Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with ghosts and horror

The Plantation-ville Horror?

thadman — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 18:46:21 -0800

What, if any, horror films feature the retaliation of ghosts of enslaved Africans, similar in concept to movies that are built around Native American spirits taking revenge against (white) Americans? Inspired by recently viewing (as of an hour ago) Ti West's recent film The Innkeepers, I'm curious about a certain American horror trope. It seems to be a subset of a cultural fear of the past connected to haunted houses, ghosts, and young brides who have committed suicide. On one hand, there are movies about the bride in white haunting the site of her honeymoon. There are, of course, many films in which American homes are built upon "ancient Indian burial sites" after which much havok ensues. But what of movies about the hundreds and thousands of former slaves' souls who are similarly "not at rest?" Have I just not heard of any of the movies about them? Have you?

Horror Twists

Holly — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 07:10:21 -0800

Two horror films from about 10 years ago, M. Night Shyamalan's "The Sixth Sense" and Alejandro Amenábar's "The Others", basically have the same twist at the end (which I won't describe here). Are there any other films you've seen with the same twist or similar - released either before (ideally) or since?

Have you seen this weird movie?

Half-a-Dozen Paper Cranes — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 11:42:24 -0800

I'm trying to figure out the title of a movie I saw on tv a few years ago. It was an English language horror movie set in Japan; the main characters were a western family (I think they might have been from the US, but they could have been Canadian) who were living there because of some family member's job. There was a scene involving Noh masks, and I think there were ghosts with swords. There was definitely a scene with demon crabs and a little girl. I think the movie was from the 80s, but I'm not sure. I've done some searching on IMDB and Google, but I can't find anything helpful.

Looking for good film depictions of the classic Victorian haunted house.

greenie2600 — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 21:12:03 -0800

Looking for good film depictions of the classic Victorian haunted house. I want cobwebs, furniture covered with sheets, floating candlesticks, portraits with eyes that follow people around the room, secret passages, wrought-iron fences, creepy attics, thunder and lightning, skeleton keys, overgrown cemeteries—you get the idea. The classic formula, as parodied in Scooby Doo—but without the parody.

House on Haunted Hill is a good example, but I already have that. More!

Add a new category to this list: Aliens, Monsters, Ghosts...

Flying Saucer — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 20:51:29 -0800

Aliens, monsters, and ghosts. The big three. But is there a fourth? I am working on a writing project and am struggling with a conundrum that I thought I'd bring to the hive mind.

It seems to me that in speculative fiction (which encompasses science fiction, fantasy, and horror), there are three major elements, or adversaries:

1. Aliens
2. Monsters
3. Ghosts

The brave souls who fight these creatures have been the basis of all kinds of exciting stories.

For example, in the comic book and the movie, the Men In Black fought aliens.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer fought monsters.

Ghostbusters fought ghosts.

Mulder and Scully fought all three.

So my question is...is there a fourth category? Spirits, maybe? Elves? Combining the categories has already been done -- remember the alien ghosts of "Final Fantasy"?

Any thoughts?