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| Credit: Lionsgate |
There are plenty of horror films out there that are based on true events. Usually these films are based very loosely on reality and leave you a little disappointed if you actually do the research.
There are terrifying supernatural horrors that are revealed to be massively exaggerated, or that have questionable sources. Slasher films based on notorious serial killers that have been given a generous dose of the Hollywood treatment. Details that don't serve the purpose of the story may be removed, characters or events may be added, and the end result no longer resembles the truth at all.
But what about when it happens the other way around and fiction becomes or even inspires reality? Horror movie sets that become victims of strange, ominous occurrences. Copycat killers that decide to act out their darkest movie fantasies. Even those who believe their favourite fictional villains have communicated to them directly, ordering them to carry out evil acts of their own.
They say that truth is stranger than fiction. And although it may be that in fact that's not always the case, what does stand out in the following entries is that when reality and fiction cross over, truth is inherently more terrifying than fiction.
10. Scream
Wes Craven€™s Scream became an instant classic when it was released in 1996. While being a genuinely solid addition to the slasher genre, it provided a satirical take on the genre's many cliches resulting in a refreshing, highly original horror film. Despite its comedic elements, the film also inspired several real life murders.
In January 1998, 16 year old Mario Padilla and his 14 year old cousin became the centre of a media frenzy surrounding what was referred to as "The Scream Murder." Ramirez confessed to helping hold down Padilla's mother, 37 year old Gina Castillo, as Padilla proceeded to stab her 45 times.
They confessed to being inspired by Scream and its sequel and to planning a murder spree after purchasing two Ghostface costumes and a voice changer like those used in the film. Another notable case was that of Belgian teen Alisson Cambier. One day while visiting her friend and neighbour Thierry Jaradin, she was propositioned by the 24 year old trucker. When she rejected his advances he excused himself to the next room and returned wearing the iconic Ghostface costume and holding two kitchen knives. He stabbed her 30 times, ripping open her left side in the process.
9. The Conjuring
The Conjuring is a 2013 supernatural horror film based on the true story of the Perron family and the unexplained ghostly activity they experienced in their family home in the 1970s.
During the making of the film the family visited the movie set several times but Carolyn, the wife and mother of the family, refused to set foot anywhere near the place.
Various strange occurrences surrounded the making of the film. Once, while the Perron family were visiting, a strong wind seemed to surround them and blow through the set despite the trees nearby not moving. At the same time, Carolyn, who was at home in Atlanta felt a strange, evil presence in the house shortly before falling and having to be taken to hospital.
One night James Wan, the film's director was working late in his office when his dog started growling viciously. Upon investigating, Wan found that there was nothing there, but the dog continued to focus on some unseen entity in the corner. Then, despite Wan seeing nothing, the dog's head moved, its eyes slowly following something across the room.
8. Saw
There are a total of 7 films making up the Saw franchise with another in production, each revolving around a sadistic killer called Jigsaw, who sets his victims torturous challenges, which require them to mutilate themselves in order to escape death.
In 2009, two teenagers, aged 14 and 15 were charged as juveniles with three counts of conspiracy to commit aggravated kidnapping after one of the boy's mothers overheard them planning to kidnap, torture and murder several people.
The two boys had detailed plans to set up Saw-style games to teach lessons to people they claimed were harming others, including a police officer and two young girls. The boys had even procured cameras in order to document the murders just as Jigsaw does in the Saw movies.
7. Child's Play
The cult horror movie series Child's Play consists of 6 films featuring the iconic character Chucky, a toy doll inhabited by the spirit of a vicious serial killer. Despite the film being one of the least likely to come true, (let's face it, no dolls are coming to life any time soon) it is actually responsible for inspiring a series of copycat killings.
The most notorious case was that of Martin Bryant, Australia's most prolific mass murderer. In 1996, Bryant went on a killing spree in Port Arthur, shooting 35 people and injuring 23 others.
Bryant, who had an IQ of just 66, was obsessed with Child's Play 2 and the film's influence was submitted by his psychiatrist as being a contributing factor in his crimes. He was reportedly obsessed with the childlike characteristics of the doll and its ability to wreak vengeful destruction.
6. Nightmare On Elm Street
Another classic Wes Craven film, Nightmare on Elm Street features the scar faced Freddy Krueger who visits his victims in their dreams before murdering them.
