Random Terrifying Horror Movies And True Stories They're Based On (16 items)

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  (#4) Jaws

  • Steven Spielberg, Richard Dreyfuss, Roy Scheider, Robert Shaw, John Searle, Murray Hamilton, Peter Benchley, Carl Gottlieb, Lorraine Gary, Jeffrey Kramer, Susan Backlinie, Beverly Powers, Ayn Ruymen, Denise Cheshire, Ted Grossman, Rex Trailer, Craig Kingsbury, Allison Caine, Dorothy Fielding, Chris Rebello, David Engelbach, Belle McDonald, Christopher Sands, Fritzi Jane Courtney, Cyprian R. Dube, Duncan Inches, Jonathan Filley, Jay Mello, Robert Nevin, Robert Carroll, Alfred Wilde, Lee Fierro, Jeffrey Voorhees, Wally Hooper Jr., Jean Canha, Peggy Scott, Robert Chambers, Edward Chalmers Jr., Julie Taylor, Paul F. Tremblay, Gilbert Brand, Wayne Iacono, Janice T. Hull, Beardsley Graham, John Bahr, Jerome S. Tartar, Joy Stuart, Stephanie Hull, Alston Goff, William Lymon, Paul G. Thibodeau, Dick Young, Edwin C. Carlson, Carla Hogendyk, Henry Carreiro, Henry E. Scott III, Brendan Gallagher, Hershel West, Joseph G. Kraetzer, Gregory S. Dole, Steven Potter, Paul Goulart, Phil Murray, Philip Norton, Donald Poole, Richard P. Hewitt, Robert Whelden Jr., William O'Gorman, Francis A. Frank, Mike Haydn, William Pfluger, Elizabeth K. Gifford, Stephen Earle, Willis B. Gifford, Eleanor L. Harvey, Chris Anastasio, Joe La Creta

  The Movie

  As families vacation on the fictional Amity Island in New England, a gigantic 25-foot great white shark begins killing and eating tourists. Rather than losing out on the proceeds from the busy July 4th weekend of tourism, the mayor refuses to close the beach, and the attacks continue.

  Since someone has to be the hero, a group, including the town police chief, a marine biologist, and a shark hunter, spend night and day hunting this huge shark before it claims additional victims.

  The Reality

  The movie was based on the book of the same name by Peter Benchley. He got the story idea from incidents that happened during the summer of 1916 along the Jersey Shore. It seems that before the area was consumed by drug addicts, it was still a dangerous place. During that summer, five people were attacked while swimming off the coast. Four of the five died from their injuries. No one is sure if it was a great white shark specifically, since before this point, sharks were not highly researched and considered nothing more than man-eating monsters.
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  (#7) The Exorcism of Emily Rose

  • Laura Linney, Jennifer Carpenter, Tom Wilkinson, Shohreh Aghdashloo, Colm Feore, Henry Czerny, Chelah Horsdal, Campbell Scott, Kenneth Welsh, Mary Beth Hurt, J. R. Bourne, Lorena Gale, Cory Lee, Terence Kelly, Aaron Douglas, Joshua Close, Ryan McDonald, Taylor Hill, Julian Christopher, Mary Black, Duncan Fraser, Iris Graham, Marsha Regis, Marilyn Norry, Katie Keating, Sara Niemietz, Michael Brynjolfson, Darrin Maharaj, Joanna Piros, Liduina Vanderspek, George Gordon, Clay St. Thomas, Andrew Wheeler, David Berner, Allison Warren, Steve Archer, Arlene Belcastro, John Innes, Jeff Johnson, Bobby L. Stewart

  The Movie

  Attorney Erin Bruner represents Father Richard Moore in court against homicide charges after his attempted exorcism of Emily Rose. Emily, as shown in flashbacks, was believed to be possessed by demons. Her parents call upon Father Moore to exorcise the demons.

  As the attorney attempts to prove that Emily was, in fact, possessed and not suffering from psychosis and epilepsy as the prosecution argues, the lawyer experiences strange happenings of her own.

  The Reality

  The story of Anneliese Michel, a German woman born in 1952, inspired the film. Anneliese suffered from depression and epilepsy and was given an anti-convulsant drug by psychotherapists. That drug, along with her other conditions, was believed to have caused her to hallucinate and hear voices.

  Anneliese's parents believed she was possessed and arranged for an exorcism to be performed. As Father Renz performed 67 exorcism sessions, Anneliese stopped eating. She died in her sleep in 1976 from malnutrition and dehydration, weighing only 68 pounds. Her parents and the priests involved in the exorcisms were prosecuted later that year for neglectful homicide. They even went as far as to have the remains of Michel exhumed, as a nun said that she had visions of the body not decomposing, and that it was a sign of demonic possession. When it was removed from it's coffin though, the body was found to have been decomposing as normal.
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  (#5) The Haunting in Connecticut

  • Virginia Madsen, Amanda Crew, Elias Koteas, Kyle Gallner, Martin Donovan, Sarah Constible, John B. Lowe, Ty Wood, D.W. Brown, Will Woytowich, Darren Ross, Erik J. Berg, Nicholas Podbrey, James Durham, Jeny Cassady, Sophi Knight, Matt Kippen, Blake Taylor, Jessica Burleson, John Bluethner, Kelly Wolfman, Keith James

  The Movie

  In order to be closer to care for their cancer-stricken son, the Campbell family moves into a home in Connecticut. The son begins to experience terrifying hallucinations, as do the family members later on.

