Horror movies take inspiration from all sorts of sources, from novels to fairy tales and ancient myths to real-life events and childhood terrors. A popular source, though, is urban legends. In a world of logic and scientific explanations, these modern myths tap into humanity’s primal fears and dress them up in contemporary problems.
Urban legends have gone on to inspire some of the most frightening horror movies in the genre, and some are so good that they have crossed cultural boundaries. Even if audiences don’t know the urban legend behind a specific movie, they still get their socks scared off. And while anytime is a good time to check out these movies, the Halloween season is when nightmares are likeliest to spring to life.
10 Clive Barker's Take On Bloody Mary Creates A New And Frightening Urban Legend
Candyman
Based on Clive Barker's "The Forbidden" and lifting elements from the famous Bloody Mary urban legend, 1992's Candyman is an excellent blend of violence and psychological horror to create a modern-day urban legend that is sure to keep make anyone tempted but afraid to say "Candyman" into a mirror five times.
Candyman used over 200,000 honeybees for the movie, including the scene where they come out of Candyman’s mouth. To pull off the effect, actor Tony Todd wore a special mouthpiece to minimize stings, and the resulting scene is a wonderfully gut-twisting spectacle.
9 Alligators In The Sewers Is A Classic Urban Legend
Alligator
Anyone who has grown up in a city has heard tales of alligators living in the sewers. 1980's Alligator is a creature feature that takes this urban legend and mixes it with the same basic plotline as Jaws. There’s a heroic policeman with an affliction, a man-eating creature played by a malfunctioning animatronic, and powerful men who want to keep the monster a secret.
The best thing Alligator takes from Jaws is its use of the unknown. Realizing that the animatronic alligator wouldn’t be scary in broad daylight, most of the action takes place in the sunless sewers. The only thing is scarier than watching characters get ambushed in this dark, claustrophobic environment, is when the alligator goes after a child.
8 Every Babysitter Fears The Urban Legend Of The Man Upstairs
When A Stranger Calls
When A Stranger Calls is based on one of the most well-known urban legends. As the myth goes, a lone teenage girl babysitting young children begins to get calls from a strange man telling her to check on the children. Frightened, the babysitter calls the police who tell her that the murderer is calling from inside the house.
When A Stranger Calls starts with a step-by-step retelling of an urban legend that originated in the 1960s and continues to terrify babysitters and parents alike. While most audiences find the rest of the movie a bit boring, those first 17 minutes are some of the most frightening moments ever put on film.
7 The Man Upstairs Also Brings About A Very Bloody Christmas
Black Christmas
While Black Christmas isn’t a direct retelling of the babysitter urban legend, it does take inspiration from it. Like the original story, the murderer in Black Christmas torments his victims with creepy phone calls before going in for the kill, and it’s revealed later that he’s calling from inside the house.
Aside from that, Black Christmas has little in common with the original story. The victims are a band of sorority sisters instead of a babysitter and her charges, and the true killer doesn’t get caught. However, Black Christmas is a great twist on the urban legend, and it also represents the first of two classic Christmas themed movies by director Bob Clark, who is best known for the not at all scary but wonderfully fun A Christmas Story.
6 Willow Creek – Bigfoot: Not For The Family
Most movies based on the Bigfoot legend these days tend to be family-friendly, promoting the ideas of acceptance, freedom, and the protection of nature from corporate greed. Bobcat Goldthwait's Willow Creek is not one of these movies. When a young couple goes on a trip to investigate the Bigfoot legend, they quickly realize that the mythical beast is not friendly at all.
Willow Creek is a found-footage film, and it’s considered to be one of the best in the genre. Known for making dark comedies, Goldthwait manages to make moment intense and frightening. What puts Willow Creek over the top is a 20-minute static shot of the couple being tormented by unseen creatures outside their tent.
5 The DeFeo Poltergeist Is Based On A True Horror
The Amityville Horror
The Amityville Horror is based on a modern folk story inspired by real events. In 1974, Ronald DeFeo Jr. murdered six members. A month later, a family of five moved into the house and claimed that they were being terrorized by paranormal activity.
The myth of The Amityville Horror has since been debunked, but it became the basis of an entire franchise. The first film from 1979 is still the gold standard by which all other haunted house films are measured. An agonizingly frightening film, The Amityville Horror should not be watched alone at night.
4 One Movie Takes On The Most Famous Urban Legends All At Once
Urban Legend
1998's Urban Legend takes some of the greatest urban legends, including the killer in the backseat, making a stomach explode with Pop Rocks and soda, and the Hatchet man, and places them all at the feet of one killer. By using so many urban legends, each kill in Urban Legend is a unique experience for audiences.
Urban Legend isn’t the most original movie. The plot has many similarities to Scream and I Know What You Did Last Summer. However, the show that the killer makes of their victims’ deaths ranks them as one of the top five most sadistic killers in the slasher genre.
3 The Hookman Comes Calling
I Know What You Did Last Summer
In I Know What You Did Last Summer, an urban legend provided inspiration for the killer. The movie itself is a loose adaptation of a thriller novel by Lois Duncan, but to better fit writer Kevin Williamson's vision, the original attacker was replaced by a version of the Hookman myth.
Many horror movies take inspiration from this legend, but the killer from I Know What You Did Last Summer is closer to the original legend than most. Following on the heels of Scream, which was also written by Williamson, I Know What You Did Last Summer manages to update the legend and provide plenty of scares.
2 Onryo Is A Classic Japanese Urban Legend
Ju-On: The Grudge
An onryo is a type of ghost from Japanese folklore who seeks revenge on the living. Although the figure itself technically doesn't qualify as an urban legend since it's been around for too long, it has inspired many urban legends.
The onryo legend is often used in J-horror movies, like Ju-On: The Grudge. Ju-On, which was remade as The Grudge for American audiences, takes the classic onryo legend and brings it to modern day. Here, the onryo is a family of three who murdered each other and now haunt their house, killing anyone who enters. Ju-On: The Grudge, along with Ringu, brought the J-horror genre to Western audiences and continues to keep people properly frighetened.
1 The Little Girl In Red Is A Newer Taiwanese Urban Legend
The Tag-Along
The Tag-Along is a Taiwanese horror movie based on a popular urban legend about “The Little Girl in Red.” The legend started with a video of a family hiking in the woods and making an amateur film about their experiences. Afterward, they saw that they were followed by a little girl in a red dress the whole time. The strange part though was that no one remembered seeing her.
Photos and videos have been the start of many urban legends, Slenderman being a popular example. Before the rise of Photoshop, it was more difficult to tell if something was real or not. Even now, one can’t tell if the family made it up or if there really was a little girl in red.