So, for this list I’m only going to include ghosts that used to be living people. No poltergeists, no demons, just ghosts. Oh, and they aren’t in any particular order because I couldn’t bring myself to rank them, they’re all great. There also might be some spoilers! Here we go!
Bathsheba Sherman – The Conjuring
“She ran out to that tree by the dock, climbed up, proclaimed her love to Satan, cursed anyone who tried to take her land, and hung herself. Time of death was pronounced at 3:07 in the morning.”
Played by: Joseph Bishara
Born in: 1812
Died in: 1885
Good or evil: Evil
Powers: Telekinesis and possession of others
Weaknesses: Holy objects, exorcism, love
Vanquished in the end?: Yes, she’s exorcised out of Carolyn by Ed and Lorraine.
Samara Morgan – The Ring
“You don’t want to hurt anyone.”
“But I do, and I’m sorry. It won’t stop.”
Played by: Daveigh Chase
Born in: 1970
Died in: 1978
Good or evil: Evil
Powers: Killing people who watch her video tape
Weaknesses: None
Vanquished in the end?: Kind of, the curse is broken by making a copy of the tape and showing it to someone else, but the tape still exists.
Betelgeuse – Beetlejuice
“I’m a ghost with the most, babe.”
Played by: Michael Keaton
Born in: Unclear, but he lived through the Black Death (1346 – 1353)
Died in: Unknown
Good or evil: Evil…ish
Powers: Shapeshifting, reality warping, teleportation, telekinesis, possession, voice mimicry, invulnerability
Weaknesses: Can be banished by saying his name 3 times, sandworms
Vanquished in the end?: He’s banished from the home and is last seen in the afterlife’s waiting room.
Malcolm Crowe – The Sixth Sense
“What do you think these ghosts want when they talk to you? I want you to think about it, Cole. I want you to think about it really carefully.“
“Just help.”
“That’s right. That’s what I think too. They just want help, even the scary ones.“
Played by: Bruce Willis
Born in: 1955
Died in: 1998
Good or evil: Good
Powers: None
Weaknesses: He doesn’t know he’s dead
Vanquished in the end?: After helping Cole, he realizes that he’s dead and can finally move on.
Jennet Humfrye – The Woman in Black
“She makes us… She makes us do it. She makes us… They took her boy away, so now she takes us.“
Played by: Liz White
Born in: Unclear, but her son was born in 1882
Died in: 1894
Good or evil: Evil
Powers: She makes children commit suicide after being seen by someone
Weaknesses: None
Vanquished in the end?: No, although she is unable to collect Joseph because he didn’t die alone.
Kayako and Toshio Saeki – The Grudge
“It is said in Japan that when a person dies in extreme sorrow or rage, the emotion remains, becoming a stain upon that place. Death becomes a part of that place, killing everything it touches. Once you have become a part of it, it will never let you go.“
Played by: Takako Fuji and Yuya Ozeki
Born in: Kayako – 1971, Toshio – 1987
Died in: Kayako – 1994, Toshio – 1994
Good or evil: Evil
Powers: Teleportation, hair manipulation (using her long hair to choke people), possession, illusions, technological interference, selective invisibility
Weaknesses: She can only infect you with the curse if you go inside her house
Vanquished in the end?: No
Johnny Bartlett – The Frighteners
“Johnny Bartlett. I thought guys like you fried in Hell.“
“I got out Frank. I’ve been carrying on the good work. Got me a score of forty.“
Played by: Jake Busey
Born in: Unknown
Died in: 1963
Good or evil: Evil
Powers: Can appear as the Grim Reaper, intangibility, flight, organ/heart squeezing, soul absorption, shapeshifting
Weaknesses: Obsession with a body count, over-reliance on Patricia, he can’t cross holy ground, the demonic forces of Hell
Vanquished in the end?: Yes, Frank uses an out-of-body experience to defeat Johnny and Patricia, and they are dragged down to Hell.
