Pan’s Labyrinth – Spanish with English subtitles:

This one is more of a fantasy story set in 1944 shortly after the Spanish Civil War. A young girl finds a mysterious underground labyrinth where she meets a fawn and finds a mythical world. Along the way the girl must deal with her sadistic step farther and seriously ill mother.

This is also directed by Guillermo del Toro and is definitely worth watching. The story is not as good as Devil’s Backbone or The Orphanage but the mythical creatures make this one special.  

The Orphanage – Spanish with English subtitles:

A woman purchases her old orphanage and moves in with her husband and young son. The plan is to open a school for children with special needs. On the grand opening night her son disappears. The woman is obsessed with finding her missing son. She soon starts to see and hear things and her husband fears for her sanity. As the story of what happened to her young fellow orphans unfolds and she seeks their help to find her missing son.

This is also one of my all-time favorite movies and again is directed by Guillermo del Toro. The atmosphere is haunting and tense as the full story unfolds. The orphanage itself and the surrounding land near the ocean is beautiful. Again, this one is worth watching even if you don’t like sub-titled movies.

Devil’s Backbone – Spanish with English subtitles:

A young boy is sent to an orphanage in the desert when his father is killed during the Spanish Civil War. The boy is soon seeing a mysterious quiet boy that he learns died under mysterious circumstances. This is what a supernatural ghost story should be. No cheap scares with the cat jumping out of the cupboard here. The atmosphere is tense and just keeps building throughout the movie.

This was directed by Guillermo del Toro and is one of my all-time favorite ghost stories. Don’t let the fact that it’s sub-titled put you off. It’s worth the effort.