You’ve probably heard the tagline “based on a true story”; a phrase that gets thrown into even the most outlandish horror movies to keep us away from the contents of our wallets on Halloween. But no matter what movie marketers say, most horror stories in the movies reflect real life about as accurately as the Super Mario brothers reflect the career trajectories of Italian-American plumbers.
(quiz: Can you guess the horror movie based on the first victim?)
Yet, like lies, even the best horror stories contain a grain of truth, and some of the most terrifying contain much more. We’ll guide you through the scary true stories that made it to the screen.
Psycho (1960)
The movie: Hitchcock’s groundbreaking slasher is a cinematic masterpiece that still has the power to shock audiences more than 50 years later. It is about a mama’s boy who stalks around in the shower Norman Batesthe murderous owner of a motel disguised as a woman who makes Holiday Inns look like five-star resorts.
The reality: The character is based on Ed Gein, who was arrested in 1957 for murdering two women and digging up the bodies of countless others who reminded him of his dead mother. A man with problems, we suspect.
(Show more: The Ghostbusters cast – where are they now?)
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)
The movie: How about this list for horror movies: cannibalism, a mask made of human skin, and a villain who dismembers his victims with a chainsaw. No wonder this emotional film – a story of slaughterhouse workers, er, slaughtering Texas teenagers – was banned in countries around the world when it was first released.
The reality: The film played heavily on its “based on a true story” tagline. But while the events themselves were entirely fictional, the character of Leatherface was also based on Gein (see “Psycho” above), who also skinned his victims to create a full-body suit made of human flesh.
The Exorcist (1973)
The movie: The Exorcist is probably the scariest movie of all time. Just writing its name here makes me shift uncomfortably in my seat. The film is controversial and truly harrowing; its release shook up audiences in the 1970s by questioning the existence of God and offering Satan squatting rights in the body of a 12-year-old girl.
The reality: The film was inspired by the last known Catholic Church-sanctioned exorcism in the United States, in which priests cared for a 13-year-old boy after his parents complained about his aggressive behavior. The facts are a little unclear, and while there may be some truth to reports that the boy spoke with a demonic accent and moved objects with his mind, he almost certainly did not turn his head completely around, was not levitating, or speak gibberish.
Even more sinister, however, is the so-called “Exorcist” curse that befell the film crew. Depending on who you ask, between four and nine people involved in the film died either during production or shortly afterward; while filming was repeatedly delayed by a series of mysterious fires and serious accidents on set.
(Show more: Our Ghostbusters 3 Fantasy Cast)
Amityville Horror (1979)
The movie: Haunted houses have fascinated moviegoers ever since a clever director realized that a creaky window and a rattling doorknob could scare the living daylights out of us. That director was probably Stuart Rosenberg, whose spooky 1979 film provided the template for nearly every haunted house movie made since.
The reality: Amityville is based on the true experiences of the Lutz family, who had to fight off real estate agents, movers and endless layers of bubble wrap, only to discover that the house they had moved into was haunted. Like in the film, their new home had once been the site of a mass murder, which may explain why they experienced cold spots, upside-down crucifixes and walls covered in green slime over a four-week period. That is, if they hadn’t just made the whole thing up, as many suspected…
(Show more: The Movie: Deaths You Never See Coming)
Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)
The movie: Before it launched a seemingly endless line of sequels, prequels and parodies, A Nightmare On Elm Street set the standard for imaginative slasher flicks with its heady mix of horror and humor. It also made striped sweaters, jaunty pointy hats and leather gloves a fashion faux pas for anyone burned alive by the overzealous neighborhood watchmen of Elm Street.
The reality: Craven’s wonderful film “MacGuffin” is based on a real-life disease known as “Asian Death Syndrome.” The disease was diagnosed in Cambodian refugees who suffered from recurring nightmares and refused to sleep afterwards for fear of dying. Some were even right, because they died shortly afterwards. Spooky, right?
Do you agree with our selection or did we miss any of the gruesome true stories from Hollywood in our list? Give us a prank or reward in the comments section below.
