Since the film was accidentally released without a copyright notice, it was immediately in the public domain. Countless distributors have released it onto VHS and DVD, sometimes with a bad picture and unintelligible sound. The Criterion Collection's DVD release is recommended.
There are two different versions of Carnival of Souls: a shorter Theatrical Version and the Original Version also known as Director's Cut. The Theatrical Version is almost 5 minutes shorter but it is safe to assume that most of the differences are the result of a bad copy.