Top 30 Horror Movies Inspired by True Events
#30: “Open Water” (2003)
Getting stranded in the middle of shark-infested waters is one of the scariest experiences anyone can endure. Unfortunately, this terrifying scenario became a reality for American couple Tom and Eileen Lonergan, who were accidentally left behind during a group scuba diving trip to the Great Barrier Reef. Their chilling tale became the basis for the 2003 survival horror film “Open Water,” about a married couple attempting to strengthen their relationship through a scuba diving adventure. While no one knows exactly what became of Tom and Eileen Lonergan, who have since been presumed dead, the characters in the film ultimately suffer a horrifying fate at the mercy of the sharks.
#29: “Verónica” (2017)
Several horror films have centered around the use of ouija boards to summon malevolent spirits, but only a handful are grounded in real-life events. One of them is “Verónica.” The 2017 Spanish film follows the titular character, a teenage girl who attempts to connect with her deceased father’s spirit using a ouija board, only to invite a more diabolical force. The movie draws inspiration from the real-life case of Estefanía Gutiérrez Lázaro. In 1991, Lázaro reportedly conducted a séance at a school in Madrid, in an attempt to communicate with her friend’s late boyfriend. Instead, she began experiencing debilitating hallucinations and seizures, and ultimately succumbed to a mysterious death.
#28: “10 Rillington Place” (1971)
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The events that inspired this 1971 British film involve both a terrifying serial killer and a grave miscarriage of justice. During the 1940s and early 1950s, John Christie claimed the lives of at least eight people within his flat at 10 Rillington Place in Notting Hill, London. Among his victims were his own wife Ethel, as well as his neighbor Beryl Evans and her daughter Geraldine. Adding to the horror was Christie’s successful attempt to divert suspicion by helping to wrongfully convict Evans’ husband, Timothy, for the deaths of his wife and daughter. Christie went on to commit four more murders, before being apprehended in 1953 and subsequently hanged for his crimes.
#27: “Audrey Rose” (1977)
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After noticing unusual behavior in his son, writer Frank De Felitta consulted an occultist. During the meeting, it was suggested that De Felitta’s son had reincarnated and was only recalling memories from his previous life. Inspired by this experience, De Felitta penned the novel “Audrey Rose” in 1975, which he adapted into a motion picture two years later. Both the book and the movie center around the concept of reincarnation, with a compelling twist. In the story, a New York City couple finds themselves entangled with a mysterious man who insists their daughter is the reincarnation of his own deceased child. It’s a haunting tale that explores the intriguing question: What if your child harbored a secret past life?
#26: “Black Water” (2007)
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Just like “Open Water” does with sharks, “Black Water” confronts its human characters with a massive crocodile. Released in 2007, the Australian film follows a pregnant woman who goes on vacation with her boyfriend and sister, only to end up fighting for survival against a ferocious crocodile. You know, a nightmare that nearly everyone has had at some point. However, for a trio of friends who ventured into the Australian outback in December 2003, that nightmare became a haunting reality when they were attacked by a crocodile. Their distressing ordeal, which resulted in the death of one person, served as the inspiration for “Black Water.”
#25: “The Entity” (1982)
Top 10 Horror Movies Inspired By True Events
Being attacked and tormented by an assailant within the confines of your home is inherently frightening. Now imagine if that assailant was invisible. Those were precisely the claims of Doris Bither. In 1974, Bither sought the assistance of parapsychologist Barry Taff, asserting that she had encountered several invisible entities that not only tormented her, but also subjected her to sexual assault. Taff, alongside a group of doctoral students at the University of California, Los Angeles, conducted an investigation into her case. The findings of this investigation inspired the 1978 book “The Entity,” which was then adapted into this 1982 film. The movie introduces several new elements, cranking up the horror with truly disturbing imagery.
#24: “The Mothman Prophecies” (2002)
Top 20 Horror Movies Inspired by True Events
In “The Mothman Prophecies,” Richard Gere plays a reporter who is sent to investigate strange creature sightings - a phenomenon also witnessed by his late wife. The movie is an adaptation of the eponymous book and claims to be based on actual events. Between 1966 and 1967, residents of Point Pleasant, West Virginia, reported encounters with a large winged entity referred to as Mothman. Both the book and the film link these mysterious sightings to the tragic collapse of the Silver Bridge over the Ohio River in 1967. However, it has since been determined that the bridge collapse resulted from the corrosion of an eye-bar in one of the suspension chains.
