The Best Ghost Movies and TV Shows

What it's about: Despite his family’s baffling generations-old ban on music, Miguel dreams of becoming an accomplished musician like his idol, Ernesto de la Cruz. Desperate to prove his talent, Miguel finds himself in the stunning and colorful Land of the Dead following a mysterious chain of events. Along the way, he meets charming trickster Hector, and together, they set off on an extraordinary journey to unlock the real story behind Miguel's family history.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a subscription service (Disney+) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 8 services (iTunes, Google Play & 6 others).

What it's about: Jack Torrance accepts a caretaker job at the Overlook Hotel, where he, along with his wife Wendy and their son Danny, must live isolated from the rest of the world for the winter. But they aren't prepared for the madness that lurks within.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (IMDb TV) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 7 services (iTunes, Google Play & 5 others).

What it's about: At a tiny Parisian café, the adorable yet painfully shy Amélie (Audrey Tautou) accidentally discovers a gift for helping others. Soon Amelie is spending her days as a matchmaker, guardian angel, and all-around do-gooder. But when she bumps into a handsome stranger, will she find the courage to become the star of her very own love story?

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (HBO), stream on a popular TV everywhere service (HBO) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 2 services (Vudu & PlayStation Store).

What it's about: When they were boys, Sam and Dean Winchester lost their mother to a mysterious and demonic supernatural force. Subsequently, their father raised them to be soldiers. He taught them about the paranormal evil that lives in the dark corners and on the back roads of America ... and he taught them how to kill it. Now, the Winchester brothers crisscross the country in their '67 Chevy Impala, battling every kind of supernatural threat they encounter along the way.

Where to Watch: 6 episodes (2%) are available to watch free online (The CW). 308 episodes (97%) are available to stream on a popular subscription service (Netflix). 8 episodes (3%) are available to stream on a popular TV everywhere service (TNT). 316 episodes (100%) are available to rent or buy from $1.99 on 8 services (iTunes, Google Play & 6 others).

What it's about: A young girl, Chihiro, becomes trapped in a strange new world of spirits. When her parents undergo a mysterious transformation, she must call upon the courage she never knew she had to free her family.

Where to Watch: Available to rent or buy from $14.99 on 1 service (Vudu).

What it's about: After narrowly escaping a bizarre accident, a troubled teenager is plagued by visions of a large bunny rabbit that manipulates him to commit a series of crimes.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Tubi TV & IMDb TV), stream on a subscription service (Kanopy) & rent or buy from $3.99 on 4 services (iTunes, Google Play & 2 others).

What it's about: Tired of scaring humans every October 31 with the same old bag of tricks, Jack Skellington, the spindly king of Halloween Town, kidnaps Santa Claus and plans to deliver shrunken heads and other ghoulish gifts to children on Christmas morning. But as Christmas approaches, Jack's rag-doll girlfriend, Sally, tries to foil his misguided plans.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a subscription service (Disney+) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 7 services (iTunes, Google Play & 5 others).

What it's about: 12-year-old Regan MacNeil begins to adapt an explicit new personality as strange events befall the local area of Georgetown. Her mother becomes torn between science and superstition in a desperate bid to save her daughter, and ultimately turns to her last hope: Father Damien Karras, a troubled priest who is struggling with his own faith.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Tubi TV), stream on a subscription service (Fandor) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).

What it's about: The body of Laura Palmer is washed up on a beach near the small Washington state town of Twin Peaks. FBI Special Agent Dale Cooper is called in to investigate her strange demise only to uncover a web of mystery that ultimately leads him deep into the heart of the surrounding woodland and his very own soul.

Where to Watch: 1 episodes (2%) are available to watch free online (Showtime). 48 episodes (100%) are available to stream on a popular subscription service (Netflix, Showtime & 2 others). 18 episodes (38%) are available to stream on a popular TV everywhere service (Showtime). 48 episodes (100%) are available to rent or buy from $1.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play, Prime Video & 4 others).

What it's about: A psychological thriller about an eight year old boy named Cole Sear who believes he can see into the world of the dead. A child psychologist named Malcolm Crowe comes to Cole to help him deal with his problem, learning that he really can see ghosts of dead people.

Where to Watch: Available to rent or buy from $2.99 on 7 services (iTunes, Google Play & 5 others).

What it's about: A young couple moves into an infamous New York apartment building to start a family. Things become frightening as Rosemary begins to suspect her unborn baby isn’t safe around their strange neighbors.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (Netflix & Showtime), stream on a popular TV everywhere service (Showtime) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 7 services (iTunes, Google Play, Prime Video & 5 others).

