Supernatural Anime: 16 Best Ghost Picks, Ranked

There is something special about a great supernatural anime. It gives you the chill of a ghost story, but wraps it in real characters and folklore you want to sit with. Some of these will haunt you. Others will make you cry.

I have watched a lot of ghost and supernatural anime over the years, so this is my ranked list of the ones worth your time.

I sorted them by popularity, and tagged each with how it handles its spirits, whether that is old Japanese folklore or a modern urban fantasy.

If you want to keep browsing after, you can dig through Crunchyroll’s full supernatural collection too.

One quick note: streaming rights shift around, so treat every “where to watch” line as a starting point.

The Best Anime Exploring Ghosts and the Supernatural, Ranked

Every entry gets a quick card, including a Spook Scale from 1 to 5, so you know whether you are in for a cozy night or a sleepless one.

Each supernatural anime here is self-contained, so read them in any order.

Ghost Hound

We open with a slow-burn deep cut. Ghost Hound follows three boys investigating strange events in a small town. It leans into psychology and trauma more than jump scares, and the “Unseen World” it builds feels quietly eerie.

My read: patient and cerebral, and criminally overlooked.

Requiem from the Darkness

This one takes you back to Japan’s Edo period. Requiem from the Darkness draws each story from traditional Japanese ghost tales and folklore. It is dark, strange, and not for the faint of heart.

Field note: a hidden gem for anyone who loves proper folklore horror.

Ghost Sweeper Mikami

Do not let the goofy tone fool you. Ghost Sweeper Mikami is a fun 90s classic about Reiko Mikami, an exorcist who turns ghost-busting into a paying business. It mixes comedy with real supernatural spectacle.

My take: pure retro fun, and a reminder that ghost anime can be a comedy.

Dusk Maiden of Amnesia

This is the tender one on the list. Yuko is a school ghost with no memory of her past. With help from Teiichi, the one student who can see her, she starts uncovering her history and a quiet romance.

Where it lands: sweet and a little sad, with just enough spookiness.

Mononoke

Mononoke is unlike anything else here. A mysterious Medicine Seller travels the land exorcising vengeful spirits. He can only strike once he uncovers each spirit’s Form, Truth, and Reason, and every episode is a new haunting.

The pitch: the art alone is worth it, and the folklore is razor-sharp.

Corpse Party

Consider this a warning label. Corpse Party traps a group of students in a haunted alternate school after a friendship charm goes wrong. It is short, but it pushes gore and dread to brutal extremes.

My call: only for hardcore horror fans, and it earns that reputation.

Ghost Hunt

Ghost Hunt is the paranormal-investigation pick, and a great one. Mai teams up with a young ghost-hunting prodigy to solve one creepy case after another. It balances real scares with fun character chemistry.

Why it works: each case is its own little horror story, and the arcs build nicely.

Hell Girl

Hell Girl runs on a grim hook. There is a website you can only reach at midnight, and it lets you send a tormentor straight to hell, for a price. Each episode is a self-contained tale of revenge and its cost.

My read: repetitive by design, but the mood is haunting.

Zombie Land Saga

Here is the wildest spin on the genre. A girl wakes up as a zombie and gets drafted into an idol group made entirely of resurrected undead girls. It should not work, and yet it absolutely does.

My take: hilarious, catchy, and secretly full of heart.

Mushishi

Mushishi is the quiet masterpiece of this list. Ginko wanders a dreamlike old Japan studying Mushi, ethereal spirit-creatures most people cannot see. Every episode is a calm, beautiful little folktale.

Why it works: less scary than soothing, and completely unforgettable.

Another

Another is the modern horror standout. A cursed classroom starts losing students to gruesome, unexplained deaths. The mystery of who is already dead keeps the suspense burning to the final episode.

The pitch: tense, stylish, and packed with infamous death scenes.

Natsume’s Book of Friends

If you want comfort, start here. Takashi Natsume inherits his grandmother’s power to see yokai, along with her Book of Friends. He spends the series freeing the spirits whose names she once collected.

For me: one of the most heartwarming spirit anime ever made.

Soul Eater

Soul Eater brings the style. Students at a school run by Death himself pair up as weapons and wielders, hunting evil souls and witches. The gothic art and spooky flair make it a blast.

My call: more stylish than scary, and a ton of fun.

Mob Psycho 100

Mob Psycho 100 is a modern great. A shy middle-schooler with monstrous psychic power exorcises spirits alongside his con-artist mentor. Under the incredible animation sits a real story about growing up.

Why it ranks this high: action, comedy, and heart, all firing at once.

Death Note

Death Note bends the genre, so I will be upfront: this is a thriller first. A student finds a notebook that kills anyone whose name he writes in it, handed over by a bored death god named Ryuk.

Bottom line: not a ghost story, but the supernatural stakes are unforgettable.

Bleach

You cannot end a ghost list without Bleach. Ichigo can see spirits, then becomes a Soul Reaper sworn to guard the living from corrupted souls called Hollows. It is one of the definitive supernatural action epics.

Top of the list: a huge, beloved series built entirely on ghosts and souls.

The Best Supernatural Anime Rooted in Japanese Folklore

If the folklore side is what draws you in, a few of these supernatural anime lean hard into old Japanese ghost stories.

Mononoke and Requiem from the Darkness are the purest picks, both built from Edo-era legends and traditional yokai. Natsume’s Book of Friends and Mushishi take that same folklore and make it gentle and beautiful instead of scary. Ghost Sweeper Mikami rounds it out with a comedic take on the same spirits. Together they are the best entry point into the folklore corner of supernatural anime.

More Ghost Characters Worth Knowing

Beyond full series, a handful of ghost and spirit characters have become fan favorites in their own right.

• Menma (Anohana): a childhood friend who returns as a ghost and forces her friends to face old wounds.
• Yuuko Kanoe (Dusk Maiden of Amnesia): a cheerful school ghost hiding a tragic past.
• The Medicine Seller (Mononoke): the enigmatic spirit-exorcist at the heart of the show.
• Botan (Yu Yu Hakusho): the upbeat ferrywoman who guides souls to the spirit world.
• Hiyori Iki (Noragami): a girl left stuck between the living world and the afterlife.
• Enma Ai (Hell Girl): the tragic ferrywoman who carries vengeful souls to hell.
• Mayoi Hachikuji (Bakemonogatari): a lost ghost girl searching for her way home.
• Kitaro (GeGeGe no Kitaro): the last of the Ghost Tribe, keeping peace between humans and yokai.
• Rea Sanka (Sankarea): a girl who comes back as a conscious zombie and keeps living her life.
• Mei Misaki (Another): the quiet student treated as not there to hold back a deadly curse.

Where to Watch More Supernatural Anime

Most of these supernatural anime live on the major services, and rights move around, so always double-check before you settle in.

For a deeper dig, Crunchyroll’s supernatural collection is a solid place to keep browsing.

Your Turn

Ghost and supernatural anime cover so much ground, from cozy folktales to true nightmare fuel.

So which of these is your favorite, and which spooky pick did I leave too low?

Drop a comment and tell me the supernatural anime I still need to watch.