A romance story is always better with a touch of the supernatural—the stakes are higher, the obstacles greater, and the escapism that comes from watching it all unfold that much more entertaining. The grand number of supernatural creatures to choose from, spanning a wide spectrum that goes from beautiful angels to full-out monsters, also lends this supernatural romance trope a particularly colorful variety that is sure to meet the tastes of everyone.

Among the various supernatural entities that can be put in romantic stories, ghosts are some of the most common and most beloved—proving that they can be more than just horror movie villains. There’s something about ghosts and the tropes they have been associated with throughout the history of cinema, like the stubbornness required to linger on, usually to remain close to a loved one, that makes for excellent romantic stories. Here are ten of the best of those stories.

10 The Ghost And Mrs. Muir (1947)

Directed By Joseph L. Mankiewicz

Based on the 1945 novel of the same name by Irish writer Josephine Leslie, The Ghost and Mrs. Muir is probably one of the very first examples of this particular niche of the romance genre. It stars Gene Tierney and Rex Harrison in the titular roles of Mrs. Muir and the Ghost, and it’s set in England at the beginning of the 20th century.

The original novel was published by Josephine Leslie under her usual pen name R.A. Dick. The initials were taken from her father's name and surname, who was a sea captain just like the male lead of The Ghost and Mrs. Muir.

The story follows recently widowed Lucy Muir as she moves to a village on the English coast, in a cottage that is supposed to be haunted by the previous owner. Lucy doesn’t give too much credit to these rumors, but of course, the cottage turns out to really be the haunting place of the roguish sea captain Daniel Gregg. The two become unlikely roommates and soon embark on the project of writing Daniel’s memories together, a process during which they eventually fall in love.

9 Heaven Can Wait (1978)

Directed By Warren Beatty And Buck Henry

Seventies romance classic Heaven Can Wait has quite a unique take on the ghost romance trope since the main character isn’t really a ghost as most people would expect. Protagonist Joe Pendleton is indeed deceased, because of his over-zealous guardian angel who plucked him out of his body ahead of his time, but his soul remains on Earth by possessing the body of another dying man.

Through the body of his new “host” Leo, Joe sets his mind to the same goal he had when he was alive—leading the Los Angeles Rams, where he was a backup quarterback, to victory in the Super Bowl. Considering that Leo is a considerably wealthy man, Joe’s first steps are buying the Rams and then getting in shape to play as their quarterback. Romance comes into play when Joe meets Betty Logan, a climate activist who knocks on his door to protest the less-than-savory policies of Leo’s companies.

8 A Ghost Story (2017)

Directed By David Lowery

A Ghost Story is quite a peculiar take on the ghost romance trope and one that truly highlights how the point of several movies of this kind are actually stories about grief and how it lingers and permeates everything about it. David Lowery accomplishes this with a movie that feels almost like something inspired by a dark fairytale, charged with symbolism starting from the white sheet that the ghost character wears for the entire movie.

The ghost character is credited only as C, and the story starts a short time before he is killed in a car accident. Instead of moving on, he remains on Earth, wandering around unseen by the living and covered with the sheet his wife M put on him before she said her goodbyes. C follows M as she works through her grief while also watching the story of the house they shared unfold in front of his eyes.

7 A Magnificent Haunting (2012)

Directed By Ferzan Özpete

A Magnificent Haunting is an Italian movie set in Rome, drenched with the magical realism-inspired atmosphere director Ferzan Özpetek has become known. In the case of this movie, the magical element really is there—considering how protagonist Pietro Pontechievello soon discovers that his new Rome apartment is haunted by the actors of a theater company who died in the same house during World War 2.

This movie is known as one of two titles in English. One is A Magnificent Haunting while the other is Magnificent Presence, a more direct translation of the original Italian Magnifica Presenza.

The actors—most of whom refuse to believe they are dead—soon decide that they must help introverted, lonely Pietro get back on his feet. Among them is Luca Veroli, a gay man like Pietro, who never had a chance to live a love life out in the open because of the period in which he was born. The relationship between the two will help disillusioned Pietro believe in love once more.

6 A Ghost Waits (2022)

Directed By Adam Stovall

A Ghost Waits immediately strikes its audience with the fact that it’s shot entirely in black and white even though it was released in 2022. It’s a great stylistic choice that gives the movie an overall sense of dreaminess, which is probably what protagonist Jack first feels when he realizes that the house he’s been sent to work on has been haunted by a ghost for many years.

