A good scary movie makes us afraid of its ghosts. A great one sees ghosts for what they are—specters of the past. That past can be horrific, filled with darkness we can never quite outrun. Ghosts can ...

Gauging from the height of the camera, the ghost is taller than a small child. It’s alone when the movie starts, pacing the film’s only set, a century-old house with a wrap-around porch that the ghost ...