Pass the Popcorn

Olive does not want to be pecked by The Birds, haunted by an Alien, or out-psyched by a Psycho. She desires an entirely gentler kind of scare. Yes, something with a bite of boo, but not enough to keep her out of the shower the next morning. If you want the same kind of post-treating fare, try these classics...

Don Knotts is at his rubbery, bumbling best in this sweetly Technicolor tale of a most-eerie mansion, still in good use in Desperate Housewives.

The most dapper of haunted pictures, Arsenic and Old Lace makes you look twice at that sweet old lady down the street... and at Cary Grant! The zany dialogue and the frenetic pace of its leads makes it watchable anytime of the year, too.

Now here's a ghost you hope will waft past you! Rex Harrison is a salty sea captain who turns up to lovingly haunt Gene Tierney's beautiful young widow. Palpable chemistry between the leads is all the suspense you need to keep watching.

.