I went into writing this with the goal of making a list of ten holiday paranormal movies. I didn’t want holiday horror movies. Who wants to see murder movies that take place during the holidays? That is just not my vibe. (Yeah, I’ve got a vibe and holiday murder is not it.)
I wanted movies with ghosts and other paranormal things that are fun and uplifting. What I found was a century of A Christmas Carol re-makes. There must be about a thousand versions of that original classic. Some of those are on my list, but I tried to find ones you may not be aware of.
Last Christmas (2019) This one stars Emilia Clarke of Game of Thrones and is a fun watch with a great twist.
Scrooged (1988) Yes, I know this is A Christmas Carol remake, but it’s the only one worth seeing.
Gremlins (1984) This leans a little towards being horror, but the Gremlins are so stinking cute before they turn into little demons that pulls this one out of the horror category. How is it paranormal? The Gremlins are quite clearly cryptids. Hey, that makes me wonder if there is a Bigfoot Christmas movie…
Bigfoot (2018) I had to stoop to animation to get Bigfoot in, but there he is. I think this was released in Europe, because on the movie’s Amazon page it says the DVD won’t play in USA and Canadian DVD players. DVD’s? Is that still a thing?
Spirited (2022): This one is a rip off of A Christmas Carol but you can’t go wrong with Will Ferrell and Ryan Reynolds. It’s on Apple TV and is probably worth a watch when you don’t want think about anything.
Alien Xmas (2020) This wasn’t officially a movie. It’s more of a “special”. But, if you want to start getting your kids used to the aliens that our government finally admitted to, then this might be a good gateway view for them.
The Mothman Prophecies (2002) Starring my high school biology lab partners brother in-law, Richard Gere, this is a paranormal classic. It’s not a documentary but is based on real events. It’s a compelling watch.
Ghosting: The Spirit of Christmas (2019) It’s a holiday movie and someone becomes a ghost. That’s all I know.
The Spirit of Christmas (2015) A movie with a lot of people who look like they took a vacation from their daytime soap opera job to film this. “12 days before Christmas, Kate is trying to close the sale of a historic inn, only to find Daniel, the ghost of a man who died a century ago, and he needs her help to unravel the mystery of his annual holiday haunting.” It was a made for tv movie. I don’t think it was a Hallmark movie, but it is of that ilk.
It’s A Wonderful Life (1946) This is another Christmas classic that has had way too many knock offs made. But, this is the OG of paranormal holiday classics. The angel/ghost, Clarence, took a header off a bridge just get get George’s attention. He was the unsung hero of this tale!
There you go, ten paranormal holiday movies. On this week of the beginning of Hannukah, I’m sorry to my Jewish friends that I couldn’t find any paranormal Hannukah movies. If you know one, let me know and I’ll add and republish this.
Have a great day everybody! Thanks for reading ~Phil