What it's about: After losing their academic posts at a prestigious university, a team of parapsychologists goes into business as proton-pack-toting "ghostbusters" who exterminate ghouls, hobgoblins and supernatural pests of all stripes. An ad campaign pays off when a knockout cellist hires the squad to purge her swanky digs of demons that appear to be living in her refrigerator.

Where to Watch: Available to rent or buy from $2.99 on 8 services (iTunes, Google Play & 6 others).

What it's about: Paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren work to help a family terrorized by a dark presence in their farmhouse. Forced to confront a powerful entity, the Warrens find themselves caught in the most terrifying case of their lives.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (Netflix) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Prime Video & 4 others).

What it's about: Brimming with action while incisively examining the nature of truth, "Rashomon" is perhaps the finest film ever to investigate the philosophy of justice. Through an ingenious use of camera and flashbacks, Kurosawa reveals the complexities of human nature as four people recount different versions of the story of a man's murder and the rape of his wife.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a subscription service (FilmBox, The Criterion Channel & Kanopy), stream on a TV everywhere service (TCM) & rent or buy from $3.99 on 2 services (iTunes & Prime Video).

What it's about: John Anderton is a top 'Precrime' cop in the late-21st century, when technology can predict crimes before they're committed. But Anderton becomes the quarry when another investigator targets him for a murder charge.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular TV everywhere service (Epix) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 8 services (iTunes, Google Play & 6 others).

What it's about: The exploits of FBI Special Agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully who investigate X-Files: marginalized, unsolved cases involving paranormal phenomena. Mulder believes in the existence of aliens and the paranormal while Scully, a skeptic, is assigned to make scientific analyses of Mulder's discoveries that debunk Mulder's work and thus return him to mainstream cases.

Where to Watch: 3 episodes (1%) are available to watch free online (FOX). 218 episodes (100%) are available to stream on a popular subscription service (Prime Video & Hulu). 206 episodes (94%) are available to stream on a TV everywhere service (BBC America & FOX). 219 episodes (100%) are available to rent or buy from $1.99 on 8 services (iTunes, Google Play & 6 others).

What it's about: When a group of college students finds a mysterious book and recording in the old wilderness cabin they've rented for the weekend, they unwittingly unleash a demonic force from the surrounding forest.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Tubi TV, Vudu & IMDb TV) & rent or buy from $1.99 on 5 services (iTunes, Prime Video & 3 others).

What it's about: As Harry begins his sixth year at Hogwarts, he discovers an old book marked as 'Property of the Half-Blood Prince', and begins to learn more about Lord Voldemort's dark past.

Where to Watch: Available to rent or buy from $2.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Prime Video & 4 others).

What it's about: Six months after the events depicted in The Matrix, Neo has proved to be a good omen for the free humans, as more and more humans are being freed from the matrix and brought to Zion, the one and only stronghold of the Resistance. Neo himself has discovered his superpowers including super speed, ability to see the codes of the things inside the matrix and a certain degree of pre-cognition. But a nasty piece of news hits the human resistance: 250,000 machine sentinels are digging to Zion and would reach them in 72 hours. As Zion prepares for the ultimate war, Neo, Morpheus and Trinity are advised by the Oracle to find the Keymaker who would help them reach the Source. Meanwhile Neo's recurrent dreams depicting Trinity's death have got him worried and as if it was not enough, Agent Smith has somehow escaped deletion, has become more powerful than before and has fixed Neo as his next target.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (Netflix) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Prime Video & 4 others).

What it's about: Exactly one year after young rock guitarist Eric Draven and his fiancée are brutally killed by a ruthless gang of criminals, Draven -- watched over by a hypnotic crow -- returns from the grave to exact revenge.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (Netflix) & rent or buy from $1.99 on 7 services (iTunes, Google Play & 5 others).

What it's about: An anthology horror drama series centering on different characters and locations, including a house with a murderous past, an asylum, a witch coven, a freak show, a hotel, a farmhouse in Roanoke and a cult.

Where to Watch: 94 episodes (90%) are available to stream on a popular subscription service (Netflix & Hulu). 8 episodes (8%) are available to stream on a popular TV everywhere service (FX). 103 episodes (99%) are available to rent or buy from $1.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play, Prime Video & 4 others).

What it's about: When Coraline moves to an old house, she feels bored and neglected by her parents. She finds a hidden door with a bricked up passage. During the night, she crosses the passage and finds a parallel world where everybody has buttons instead of eyes, with caring parents and all her dreams coming true. When the Other Mother invites Coraline to stay in her world forever, the girl refuses and finds that the alternate reality where she is trapped is only a trick to lure her.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (Netflix) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 3 services (Google Play, PlayStation Store & YouTube).

