Some completely missed the mark
The disturbing paranormal activity that tormented the Lutz family after moving into a house in Amityville, New York, where convicted killer Ronald DeFeo Jr. committed the mass murder of his family in 1974, provided the backstory for 'The Amityville Horror.'
The inspiration for "Chucky," the malevolent mannequin in 'Child's Play,' is apparently based on a haunted doll called Robert exhibited at the East Martello Museum in Key West, Florida.
Regularly cited as the most frightening movie ever made, 'The Exorcist' is based on a real-life event that took place in the 1940s. The family of a 14-year-old boy called Roland Doe sought the services of a priest, Father Raymond J. Bishop, who performed multiple exorcisms on the youngster after he was seemingly possessed by something sinister.
'The Rite' mirrors the actual experiences of Father Gary Thomas, a California priest who was assigned by his bishop to study exorcism at the Vatican.
Believe it or not, the premise behind 'A Nightmare on Elm Street' is a 1981 story that featured in the Los Angeles Times about several male Southeast Asian refugees who died in their sleep. Others refused to rest because of the nightmares that they feared would induce death.
While "Leatherface," the manic protagonist in 'The Texas Chain Saw Massacre,' is a fictional character, the film itself draws inspiration from the shocking story of convicted serial killer Elmer Wayne Henley and the so-called "Houston Mass Murder" case of the early 1970s.
'The Conjuring' is based on a true story of the Perrons, a family of seven terrorized in their own home by evil spirits. The paranormal activity was investigated by Ed and Lorraine Warren, demonologists known for investigating the Lutz family of Amityville infamy.
The 'Ravenous' screenplay is loosely inspired by the Donner Party, a group of American pioneers stranded in the Sierra Nevada mountain range over the winter of 1846–1847 who reverted to cannibalism in order to survive. The film also draws on the story of Alfred Packer, a prospector who ate five members of his own party after getting trapped traversing the mountains of Colorado in 1874.
In 1998, scuba divers Tom and Eileen Lonergan were unintentionally abandoned by their dive boat crew and left to fend for themselves in shark-infested waters off the coast of Queensland, Australia. They were never found and are presumed dead. 'Open Water' is loosely based on this infamous example of failed health and safety regulations and questionable seamanship.
The late 1950s real-life killings of Wisconsin serial killer Ed Gain provided Alfred Hitchcock with inspiration for his influential suspense thriller 'Psycho.'
Unbelievable as this might sound, 'Cocaine Bear' is based on the true story of an American black bear that ingested nearly 34 kg (75 lb) of lost cocaine. While the animal fatally overdosed on the illicit haul, the movie takes liberties in sending the bear on a murderous, drug-fueled rampage through the forests of Georgia.
Gabriele Amorth, on whose life this supernatural horror film is partly based, was a co-founder of the International Association of Exorcists. He subsequently became one of the most controversial figures in the Catholic Church in the modern era, and boasted of having performed tens of thousands of exorcisms.
The fact that it's shot in black and white adds an authentic aura to 'The Lighthouse,' a psychological thriller partly inspired by the Smalls Lighthouse Tragedy of 1801.
The real story of 'Annabelle' has its roots in the aforementioned tale of Ed and Lorraine Warren and the Perron family. In this film, the protagonists concentrate their efforts on ridding a doll of the demonic spirit of a deceased girl named Annabelle Higgins. The mannequin is based off a Raggedy Anne doll that was gifted to a young nurse. It's now housed in the Occult Museum in Monroe, Connecticut, which is owned by the Warrens.
The disturbing case of Anneliese Michel, a young German woman who allegedly underwent 67 Catholic exorcism rites during the year before her death in 1976, provides the basis for 'The Exorcism of Emily Rose.' A German film production 'Requiem,' made in 2006, is also based on the Anneliese Michel story.
The accounts of real-life New York City police sergeant Ralph Sarchie, who encountered paranormal activity while working on crimes in The Bronx, are examined in this supernatural horror film.
