Most of the time, the tales we see depicted in horror films – though terrifying – we innately know, are made up to scare the audience. However, some of these films stand out due to their portrayal of horrific real-life paranormal events, from demonic possessions to sinister hauntings, as well as traumatic cases of surviving life-or-death situations.
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Naturally, elements of these stories have been exaggerated, but you can’t deny that movies inspired by real-life events make some of the best horror flicks. In this article, we’ll be listing some of the best horror movies you can find that are based on true stories.
9
Annabelle: Creation
2017
Possibly the most famous of Ed and Lorraine Warren’s cases, Annabelle: Creation, traces the origins of the haunted Annabelle doll, how it was created, and its connections to the previous two films. The Annabelle doll is based on an actual doll of the same name, though it was a Raggedy Ann doll, and it really is owned by a paranormal investigator couple called Ed and Lorraine Warren.
The doll was gifted to a nursing student named Donna by her mother, and reportedly moved of its own accord, bled, and attacked people, causing them to call in a medium who told them the doll was haunted by a girl named Annabelle. The Warrens later acquired the doll, and it has become their most popular display.
The Warrens were also involved in investigating the real-life house that inspired The Amityville Horror book, which was later adapted into several horror films.
8
Open Water
2003
Unlike most of the other entries on this list, 2003’s Open Water has nothing to do with the paranormal. Instead, it focuses on the couple Daniel and Susan, who decide to go on a scuba diving trip but are instead accidentally left stranded in the sea. Suffering from starvation, dehydration and the fear of sharks, the outlook appears grim.
The film is based on the true story of Tom and Eileen Lonergan, a married couple lost at sea in 1998. The couple went scuba diving in Australia, but no one noticed they did not return with the rest of the group until two days later. Tattered diving gear and a diver’s slate (for leaving messages) were found, but the Lonergans’ bodies were never recovered and what happened to them remains a mystery.
7
The Exorcism Of Emily Rose
2005
2005’s The Exorcism of Emily Rose is an underrated horror gem, a well-done depiction of a notorious exorcism and the legal fallout that resulted from it. The movie involves courtroom drama surrounding a Catholic priest, Father Moore, as well as pivoting to flashbacks of the events that led up to Emily Rose’s death. The Exorcism of Emily Rose doesn’t rely on cheap jumpscares to tell its harrowing story, highlighting the characters’ inner conflicts while not overdoing the horror elements.
The film’s story is based on the actual exorcism of a girl named Anneliese Michel. It is questionable if Michel was actually possessed or if she was merely mentally disturbed, as she was sent to a psychiatric hospital. Two priests were called to perform an exorcism, though it resulted in her death in 1976. Michel’s parents and the priests were arrested and charged with her death, and the Catholic Church even announced she was never possessed in the first place.
6
Veronica
2017
When the Spanish horror film Veronica was first released in 2017, it was posited to be one of the scariest horror films ever created. The movie sets the tone within the first few seconds of the film, hinting at the grim ending in store for those who aren’t familiar with the real-life case. Not only does it have unexpected jumpscares, but its high points are its dark atmosphere and the question if Veronica herself is sane or imagining things.
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Veronica is inspired by the 1991 Vallecas case of the girl Estefanía Gutiérrez Lázaro. Her behaviour changed dramatically after playing with an oujia board, attacking her siblings and claiming to see a shadow at night. After her death, scary things started happening in the Lázaro’s home, to the point they called the police. The police officers who responded to their call also saw and heard creepy and unexplained occurrences in the home, drawing national attention after the officers wrote it all down in an official police report.
5
The Conjuring 2
2016
Each of the films in James Wan’s popular The Conjuring franchise covers the most extreme cases of the supernatural the Warrens have dealt with throughout their career. The Conjuring 2 focuses on the case of the Enfield Poltergeist, where the Hodgsons are suffering from demonic possession, apparitions and untraceable noises.
Although the original story was plagued with accusations of being a hoax, the Enfield Poltergeist was a national sensation in the ’70s, with police officers called into the home, witnessing objects moving on their own and hearing things they couldn’t explain. Janet Hodgson, one of the Hodgson children, even claimed to be possessed by the poltergeist. The haunting lasted nearly 18 months, with the Warrens becoming involved.
4
The Changeling
1980
Regarded as a horror movie classic, 1980s The Changeling is an eerie, yet tragic tale that takes place in a haunted Victorian mansion in Seattle. The movie’s story follows composer John Russell, who rents the long-abandoned mansion after the deaths of his wife and daughter. He soon experiences paranormal activity in his new home and uncovers a half-a-century-old murder of a disabled boy that occurred in the house, which leads him to fight for the truth that needs to be heard.
The movie’s writer, Russell Hunter, allegedly experienced the same things John Russell did when he rented the Henry Treat Rogers mansion in the 1960s. According to Hunter, he found a journal in the mansion detailing the life of a disabled child and his eventual murder. Henry Treat Rogers was a lawyer who did not have any children with his wife, though he did adopt his nephew and niece. However, it isn’t clear if the disabled boy ever existed.
3
Incantation
2022
Taiwanese found footage horror film, Incantation, is sure to send chills down your spine. The story is told in a non-linear format, leaving the audience to put two and two together to discover how exactly the sinister curse ends up plaguing protagonist Li Ronan, why her boyfriend and child’s father died, and what led her to be admitted into a psychiatric facility. Incantation is definitely a breath of fresh air in the horror genre, one that builds up the scares and injects a mounting horror in its audience.
The film is inspired by a tragic and strange event that happened in Taiwan’s Gushan District in 2005, where the Wu family attacked one other out of the false belief that they were possessed by demons. The family ended up killing the eldest daughter, and the police arrested and charged the rest of the family members with her murder.
2
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre
1974
A cult classic among horror films, 1974’s The Texas Chain Saw Massacre is considered to be massively influential on the slasher genre, and introduced Leatherface to the world. The movie kickstarted a series of revivals and sequels, all of which pale in comparison to the original. It’s masterful at instilling a sense of unease in you, as well as ramping up the tension to unimaginable levels as the terror sets in.
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The Texas Chain Saw Massacre was inspired by the violent serial killer Ed Gein, who was known to skin his victims and use their parts as home furniture in the 1950s. He would also keep their body parts as a collection but had spent significant time digging up corpses and taking bones and skin. Gein was captured after an officer raided his home, and he was later judged criminally insane and put into a mental health institute.
1
The Conjuring
2013
The Conjuring is the movie that kickstarted one of the most successful horror franchises in film history, all based on the actual cases investigated by the Warrens. The first film revolves around the Perron family haunting, which happened in 1971, who moved into a large farmhouse for a suspiciously cheap price. The Conjuring is a testament to James Wan’s creativity in amping up the spooks, as well as weaving and adding in a fantastic dramatisation of the narrative.
In both the story and real life, the Perrons were tormented by multiple ghosts, but the evil spirit of Bathsheba was the most prominent of them all. While the Warrens did investigate the farmhouse, the Perron family patriarch actually kicked the Warrens out and ended their investigation prematurely, so Bathsheba wasn’t banished like she was in the film. The family continued living in the farmhouse until the 80s, though they claimed the hauntings had long since ceased.
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