User blog comment:ChristianWallis/A Look at Ambiguity/@comment-25941663-20160603210228/@comment-28266772-20160603220931

I think revealing bits of the ghost's backstory is an integral part of the ghost story genre. But I still think a ghost story will normally stop being scary once it chooses to humanize the ghost so it's important to pace those reveals out in a way that keeps up the unknown until the creator decides to slow things down and wrap it up. I just hate stories that point you towards an obvious conclusion like "the ghost is a murdered woman who's trying to warn the family that someone near them is a serial killer". Or "the ghost wants people to know the truth about their murder".

I've watched too many bad movies that do these reveals early. And sequels suffer from it even worse, because they're trying to build on what's already been established. It pretty much ruined paranormal activity by the third film. And insidious 2 was worse for deciding to reveal the backstory of the terrifying old woman from the first film. I think J-horror pulls the sympathetic ghost off quite well because in a lost of Eastern cultures ghosts aren't just the lingering conscience of a deceased human, but are a personification of that person's rage and fear. The little girl from the grudge isn't looking to find the truth, because the thing that's haunting the characters is just some abstract force of complete malice that only ever wants to cause pain. You can still sympathise with the girl, but you also recognize that if you attract the ghost's attention the only thing that can happen is you suffering.