'The Mothman Prophecies' revolves around the legend of the Mothman, a humanoid creature reportedly seen in the Point Pleasant area of Virginia in 1966–1967. In the film, the mysterious apparition is linked to the catastrophic collapse of the Silver Bridge on December 15, 1967, which killed 46 people.
The Tanacu exorcism that took place in Vaslui County, Romania, in 2005, during which a nun died, provided the inspiration for 'The Crucifixion.'
'Winchester' is named for American heiress Sarah Winchester, who was said to be haunted by spirits inside her San Jose mansion in 1906. The property still stands and today is known as the Winchester Mystery House.
This early 1980s horror offering is based on a 1978 novel written by Frank De Felitta, which itself draws inspiration from a strange 1974 case where a California woman named Doris Bither claimed she was assaulted and tormented by an invisible assailant—the film's "entity."
'Silent House' is a remake of the 2010 Uruguayan film 'La Casa Muda,' which was allegedly based on a true story about actual paranormal incidents that occurred in a small town in Uruguay in the 1940s. However, no proof has yet surfaced as to the veracity of the story.
The 'Poltergeist' plotline focuses on a suburban family whose home is invaded by malevolent ghosts that abduct their youngest daughter. In 1958, the Herrmann household in Seaford, New York, was plagued by similar strange and inexplicable incidents, unexplained phenomena that provided the basis for the famous 1982 movie.
In 1993, a trio of men dubbed the West Memphis Three murdered three boys during the Satanic ritual panic—a period in American history that began in the 1980s and still persists today and is characterized by the organized ritualistic assault of victims. 'Devil's Knot' examines the crime and its aftermath.
The Philip experiment, a parapsychology experiment conducted in Toronto, Ontario, in 1972 to determine whether mere mortals could communicate with fictionalized ghosts through expectations of human will, provided a loose premise for this supernatural horror film.
'The Haunting in Connecticut' is allegedly based on the true story of Carmen Snedeker and her family. The Snedeker's property was supposedly a former funeral home where morticians regularly practiced necromancy. Evil forces eventually took over each member of the family, the story continues, until only an exorcism could cure them.
According to the true story behind the movie, the "disappointments room" was discovered in a small colonial style home in Rhode Island, which was built in 1857. This hidden room had a dark, haunted past, used as it was by the wealthy homeowner to hide away a disabled child.
This scary Spanish production is based on a real police report from a Madrid neighborhood outlining the death of a young woman who passed away in mysterious circumstances after performing a séance at a school to try to contact her friend's deceased boyfriend.
Incredible as it sounds, while 'The Birds' was inspired by a short story by Daphne du Maurier, the author in turn was motivated to put pen to paper after reading about numerous birds in the Monterey Bay area reportedly acting disoriented and crashing into people's houses for unknown reasons. In 2011, it was reported that researchers discovered a toxin-making algae in some dead birds that apparently cause amnesia, confusion, and seizures.
Sources: (History) (The Mirror) (National Geographic) (The Washington Post) (Vanity Fair)
See also: Where does Halloween come from?
'The Possession' is not so much based on a true story as an actual, allegedly "cursed" box called the dybbuk. Owners of the dybbuk box have experienced frightening, unexplainable events that have forced them to sell it.
The gruesome 1981 Keddie Cabin Murders, in which four people were killed by three masked assailants in a California resort town, provided part-inspiration for 'The Strangers.' The murders, incidentally, remain unsolved.
Did you know that some of cinema's scariest movies are actually based on real-life events? That means exorcisms really have taken place, poltergeists do run amok, and Satanic ritual is an unfortunate truth. Feeling afraid?
Click on and sit through frightening films made from reality.
Real-life-inspired horror movies to watch this Halloween
Frightening films made from reality
MOVIES Cinema
Did you know that some of cinema's scariest movies are actually based on real-life events? That means exorcisms really have taken place, poltergeists do run amok, and Satanic ritual is an unfortunate truth. Feeling afraid?
Click on and sit through frightening films made from reality.