Here we are again, Gravehounds, looking down the dark tunnel to the abyss that is All Hallows Eve. For some this is a time of fear, when the supposedly satanic runs through the butterscotch and toffee apples like a machete through flesh. When the darkness closes in and the shadows whisper of their increasing hold on the very fabric of our existence, at least until spring. Truly, a time of nightmares and spirits, ghouls and demons, slashers and madmen. This Old Fox’s favourite time of year, and I can honestly say this is the one and only month out of all twelve others that I feel comfortable in my own skin.

Thus it has become a habit here at The Accelerated Chaote for me to take a break from the hardcore gutter magick aspects of my chosen path and instead compile a slightly offbeat list of what I believe to be the horror films that you really should be watching as the October embers die and we sleepwalk into winter proper. I do try to stick to a theme though, and all the tricks and treats picked for 2025 revolve around to that most basic of silver screen screamers, the humble and sometimes bumbling ghost. Because if there ever was a time when the dead were abroad it would be right now.

Ghosts OF Darkness (2017)

This first entry on the list may be a little self indulgent for reasons that will become clear later on in the review, but I really enjoyed Ghosts of Darkness. A film that punches way above what you would expect from a low budget haunted house horror, it follows a British psychic and American sceptic as they unravel the mystery of a rambling country house and face all the evils that reside within. So far, so generic of course, and were it handled by any other crew the movie would be instantly forgettable. Yet it is the performances of the two main leads that really sell the show, elevating the narrative beyond its admitted limitations.

The on screen chemistry between Michael Koltes and Paul Flannery is some of the best I have seen from relative unknowns, and watching those diametrically opposed characters warm to each other as the events unfold is a genuine delight. Plus it helps that Flannery’s character, Johnathan Blazer, strongly reminds me of my old ghost hunting days. Way back when I was the only necromancer in the room. His willingness to move beyond the usual Ouija and crystal territory and embrace occult tools when backed into a corner is downright refreshing. Not an essential watch perhaps, but a solid independent film regardless.

The Awakening (2011)

From the outset The Awakening is an intriguing film to be sure. Sacrificing blood curdling scares for both slowly building plot and richly painted atmosphere, one which almost oozes from the screen, it boasts a strong British cast who feel right at home within the somewhat dreary setting. Taking place in the north of England during the interwar period and highlighting organised scepticism’s ongoing efforts to counter the rise of spiritualism, the movie follows a semi-professional debunker as she sets out to prove the recent death of a pupil at an all male boarding school has nothing to do with ghosts.

Soon she begins to experience terrifying glimpses of a faceless boy, as well as the barely hidden malice of a few of the school’s still living occupants. Themes of loss, aimlessness and even suppressed sexuality are all explored as the investigation unfolds. Character interactions are dryly well observed, all simmering with undertones and echoes, the living proving to be just as haunted by memories as the building itself. While some of you might see the final handful of twists coming the ending itself is delightfully underdone, leaving a knowing smile on the lips like the ghost of a kiss long past.

Pulse (2006)

There is little on the silver screen that can creep me out these days. That said Kairo, the Japanese techno horror from 2001 which inspired this later western remake, did just that. Indeed I had planned to recommend that version, but the tighter performances and more cohesive script of the American remake just edged it out. This is surprising considering the less than stellar track record for such international recreations, but the fact that Wes Craven had a hand in writing at least part of the script seems to have elevated it above the usual cookie cutter Hollywood dross such as The Grudge and The Eye.

The directorial reigns were ultimately handed over to Jim Sonzero, a veteran of the music video industry who managed to bring some of that choppy and artistic flair to the table when shooting the film. Making up for its lack of outright scares with well shot set pieces and striking visual design, Pulse endears itself to the audience by virtue of a constant striving to be an arterial cut above the other Western attempts at Asian horror. Plus if watched back to back with its original Japanese inspiration you can see just how fast the tech at the turn of the 21st Century was evolving too.

The Devil’s Backbone (2001)

For those of you who have already seen this particular masterpiece, my choice to recommend The Devil’s Backbone to all the necromancers in the audience will make perfect sense. At times genuinely scary, bloody and dark, Guillermo del Toro weaves a classic haunted house story for the audience. Albeit one set in a poorly maintained orphanage and starkly framed against the gory backdrop of the Spanish Civil War. Both care and attention were lavished upon the production design here, leading to an almost tangible miasma of dust and decay seeping from every scene.

The plot involves a mismatched group of children striving to uncover the truth behind the mournful spirit wandering around their home, though the living are perhaps more of a threat to their safety than the dead could ever be. Constantly running afoul of a loose group of adults with their own dark agendas to fulfil as well as one of the best looking ghosts ever committed to celluloid, the quest soon descends into very dangerous territory. I guarantee that you will be numbly marvelling at the sheer brilliance of the narrative by the end, and left pondering a few deliberately loose ends.

Candyman (1992)

The original Candyman sets out to weave conventional horror scares around an almost dreamlike narrative, and effortlessly excels at both. Following the exploits of a hook handed urban legend wearing one of the best coats in horror history, the Candyman is surprisingly reluctant to show himself throughout. This instead leaves the other characters, such as the graduate students looking for fodder for their university paper and the depressingly poor inhabitants of the Chicago housing projects, to tell his story through hearsay and tall tales. He is tangible in his absence, like an echo of an idea rooted in his victims flesh.

The question remains as to whether Tony Todd is playing a ghost or a tulpa of course, but when he does finally appear in the final third of the film his performance is nothing short of magnetic. Intriguing not only for the well rounded and genuinely interesting entity that Clive Barker created but also for what it shows about the most basic human desire to generate and transmit myths, this film is most definitely better than the box office would suggest. There is a reason why memetic magickians consider this to be worth dissecting at length, and even outside of such occult considerations it remains a damn fine watch.

And there we go, Gravehounds. The second Spooky Old Fox post here at The Accelerated Chaote ready to meekly rattle its chains as the sun rises again over the mist choked streets. I do unfortunately find a lot of ghost related media to be pretty low effort in general, though the examples listed here will hopefully give the more esoterically minded among you something to think about. Being a gutter mage of any worth does require an at least passing interest in pop culture after all, and whether the spirits evoked by the adept are real or just silver screen phantoms is neither here nor there.