What it's about: When Ellen, the matriarch of the Graham family, passes away, her daughter’s family begins to unravel cryptic and increasingly terrifying secrets about their ancestry.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (Prime Video & Kanopy) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 7 services (iTunes, Google Play & 5 others).

What it's about: Set in a 19th-century european village, this stop-motion animation feature follows the story of Victor, a young man whisked away to the underworld and wed to a mysterious corpse bride, while his real bride Victoria waits bereft in the land of the living.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (Hulu) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 7 services (iTunes, Google Play & 5 others).

What it's about: Lorraine and Ed Warren travel to north London to help a single mother raising four children alone in a house plagued by malicious spirits.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (HBO), stream on a popular TV everywhere service (HBO) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 7 services (iTunes, Google Play & 5 others).

What it's about: Vampire Count Orlok is interested in a new residence and in his real estate agent’s young wife. F. W. Murnau’s unauthorized adaptation of Bram Stoker’s “Dracula.”

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (SnagFilms & Tubi TV), stream on a popular subscription service (Prime Video, Fandor, FilmBox & 1 other) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 5 services (iTunes, Google Play & 3 others).

What it's about: Thanks to an untimely demise via drowning, a young couple end up as poltergeists in their New England farmhouse, where they fail to meet the challenge of scaring away the insufferable new owners, who want to make drastic changes. In desperation, the undead newlyweds turn to an expert frightmeister, but he's got a diabolical agenda of his own.

Where to Watch: Available to rent or buy from $2.99 on 8 services (iTunes, Google Play & 6 others).

What it's about: Grace is a religious woman who lives in an old house kept dark because her two children, Anne and Nicholas, have a rare sensitivity to light. When the family begins to suspect the house is haunted, Grace fights to protect her children at any cost in the face of strange events and disturbing visions.

Where to Watch: Available to rent or buy from $1.99 on 8 services (iTunes, Google Play & 6 others).

What it's about: Episodic journey of an Italian journalist scouring Rome in search of love.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a subscription service (FilmBox).

What it's about: A woman brings her family back to her childhood home, which used to be an orphanage, intent on reopening it. Before long, her son starts to communicate with a new invisible friend.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (Hulu) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).

What it's about: It is an adaptation of the Charles Dickens classic A Christmas Carol, featuring Scrooge McDuck as his namesake and inspiration Ebenezer Scrooge and Mickey Mouse as Bob Cratchit. This film was based on a 1972 audio musical entitled Disney's A Christmas Carol. It is a twenty-four minute animated short film produced by Walt Disney Productions as an accompaniment to a re-release of The Rescuers.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a subscription service (Disney+) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 7 services (iTunes, Google Play & 5 others).

What it's about: As children in the loving Ekdahl family, Fanny and Alexander enjoy a happy life with their parents, who run a theater company. After their father dies unexpectedly, however, the siblings end up in a joyless home when their mother, Emilie, marries a stern bishop. The bleak situation gradually grows worse as the bishop becomes more controlling, but dedicated relatives make a valiant attempt to aid Emilie, Fanny and Alexander.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a subscription service (Kanopy), stream on a TV everywhere service (TCM) & rent or buy from $3.99 on 2 services (iTunes & Prime Video).

What it's about: For 19-year-old Jay, fall should be about school, boys and weekends out at the lake. But a seemingly innocent physical encounter turns sour and gives her the inescapable sense that someone, or something, is following her. Faced with this burden, Jay and her teenage friends must find a way to escape the horror that seems to be only a few steps behind.

Where to Watch: Available to rent or buy from $1.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Prime Video & 4 others).

What it's about: Bruce Campbell reprises his role as Ash Williams, an aging lothario and chainsaw-handed monster hunter who’s spent the last three decades avoiding maturity, and the terrors of the Evil Dead. But when a Deadite plague threatens to destroy all of mankind, he’s forced to face his demons — both metaphorical and literal.

Where to Watch: 31 episodes (97%) are available to stream on a popular subscription service (Netflix & Starz). 20 episodes (63%) are available to stream on a popular TV everywhere service (Starz). 30 episodes (94%) are available to rent or buy from $1.99 on 7 services (iTunes, Google Play & 5 others).

What it's about: A single mother, plagued by the violent death of her husband, battles with her son's fear of a monster lurking in the house, but soon discovers a sinister presence all around her.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (Showtime), stream on a popular TV everywhere service (Showtime) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 7 services (iTunes, Google Play & 5 others).

