Are you a horror movie fan? Do you love watching horror movies? Of course, you do, everyone loves watching horror movies. It is great fun to be thrilled and scared at the same time and we all know that there is no such thing as monsters, they are all just fictional and created by the demand of the script. But what if I told you the horror movies you have watched were one of the horror movies based on true stories. What if someone went through all those scary noises and faced those ghosts in real life? Well, it’s true, there are a lot of horror movies in our movie industry that were based on true events. So today I have decided to show you the list of some horror movies which were based on true stories. So buckle up because this ride is going to be scary as hell.
Best of the Best: Hollywood Horror Movies Based on True Stories
10). The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)
If you have watched Texas Chainsaw Massacre, you would probably be wondering how this movie could be based on a true story, how someone could do something like this in real life that happened in the movie. Well, it’s true, the movie was based on a true story. The main antagonist in the movie, also known as “The Leatherface” was actually inspired from the story of a killer named Ed Gein who would firstly kill his victims and then use their skin as a mask. Ew!! That’s Gross.
The stories even say that he would not only wear the victim’s skin as masks but also wear their skin as vests. He also stole dead bodies from nearby graveyards and used bones and skin to decorate his house. Yeah I know, that’s really creepy. Although the movie was not completely based on Ed’s life somehow the plot matched his story. In the movie three friends became victims to a family of cannibals while they were investigating the case of dead bodies being robbed from graveyard.
The movie shows Leatherface killing his victims with chainsaws and later on wearing the skin of his victims as masks. Probably that’s from where he got his name from. Within a very short time of its release, the movie made its name in the list of one of scariest movies of all time. But what happened to the victims of Gein in real life is really tragic.
9). The Hills Have Eyes (1977)
The Hills Have Eyes is a 1977 cult classic horror movie directed by Wes Craven. The movie is about the family of cannibals who lived in caves and would rob, kill and even eat the travelers passing through the nearby roads. It was then followed by its sequel which was released in 2006. The movie became one of the highest-grossing horror movies of all time within a very short time. Wes Craven’s work was highly appreciated by audience but the truth came out when during an interview Wes said that the movie was inspired from true events.
Believe it or not but it’s true, “The Hills Have Eyes” was actually inspired by the story of Sawney Bean and his family of cannibals. It is believed that the Bean family lived in the caves of medieval Scotland far away from any civilization. The family included Sawney Bean, his wife, eight sons, six daughters, eighteen grandsons, and fourteen granddaughters. That’s a huge family. Anyhow, it is believed that the family of 48 members robbed and killed many travelers and even ate them.
They lived inside caves for 25 years and no one ever found anything about them. They not only ate the travelers but they also stole dead bodies from nearby graves. But the authorities came to know about Bean when a young guy escaped from the cave and informed the authorities. Stories say that when authorities arrived there they found remains of thousands of corpses being eaten and they were all around the cave. The Bean family was immediately condemned to death without trial.
8). The Entity (1983)
The Entity is a 1983 horror movie directed by Sidney J. Furie. The Entity is a story of Carla Moran who was a single parent of her four children and claimed that she was being tortured and sometimes even raped by an invisible force. The movie was a great hit of its time and it was considered as one of the most haunted movies. The movie was inspired by a novel with the same name. But The Entity was just not a movie or a novel, it was a real story of a woman named Doris Bither who lived with her four children and faced torture by a poltergeist. She faced all those paranormal events that were featured in the movie.
The Entity was inspired by the story of a woman who lived in a house with her children and claimed that she was experiencing some supernatural events in the house. She told her story to two paranormal investigators, Kerry Gaynor and Berry Taff, who initially thought that Doris was nuts. But when she told them that she was even raped by some invisible force and the bruises were still on her body, they did an experiment and took some photographs which clearly showed the appearance of some supernatural power. Doris was continuously tortured and every day the torture just kept increasing. To date, no one knows what happened to Doris and it is believed that the ghost left the house with her.
7). The Amityville Horror (2005)
The Amityville Horror is a 2005 horror movie directed by Andrew Douglas. The movie was highly appreciated by the audience and very soon the movie was counted in the list of highly grossing movies. The movie is a story of Lutz family who moved to Amityville house and very soon they started to experience some paranormal activities in the house. The movie became a cult classic and its work was highly appreciated by the audience. But was it just a movie or was there a story behind it?
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Well, there was a true story behind the movie. The Amityville Horror was inspired by a novel with the same name as that of the movie. But it is believed that this novel was inspired by the true events of the Lutz family. George Lutz moved into the Amityville House with his wife and three children. But they only moved to get terrified and scared. They started to experience paranormal activities. The family even claimed to have seen flying objects and heard strange noises. And when they tried to bless the house they were hurt badly. It is believed that before the Lutz family moved in, a boy had shot six members of his family 13 months ago. Since then the house has been considered haunted.
6). The Shining (1980)
We all remember the 1980 classic horror movie “The Shining” directed by Stanley Kubrick. The Shining was inspired by the 1977 novel of the same name written by Stephen King. Shining was initially not so popular but soon it made its name in the list of top 10 horror movies of all time. But is it just a movie inspired by a novel or is there something that is true about the story? Although the movie and novel had many differences, it is believed that the author Stephen King experienced some paranormal activities in the hotel Stanley while he was staying there with his wife.
The Shining is a story of a hotel Stanley situated in Colorado where Stephen King and his wife experienced paranormal activities. As soon as King and his wife checked into the hotel they found out that they were the only customers staying there. But soon after they realized they were not alone, King claimed that he had seen ghostly children and witnessed an ongoing party of some paranormal beings in the ballroom. It is believed that room 217 has become the center for paranormal activities after the death of a cleaner. Since then the hotel has become one of the haunted sites in world and many guests have experienced paranormal stuff there. As soon as King had this experience, he turned it into a novel which then became a classic and one of the best horror movies based on true stories.
