Stories behind Some of the Most Famous Horror Films

Most people are familiar with horror films like the “Exorcism of Emily Rose” and “Nightmare on Elm Street.” What they don’t know, though, is the stories behind them.

Some say that life is stranger than fiction, and the directors of the following movies know that firsthand. Instead of creating stories out of thin air, they adapted alleged real events for the big screen.

Even though we can't say for sure that ghosts exist, all of the following films gave the audience enough scares to stay in their minds forever. Here’s a list with the backstories of some of the most famous horror films.

“The Strangers”

Released in 2008, “The Strangers” is based on different events surrounding the Manson family Tate murders, the Keddie Cabin murders, and several break-in stories.

“Ils,” the French version of the film, was inspired by the murders of an Austrian family who went to the Czech Republic on holiday and, as the movie shows, were held hostage by home invaders.

“Amityville Horror”

No matter if it is the 1979 or the 2005 version of the movie, both of them are based on Jay Anson’s novel of the same name. The films portray the paranormal experiences that the Lutz family went through in a haunted house.

The real-life property is located at Ocean Avenue, Amityville, New York. The reason people believe it is haunted is that Robert DeFeo Jr. admitted to killing six people (family members) in it in 1974.

A year later, the Lutz family moved in and several paranormal events, shown in the movies, started happening.

“Exorcism of Emily Rose”

Released in 2005, “Exorcism of Emily Rose” is based on the death of Anneliese Michel, a German woman who passed away in 1976 due to an almost year-long exorcism.

Anneliese suffered from depression and was prone to have epileptic episodes, for which she was forced to spend time in a psychiatric hospital.

After priest Ernst Alt determined that a demon had possessed her, priest Arnold Renz was ordered to exorcise her in secrecy. After a 10-month process, Anneliese died of malnutrition and dehydration.

“Nightmare on Elm Street”

Considered by many as a classic horror film, “Nightmare on Elm Street” is based on several unexplained deaths of young Asian men who died soon after moving to the US.

The most shocking aspect of the 104 deaths was that almost all of them died between 10 pm and 8 am. One of the victims allegedly complained of having nightmares and refused to sleep for nearly a week.

Just as shown in the movie, when he finally fell asleep, he died. His family supposedly heard screams and other sounds soon before getting into his room and finding him dead.

“Haunting in Connecticut”

The 2009 film “Haunting in Connecticut” is based on the paranormal events the Snedeker family experience soon after they moved into a house that had been a funeral where morticians performed necromancy.

According to the Snedekers, the water coming out of their pipes would tun red, the house smelled like rotting, and they constantly felt a presence.

Paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren took care of the case and claimed that the house was filled with supernatural forces that were eventually driven to the right path through an exorcism.

Some of the most unexplained investigations that the Warrens did during their careers were also shown on the big screen. Some of the most popular are the “Annabelle” and the “Conjuring” franchises.

Speaking of Lorraine, she passed away on April 18, 2019, at 92 years old. His grandson announced her passing on Facebook one day later, admitting that she was “happy and laughing until the very end.”

Her husband, Ed, passed away in 2006. Together, the couple was among the most renowned paranormal investigators in the world.