Updated November 8, 2021 5.0K votes 677 voters 29.8K views
Over 600 Ranker voters have come together to rank this list of Every Ghost In The First Two 'Ghostbusters' Movies, Ranked
Voting Rules
Vote up the most memorably spooky specters from the original 'Ghostbusters' movies.
You can't have a Ghostbusters movie without ghosts. If there weren’t ghosts jogging through New York or menacingly shoving hot dogs in their faces, you’d just have four guys sitting around in brown uniforms quipping. Everyone knows the more popular ghosts in Ghostbusters, but what about the ghosts that don’t have a voice? This list of the all the Ghostbusters ghosts finally gives you a chance to speak up for the lesser known ghosts who you might prefer to Slimer or Zuul.
One of the most interesting things about every Ghostbusters ghost is how little the rules of traditional ghost movies matter to any of them. In the first film, you’ve got a demon dog coming out of a refrigerator and a giant marshmallow man wreaking havoc on New York. The ghosts in Ghostbusters II are all over the place. Some are 20-foot tall inter-dimensional creatures, while others are just heads on sticks. Is this kind of playful attitude that’s made the Ghostbusters films a touchstone for so many comedy, horror, and film fans since 1984. But as you know, all ghosts aren’t created equal, so it’s time to rank all the ghosts in the first two Ghostbusters.
Vote up the ghosts in Ghostbusters and Ghostbusters II that made the biggest impression on you. Then leave us a comment about whether or not you are or ain’t afraid of no ghost.
The Stay Puft Marshmallow Man might be the most iconic of all the Ghostbusters ghosts (one of two ghosts who made it to The Real Ghostbusters cartoon). Originally, Mr. Stay Puft was supposed to come out of the water next to the Statue of Liberty in order to get a size comparison. Unfortunately that idea was just too expensive. Lady Liberty would have to wait until another series of angry ghosts attacked New York.
You know Slimer. He's the ghoul who rules while he drools. According to Ghostbusters lore, on set Dan Aykroyd referred to Slimer as the "ghost of John Belushi." Even director Ivan Reitman has said that Slimer was a tribute to the late great comedian, with whom Aykroyd wrote the original (far different) Ghostbusters script.
Didn't Sheryl Crow say that "the first ghost is the deepest?" Anyway, the first ghost in the movie is stacking books and knocking over shelves in the basement of the New York Public Library. There probably isn't actually a ghost in the NYPL, but just to be safe you should burn your library card.
318 votes
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249 VOTES
The Scoleri Brothers
Photo: Columbia Pictures
Appears In:Ghostbusters II
The malevolent duo are released by a glob of slime and a whole lot of yelling. These full torso apparitions were put to death in 1948 by Judge Wexler, and apparently they bided their time until the late '80s when they could haunt the eff out of his courtroom.
249 votes
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267 VOTES
The Ghosts of the Titanic
Photo: Columbia Pictures
Appears In: Ghostbusters II
Initially the producers of the film wanted to include theHindenburg to appear as a ghostly airship, but instead decided on the eerie visual of dead passengers finally disembarking the Titanic at its destination. Better late than never.
So is Zuul a dog or a sexy lady that sleeps way above the covers? The design for the dog form of Zuul comes from an old church in Philadelphia. Was it a satanic church? Or did they just worship giant evil dogs?