#23: “Borderland” (2007)
Three recent American college graduates journey to Mexico for a week of pure, unadulterated fun. However, things go horribly awry when one of them encounters a group of strange men and disappears. As “Borderland” unfolds, it becomes apparent that the missing man has fallen victim to a religious cult led by a drug lord who practices human sacrifice. If that sounds to you like a plot from the mind of someone under the influence, then think again. “Borderland” draws inspiration from the real-life events involving Adolfo de Jesús Constanzo. In 1989, Constanzo, a drug lord-slash-murderous cult leader, orchestrated the abduction and murder of Mark Kilroy, an American student on spring break in Mexico.
#22: “The Girl Next Door” (2007)
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Based on Jack Ketchum's 1989 novel, this horror drama is such a harrowing watch, it will make you ache to learn that its “based on true events” message wasn’t only a marketing ploy. Unfortunately, this tale about a child who’s tormented under the watchful eye of a supposed guardian is based on the 1965 case of Sylvia Likens. Although a few things are changed from the real story, “The Girl Next Door” puts a lot of this crime's cruelty on full display. Stephen King described it as “a long look into hell, suburban style”.
#21: “Them” [aka “Ils”] (2006)
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This French-Romanian horror film was allegedly inspired by the story of an Austrian couple that was killed while traveling in the Czech Republic. The movie follows a French woman, Clementine, who’s moved into a house just outside of Bucharest, Romania. When strangers invade her home, Clementine and her boyfriend Lucas run out into the woods. Yeah, that’s not going to end well ... No evidence has surfaced to support this film’s claim that it was based in reality, but the fact that it might have been makes it all the more scary, playing on our fear of random, senseless crimes.
#20: “Child's Play” (1988)
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For years, many children lived in perpetual fear of dolls as a result of the 1988 film “Child’s Play.” It introduced audiences to Chucky, the terrifying doll that haunted the life of the young boy who received it as a gift. While the story is fictional, Chucky was reportedly inspired by an unsettling toy from the early 20th century known as Robert. It belonged to painter Robert Eugene Otto and was supposedly a birthday present from his childhood. However, legend has it that a young woman who worked for Otto’s family gifted it to him as “retaliation for wrongdoing.” The doll has allegedly exhibited supernatural behavior and caused several misfortunes for its owners.
#19: “Primeval” (2007)
Man-eating animals are always terrifying, but none more so than “Gustave,” a nearly one ton, 20-foot-long Nile Crocodile in Burundi. In real life, it’s alleged that this terrifying creature has killed somewhere between 200 and 300 people, though an exact number is hard to determine. Either way, his reputation has reached legendary proportions. “Primeval” follows a group of American journalists who seek to study the monstrous croc - at their peril. Needless to say, their field trip does not go as planned. Maybe just leave the man-eating animal alone next time, guys?
#18: “The Strangers” (2008)
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Director/screenwriter Bryan Bertino drew on the crimes of the Manson Family, as well as personal experience, for this home invasion horror film. Bertino stated he remembers a group of people knocking on the doors in his neighborhood asking if a made-up person was home. If no one answered the door, they would rob the house. His movie takes a much more sinister approach, focusing instead on a group that wants to kill innocent people in their homes for no reason. As with “Them”, it’s the randomness and senselessness of their acts that leaves you shivering.
#17: “An American Haunting” (2005)
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Much like “The Blair Witch Project,” this movie draws inspiration from the Bell Witch legend of Adams, Tennessee. According to lore, the family of John Bell – a farmer in the 1800s – was targeted by a dead witch known as Kate Batts. Batts’ poltergeist apparently harassed the family by physically abusing them, making them hear sounds, and displacing objects in their house. She mainly targeted the family’s youngest, Betsy, but poisoned John Bell. Switching between the 19th and 21st-centuries, “An American Haunting” brings this terrifying tale into the present day.
#16: “Compliance” (2012)
The most chilling thing about this story has to be the cruelty that some are willing to afflict on the innocent. Starting in the early ‘90s, various fast food restaurants in the United States began to complain about prank calls to their stores, in which a supposed police officer would accuse an employee of a crime. The officer would then ask the manager to interrogate and harass the employee in various ways. “Compliance” focuses on an eerily similar 2004 incident that happened in Mount Washington, Kentucky. The film transforms the chilling true story into an even more haunting film, putting you right in the shoes of the harassed employee.