In 2004, the paranoid schizophrenic Daniel Gonzalez went on a drug-fuelled rampage murdering four people and injuring two others. It later emerged that the killer had been inspired by Nightmare on Elm Street and had a desire to become "a famous serial killer."
Gonzalez would later write letters to himself in which he would describe how much he enjoyed committing the murders and how similar he was to Freddy Krueger.
In what might be an even creepier example of a horror movie eerily becoming true, is the existence of what is known as Nightmare Death Syndrome. The condition, in which otherwise healthy young men die during sleep, is not well understood, and seems to mostly affect young, Asian men. Most victims are reported to be heard moaning and groaning in their sleep before death occurs.
5. Rosemary's Baby
Rosemary's Baby is a 1968 film about a pregnant woman who fears her husband has signed a pact with a Satan worshipping cult, offering the unborn child as a sacrifice in their rituals. The film was written and directed by Roman Polanski.
In 1969 Polanski was working in London while his pregnant wife Sharon Tate was at their home in Los Angeles. On the 8th of August 1969, Sharon Tate, her unborn baby and several others were viciously murdered at the Polanski home.
After months with no explanation, it was eventually revealed that the murders were committed by members of the Manson Family under the instruction of Charles Manson.
4. Interview With The Vampire
On the evening on November 17th 1994, Lisa Stellwagen and her long-term boyfriend Daniel Sterling watched Interview With The Vampire together. At approximately 3.00am Stellwagen awoke to find Sterling awake and staring strangely at her.
He said, "Tonight you're going to die. I'm going to kill you and drink your blood."
The next day Sterling stabbed Stellwagen seven times in the chest and back before sucking the blood from her wounds. He later admitted to believing in vampires and being inspired by the movie.
3. Poltergeist
Poltergeist is an iconic 1982 horror movie about a family who are plagued by an invasion of angry, malevolent spirits. Although there are many reported cases of poltergeists and other supernatural events each year, this entry is about another aspect of the film entirely.
The following entry, while not strictly an example of a horror movie coming true, has to be one of the strangest coincidences in horror movie history. In the scene below we see the two children in the film being terrified by a creepy toy clown just before it comes to life.
In case you can't quite make it out, the poster says, "1988 Super Bowl XXII." There's nothing particularly strange about a young boy having a Super Bowl poster on his wall. What is slightly peculiar is that the film was released in 1982, six years before Super Bowl XXII.
What's even stranger is what happened six years after the film's release.
On the 31st of January 1988, Heather O'Rourke, the actress who played the little girl in the film and its sequels, suddenly became violently ill. The next morning she collapsed and paramedics had to be called. On the way to hospital she suffered a cardiac arrest and after resuscitation was airlifted to hospital where she died later that day. She was 12 years old.
Do you know what else happened on 31st of January 1988? Yes, you guessed it. Superbowl XXII.
2. Queen Of The Damned
In 2002, Allan Menzies murdered his friend Thomas McKendrick after watching Queen of the Damned over 100 times. By no means was the link that tenuous.
Menzies claimed that one night he was visited by Akasha, a female vampire in the movie. He claimed that she ordered him to kill people and in return she would award him eternal life as a vampire.
"In general terms, she started off having conversations with me and it ended up that I had basically agreed with her that if I murdered people I would be rewarded in the next life," he said.
After Menzies stabbed his childhood friend with a bowie knife and beat him with a hammer, he drank his blood and ate some his flesh, before burying him in a shallow grave. The body was found 6 weeks later.
1. The Possession
The Possession is a 2012 supernatural horror film produced by Sam Raimi. It is based on a true story and the allegedly haunted dybbuk box.
The film's star Jeffrey Dean Morgan claims to be a skeptic, but had to confess to strange things happening during the making of the film.
Lights would continually blow during filming despite there being no apparent electrical faults. Cold breezes would blow through the sets with no clear source.
The strangest incident was a fire that broke out in the storage facility housing all the film's props. An investigation could find no cause for the fire, ruling out arson or an electrical fault. The prop Dybbuk box used in the movie was among the items destroyed in the fire.
The owners of the real Dybbuk box agreed to bring it to the set, but after being spooked by various strange events, the cast and crew declined the offer.
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