Horror movies often draw from reality to get at some of the deepest fears we hold in our hearts. In fact, some of the most iconic horror movies of all time have been practically ripped from the headlines. How true these stories are varies from movie to movie, or even what you perceive the truth to be. Still, at least these movies make for horror that sticks with you long after the credits roll.
Content Warning: This article discusses real-life crimes including sexual assault, murder, grave robbing, desecration of corpses, and other horrific and real events.
Phantom of the Opera (1925)
Technically, it’s the book itself that drew from real life. But yes, the Phantom of the Opera was based on the real Paris opera house, the Palais Garnier, where a falling chandelier weight killed a woman on May 20th, 1896. Even the underground lake from the musical isn’t entirely fictional; while the “lake” is mostly an urban legend, the opera house ran into difficulties with hitting ground water during its construction in the 1860s and built a reservoir cavern for use in the event of a fire.
Psycho (1960) / The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974) / Silence of the Lambs (1992)
The original slasher killer, Norman Bates, is very loosely based on Ed Gein, a graverobber and murderer. Gein killed two women in his Wisconsin community: tavern owner Mary Hogan in 1954 and hardware store owner Bernice Worden in 1957. Gein also exhumed bodies from local cemeteries to turn into furniture and skin suits. Do not look up the specifics unless you have a strong stomach.
Many aspects of Gein and his crimes were sensationalized or misrepresented by the media, leading to a demonization of cross-dressing and Gein being incorrectly labeled as transgender, which irrevocably shifted the perception of trans women in US media.
Gein’s crimes also loosely inspired the exploits of Leatherface and his grave-robbing/cannibal brothers in The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974) and Buffalo Bill in Silence of the Lambs (1992).
The Exorcist (1973)
The Exorcist is loosely based on the exorcism of an unnamed 14-year-old boy, often referred to by the pseudonyms “Roland Doe” or “Robbie Mannheim.” Not much is known about the boy, but he was reportedly from a Maryland German Lutheran family and had an aunt who introduced him to a Ouija board. After the aunt passed away, the family experienced multiple strange phenomena that they attributed to Roland. Roland was eventually exorcised by William S. Bowen and Father Edward Hughes, though many doubt the validity of the story.
Black Christmas (1974)
Black Christmas is based on both an urban legend and some real-life murders. The urban legend is known as “The Babysitter and the Man Upstairs,” a.k.a “the call is coming from inside the house” legend. The real-life inspiration for Black Christmas‘ Billy is Wayne Boden, who sexually assaulted and murdered four women in Montreal and Calgary. Unlike Billy, Boden was found and arrested for his crimes.
A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)
Obviously, a dream demon isn’t actually killing people in their sleep. However, Wes Craven has stated that the inspiration for the film came from articles in the Los Angeles Times about some Southeast Asian refugees who suddenly died in their sleep after suffering nightmares and avoiding sleep. There have been multiple attempts at explanations over the years, including sudden unexplained death syndrome or Brugada syndrome, but the ambiguity of their deaths still haunts the minds of many.
Child’s Play (1988)
Child’s Play, a.k.a the film that introduced Chucky the Killer Doll, is an interesting case as it’s not inspired by true crime as much as it is by the culture of the time. Writer Don Mancini saw the film as an analysis of consumerism and the dangerous effects of marketing to children, with parents and kids alike going into frenzies over Cabbage Patch Kids and My Buddy dolls.
Mancini also used the film as a reflection of his own childhood and experiences as a gay man, which he would further explore in later Chucky films and the Chucky TV series.
Scream (1996)
Scream obviously took a lot of inspiration from classic slasher movies, including Halloween and Black Christmas. However, it also took inspiration from a real-life serial killer. Daniel Rolling, like Wayne Boden, was a serial killer and rapist who murdered three people in Shreveport, Louisiana. He avoided detection and killed several college students in Gainesville, Florida a year later. Some reports claim that Rolling wanted to be a famous serial killer like Ted Bundy, while other reports indicate that personality disorders or his abusive homelife were more to blame.
Wolf Creek (2005)
An Australian film about the dangers of backpacking where no one can hear you scream, Wolf Creek drew inspiration from two Australian murderers who targeted backpackers. Ivan Milat murdered seven people from 1989 to 1992 by pretending to offer people rides and then taking them to the Belanglo State Forest, where he would kill them. His collection of belongings from his victims directly inspired much of the imagery of this film. Bradley Murdoch was accused of murder and attempted kidnapping in 2001, using his guise as a mechanic to lure in his victims. Murdoch’s trial was actually ongoing when the film premiered, resulting in the film’s release in Northern Australia being delayed so as to not influence the trial.
The Strangers (2008)
The Strangers claims to be based on a true story, but just how true that claim is is up to interpretation. Some claim it’s based on the Manson Family murders, mainly due to two of the three killers being women and the “randomness” of the horrible act of violence. Others claim that the Keddie Cabin murders, which occurred in California, were a major influence on the movie, specifically how the killers were never found.
The Conjuring
The whole Conjuring universe is based on the exploits of Ed and Lorraine Warren, who were controversial paranormal investigators and authors. Lorraine actually served as a consultant on the set of the first movie. Their cases include the Perron Family (subjects of the first Conjuring film), Arne Johnson (the inspiration for The Devil Made Me Do It), Annabelle the haunted doll (as seen in 2014’s Annabelle), as well as Amityville (of Amityville Horror fame).
Lake Bodom (2016)
Bodom is loosely inspired by the Lake Bodom murders, which remain one of the most infamous unsolved cases in Finnish history. They actually specifically return to the site to “recreate” the murders, a prophecy that they fulfilled a little more literally than they wanted to.
What’s your favorite horror movie “based on a true story”? Comment below!
(featured image: Universal Pictures)
Published: Oct 2, 2023 06:00 pm