The 25 greatest ghost films

M. Night Shyamalan became an overnight filmmaking sensation with his "I see dead people" sleeper hit, "The Sixth Sense." It was a simple ghost story imparted with supreme confidence — the low-key, gather-round-the-campfire antidote to the artless CG excess of Jan de Bont's horrid adaptation of Shirley Jackson's "The Haunting." When it comes to spinning a good, ghostly yarn, the build's the thing. Setting, characterization, atmosphere...get your audience to hang on every word. Fire the imagination and then spring the trap. That's what the following filmmakers did in these exquisite tales of the paranormal. Even "Hausu" required setup.