The ghost, Muriel, has been spending a good amount of time doing her job of scaring away potential buyers just as she has been instructed by her superiors. Both she and Jack, however, are lonely in their respective fields of work and feel an overwhelming sense of failure. Their meeting brings an initial begrudging sense of companionship that soon turns into actual friendship and eventually to romantic feelings.

5 Rouge (1987)

Directed By Stanley Kwan

The ghost romance told in Rouge isn’t that of its main characters, as is the case with the vast majority of the movies dealing with this trope—but rather one that the main characters witness and help, drawing the audience in as they become spectators of the spectators of said ghost romance. It all starts in Hong Kong in the Eighties when newspaperman Yuen and his girlfriend Chor read a strange ment in one of the newspapers that Yuen sells.

The movie is based on the novel of the same name by Hong Kong novelist Lilian Lee and was originally shot in Cantonese.

The ment was published by Fleur, the ghost of a 1930s courtesan who is looking for her long-lost love Chan—she expected to see him in the afterlife since the couple took their own lives, but after more than fifty years without seeing him she believes he might be lost. Yuen and Chor decide to help her look for Chen until they find out that he’s still alive and reunite the two lovers while also rediscovering the value of their own relationship.

4 Truly, Madly, Deeply (1990)

Directed By Anthony Minghella

British movie Truly, Madly, Deeply is another perfect example of how ghost romances can be less about the actual romance and more about grief and the difficult road that is getting past it. The movie does so through the story of interpreter Nina, played by Juliet Stevenson, who is consumed by grief over the unexpected death of her boyfriend, cellist Jamie, who is portrayed by the always magnificent Alan Rickman.

Just when Nina feels like her grief will consume her, Jamie reappears as a ghost and the two begin to live together again. Nina is obviously overjoyed at this, but Jamie urges her to see the life around her while also adopting a series of behaviors that are clearly meant to irritate her. When Nina eventually falls for another man and is ready to take on life with him, Jamie is satisfied that his efforts in helping Nina move on have succeeded.

3 Just Like Heaven (2005)

Directed By Mark Waters

Like all truly great romantic comedies, Just Like Heaven starts light and funny and then hits its audience with a surprising emotional climax. That is especially true of a romantic comedy that stretches across the divide between the (seemingly) dead and the living, played by Reese Witherspoon and Mark Ruffalo respectively.

The story follows Elizabeth and David, who find themselves unhappily sharing the same house—she thinks he’s a squatter, and he thinks she has broken in. The truth is that Elizabeth is what seems to be a ghost, and David has lent what used to be her apartment after the death of his wife. The two soon discover that Elizabeth is in a coma in the hospital that she used to work in and do their best to prevent her from being taken off of life , all the while growing closer and closer.

2 Casper (1995)

Directed By Brad Silberling

Casper is a childhood classic for many millennials, who more often than not write nostalgic posts about it in every pop culture-related corner of the Internet. Based on the comic book character Casper the Friendly Ghost, Casper makes impressive use of CGI for the time it was shot in and it’s also one of the first to have a fully CGI character as the lead.

Casper, however, does not remain a ghost for the entire duration of the movie—and that’s where its cult classic status comes from. After he and Kat, the daughter of a therapist who specializes in ghosts, spend most of the movie looking for the machine built by Casper the Friendly Ghost’s father, which supposedly can bring ghosts back to life, a human boy that none other than Casper arrives at Kat’s Halloween party. Even though Casper eventually has to return to his ghostly form, the two dance and exchange a kiss in an emotional scene.

1 Ghost (1990)

Directed By Jerry Zucker

Ghost is probably the first movie that comes to anyone’s mind when thinking about ghost romances—it’s there in the title, after all. An incredible success when it was first released in 1990, Ghost has become a true classic thanks to its story, which can still tug at everyone’s heartstrings, and the incredible performances of protagonists Patrick Swayze, Demi Moore, and Whoopi Goldberg.

The plot of Ghost begins when Manhattan banker Sam Wheat is killed during a robbery and refuses to on, deciding instead to remain with his girlfriend Molly Jensen. As a ghost, though, he can’t interact with her at all until he meets the supposed charlatan Oda Mae Brown. Together, the trio works to solve the case of Sam’s murder, at the end of which his soul can move on—but not before the most iconic pottery-making scene in the history of the romance genre.