Behind every great film, there is true inspiration. Nothing is scarier than real life, and sometimes the monsters under your bed aren’t as make-believe as you remember. Horror pulls from the imagination — that’s no secret. Ghosts and spirits roam the attic, while werewolves and goblins own the forest. It all seems so out of reach, but is it really?
Throughout history there have been events and true crimes that have been so heinous and unbelievable that one may think that it was made for the big screen, but some directors dared to do it. In this article we’ll examine the strange and unusual — the brutal acts from script to screen — just in time for the release of Netflix’s Texas Chainsaw Massacre remake. Here are five horror classics based on true stories.
Texas Chainsaw Massacre
Director Tobe Hooper made the creative choice in his 1974 classic The Texas Chainsaw Massacre to claim that the events in the film were inspired by a true story. The film opens with a narration stating, “The Events of that day were to lead to the discovery of one of the most bizarre crimes in the annals of American history.” However, the story of Leatherface is just loosely inspired by the life of American serial killer, Ed Gein. Gein is suspected to have taken several victims between the years of 1954 and 1957 in Plainfield Wisconsin.
There are small similarities between Leatherface and Gein, but one of the biggest differences that was purely for cinematic entertainment was their choice of weaponry. Ed Gein did not murder anybody with a chainsaw. He did, however, dismember his victims and make skin masks out of their body parts. It is believed that Gein did this because he had a strong desire to be a woman. Leatherface wore skin masks because of a skin condition that he was trying to hide. When police exhumed Gein’s house, they found various artifacts made of human body parts. Some of these items were lamps, bowls, and clothing accessories made of female body parts. Despite vague relation between the two, there is no doubt that The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is one of the most horrific films of all time, but does it live up to it’s loosely based reality? Undeniably, Ed Gein is much more terrifying than Leatherface.
Jaws
Unless you were watching Shark Week in the early 2010s, or you’re just a huge shark buff, you probably would never have guessed that Jaws was based on a series of shark attacks that occurred in New Jersey in the summer of 1916. The attacks were not isolated to one specific spot, but a few along the Jersey Shore coastline. Much like the hesitance in the film, town officials brushed off the attacks and the warnings that heeded. Jersey sea captains along the coast all reported sightings of a large shark, but were ignored. One of those most notable attacks took place in Matawan Creek, where two victims suffered fatal injuries from their wounds. Residents were called to action with the promise of a large reward for the capture of the lethal predator. Despite their efforts, no sharks were captured in or near Matawan Creek.
The summer of 1916 would forever be remembered as the summer of “shark panic” and would later be the inspirations for Peter Benchley’s novel, Jaws. The novel was a success before it reached publication. Producers approached Benchley and bought the rights before it even had a chance to hit the stands. Not soon after their inquisition, producers would select Steven Spielberg to direct one of the biggest blockbuster hits of all time.
A Nightmare on Elm Street
New Line Cinema
A man with knives for fingers who revenge-murders teens isn’t exactly the premise you’d imagine being inspired by a true story, but a little imagination can go a long way. In an interview with Vulture, Wes Craven revealed that A Nightmare on Elm Street was inspired by an article he read in an LA newspaper. Craven stated, “I’d read an article in the L.A. Times about a family who had escaped the Killing Fields in Cambodia and managed to get to the U.S. Things were fine, and then suddenly the young son was having very disturbing nightmares.” He would go on to say that the young boy eventually ended up dying in the middle of the nightmare, but the most interesting fact is that this boy wasn’t the only one to succumb to his nightmare.
Craven used these articles to develop the plot of A Nightmare on Elm Street, but Freddy’s inspiration was completely internal. As the story goes, Craven delved into his childhood memories to create the figure of Freddy. One night, he had seen an elderly man walking by. The man stopped, looked over at Craven, and then carried on. Thus, Freddy Krueger was born.
The Amityville Horror
MGM
The Amityville Horror has received a great deal of scrutiny over the years since its release in 1977. The tale stretches far beyond the hauntings within the house and is engulfed with lawsuits and deception. The film is based on a novel that was written to depict the paranormal occurrences experienced by the Lutz family on 112 Ocean Avenue. Almost a year before the Lutzes moved in, a man murdered his entire family with a shot gun. The house sat empty, and the bank was practically begging for someone to buy it. The sale price was $80,000, which was considered a great bargain at the time for a house of this structure. The Lutzes moved in and, allegedly, shortly after their arrival, things started to get weird. As it is stated several times in the film, the Lutzes poured all of their money into the house and were financially bound, serving as their reason for staying.
George Lutz had claimed to have woken every night at 3:15 am which happened to be the exact time of the DeFeo murders. He comments that there were odors throughout the house and the walls would even ooze green slime. Whether the Lutzes were telling the truth remains unknown to this day. Their sons and the former murderer, Ron DeFeo, all claim the house’s validity. However, in 1979, the Lutzes lawyer came out and commented that the three of them came up with the fantastical tale over many bottles of wine. Fact or fiction, the truth will never be known, but their story does sound like it is pulled straight from The Conjuring universe.
Scream
Scream revitalized the horror genre in 1996. The ultra-meta slasher not only revamped the way directors viewed horror, but initiated a much-needed change to a scene that was sequel central. Films like I Know What You Did Last Summer, and The Faculty were born because of Scream and an idea spawned from Kevin Williamson. One night, Williamson was house sitting and caught a special about The Gainesville Ripper, who brutally murdered eight people. Five of these victims were college students. Williamson was totally creeped out by the TV special and immediately penned the idea for what would become Wes Craven’s Scream.
Danny Rolling, who would later become known as The Gainesville Ripper, didn’t need a mask to instill fear. He came from an overtly abusive home. His forte was robbery with sprinkles of murder in between. He first attempted to murder his father, and later that summer would go on to murder five college co-eds after a burglary incident. Much like Ghostface, Rolling liked to pose his victims after brutally mutilating them. Amongst the obscure and obscene, imagination is a vessel with uncapped potential. Real life doesn’t imitate horror — horror imitates life.
