21 Horror Films Inspired By Real Events

1.

The Exorcist (1973) - The Exorcist novel by Mario Puzzo is based on a book which is based on real life of a boy named Roland Doe who was possessed by demons in 1949. The exorcism was so scary that there have been books written on people who witnessed it. This story will give you goosebumps, all for real reasons. Puzzo used many of the original facts to create his Exorcist book in 1972, including the name of the priest.

2.

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) - This movie is loosely based on America’s famous serial killer Ed Gein who had nine human skin masks in his possession at the time of his arrest. And a garage full of over 75 chainsaws. He even had 4 bodies of relatives who were barely alive, sitting in chairs around the house, whom he fed with human flesh. Spooky, isn’t it?

3.

A Nightmare On Elm Street (2010) - Love blood, gore and knife-fingered ghosts? This is it then. The makers of this movie were inspired by a group of Laotian refugees who had died in throes of a nightmare. The medical reports said there was nothing wrong with them physically, but that they had just died because of heart attacks suffered during extreme nightmares.

4.

Child’s Play (1988) - The script was based on a nurse who allegedly put a voodoo curse on author Robert Eugene Otto which transformed one of his childhood dolls into a night-time menace. We all have seen scary movies with possessed dolls but knowing that the doll really existed is spooky! The original doll is on exhibit today in a museum where people say it sometimes moves it's head and eyes.

5.

The Amityville Horror (2005) - The movie is based on the real events that took place in 1975 at 112, Ocean Avenue, the new house of the Lutz family in Amityville. This has been a very discussed case among paranormal researchers. There have been reports that the story is fake but horror still stays when you hear about Amityville.

6.

Psycho (1960) - Alfed Hitchcock made taking a shower a frightening experience. This thriller-horror movie is loosely inspired by Ed Gein’s crimes and Wisconsin murders. There have been various follow-ups of this movie, including a FX television series of the name Bate's Motel.

7.

The Girl Next Door (2007) - This movie is loosely based on what is said to be the most terrible crime of Indiana's history. Sylvia Likens was tortured and eventually killed by Gertrude Baniszewski in 1965, as other children were made to watch the torture for days.

8.

The Conjuring (2013) - Another movie based on a possessed doll.. Ed and Lorraine Warren are real life paranormal investigators who claim that this case was exceptionally hard for them to deal with. Fan of possessed dolls? It's here for you to enjoy!

9.

Ravenous (1999) - We all enjoy a good meal but what if you had to eat human meat for your next meal? Yes, this is one of the most underrated movies on cannibalism which will spook you like nothing else can. Because you are what you eat, quite literally. It is one of many films loosely based on Hannibal Lectur, and possibly the grossest one.

10.

The Rite (2011) - Based on the life of one of the most famous exorcists in America, Father Gary Thomas, this movie will scare the hell out of you. One piece of advice: Don’t watch this alone. Father Thomas is said to have performed hundreds of exorcisms for the Catholic church over the years.

11.

Borderland (2007) - Based on a real cult leader Adolfo de Jesús Constanzo, this movie has gory details of how human sacrifice was practiced by the cult. Spoiler: Toes. fingers and even brain were cut out by him, and you can watch all of that in this movie.

12.

The Strangers (2008) - Based loosely on the book Helter Skelter, this movie has psychopaths and murders. The director of this movie drew inspiration from the murders by serial killer Charles Mansion and a series of events that took place near his childhood home. Some are now, years later, being attributed to Manson and his family.

13.

The Entity (1982) - In 1974, paranormal investigators Kerry Gaynor and Barry Taff worked at a place where they saw moving objects. This movie is based on the same incident where the ghost abuses sexually.

14.

The Exorcism Of Emily Rose (2005) - This is based on the life of Anneliese Michel who was possessed by demons so strong that her exorcism took nearly an year to accomplish. It is one of the most famous exorcism movies and one of the most detailed and realistic.

15.

Deliver Us From Evil (2014) - Like exorcism movies with twisted old tricks? This is what will save you. It is based on a book called Beware The Night which is based on non-fictional events. Book yourself in for this.

16.

Eaten Alive (1980) - Want some alligator related horror flick? Keep this up on your list. This is based on Joe Ball, a man who killed around 20 women and watched the alligators feed on them. It’s so gory but it’s worth it because it did happen for real! Ball was sentenced to the death penalty.

17.

Curse Of The Zodiac (2007) - Based on a serial killer called the “Zodiac”, this horror movie has a lot of cryptic messages and codes to decode. Zodiac Killer is the nickname given to an unidentified serial killer who operated in northern California in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

18.

Silent House (2011) - This is an independent American horror movie that is based on a real incident that took place in in Uruguay. If you like “real time” footage in your horror movies then this is it, as it contains a lot of the original news coverage from the horrors.

19.

Annabelle (2014) - This movie is a sequel to The Conjuring. And the story continues with the most scary possessed doll there has ever been. It is also true that people who taunted the doll in the museum faced near death or fatal accidents. When the cultists try to summon a demon, they smear a bloody rune on the nursery wall and drip blood on Mia's doll, thereby turning the former object of beauty into a conduit for ultimate evil.

20.

The Dentist (1966) - One thing we know for sure is that after seeing this movie, your next visit to the dentist will be really hard. It is based on a dentist in LA, circa 1958, who turned out to be a serial killer. Corbin Bernsen is brilliant as the deranged dentist-he is completely believable. There is surprisingly little gore but the scenes of dental torture are quite nasty and grotesque.

21.

Wolf Creek (2005) - What did your mom say about not talking to strangers? This movie is loosely based on two men, Ivan Milat and Bradley John Murdoch and their crimes. This movie will send shivers down your spine! It was suggested partly by the gruesome details of the backpacker murders committed by Ivan Milat in the 1990s, but these murders were committed in a state forest near Sydney.