Horror movies are meant to send a chill down the spine of viewers. Whether it is a creepy monster, a terrifying location, or eerie people, the film should leave fans with a feeling of uneasiness. With Halloween creeping closer, the views of horror movies are increasing exponentially.
However, there is one aspect of a horror movie that will add ice to the veins of those who watch it, and that is if it is based on a true story. Nothing can strike fear into the hearts of movie-goers more than knowing that what they are about to see actually happened, and it could happen to them. Being based on real-life adds a layer of terror that pure fiction cannot wish to compete with.
10 Things Heard & Seen Can Reach Out From The Other Side
Netflix released the horror thriller movie Things Heard & Seen in 2021, starring Amanda Seyfried and James Norton. The story follows husband and wife George and Catherine, who move to a farmhouse with a dark history housing two spirits. Eventually, George takes Catherine's life and is damned in a picturesque way.
Things Heard & Seen is based on the book All Things Cease to Appear by Elizabeth Brundage. Brundage based the book on her experiences living in an old house supposedly haunted and the 1982 murder of Cathleen Krauseneck.
9 That New House Could Be Like The Haunting In Connecticut
The Haunting In Connecticut was an emotional supernatural horror released in 2009. The film follows the Campbells as they move into a rental home to help with travel for Matt Campbell's cancer treatments. Terrible things happen to the family as Matt begins having terrifying visions and acting erratically.
The Haunting In Connecticut is based on the supposed true story of what the Snedeker family experienced in their Connecticut home. The home was previously a funeral home, and the mortician who owned it was allegedly participating in necromancy, which invited demonic spirits into the home.
8 Look Out For Them In A New Place
The French-Romanian horror film from 2006 Them is a very unassuming title that doesn't scream horror. However, the film will leave viewers with dread. It follows a couple that moves to a country home in Romania and is attacked by a group of intruders that turn out to be teenagers.
Them is said to be based on the murder of an Austrian couple murdered by three teenagers while on vacation in the Czech Republic. While the account of the murders has not been confirmed, it is still plausible and very terrifying.
7 Dolls Can Be More Than Child's Play
Dolls have a tendency to be creepy, especially if the doll is possessed by a serial killer, like in the Chucky movies. Serial killer Charles Lee Ray uses dark voodoo magic to put his soul into a Good Guy doll the night he is fatally shot and continues his murders in the body of a doll.
While the story of Chucky sounds completely outlandish, and it is, the idea of the doll was influenced by something in real life. Robert the Doll is a cursed doll in Key West that supposedly moved, giggled, and caused misfortune for anyone rude to him since 1906. While Robert won't kill like Chucky, it's best to stay on his good side.
6 Get Lost In The Winchester Mystery House
Although it received generally negative reviews from critics, the supernatural horror film Winchester was a box office success. Winchester focused on widowed heiress Sarah Winchester, who was constantly adding on to her mansion to appease the spirits of those killed by Winchester rifles.
Other than the nature and events of the haunting depicted in Winchester, some information is rooted in truth. The Winchester Mystery House is an actual place built under the instruction of Sarah Winchester, with various sections abandoned during construction, creating a maze-like structure.
5 My Friend Dahmer Shows That Sometimes Friends Have Dark Secrets
Several films have been made about the notorious serial killer and cannibal Jeffery Dahmer, the most recent being My Friend Dahmer. Starring Ross Lynch as Dahmer, My Friend Dahmer follows teenage Dahmer at the end of his high school career to when he murders his first victim.
My Friend Dahmer is based on a graphic novel of the same name by John "Derf" Backderf, who was a friend of Dahmer's while they were in high school. The story is a chilling look into the beginnings of Jeffery Dahmer, with only a few creative liberties taken.
4 The Devil's Influence Is Strong In The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It
The sequel to The Conjuring 2 and the eighth installment of the Conjuring universe, The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It is about the trial of Arne Johnson, who killed another man under the control of a demon. Arne became possessed after telling a demon to take him instead of his girlfriend's little brother, David Glatzel.
The truly terrifying part is that David was actually believed to have been possessed by a demon, and the Glatzels had asked the Warrens to help. Arne was present and did kill his landlord sometime after the exorcism of David. Arne's case was the first to use demonic possession as a defense in an American court.
3 The Rite Will Test Their Faith
Trying to get a free degree, Michael Kovak joins a Catholic seminary only to be told he has a higher calling in The Rite. Kovak attends an exorcism course at the Vatican after finding that he may owe for his education if he renounces his vows. Eventually, he regains his faith after battling a demon possessing another priest.
While, in truth, there was no actual account of a Catholic priest who was possessed by a demon, other elements of the story are true. The story is based on the experiences of Father Gary Thomas while he was training to be an exorcist.
2 The Hills Have Eyes Made Viewers Beware What Is In The Hills
The film that made everyone afraid of traveling the back roads, at least in Nevada, The Hills Have Eyes is a gruesome story. It follows the Carter family, who become victims of a family of vile cannibals while they are on vacation. The death toll for both families was very high.
Although there was no cannibal family in the wilds of Nevada, this story was inspired by a real-life family. The legend of Sawney Bean, the leader of a Scottish clan who lived in caves and cannibalized travelers, was the inspiration. The Bean clan allegedly murdered and cannibalized over 1,000 people.
1 This Slasher Made Audiences Scream
The 1996 slasher film Scream is the ultimate horror film of the '90s that reinvigorated the genre. The film involves a series of murders done by an attacker in a black robe and ghost mask. The film unfolds to show that the killer is two people seeking revenge for the affairs of several of their parents.
The twists in Scream kept fans on the edge of their seats, but the true story it was based on is equally terrifying. The movie was based on Danny Rolling, The Gainesville Ripper, who killed five students over four days in August 1990 in Gainesville, Florida.