The Don Knott’s classic The Ghost and Mr. Chicken…for the theme music if nothing else.
The Uninvited (1944) is another oldie-but-goodie. More creepy than scary, but worth watching.
One that left a lasting impression on me as being suspenseful and and quite scary (but not a gore fest type deal) is Nomads, starring Pierce Brosnan as a French anthropologist whose work follows him home… :eek:
Another endorsement for the Robert Wise
1963 version of The Haunting. Don’t bother with the remake, which was an incredible disappointment.
On a side note, another Robert Wise-directed favorite of mine is his 1945 adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson’s The Body Snatcher, with Boris Karloff giving a great performance as a resurrectionist named Cabman Grey. There is arguably a supernatural/ghost element to it, but it’s understated and the majority of the film doesn’t deal with supernatural elements.
Most of my favorites have been mentioned but I want to heartily endorse
Ghost Story
The Ring
The Woman in Black (original and new versions)
Session 9 (not really a ghost story but uber creepy and not gory at all)
and add *Stir of Echoes *( a true ghost story and super spooky) and Skeleton Key. SK is actually about voodoo but it’s quite well done. And if you can stand a little 1970s style cheese, Burnt Offernings. It’s dated looking but there are some great performances (Oliver Reed, Bette Davis, Burgess Meredith and the always creepy Karen Black). It’s just a good old fashioned" family trapped in a creepy house" tale and has some surprisingly tense moments (and a finale to scream for).
I assume you’ve seen The Sixth Sense?
Ghost Busters is the only one I ever thought was any good.
Beetlejuice is a fun little ghost story and the only thing Tim Burton has ever done that I have liked.
Yes, a modern classic