Here are ten of my favorite old movies that are comedies with a ghost (or a villain pretending to be a ghost). Happy Halloween!

1. “The Time of Their Lives” (1946) – During the Revolutionary War, tinsmith Horatio Prim (actor Lou Costello) and maid Nora O’Leary are framed as traitors by oily butler Cuthbert Greenway (Bud Abbott) and are executed. Their souls must remain at the bottom of a well until they are shown to be innocent. In the present day of 1946, after many comedic mishaps, the ghosts and Cuthbert’s descendant Ralph Greenway (Abbott again) prove the ghosts’ innocence and their souls are released to heaven.

2. The Ghost Breakers (1940) – Radio broadcaster Larry Lawrence (actor Bob Hope) and Mary Carter (Paulette Goddard) travel to Cuba with slick friend Geoff Montogomery (Richard Carlson) to inspect Mary’s inherited creepy mansion. A ghost tries to scare everyone away. Playing secret codes on an organ opens a hidden vault and reveals a secret silver mine. Montogomery is the bad guy but falls to his death at the end.

3. “Hold That Ghost” (1941) – Gas station attendants Chuck Murray (actor Bud Abbott) and Ferdie Jones (Lou Costello) accidentally inherit a gangster’s haunted restaurant. The boys discover loot hidden in a mounted moose’s head and defeat the gangster’s mob. The restaurant is turned into a posh health resort and the boys achieve their dreams.

4. The Ghost and Mr. Chicken (1966) – Small-town underachiever Luther Heggs (actor Don Knotts) aspires to be a newspaper reporter. He is tasked with spending a night in the old, haunted Simmons mansion, the site of a grisly unsolved murder-suicide. Luther discovers that the real murderer is Nicolas, the Simmons nephew. Luther becomes a hero, gets a job as a reporter, and marries his sweetheart Alma (Joan Staley).

5. The Canterville Ghost (1944) – In the 1600s cowardly Sir Simon de Canterville (actor Charles Laughton) is killed and his soul is cursed to remain on Earth until a descendant shows bravery. During World War II, a descendant, US Army Ranger Cuffy Williams (Robert Young) is billeted on the Canterville estate. Sadly, Cuffy fails in a couple of opportunities to show bravery, but at last drags an unexploded bomb away at the last moment and Sir Simon’s soul is released.

6. The Laurel-Hardy Murder Case (1930) – Stan (actor Stan Laurel) and Ollie (Oliver Hardy) learn that Stan has inherited something. They go to a haunted mansion. At the mansion, during a reading of the will, people start disappearing. Great extended scene where a bat under a bedsheet flies around, accidentally impersonating a ghost. The creepy butler and the even creepier maid are the bad guys. This movie was the first time Ollie says, “Here’s another nice mess you’ve gotten me into.”

7. Scotched in Scotland (1954) – The Three Stooges (Moe Howard, Larry Fine, Shemp Howard) graduate from detective school and are sent to Scotland to guard haunted Glenheather Castle. The staff at the castle are trying to steal all the valuables, but the Stooges triumph. This was number 158 of 190 short Stooges films produced by Columbia Studios.

8. Topper (1937) – Rich and irresponsible George Kirby (actor Cary Grant) and his wife Marion (Constance Bennett) die in an automobile accident and their souls must remain on Earth until they do something worthwhile. They decide to help boring banker Cosmo Topper (Roland Young). They succeed in showing Cosmo how to live a full life, and their souls are released.

9. Henry Aldrich Haunts a House (1943) – Teenager Henry Aldrich (actor Jimmy Lydon), and his friends Elise and the excitable Dizzy, accidentally discover and expose a counterfeiting ring in an old haunted house. This is one of 11 Henry Aldrich movies produced from 1939 to 1944.

10. The Ghost Goes West (1935) – In 18th century Scotland, cowardly Murdoch Glourie (actor Robert Donat) is killed in battle and his soul is cursed to remain on Earth. In current-day 1935, descendant Donald Glourie (Donat again) sells the Glourie castle to a rich Florida businessman Mr. Martin and his pretty daughter Peggy Martin (Jean Parker). The plan is to dismantle the castle and reassemble it in Florida. Martin’s unscrupulous business rival, Ed Bigelow, is defeated by Donald, and Murdoch’s soul is released.