5). The Conjuring (2013)
The Conjuring is an American horror movie released in 2013 under the brilliant direction of James Wan. Conjuring was the story of the Perron family who experienced some weird noises in their farmhouse and hired paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren. After experiencing paranormal events, the investigators declared the farm house haunted. The Conjuring was highly appreciated by audience and critics and it became one of the most horrifying movies of all time. The movie seems so scary that if you come to know it is one of the horror movies based on true stories, you will not dare to watch it again.
Well it’s true, Ed and Lorraine Warren, a real-life couple and paranormal investigators, have solved the case of the Perron family in Harrisville, Rhode Island. Warren was approached by Roger Perron after experiencing some paranormal events in his farmhouse. Soon Ed and Lorraine found out that the house was haunted by a witch who lived there earlier in the 19th century. The Warrens then investigated the house and during this, they experienced a number of attacks. According to Warrens, the house was cursed that whoever lived there died. Warrens had solved over 10,000 cases in their lives but this case was considered as one of the most dangerous cases ever.
4). Annabelle (2014)
Another movie based on the cases solved by Ed and Lorraine Warren, Annabelle is a story of a doll that was possessed by some evil force. Annabelle was released in 2014 and was directed by John R. Leonetti. Within the first week of its release, the movie made its name in the list of highest-grossing movies and one of the best horror movies of the year. But it was just not a movie, it was inspired from Warren’s case where they faced a haunted doll which was possessed by an evil spirit.
The story goes back to 1970 when Warrens was approached by two college students and roommates who claimed that there was something wrong with their doll and she was possessed. The roommates said that they have seen their doll moving on its own and sometimes blood ripping out of the doll. According to Ed and Lorraine, years ago a young girl named Annabelle Higgins had died in the same place where the roommates were living. And when the doll came into the house it became possessed by Annabelle’s spirit. The doll found the roommates trustworthy and whoever decided to hurt them got killed. So, Ed and Lorraine took the doll and put it into their museum of spooky trophies and to keep people safe from its evil the doll is blessed continuously by a priest, so that it cannot harm anybody.
3). The Girl Next Door (2007)
The Girl Next Door is a 2007 horror movie directed by Gregory M. Wilson. The movie was inspired by Jack Ketchum’s novel with the same name which was published in 1989. The novel was inspired by the true story of Sylvia Likens and how she was tortured and murdered by her caretaker Gertrude Baniszewski. This movie is not a horror movie in terms of ghosts, spirits or demonic possessions but the movie is an example of evil that can be done by humans. It is perfect proof of how humanity is the worst evil thing on earth.
The Girl Next Door is the story of Sylvia Likens who was left by her parents at a neighbor’s house. Her caretaker and neighbour Gertrude Baniszewski kept the young girl in the house where she and her daughters used to torture her. They burned her with cigarettes, harassed her sexually, and even carved her body with a knife. They also invite neighbor’s boys to torture her and rape her. According to investigations, the body had several bruises from being burned and cut. The poor girl died due to continuous torture and when authorities found out about the death Gertrude and her daughters were found guilty and were sentenced to death. This case is one of the biggest shames on humanity and whatever happened to Sylvia was really tragic.
2). The Exorcist (1973)
In the paranormal world, exorcisms are considered to be the worst experiences ever. In history, there are many cases where exorcisms have been done to save people from demonic possessions. The Exorcist is an exorcism-based horror movie directed by William Friedkin, inspired by his own novel of the same name. The Exorcist has considered one of the scariest movies of all time and the interesting fact about the movie is that not only it was inspired by a true story but during its shooting, the crew members and actors witnessed paranormal events. It is believed that the set on which it was being shot was cursed.
Anyhow The Exorcist was inspired by the true story of Roland Doe who was possessed by some demons and underwent a series of exorcisms performed by two priests. The boy was badly hurt by the demon and bruises could be seen all over his body. Doe’s mother badly wanted her son back so she decided to perform a series of exorcisms on her son to cure him. With the help of local priests, the lady performed exorcisms on her son which were also recorded by the priests. It is believed that the boy was then cured and his identity was never revealed, as in the movie the exorcism is done on a girl but in reality it was Doe (which is not even his real name).
1). The Exorcism of Emily Rose (2005)
One of the scariest movies ever made in history is The Exorcism of Emily Rose and of all the movies in the list, this is the one story that none of you wants to be true at all. The movie was released in 2005 under the direction of Scott Derrickson. The movie was rated in the list of “Most Frightened Performance” by MTV movie awards. But sadly it was just not a fictional movie but it was based on the true story of Anneliese Michel who died after undergoing a series of ritual exorcisms for 10 months. This is considered one of the most tragic events ever happened in history. It is one of the best horror movies based on true stories.
Michel was experiencing many paranormal events at the age of 16. She claimed that she heard noises while she was praying. She was considered abnormal and was diagnosed by psychiatrists. But when medication didn’t help and her behavior became worse day by day, her parents completely relied on catholic exorcisms. They approached local priests and decided to perform rituals secretly. Michel went through a series of Catholic exorcisms over a time period of 10 months during which her condition just became worse and worse. Her body started to experience many bruises and she turned weaker. After 10 months she was found dead and the priests and her mother were found guilty. Her mother even said “whatever we did was for good, she was possessed by a demon and exorcism was the best way to save her”.
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