What it's about: True Blood is an American television drama series created and produced by Alan Ball. It is based on The Southern Vampire Mysteries series of novels by Charlaine Harris, detailing the co-existence of vampires and humans in Bon Temps, a fictional, small town in northwestern Louisiana. The series centers on the adventures of Sookie Stackhouse, a telepathic waitress with an otherworldly quality.

Where to Watch: 80 episodes (100%) are available to stream on a popular subscription service (HBO & Prime Video). 80 episodes (100%) are available to stream on a popular TV everywhere service (HBO). 80 episodes (100%) are available to rent or buy from $2.99 on 8 services (iTunes, Google Play & 6 others).

What it's about: A retelling of the classic Dickens tale of Ebenezer Scrooge, miser extraordinaire. He is held accountable for his dastardly ways during night-time visitations by the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and future.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a subscription service (Disney+), stream on a TV everywhere service (Freeform) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 7 services (iTunes, Google Play & 5 others).

What it's about: In a countryside town bordering on a magical land, a young man makes a promise to his beloved that he'll retrieve a fallen star by venturing into the magical realm. His journey takes him into a world beyond his wildest dreams and reveals his true identity.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (Showtime), stream on a popular TV everywhere service (Showtime) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 7 services (iTunes, Google Play & 5 others).

What it's about: In the final days of World War II, the Nazis attempt to use black magic to aid their dying cause. The Allies raid the camp where the ceremony is taking place, but not before a demon—Hellboy—has already been conjured. Joining the Allied forces, Hellboy eventually grows to adulthood, serving the cause of good rather than evil.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (Netflix) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 8 services (iTunes, Google Play & 6 others).

What it's about: When her husband's sex game goes wrong, Jessie -- handcuffed to a bed in a remote lake house -- faces warped visions, dark secrets and a dire choice.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (Netflix).

What it's about: Returning to their lord's castle, samurai warriors Washizu and Miki are waylaid by a spirit who predicts their futures. When the first part of the spirit's prophecy comes true, Washizu's scheming wife, Asaji, presses him to speed up the rest of the spirit's prophecy by murdering his lord and usurping his place. Director Akira Kurosawa's resetting of William Shakespeare's "Macbeth" in feudal Japan is one of his most acclaimed films.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a subscription service (The Criterion Channel & Kanopy) & rent or buy from $3.99 on 2 services (iTunes & Prime Video).

What it's about: A stranger arrives in a little village and soon after a mysterious sickness starts spreading. A policeman is drawn into the incident and is forced to solve the mystery in order to save his daughter.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a subscription service (Hiyah & Shudder) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 8 services (iTunes, Google Play & 6 others).

What it's about: Ray Kinsella is an Iowa farmer who hears a mysterious voice telling him to turn his cornfield into a baseball diamond. He does, but the voice's directions don't stop -- even after the spirits of deceased ballplayers turn up to play.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (Starz), stream on a popular TV everywhere service (Starz) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).

What it's about: Sam Wheat is a banker, Molly Jensen is an artist, and the two are madly in love. However, when Sam is murdered by his friend and corrupt business partner Carl Bruner over a shady business deal, he is left to roam the earth as a powerless spirit. When he learns of Carl's betrayal, Sam must seek the help of psychic Oda Mae Brown to set things right and protect Molly from Carl and his goons.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a subscription service (CBS All Access), stream on a popular TV everywhere service (Epix) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 8 services (iTunes, Google Play & 6 others).

What it's about: Spain, 1939. In the last days of the Spanish Civil War, the young Carlos arrives at the Santa Lucía orphanage, where he will make friends and enemies as he follows the quiet footsteps of a mysterious presence eager for revenge.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a subscription service (The Criterion Channel) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).

What it's about: Agents J and K are back...in time. J has seen some inexplicable things in his 15 years with the Men in Black, but nothing, not even aliens, perplexes him as much as his wry, reticent partner. But when K's life and the fate of the planet are put at stake, Agent J will have to travel back in time to put things right. J discovers that there are secrets to the universe that K never told him - secrets that will reveal themselves as he teams up with the young Agent K to save his partner, the agency, and the future of humankind.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular TV everywhere service (FX) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 8 services (iTunes, Google Play & 6 others).

What it's about: A hotshot lawyer gets more than he bargained for when he learns his new boss is Lucifer himself.

Where to Watch: Available to rent or buy from $2.99 on 8 services (iTunes, Google Play & 6 others).

What it's about: A mild mannered film critic is dumped by his wife and his ego is crushed. His hero persona is the tough guy played by Humphrey Bogart in many of his movies and the apparition of Bogart begins showing up to give him advice. With the encouragement of his two married friends, he actually tries dating again, with less than satisfactory results, until he relaxes.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (Prime Video & Hulu), stream on a popular TV everywhere service (Epix) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).