In 2009, Orphan was released, telling the story of a couple who adopt a nine-year-old girl who turns out to not actually be the person that she initially claims to be. The film is an eerie watch that received mixed reviews from critics, but has since become a cult classic and is currently admired as a unique psychological horror film. Isabelle Fuhrman plays Esther, and her performance is a strong point of the film. This year, the franchise is set to make its return with Orphan: First Kill, a prequel that will explore Esther’s origins, just in time for Halloween. Fuhrman will reprise her role as Esther, and the movie will deploy creative techniques to make the now-25-year-old actress look young again.

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What many people might know is that the plot of Orphan is based on a true story. The real-life case of Indeed, Barbora Skrlová inspired the events of the movie, and the real-life case is just as chilling as the movie itself. Additionally, there was a similar case reported shortly after the film’s release, and with the upcoming Orphan prequel film, this could possibly be explored further in the upcoming movie.

Barbora Skrlová Case

     Warner Bros. 

The case that is widely accepted to be the truth behind the inspiration for the Orphan film is the case of Barbora Skrlová. The story became a national news event that received widespread coverage after a 13-year-old boy named ‘Adam’, who was adopted from Norway went missing. It was later revealed that he was in fact a 33-year-old Czech woman, known as Skrlová. The woman was a criminal who had committed crimes in the Czech Republic when she came to live with her two sisters and their two children. Her sister had a significant mental illness which made her a target for Skrlová’s manipulation.

Once she realized she could manipulate the family, she began to fabricate stories of the children breaking rules for which she enforced more and more extreme forms of punishment. She eventually managed to convince the family to lock the children in the basement and deprive them of food. Since the situation had gotten so bad, neighbors bean to notice and eventually reported the crime. It was at this point she was able to escape and posed as a 13-year-old boy who had been reported missing. After she ran away, she was able to pose as the boy for a period of time, before being eventually discovered. This ultimately led to her capture. It’s easy to see the parallels between this story and the story in Orphan.

Natalia Grace Case

     Warner Bros. Pictures

After Orphan was released, a unique case came to light, which people have speculated may have been influenced by the events which were shown in the film. In Indiana, a couple named Kristine and Michael Barrett who had already raised several children with special needs became subject to similar kinds of events that were shown on-screen. They adopted a six-year-old girl from Ukraine whose name was Natalia Grace, who had a rare form of dwarfism which made walking difficult for her. She had already been living in the USA for 2 years before she came into their care, however, the previous family let her go from their care for undisclosed reasons.

Soon after she was in their care, the family began to notice strange behavior from Natalia. It was reported that she would threaten the family — and there was even one incident which involved her trying to pour bleach into their morning coffee. Eventually, Kristine suspected that Natalia was not actually a child, a suspicion fueled by her advanced vocabulary and lack of interest in toys. They were able to legally change her age to 22 after their claims were backed up by medical reports (however, these were later refuted). The parents were later charged with neglect. After the incident, Kristine still maintains that the child was posing as an adult the whole time, but her husband has admitted that she was a child and that Kristine had convinced him to lie about her age. It’s since widely been speculated that the couple’s actions may have been influenced by the events in Orphan.

Orphan’s Planned Prequel Movie

     Warner Bros.

Orphan was released way back in 2009, so it’s been a long time since audiences were shocked by the twisted story, and real-life events seem to have brought the horror into real-life once more. It’s been announced that Esther will be back in a film which acts as a prequel and will be entitled Orphan: First Kill. Isabelle Fuhrman is returning to her role as Esther, and it’s been reported that filmmakers are using a combination of special effects and makeup to make sure her character maintains her youthful appearance from the first film. The film is set to be released later this year, so it will be interesting to see how the plot develops and if any events of the real-life counterparts to the story will be depicted, but we’re certainly excited to find out.