The Top 10 Friendly Ghosts from Movies
5. Thomas’ Guardian Angels- Heart and Souls
Before he was Iron Man, Robert Downey Jr. was playing host to four souls trapped on the mortal plane. At first, the four serve as friends and mentor to young Thomas but realize that the presence of his “imaginary friends” is hurting more than helping. They hide their presence from him for 27 years before realizing that the reason they’re stuck to Thomas is that he’s supposed to help them with their unfinished business. Reluctantly, Thomas agrees to help all four of them, especially after remembering all they did for him as a child. What follows is a whirlwind adventure as the spirits each posses Thomas’ body to finish their business. The four spirits not only get to move on but help Thomas get his own life together in the end.
4. Frank’s Crew- The Freighters
Sure, they might not be pretty to look at and they “make a living” scaring people, but when the chips are down Cyrus, Stewart, and The Judge will do anything to help Frank. This includes going into business trying to con people into hiring him as an exorcist. This is all placed on hold when an evil spirit comes to town and starts murdering people. Frank puts himself in harm’s way trying to spot this evil reaper and his friends are quick to throw themselves between him and the spectral serial killer. Evil though they’re already deceased, they still give everything to protect their best living buddy. Besides, they seem like genuinely good guys all things considered and I wouldn’t mind grabbing a brew with them.
3. Adam and Barbara Maitland- Beetlejuice
Turns out that a lot of friendly ghosts are terrible when it comes to being scary. Case and point are Adam and Barbara Maitland. The recently deceased duo is just too nice to be legitimately scary, but that doesn’t stop them from setting out to scare the new family trying to move into their home. Unfortunately, they prove to be pretty terrible at it, failing time and again to elicit any reaction from their “victims.” Desperate, they try to outsource the job to The Ghost with the Most himself, Beetlejuice. He doesn’t come as advertised though and soon turns on the couple as he tries to secure a permanent place in the mortal world. Adam and Barbra put their mission aside to help save the day and banish Beetlejuice back to the netherworld.
2. Dr. Malcolm Crowe- The Sixth Sense
Spoiler alert… Kinda. Look it’s been long enough since The Sixth Sense hit theaters that if you don’t know this twist, I’m legitimately impressed. Dr. Malcolm Crowe is a child psychiatrist that tries to help a young boy, named Cole, claiming to be able to see ghosts. The spirits terrify him and alienate him from his peers. Fortunately, Malcolm is damn good at his job and helps guide the boy through his experiences. He’s able to accept his gift for what it is and ends up helping put some spirits to rest. Personally, I think Dr. Crowe helped save Cole’s life by being there when he needed someone the most. If that doesn’t make him one of the best friendly ghosts of all time, I don’t know what will.
1. Slimer- Ghostbusters
Not only is Slimer the number one friendly ghost, but he’s probably the most iconic movie ghost of all time. The little guy started off as a bit of a pest haunting the Sedgewick Hote. However, unlike a lot of the ghosts in the film, his outings were non-violent and usually just involved him gorging himself on room-service. Since then he’s appeared in every Ghostbusters film and animated series based on the movies. In the second movie, he went so far as to help Louis Tully get across town in the middle of the damn apocalypse so that he could help the Ghostbusters defeat the evil Vigo the Carpathian. He might not have the best manners but I see him as a big old ghost dog. Needless to say, if I ever had a pet ghost, I’d get me a Slimer.
For my money, those are the 10 best friendly ghosts from movies. There are a lot more out there and I did my best to narrow it down to the best of the best. If there’s one I forget though, feel free to leave a comment below. I’d also love to hear your thoughts on the ghosts that earned a spot on this list. As always, I’ll be updating this list as new and improved friendly ghosts appear on the big screen. So, check back from time to time to see how the rankings change!