn't feature ghosts. It centers on a young girl mourning the death of her father when her mysterious uncle, whom she never knew existed, comes to live with her and her emotionally unstable mother.

The film is more focused on disturbing family dynamics, psychological manipulation, and blossoming darkness within its characters. While it shares a certain isolated, unsettling atmosphere and visual flair reminiscent of gothic tales, its horror comes from human depravity rather than supernatural entities. It's a beautifully shot, unsettling film, but not a ghost story like 'The Others'.

Another film from M. Night Shyamalan, 'The Village' is less of a ghost story and more of a psychological thriller focused on isolation and fear. A remote, isolated community in the 19th century lives in fear of mysterious creatures in the surrounding woods, abiding by strict rules to avoid provoking them.

The film builds a strong sense of dread and unease through its atmosphere and the community's paranoia. While it features Shyamalan's signature twist, the 'creatures' are not supernatural ghosts in the traditional sense. It explores themes of protection, deception, and the nature of fear itself, making it a thematic cousin to 'The Others' in its focus on isolation and a shocking reveal, but distinct in its lack of actual spectral beings.

James Wan's 'The Conjuring' kicked off a massive franchise and is a highly effective haunted house film based on the case files of paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren. The film focuses on the Perron family, who move into a secluded farmhouse in the 1970s and are immediately terrorized by malevolent spirits.

While 'The Others' relies on atmosphere and psychological tension, 'The Conjuring' leans heavily into expertly crafted jump scares and intense set pieces. It's a well-made, old-school haunted house movie that delivers on scares, featuring strong performances from Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson as the Warrens. It's a different style of ghost story but a popular and well-executed one.

Jennifer Kent's 'The Babadook' is a deeply unsettling and emotionally resonant horror film that uses the supernatural to explore themes of grief, depression, and the struggles of single motherhood. A widowed mother and her troubled son are tormented by a monstrous presence that emerges from a mysterious children's book.

While the titular creature is terrifying, the film's true horror lies in its portrayal of the mother's psychological unraveling and the difficult relationship she has with her son. It's less about a traditional haunting and more about the internal monsters we face, made external. Essie Davis gives a raw, powerful performance that makes the film incredibly impactful.

This American remake of the acclaimed South Korean horror film 'A Tale of Two Sisters' centers on a young woman who returns home after a stay in a mental institution, only to be confronted by her cold stepmother, her distant father, and the appearance of her deceased mother's ghost.

The film blends elements of ghost story, psychological thriller, and family drama. It features unsettling imagery and builds suspense through atmosphere and character interactions, leading to a significant twist ending that re-contextualizes everything that came before. While different from the original, it offers a compelling and sometimes creepy mystery.

Venturing into the humid, mysterious world of the Louisiana bayou, 'The Skeleton Key' offers a different flavor of atmospheric horror. Kate Hudson plays a hospice nurse who takes a job caring for an elderly woman's husband in a secluded plantation home, where she quickly discovers the house holds dark secrets tied to Hoodoo rituals and the building's past.

The film builds its tension through its setting and the unsettling practices of the house's inhabitants, rather than typical ghost scares. It explores themes of belief, skepticism, and the power of tradition. While it has a twist ending like some other films on this list, its unique Southern Gothic setting and focus on folk magic set it apart.

Set in post-WWI England, 'The Awakening' follows a debunker of spiritualism who visits a boarding school haunted by the ghost of a child. Skeptical at first, she begins to witness unexplained phenomena that challenge her scientific beliefs and force her to confront her own past traumas.

Rebecca Hall delivers a strong performance as the protagonist, Florence Cathcart, whose rational world is slowly eroded by the events she experiences. The film effectively uses its period setting to create a sense of isolation and melancholy, reflecting the widespread grief after the war. It's a well-crafted, intelligent ghost story that blends historical context with supernatural mystery and psychological depth.

M. Night Shyamalan's breakthrough film became a cultural phenomenon largely due to its now-famous twist ending, but it's also a genuinely effective and moving ghost story. Bruce Willis plays a child psychologist trying to help a young boy (Haley Joel Osment) who claims to see dead people.