Sam Wheat – Ghost
“Look, you’re all I’ve got. Now, I’m not leaving until you help me. I don’t care how long it takes, ’cause I could talk forever.“
Played by: Patrick Swayze
Born in: Sometime in the 1950’s
Died in: 1990
Good or evil: Good
Powers: Intangibility, invisibility, telekinesis, possession, spirit interaction
Weaknesses: He is unable to interact with most humans and unable, at first, to move anything
Vanquished in the end?: Sam uses his telekinesis to impale Carl, and then Carl is dragged to Hell by shadowy figures. He says goodbye to Molly and is able to move on.
The dead wives – Crimson Peak
“There are things that tie them to a place, very much like they do us. Some remain tethered to a patch of land. A time and date. The spilling of blood. A terrible crime. But there are others. Others that hold onto an emotion. A drive. Loss. Revenge. Or love. Those, they never go away.“
Played by: Doug Jones
Born in: Unknown
Died in: Unknown
Good or evil: Good
Powers: None
Weaknesses: None
Vanquished in the end?: No, they remain in Allerdale Hall.
The Bent-Neck Lady – The Haunting of Hill House
“Forgiveness is warm. Like a tear on a cheek. Think of that and of me when you stand in the rain. I loved you completely. And you loved me the same. That’s all. The rest is confetti.“
Played by: Victoria Pedretti
Born in: 1986
Died in: 2018
Good or evil: Good
Powers: None
Weaknesses: Hill House
Vanquished in the end?: She’s finally able to find some peace by helping her siblings get out of Hill House, but she’s bound there like all the other spirits.
Headless Horseman – Sleepy Hollow
“The horseman was a Hessian mercenary sent to the shores by German princes to keep Americans under the yoke of England. But unlike his compatriots, who came for money, the horseman came for love of carnage. When battle was joined, there you’d find him. He rode a giant black steed named Daredevil. He was infamous for riding his horse hard into battle, chopping off heads at full gallop. He had filed his teeth down to sharp points to add the the ferocity of his appearance.“
Played by: Christopher Walken
Born in: Somewhere around 1736
Died in: 1776
Good or evil: Evil
Powers: Invulnerability, master swordsman
Weaknesses: He can be controlled by the one who holds his skull, he cannot cross holy ground
Vanquished in the end?: Kind of, Ichabod gives him his head back, and he drags Lady van Tassel to Hell with him.
Samantha Kozac – Stir of Echoes
“It doesn’t surprise me that there’s another woman. Of course, the fact that she’s dead gives one pause.“
Played by: Jennifer Morrison
Born in: 1982
Died in: 1999
Good or evil: Good
Powers: Psychic communication, vision imprinting
Weaknesses: Bound to the area she died in
Vanquished in the end?: Tom finds her body and she’s set free
Dr Richard Vannacutt – House on Haunted Hill
“Dr Richard Benjamin Vannacutt. He out-butchered Bundy, made Manson look meek.“
Played by: Jeffrey Combs
Born in: Unknown
Died in: 1931
Good or evil: Evil
Powers: Invulnerability, telekinesis, mind manipulation, mimicry
Weaknesses: He’s bound to the house
Vanquished in the end?: No, after Sara and Eddie manage to escape, we see Vannacutt and other ghosts torturing Evelyn and Steven.
Tate Langdon – American Horror Story
“I prepare for the noble war. I’m calm, I know the secret. I know whats coming and I know no one can stop me not even myself. I kill people I like. Some of them beg for their life. I don’t feel sad. I don’t feel anything.“
Played by: Evan Peters
Born in: 1977
Died in: 1994
Good or evil: Evil
Powers: None
Weaknesses: Bound to the house
Vanquished in the end?: No, but he can no longer hurt the family once they’re all together.
Dr Sanford Ellicott – Supernatural
“Apparently he was experimenting on his patients. Some awful stuff, makes lobotomies look like a couple of aspirin.“
Played by: Norman Armour
Born in: Unknown
Died in: 1964
Good or evil: Evil
Powers: Can invoke homicidal rage in anyone he touches
Weaknesses: Salt, fire
Vanquished in the end?: After over-powering a rage-filled Sam, Dean finds the doctor’s remains and salts and burns them, dissipating the spirit.
And that’s my list! I’m sure I missed some, but these were the best ones I could think of off the top of my head. Which onscreen ghosts are your favourites? Let me know!
M.
ps. Once I was all finished the post, I remembered all those cool ghosts from Thirteen Ghosts. Bah…
