Some people can't get enough, while others wouldn't touch them with a ten-foot pole. Yes, we are talking about horror movies! Scary movies have existed as a genre for more than a century and were inspired by the macabre stories written by Bram Stoker, Edgar Allan Poe, Mary Shelley, and others. Horror movies tend to evoke fear by leveraging viewers' trepidation of the unknown. Frequently, these movies feature gore, violence, supernatural creatures (ghosts, ghouls, monsters, vampires, werewolves, demons), cannibalism, Satanism, curses, and even serial killers.
It's easy to brush off your fear if a movie is based on fictional events. But what about horror movies based on true stories? How do you feel knowing that a particularly violent crime or a paranormal event actually happened and that the movie you're watching is in fact based on it? Gives you real chills, doesn't it?
The Spookiest Horror Movies Based on Real-life Events
Prepare to get spooked - here's a list of 10 scary movies based on true stories.
1. Psycho (1960)
Topping the list of horror movies based on true stories is Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho. This psychological horror movie has been a fan favorite for decades now. The protagonist Norman Bates, based on serial killer Ed Gein or the butcher of Plainfield, is a cult character in cinema and has defined the way we see the unusual deviant behavior.
The film begins with a secretary, Marion Crane, stealing money from her employer and landing up at a motel run by Bates, where the real horror unfolds.
2. The Exorcist (1973)
The Exorcist is a prominent title among true story horror movies. This 1973 horror film directed by William Friedkin is based on the real-life exorcism of an anonymous 14-year-old boy (pseudonym Roland Doe) in the late 1940s. In the film, a 12-year-old girl is alleged to be possessed by demons when she starts speaking in strange tongues. Her mother tries to get her back from the dark side by seeking the help of two priests who attempt to exorcize the demon.
The original Exorcist is one of the scariest movies ever made, and even the set was rumored to be cursed!
3. The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974)
The protagonist of this 1974 film, Leatherface, is also based on serial killer Ed Gein. In the film, Leatherface kills his victims with a chainsaw and peels off the skin on their face to wear it as a macabre mask just like Ed Gein did. He also practices cannibalism like the rest of his twisted family who are the masterminds behind Leatherface's grisly habits.
4. The Entity (1982)
This 1982 film is a hair-raising horror movie based on the real-life haunting of Doris Bither in 1974. Doris Bither claimed that the spirits of three men were assaulting her and taking over her life. This plot was portrayed brilliantly in the film where Carla Moran, the protagonist, tries to exorcize and escape from a similar supernatural entity. However, Carla, who has a history of physical abuse, is unable to convince her therapist that she is indeed being haunted. Her therapist believed that the unexplained events were as a result of her psychological trauma.
5. Ravenous (1999)
You cannot miss this one if you are a fan of cannibalism horror movies. Ravenous is loosely based on the life of American prospector Alferd Griner Packer who confessed to cannibalism during the winter of 1874. Based in the 19th century, the film follows the experiences of Captain John Boyd in a remote military outpost where a rescue mission is turned upside down when the rescue party encounters a fiendish man.
6. The Exorcism Of Emily Rose (2005)
This spine-chilling film is based on the true story of Anneliese Michel, who underwent catholic exorcism rites before dying of malnourishment and dehydration. Anneliese Michel suffered from epilepsy and depression, but her worsening condition led her family to conclude that she was possessed by a demon. Two priests performed the exorcism and were charged with negligent homicide. The Exorcism of Emily Rose tells the story of an American teenager's exorcism in flashbacks. Don't watch this one alone!
7. Borderland (2007)
Not all tales of horror are caused by paranormal entities. Borderland is a Mexican-American horror film based on Adolfo de Jesús Constanzo who was a drug lord and the leader of a religious cult that practiced human sacrifice.
8. The Haunting In Connecticut (2009)
Based on the true story of Carmen Snedeker's family, the film depicts the experiences of the Campbell family who move into a new home that was formerly a mortuary. The next series of events show Sarah Campbell's son Matt battling the spirits of the former occupants of the house and barely escaping with his life.
9. Annabelle (2014)
Ever since Child's Play (1988), we bet you've had trouble sleeping with a doll in your vicinity. Annabelle is based on the true story of a haunted Raggedy Ann doll gifted to a nurse by her mother in 1968. The nurse, with the help of a psychic medium, confirmed that the doll was haunted by a spirit after a series of unusual events. In the 2014 film, a doctor gifts a rare porcelain doll to his pregnant wife. This doll becomes possessed when a woman kills herself in their nursery while holding the doll.
The Annabelle doll now resides in a glass box in at famed demonologist duo Ed and Lorraine Warren's Occult Museum in Connecticut.
10. Veronica (2017)
The last in our list of horror movies based on true stories is the 2017 Spanish movie Veronica. The film is based on the mysterious circumstances of a Spanish teenager's death (Estefania Gutierrez Lazaro) after she tries to summon a spirit using an Ouija board. The film dramatizes the events further, relying on ancient symbolism and mythology to spook the viewers.
The Most Terrifying Characters in Horror Films
After being thrilled by these movies based on real-life stories, I would like to show you some most terrifying characters in horror films, people choose and vote for them.
- Norman Bates (Psycho)
Based on serial killer Ed Gein, Norman Bates in Psycho shows that sometimes human beings are real monsters.
- Freddy Krueger (Nightmare on Elm Street)
A terrifying character who haunts your dreams and gets stronger the more you get scared. Freddy Krueger is truly the stuff of nightmares!
- Damien (The Omen)
What happens when the son of Satan grows up with immense wealth and power? Watch The Omen (1976) to find out!
- Pennywise the Dancing Clown (It)
A terrifying clown who shapeshifts and lures children to the sewers, but you thought clowns are happy and cheerful!
- Chucky (Child's Play)
A serial killer transfers his soul into a doll who carries on his dirty work. We bet you'll never sleep with a doll in the room again!
- Regan McNeil (The Exorcist)
Brilliantly played by Linda Blair, Regan McNeil, the 12-year-old protagonist of The Exorcist is one of the scariest characters to appear in horror films.
- Annabelle the doll (Annabelle)
The scariest thing about Annabelle, the haunted doll? She actually exists.
Final Thoughts
Horror movies are definitely thrilling, but everything becomes a matter of speculation when a film is inspired by real-life events or characters. Moreover, these movies make you question the nature of the world as we know it along with the diverse shades of human essence. Gear up for a spine-chilling weekend marathon with these 10 movies scary movies based on true stories.