#15: “The Hills Have Eyes” (1977)
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While in search of inspiration for his second film, the now legendary horror filmmaker Wes Craven stumbled upon the historic legend of Sawney Bean. Bean was a 16th century figure who led a clan of cannibals in Scotland. Over a span of 25 years, Bean and his clan members are believed to have cannibalized over 1,000 people. This striking tale became the basis for Craven’s horror classic “The Hills Have Eyes,” which was released in 1977. Although similar in many ways, the savage family in Craven’s film suffer a different fate from their real-life counterparts. Bean and his clan were hunted down by King James VI’s men and executed in a particularly macabre fashion.
#14: “The Haunting in Connecticut” (2009)
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In this supernatural horror flick, the Snedeker family moves to Connecticut to be closer to the doctor of their son, who has been diagnosed with cancer. But they discover that their new home used to be a funeral parlor. Even worse, those who ran the mortuary had … questionable practices, including necromancy. The movie is supposedly based on a true story, fuelled by Carmen Snedeker's claim that she was haunted by a quote “evil entity”. The house was examined by Ed and Lorraine Warren, and exorcised in 1988. However, many researchers believe that the story was a hoax, with Ed allegedly telling author Ray Garton to quote “Just make it up and make it scary”.
#13: “Ravenous” (1999)
Starvation and desperation can make people do strange things. The Western horror film "Ravenous" is not based on one specific historical incident but it does take inspiration from different sources, primarily the life of Alferd Packer and the Donner Party. Along with some nods to these real incidents of humans eating their dead, "Ravenous" presents the idea that once someone tries it, nothing else will ever satisfy them again. Atmospheric, unsurprisingly gory, weirdly comedic, and featuring a mesmerizing performance by Robert Carlyle, "Ravenous" uses history and myth to craft a strange but captivating horror film.
#12: “Wolf Creek” (2005)
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Rather than being based on one set of circumstances, this film is an amalgamation of various real-life events. These include the crimes of two Australian killers, Ivan Milat and Bradley John Murdoch. Both preyed on tourists, Milat in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s, and Murdoch in 2001, when he attacked British traveler Peter Falconio and his girlfriend, Joanne Lees. Paralleling the events of the movie, the couple was driving through the Australian outback, when their car was flagged down by a stranded motorist. Lees managed to escape but heard gunshots; Falconio was never seen again and his body hasn’t been recovered.
#11: “The Exorcism of Emily Rose” (2005)
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This film is based on the life of German woman Anneliese Michel, who experienced seizures and was diagnosed with epileptic psychosis. Due to her aversion to religious objects, her parents contacted the Catholic Church to request an exorcism. Two priests answered the call, and performed a total of 67 exorcisms. The results were disastrous, with Michel dying from malnutrition and dehydration. This movie expands on that story by following the exorcist as he’s tried for homicide. The incident also inspired two other films, 2006’s “Requiem” and 2011’s “Anneliese: The Exorcist Tapes”.
#10: “Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer” (1986)
Henry Lee Lucas seems like the stuff of nightmares, but unfortunately, he’s based on a real life figure. Active between the years of 1960 and 1983, Lucas claimed to have committed hundreds of murders. Initially, the police accepted his claims. However, it turned out that most of his confessions were false. Nevertheless, Lucas was convicted of 11 homicides, three of which were confirmed by authorities. The film states that it was inspired by his life and fantasies more than his actual murders; but it did get many details right, including being maltreated as a child by his mother and his partnership with Ottis Toole.
#9: “Scream” (1996)
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Underneath "Scream's" satirical tone and marketable slasher villain lies a story about a small town driven to chaos by a string of violent murders. The script behind Wes Craven's '90s horror flick was sparked into existence by the Gainesville murders committed by Daniel Rolling in 1990. While there are a couple of similarities, "Scream's" screenwriter was primarily inspired by the widespread fear caused by the killings. It’s the idea that there could be a faceless psychopath standing outside the window, waiting for the opportunity to strike.
