Monday, March 13, 2017

15 Horror Movies Based On Terrifying Real Life Events

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I don't really get too scared in horror movies. I think the reason why I don't feel the fear that other people do is because I rationalize to myself that "it could never happen to me." 

That's what makes these 15 stories truly terrifying. Some of the events that happened in real life are legitimately scarier than the movie depicts. Ed Gein now terrifies me after writing this. 

What if an Ed Gein lives on my block? I'm locking the door. 

1. Jaws (1975)

Based on Peter Benchley's novel of the same name, the book and the movie were inspired by an actual fisherman in Long Island. Frank Mundus was a shark fisherman that is said to have the same traits and  mannerisms Quint has in the movie. Mundus himself agreed that Quint was the fictionalized version of himself: "Yes, he was. He knew how to handle the people the same way I did. He also used similar shark fishing techniques based on my methods."

2. Wolf Creek (2005)

The story: three backpackers are driving through the Australian outback when their car breaks down. They are then found by a man, taken back to his home, and bad things happen to them.

The story is based on a few different true crimes in Australia: In the 1990s Ivan Milat kidnapped backpackers hitchhiking and tortured them in the forest. Similarly, Bradley John Murdoch abducted two tourists in the 2000s. 

3. An American Haunting (2005)

This movie is based on the Bell Witch, a story that originated in Tennessee in the 1800s. The story is, John Bell (played by Donald Sutherland in this version) was poisoned and killed by a ghost/witch. To this day, his is the only death in American history that is recorded as caused by supernatural forces. 

Many movies have been made about the story, including The Blair Witch Project, Bell Witch Haunting, Bell Witch: The Movie, and The Bell Witch Haunting.

4. The Silence Of The Lambs (1991)

Everyone knows the story of Hannibal Lecter, the brilliant psychiatrist and foodie who prefers human to all other meats. 

Did you know that the author of the novel of the same name based the serial killer "Buffalo Bill" on Ed Gein, who skinned his victims, and Ted Bundy, who lured women then murdered them. 

5. The Exorcism Of Emily Rose (2005)

The movie is inspired by the story of Anneliese Michel, a German girl that was thought to be possessed. 

When Michel was sixteen, she had an epileptic seizure, then was diagnosed as depressed. After years of time in a psychiatric hospital, her illness developed, she became intolerant of various religious objects, began to hear voices, and became suicidal. She and her parents requested an exorcism, even though people didn't really perform them anymore. 

A year after two priests performed the exorcism, Michel died due to neglect and malnutrition. 

6. Zodiac (2007)

Many movies have been made surrounding the tale of the still unidentified Zodiac Killer. The killer gave himself the name "Zodiac" in his letters to the local newspaper in the San Francisco area. He sent the media cryptograms as a way of taunting them. In total there are only five confirmed murders attributed to "Zodiac," but he claimed that he killed 37. 

7. The Mothman Prophecies (2002)

There was a real (?) Mothman of Point Pleasant, West Virginia. The first amazing newspaper report about the being was published in 1966 and titled "Couples See Man-Sized Bird ... Creature ... Something." Is there a headline better than that? Many people saw this strange figure in the area – it was described as "a large flying man with ten-foot wings." Scary. 

8. Monster (2003)

Aileen Wuornos is a pretty famous figure after Charlize Theron portrayed her in the '03 movie. She was a former prostitute and victim of abuse herself, who then became a serial killer that killed seven men in Florida between 1989 and 1990. She claimed that she killed each man in self defense. 

9. Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992)

This one might be a stretch, but many think that Dracula was based on a real man named Vlad the Impaler, a popular Romanian folk hero who impaled his enemies. 

10. The Amityville Horror (1979)

The Lutz family of Amityville, Long Island moved into the home of a family who had been brutally murdered. Probably not a good idea, right? 

The family claims they saw slime oozing from the walls, heard random noises, there were strange, nasty odors, and an unusual number of flies in the house. They only lived in the house for 28 days.


11. From Hell (2001)

Jack the Ripper is one of the most famous serial killers out there, especially in England. No one knows who he actually was, but the story goes that a man was murdering prostitutes in the 1880s by slitting their throats, then removing their internal organs. 

12. Open Water(2003)

Two scuba divers were left behind by their diving boat by accident in both the movie and real life. Tom and Eileen Lonergan (the real people who inspired the story) disappeared near the Great Barrier Reef in Australia and were never found again. 

13. Black Water (2007)

This crocodile horror tale is based on the story of Ashley McGough, Brett Mann and Shaun Blowers, who were driving quads around their homes in Northern Australia. Twenty-two year old Brett was tragically eaten by one, a not too uncommon occurrence in Northern Australia. 

14. The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974)

The character "Leatherface" is actually based on the convicted serial killer, Ed Gein. He took corpses from local graveyards and made different items from the bones and skin, including masks. Ew. 

15. Child's Play (1988)

Remember Chucky? Could you imagine if that demon child was real? 

The script is apparently based on Robert the Doll, a toy once owned by painter and author Robert Eugene Otto. Apparently a nurse put a curse on the author's childhood doll. It is now a famous piece of paranormal paraphernalia that is shown at conventions. 

Main and collage image via Eddy's 15 Horror Movie Reviews

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