We all go through nights, where all we want to do is to snuggle up under the blankets and enjoy horror movies. When it comes to the best of the best, most fans would agree that knowing a movie is based on actual events, makes it even scarier. The concept of knowing that a person actually went through the terror that’s being displayed on TV, is something that keeps us on the edge of your toes. After checking movie review sources, here are some of the best horror movies that are based on real-life events.
1) The Bird
Many movie review critics would agree that, Alfred Hitchcock is the pioneer of modern day horror movies. One of his classics The Birds, consisted of a story about a small town which struggled to handle the invasion of violent birds that constantly attacked and killed the town’s residents. The movie is actually based on an event which occurred in Santa Cruz, California. Back in 1961, the local newspaper documented a rare event where a large flock of seabirds swarmed citizens, crashed into buildings and littered lawns and streets in the town. In fact, Alfred Hitchcock actually called the newspaper company to inquire about the circumstances surrounding the attack and used it as inspiration for the movie The Birds.
2) Nightmare On Elm Street
One Of the more surprising movies on this list is Nightmare on Elm Street. The director of the movie, Wes Craven, proclaimed that he got the idea of teens being stalked and killed in their sleep as a result of an article he read in the Los Angeles Times. The article spoke of a Cambodian family, who had a young boy that had horrifyingly vivid dreams. He told his parents that he was terrified of going to bed, because each time he fell asleep, something would chase him and try to kill him. He proclaimed that as a result of this, he would stay awake for several days at a time.
3) The Silence Of The Lambs
The Silence of the Lambs is the only horror movie in history to win the Best Picture Oscar. The movies director Ted Tally, proclaimed that the movie used an amalgam of real life investigations to develop the serial killer in the movie, which went by the name of Buffalo Bill. For instance, just like Ted Bundy, Bill faked his injuries to lure his victims in when they offered to help. In addition to that, just like how Ted Bundy helped the FBI to create a criminal profile that they would use to catch the Green River Killer, Hannibal Lecter also helped to create a criminal profile to catch Buffalo Bill in the movie.
4) Amityville Horror
The Amityville Horror movie was initially released in 1979. It quickly became a cult classic because of the fact that it was based on allegedly real events. The movie consists of a couple who get terrorized by violent spirits. Similar to what was depicted in the movie, in real life, the real Lutz family, proclaimed that they experienced several months of terror in their homes as they heard strange sounds and saw things they couldn’t explain. What made it so eerie was that six people were murdered prior to the Lutz family moving in.
5) Ravenous
Even though Ravenous was regarded as being a box office failure, it developed a cult-like following based on the movie’s real life inspirations. The movie is based on Alfred Packer, also known as The Colorado Cannibal, who confessed to murdering and eating travelers as they struggled to get through Colorado’s Juan Mountains during the winter season of 1874.
6) Wounds of Love
The Wound of Love is a disturbing movie which centers around a teenage girl who struggles to escape her murderous captors who are in love with each other. The couple in the movie is based on real life couples, the Birnies. Back in 1986 David and Catherine Birnie, stalked the streets of Perth, Australia where they would go on to torture and murder atleast 5 women. What made the couple truly horrifying is that they documented their crimes. Catherine Birnie would go on to be Australia’s most prolific female serial killer.
