Leave it to William Castle to turn a triple homicide into the basis for a comedy. The result is The Spirit Is Willing, a dispiriting effort from the usually reliable director. In fact, of all his films since Castle became a name brand with 1958’s Macabre, this is the only one I’ve seen that wasn’t at least mildly fun to watch. Even taking his minor works into account, from Zots! to Shanks, I didn’t think such an un-feat were possible.

At the same time, I wish it no ill will, because it’s entirely harmless and full of the good-naturedness that made Castle a matinee hero. Its focus is on a lovely, coastal, 19th-century home haunted by the ghosts of Ebenezer, Felicity and Jenny — a love triangle between a greedy man, his ugly wife and their attractive maid, all of whom kill one another in the jaunty, played-for-laughs prologue.

The trio of mute spirits has scared away residents for ages — depicted in a crudely drawn credit sequence — and the latest arrival is the Powell family, on an extended vacation: worrisome magazine editor Ben (Sid Caesar); his subservient wife, Kate (Vera Miles, Psycho); and their temperamental teenage son, Steve (Barry Gordon, The Girl Can’t Help It). As soon as the Powells move in, the ghosts get to work wreaking havoc, and Steve angrily shoulders the blame for all the damaged antiques and even sinking his uncle’s yacht.

With guest turns from John Astin, Harvey Lembeck and Doodles Weaver, Spirit offers nothing that merits more than the rare, occasional smile. In fact, from today’s perspective, Steve’s outbursts are so violent, they provoked stress and discomfort in this viewer. For ghosts swirling around the heads of befuddled characters, Castle offered 13 of ’em in a far superior spookshow. This one’s just a rare misfire for the man. —Rod Lott

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