#8: “Poltergeist” (1982)
Poltergeists are malicious spirits said to be fond of scaring the bejeezus out of people through abrupt noises and movements, and they are hardly a modern concept. The 1982 movie had plenty of tales and myths to fall back on, and one particularly influential disturbance involved the prolonged haunting of the Herrmann family residence in 1958. Over about a month, the family was subjected to loud popping noises and unexplainable phenomena, incidents that left police and scientists stumped. "Poltergeist" naturally adds a bit of cinematic flair, special effects, skeletons, and televisions to proceedings.
#7: “The Conjuring” (2013)
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The premise of this film, at least, is true. In 1971, paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren really were asked to investigate the Perron family home, which was reportedly being haunted by the less than hospitable Bathsheba. A masterfully directed horror film with a strong cast, "The Conjuring" brought renewed interest to this sensational case and undoubtedly inspired its fair share of nightmares along the way. The movie does change a few things to tell a more cinematic story, including an ending that sees the Warrens successfully exorcise the house of its unwanted guests.
#6: “A Nightmare on Elm Street” (1984)
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It’s hard to believe there’s even a grain of truth to this fantastical blockbuster’s story; but truth is stranger than fiction. Wes Craven loosely based his franchise on a series of articles he read in the Los Angeles Times in the ‘70s. They were about a group of SouthEast Asian refugees who experienced horrific nightmares, which led to insomnia and sleep deprivation. Worse yet, a few died suddenly in their sleep despite having no other medical problems. And that’s how the nightmare figure of Freddy Krueger was born.
#5: “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre” (1974)
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The notorious murderer Ed Gein has served as a loose inspiration for plenty of horror films, with "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" being one of the most famous. The similarities mostly come down to Leatherface's mask, as Gein also fashioned such keepsakes, although not in order to hide a physical deformity like the movie's killer. The film's disturbing house also bears some resemblance to Ed Gein's grotesque flesh-themed home. "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" is far from an Ed Gein biopic, but the film's grisly aesthetic reflects the depraved nature of the murderer's crimes.
#4: “The Exorcist” (1973)
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Regarded as one of the greatest horror movies ever, "The Exorcist" depicts two priests’ struggle to liberate a girl possessed by the demon Pazuzu. While exorcisms have been around for centuries, a 1949 incident in St. Louis was the primary inspiration behind "The Exorcist." The exorcism of Roland Doe lasted for weeks and saw the boy act in similar ways to Regan in "The Exorcist," sans some of the film's more head-turning scenes. "The Exorcist" doesn’t need a link to reality to be terrifying, but this background adds a new dimension to the classic film.
#3: “The Amityville Horror” (1979)
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One of the most controversial horror movies inspired by true events, "The Amityville Horror" chronicles the Lutz family's stay in a house that had recently seen a gruesome tragedy. With pig creatures, walls spouting blood, and ancient burial grounds, "The Amityville Horror" presumably takes a few liberties with a story that has plenty of skeptics, but the grim murders that started everything undoubtedly happened. Taken on its own, "The Amityville Horror" is a quintessential haunted house movie, a tale about a fractured family driven to the point of insanity by mind-breaking phenomena.
#2: “Jaws” (1975)
Steven Spielberg's legendary horror film has been striking fear into the hearts of viewers for decades. Although a fictional story, "Jaws" is partially inspired by the Jersey Shore shark attacks of 1916, which saw four victims fall prey to sharks in under two weeks. Along with any direct influence it might have had on the movie, this tragedy also impacted the public perception of sharks, arguably adding legitimacy to "Jaws'" premise. A masterclass of suspense that demonstrates how less is sometimes more, "Jaws" taps into a legitimate fear through its clever direction and tight script.
#1: “Psycho” (1960)
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The "Psycho" novel and Hitchcock’s adaptation were released only a few years following the capture and trial of Ed Gein. Norman Bates is a socially awkward but seemingly harmless outcast defined by his unhealthy relationship with his fanatical and harsh mother, traits reminiscent of the real-life murderer. Although Gein influenced the presentation of Norman Bates in various ways, the character's crimes were wholly the invention of Robert Bloch, the book's author. A landmark release in the slasher genre, "Psycho" holds up as a stylish and frightful exploration of violence and madness. Hitchcock’s “The Birds” is also based on a real incident, when birds around California’s Monterey Bay suddenly started to dive into people’s homes.
