These 7 ghosts from movies were more friendly than scary

Not all ghosts in movies happen to be scary, trying to avenge something or kill almost all the characters in the film. There are numerous popular movies where the ghosts appear confused about their own existence, curious about what the world thinks of them. Some even appear simply as helpers in a realm unknown to humans.

While some of the movies may have portrayed the scariest ghosts to ever exist, these films balanced the effect by introducing harmless ghosts you’d surely want to be friends with. Here’s a list of 7 such movies where the ghosts didn’t scare the protagonists—or the viewers—but rather left a memorable and friendly impression.

Disclaimer: This article is based on the writer's opinion and contains spoilers. Reader discretion is advised.

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7 ghosts from movies were more friendly than scary

7) Field of Dreams

In the sports fantasy drama, all of the Black Sox players appear as ghosts to encourage Ray Kinsella to build a baseball field on his cornfield. At first, Joe Jackson appears in his visions to tell him to build the field, and whenever Ray feels down or demotivated, he comes to encourage him to continue.

In the end, it is revealed that it was all for Ray’s father, John, who had wanted to become a baseball player but couldn’t. When Ray builds the field, he sees his father appear there to play. Field of Dreams is one of the most uplifting, feel-good movies, and all of the baseball players who appear as ghosts are friendly and supportive of Ray’s journey.

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6) The Frighteners

None of the characters in this film has a normal background story, as some trauma is attached to each of them. However, the ghosts in The Frighteners are among the friendliest ghosts in movies. The ghosts—The Judge, street gangster Cyrus, a gunslinger, and Stuart the nerd—help Frank con people by appearing in their homes so that Frank can pretend to exorcise them.

However, they run into a real problem when a serial killer, now a ghost, begins killing again—someone Frank and his ghost friends fail to defeat. Most of Frank’s ghost friends are killed by the serial killer, Bartlett, while trying to save his victims. Frank meets them for the last time when he goes to heaven to trap Bartlett and his accomplice Patricia. There, they wish him a happy life and send him back to Earth.

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5) Beetlejuice

In one of Tim Burton’s acclaimed gothic horror comedies, Beetlejuice tells the story of the Maitlands, who die after their car falls into a river, drowning them. They now have to learn to live as ghosts using a handbook, and also try to scare away the Deetz family, who now own their home.

They summon Beetlejuice, who only creates more problems and wants to marry Lydia, the daughter of the Deetz family. The Maitlands help stop Beetlejuice from marrying Lydia and save her life. While initially reluctant, the friendly ghosts learn to share their home with the human Deetz family in the end.

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4) Casper

When we talk about friendly ghosts in movies, we can never skip Casper, the friendly ghost. In the film, Kat and her father arrive at Whipstaff Manor so that her father can help the trio of ghosts cross over and leave this realm—and also to see his deceased wife once more.

Alongside the ghostly trio, Kat also meets Casper, befriends him, and helps him regain his memories of his life. Together, they discover a machine that Casper’s father had built to bring a dead person back to life. However, due to a tragedy, Casper sacrifices his chance to become human again and gives it to Kat’s father, who had recently died in an accident. By introducing one of the friendliest and cutest ghosts, Casper is regarded as one of the classic movies featuring harmless spirits.

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3) The Sixth Sense

M. Night Shyamalan’s The Sixth Sense is one of the best psychological thriller movies, where a young Cole Sear is treated by a child psychologist, Malcolm Crowe. Crowe initially believes Cole has schizophrenia, but later comes to accept that Cole really sees ghosts.

He helps Cole cope with his ghost encounters by advising him to talk to them. In a stunning twist, Malcolm realizes at the end that he himself is a ghost—killed by his former patient, Vincent. The film is a masterpiece in storytelling, elevated by the powerful performances of its cast. Throughout the film, no one other than Cole knows that Malcolm is a ghost—not even Malcolm himself. Although a simple tale on the surface, it excels in portraying complex emotions through its narrative.

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2) Harry Potter franchise

Since the Harry Potter movies fall under the fantasy genre, there are numerous supernatural creatures—ghosts being the least of their worries. Hogwarts is filled with different types of ghosts who tend to cause chaos and disturb the students, but there are also harmless ones. Nearly Headless Nick of Gryffindor and the Fat Friar of Hufflepuff were friendly and harmless toward the students.

While Peeves was one of the ghosts who caused many problems, and Moaning Myrtle—who was initially hostile toward the trio but warmed up to them, especially Harry, in the later films. There are several other examples of ghosts in the school who also helped the students and teachers.

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1) Coco

Héctor was easily one of the friendliest ghosts in movies. He helped Miguel from the beginning of his journey in the Land of the Dead, in exchange for Miguel putting his photo on the Ofrenda so that his daughter wouldn’t forget him—and he wouldn’t vanish from there. Without even knowing they were related, Héctor and Miguel warmed up to each other and eventually discovered Ernesto’s lie and the truth about Héctor’s murder.

Depicting familial love and the importance of forgiveness, this animated film creates a poignant tale that can melt your heart and make you miss your family.

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