The film succeeds not just on its suspense and eventual reveal, but on the strength of its performances and its focus on the emotional weight of its premise. The ghosts are depicted as troubled, often scary figures, but the core of the story is about communication, acceptance, and finding peace. It's a film that manages to be both frightening and surprisingly poignant.

Guillermo del Toro returns to gothic romance and spectral inhabitants with 'Crimson Peak.' This visually opulent film tells the story of a young aspiring author who is swept off her feet by a mysterious, handsome baronet and whisked away to his crumbling, remote mansion in England, which is quite literally bleeding from the clay earth it sits upon.

While perhaps more of a gothic romance with horror elements than a straightforward ghost story, the spirits that inhabit Allerdale Hall are central to the plot and visually stunning, appearing as terrifying, often violent manifestations of the house's dark history. The film is a feast for the eyes, with incredible production design and costumes, creating a dark, beautiful, and unsettling world.

Another stunning, atmospheric ghost story from Guillermo del Toro. Set during the final days of the Spanish Civil War, the film takes place in a remote orphanage sheltering Republican children. The arrival of a young boy coincides with the appearance of the ghost of a former resident, Santi, who vanished mysteriously.

Del Toro uses the ghost not just for scares, but as a symbol of unresolved trauma and the horrors of war that haunt the living. The film has a unique, almost fairytale-like quality despite its dark subject matter, blending political allegory with supernatural mystery. It features genuinely creepy moments and a profound sense of sadness, exploring how the past continues to bleed into the present.

Guillermo del Toro produced this Spanish horror gem directed by J.A. Bayona, and it perfectly captures the melancholic beauty and creeping dread of a classic gothic ghost story. Belén Rueda stars as Laura, who buys the orphanage where she grew up, hoping to reopen it and raise her own son there. However, her son begins communicating with an unseen friend, leading to a series of terrifying events.

The film is deeply emotional, focusing on themes of motherhood, loss, and the lingering presence of the past. It blends genuine scares with heartfelt drama, making the horror feel personal and tragic. The design of the old orphanage and its inhabitants is wonderfully unsettling, creating a truly engrossing and sad spectral tale.

Prepare for chills with 'The Changeling,' a film often cited as one of the most genuinely terrifying haunted house movies ever made. George C. Scott stars as a composer grieving the loss of his family, who moves into a secluded, historical mansion only to discover it's occupied by a restless, tormented spirit linked to a dark secret.

The film excels at creating an incredibly creepy atmosphere through sound design and subtle, unsettling events rather than overt scares. The famous scene involving a bouncing ball is simple yet incredibly effective. Scott's grounded performance anchors the film, making the supernatural events all the more disturbing and believable. It's a slow-burn masterpiece that understands that what you don't see can be far scarier than what you do.

Based on Henry James' novella 'The Turn of the Screw,' 'The Innocents' is a cornerstone of psychological horror and gothic atmosphere. Deborah Kerr is absolutely captivating as the governess who becomes convinced the children in her charge are being haunted and corrupted by malevolent spirits.

Directed by Jack Clayton with stunning cinematography by Freddie Francis (who later became a renowned horror director himself), the film is a masterclass in suggestion and ambiguity. It plays brilliantly on themes of repression, paranoia, and whether the supernatural events are real or merely a manifestation of the governess's fragile state. This 1961 classic set a high bar for intelligent, unsettling ghost stories.

Stepping into the misty, isolated world of 'The Others' is an experience in pure, atmospheric dread. Directed by Alejandro Amenábar, this film masterfully builds tension without relying on cheap jump scares. Nicole Kidman delivers a compelling performance as Grace, a mother fiercely protecting her photosensitive children in a grand, creaky mansion after WWII.

The film owes a clear debt to classic gothic literature and films like 'The Innocents,' focusing on psychological tension, religious fervor, and the unsettling feeling that something is terribly wrong, even if you can't quite put your finger on it. Its shocking twist ending is now legendary, cementing its place as a modern classic in the ghost story genre. It's a film that lingers long after the credits roll, prompting re-watches to pick up on the subtle clues hidden throughout.