The 15 funniest ghosts in pop culture

He’s the ghost with the most. The bio-exorcist is actually the villain of his titular film, where he is played memorably by Michael Keaton. Owing to the movie's success, a Beetlejuice cartoon for kids was created. He’s still an anarchic and gross individual, but this version of Beetlejuice is more kid-friendly and is even pals with Lydia Deetz.

In Ghostbusters, Slimer (aka Onionhead) makes the biggest splash of any ghost. He does eat all those hot dogs, after all. Then, in the cartoon adaptation of The Real Ghostbusters, Slimer didn’t just get a voice but became friends with the Ghostbusters. Apparently, that’s the thing to do when you move from the big screen to cartoons.

Pee-wee’s Big Adventure is a silly, sublime comedy film, the second from Tim Burton on this list already. It is, by and large, not supernatural, though. Then, Pee-wee hitches a ride with a truck driver, and a generation of children were terrified/delighted by an image forever burnt into their brains. Tell ‘em Large Marge sent ya.

Ghosts is a CBS sitcom (based on a British show of the same name) that is teeming with ghosts. It’s evidently popular enough to keep going, and it seems like it might be the most popular sitcom on CBS. In terms of the funniest ghost, we’ll go with Pete, mostly because he’s a ghost forever wearing a Boy Scouts-esque uniform with an arrow through his neck.

In his cartoon, Space Ghost wasn’t comedic. He was a superhero who did serious stuff. Then, over at Cartoon Network, a couple of guys got the idea to make him the host of an absurdist talk show. From there, we got Space Ghost Coast to Coast and the birth of Adult Swim. He may live in outer space, but he is very much a ghost.

Usually, A Christmas Carol is not funny. Even the Muppets’ version doesn’t have many laughs. Scrooged is a riff on the Dickens tale that ratchets up the misanthropy and the laughs. The Ghost of Christmas Present, played by Carol Kane, gets the biggest role and the most amusing moments.

Speaking of the Muppets, their Haunted Mansion on Disney+ is actually pretty fun. Taraji P. Henson probably would agree, as she seems to have the time of her life playing The Bride. She may seem sweet at first, but there is something nefarious on the mind of the ghostly lover of weddings. You could say she loves getting married…to death.

Before Lord of the Rings turned him into one of the most successful directors ever, Peter Jackson made some idiosyncratic films, usually in the horror-comedy realm. The Frighteners came out soon before he got the gig to adapt J.R.R. Tolkien, and while it was considered a flop at the time, it’s a solid horror-comedy with a strong lead turn from Michael J. Fox. There are several ghosts in the film, but The Judge, an Old West cowboy played by Gomez Addams himself, John Astin, sticks out.

SpongeBob has done a lot of things over the years. This includes meeting a ghost. Specifically, the Flying Dutchman, a ghost pirate who wants to turn SpongeBob and Patrick into undead members of his crew. Somehow, things get weirder from there.

You may not have heard of it because it only aired in the United Kingdom and Canada, but there was a 2013 cartoon show called Dude, That’s My Ghost! We were admittedly mostly grabbed by the fact there is a show with the title Dude, That’s My Ghost! On top of that, the ghost is named Billy Joe Cobra, and he was a massive pop star when he died.

Ghost Town is an underrated romantic comedy from the 2000s that features perhaps the best acting Ricky Gervais has ever done. Ah, remember the days before people were burnt out on Gervais? The creator of The Office plays a man who, after a mishap during a medical procedure, can interact with ghosts around him. Among the ghosts, the primary specter is Frank (Greg Kinnear). He’s a smarmy guy who has to learn some stuff and grow, but he gets in plenty of laughs along the way.

An American Werewolf in London is a supernatural film, but most of the focus is on, well, the werewolf. However, John Landis’ movie is also teeming with ghosts. Foremost among them is Jack, played by Griffin Dunne. Jack is the main character, David’s best friend, until a werewolf mauls him. The ghost of Jack then begins visiting David, but he still bears the physical damage done by the lycanthrope, and we also watch him decay physically…but somehow, it’s funny?

In the early days of Hollywood, supernatural comedies were common. Among those movies was Wonder Man, a 1945 musical comedy designed to be a showcase for Danny Kaye. Kaye plays “super-identical twins” Edwin and Buster Dingle. Buster is a nightclub performer who goes by the name Buzzy Bellew. A mob boss kills Buzzy, and then his ghost visits his brother Edwin to get Edwin to bring the mobster to justice. That includes Edwin impersonating Buzzy, to comedic effect, naturally.

Many people think Vincent Schiavelli’s Subway Ghost in Ghost is scary. Perhaps. But what if he is also funny? Frankly, we find Subway Ghost amusing in his aggressive nature and weird territoriality. Sure, he may be a bit spooky, but we’d also call Subway Ghost the funniest of the specters in Ghost.

Is Freddy Krueger funny? It’s up for debate. Does he like to make jokes? Absolutely! No ghost has been as dedicated to comedy as Freddy. He seems as interested in quipping as murdering, and the dude loves murdering. Freddy thinks he’s funny, but do we agree? He likes a cheesy pun, but he’s also a pretty crass dude. Freddy’s comedy is questionable, but in the context of the films, he is a bad guy. As arguably pop culture’s foremost ghost/serial killer/punmaster, we felt we should include this dream-invading comedy fan.