  Soon the family learns that the home was formerly used as a mortuary. The supernatural events continue in the home and intensify, turning violent.

  The Reality

  In the 1980s, the Parker family moved into a home in Southington, Connecticut in order to be close to the University of Connecticut where their son was undergoing cancer treatment. Unbeknownst to the family, the building was formerly a funeral home, something they discovered after finding embalming equipment in the basement.

  After the discovery, the family reported strange events in the home such as sights and sounds of ghosts. An investigation later revealed the former morticians were involved in necrophilia. The home was excised in 1988 to remove the lingering demons.
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  (#6) Audrey Rose

  • Anthony Hopkins, Marsha Mason, John Hillerman, John Beck, Norman Lloyd, Robert Walden, Philip Sterling, Stephen Pearlman, Susan Swift

  The Movie

  Audrey Rose, a little girl, dies in a tragic car crash. Two minutes later, Ivy Templeton is born. Fast forward 11 years and Elliot Hoover, father to Audrey, begins to stalk the Templeton family in New York after he becomes convinced that Audrey was reincarnated into Ivy.

  Ivy begins to have nightmares and strange events occur, many similar to the fiery car crash that killed Audrey. Elliot Hoover ends up kidnapping Ivy in an attempt to grant his daughter's spirit peace, a move that lands him in a highly publicized criminal trial.

  The Reality

  Frank De Felitta, author of the novel and the 1977 movie, was inspired to create the work by his son, Raymond. The boy suddenly began playing the piano like a pro despite no formal training or lessons. He claimed that his fingers were doing it by themselves.

  De Felitta sought to understand how Raymond could have gained such expertise on his own. He consulted an occultist who expressed that it was an "incarnation leak," as in a skill Raymond perfected in a previous lifetime and carried into the next.
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  (#16) The Rite

  • Anthony Hopkins, Maria Grazia Cucinotta, Rutger Hauer, Ciarán Hinds, Alice Braga, Colin O'Donoghue, Toby Jones, Torrey DeVitto, Chris Marquette, Don Kress, Marija Karan, Nico Toffoli, Cecilia Dazzi, Marta Gastini, Peter Arpesella, Attila Bardóczy, Rosa Pianeta, Giampiero Ingrassia, Adriano Aragon, Jasper Jacob, Arianna Veronesi, Ben Cheetham, Nadia Kibout, Anita Pititto, Fabiola Balestriere, Anikó Vincze, Sandor Baranyai, Rosario Tedesco, Andrea Calligari

  The Movie

  The Rite is a 2011 movie based on Matt Baglio's book, The Rite: The Making of a Modern Exorcist. Directed by Mikael Håfström, the horror film documents the life of a young man who only enters the seminary to receive a free college education. Michael, the main character, does well in the religious environment, though. One particular priest notices and insists that the young man venture to Rome to receive exorcism training. 

  Michael goes, still skeptical, until he meets a young girl that seems quite possessed. Michael's tutor, Father Lucas, fails to exorcise the girl. When she dies, the demon, Baal, inhabits the priest and Michael has no choice but to perform an exorcism of his own.

  The Reality

  The supernatural scary movie was based on the experiences of Father Gary Thomas. An American priest, Thomas ventured to Rome in 2005 and took exorcism classes. He apprenticed with Capuchin Father Carmine De Filippis, the inspiration for Father Lucas. Thomas even teamed up with a reporter, much like the fictional Michael did in the movie. The real priest never saw a death caused by possession, but he did attend approximately 80 exorcisms.
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  (#11) The Entity

  • Barbara Hershey, Ron Silver, George Coe, Alex Rocco, Allan Rich, Margaret Blye, Jacqueline Brookes, Sully Boyar, David Labiosa, Raymond Singer, Tom Stern, Michael Alldredge, Melanie Gaffin, Natasha Ryan, Paula Victor, Richard Brestoff, Mark Weiner

  The Movie

  Single mother Carla Moran begins to experience paranormal happenings in her home and outside of the house, including violent rape, by a supposed poltergeist. She seeks help, enlisting the assistance of a therapist and friends. The friend witnesses an attack, which piques the friend's interest in the paranormal.

  Meanwhile, the therapist believes the happenings are in her mind as some sort of regression to sexual assault that actually occurred when she was a child. Carla turns to other parapsychologists at a nearby college to investigate the demons, which results in an elaborate setup at her home in hopes to trap the ghost.

  The Reality

  A Culver City, California woman, Doris Bither, reported being physically and sexually assaulted by a demon in her home. Two paranormal investigators were enlisted to study the happenings.

  The investigators experienced strange events, such as floating lights and objects moving on their own within the home, all of which was captured in photographs. However, they neer witnessed any attacks on the woman and were unable to prove her claims.

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