It's no definitive masterpiece but it's damn close.

good back-story, and good acting

It's hard to see any effort in the film. There's no comedy to speak of, no real drama and, worst of all.

If you like to be scared, if you like to laugh, and if you like to learn a thing or two at the movies, this absolutely cannot be missed.

This film was my first contact with the vast cinematographic work of William Castle, director whom I didn't know. Despite having thought of his films as horror, it's more funny and silly than scary. At no point did I feel scared and I ended up laughing, without feeling that the movie was damaged by it. The film is a classic and creates a pleasant suspense, without the tension and chill that we get used to. I loved some sound effects that, in another movie, would have been the pinnacle of cliché because they're out of context. Ghosts are interesting special effects, certainly the best at the time. The actors do a solid and competent job, in particular Donald Woods, Charles Herbert and Martin Milner. The movie is not great, but it's certainly a classic of entertainment, made to spend some good time more than to delight.

I will describe "13 Ghosts" this way – imagine if Rod Serling (Twilight Zone) became the writer for "Leave it to Beaver". "13 Ghosts" might be an example of the end product. The father wears his Mr. Rogers sweater over his white-collared shirt. The mother has an overly rigid hairdo that is very fitting for the June Cleaver type. The little boy who, although he never says it, has "golly gee" written all over his young, curious face. While there is no older brother named Wally, there is the older sister named Maeda. She is prettier than Wally, so I like her better. As they go about behaving like the average 1960 television family, they are accosted by ghosts.I love this movie! I love the Zorba family and the haunted house they live in. I love the cheesy ghosts. When movie attendees went to the theater to see his 1960 film "13 Ghosts", they were given a "ghost viewer" (similar to 3D glasses) which allowed them to see the ghosts. Nowsadays, one does not need this ghost viewer to see these phantoms. Nevertheless, I love the whole concept of the ghost viewer

I honestly can't say that I am at all impressed with William Castle as a director of low-budget horror films from the 1950s & 60s.I continually find Castle's direction to be noticeably flat and, oftentimes, quite unimaginative. If you ask me, Castle seemed to possess no real distinctive directing style, whatsoever. And he certainly didn't appear to understand the genre of horror at all.I got the clear impression that Castle viewed horror as being nothing but a joke and something to be jeered and sneered at. And so, with Castle playing horror strictly for laughs that, of course, left us (the unsuspecting & gullible audience) as the direct brunt of his dumb jokes.As a director, William Castle had about all of the skills (and motivation) of a used-car salesman who was knowingly selling his customers junk. In other words, Castle was a shyster as a director (and an amateur at that).From its bad pacing, to its red herrings, to its poorly executed moments of horror & suspense - 13 Ghosts, pretty much, played out like a very dimwitted TV Sit-Com.Like, if this was really supposed to be a story about a house that was being haunted by 12 authentic ghosts, then it was one of the most tame and non-scary hauntings that I've ever seen.Anyways - When it comes to seriously considering William Castle as a noteworthy director - All I can see is an "Alfred Hitchcock" wannabe who obviously couldn't cut the horror-movie mustard - Not even with his lame-brained "gimmicks" as his biggest selling point.

This was one of those movies that stirred my imagination as a child from 1960. I agree time has changed everything, but the memory of being with my father & younger brother ( God rest their souls) at the premiere at The Huntridge Theatre in Las Vegas, is still a monumental time of my life with family. My father hardly ever took us to the movies. My kid brother was scared shirtless. This is definitely a sign of the times in the 60's when production like this was a thriller of those times. The bigger flick of those days was Night Of The Living Dead. That one still holds up today. I miss those schoolboy chills. My dad, my mom, and brother. I don't recall anything scarier then those overacted horror movies we all enjoyed as kids.