- Scary films are a popular
genre with many people, but what makes them tolerable is that they are fiction, right? The horrendous atrocities and
gory details of these films could not have possibly happened
in real life, or did they? (evil laughing) (chainsaw roaring) Here are 10 horror films
based on real events. Number 10 is the Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Released in 1974, the
Texas Chainsaw Massacre told the story of a
twisted group of killers terrorizing a bunch of teenagers. And what's worse is that it
was based on a true event. To be more specific, it was
actually based on two events. The first is well-documented. In 1957, Ed Gein, a loner who
lived on a Wisconsin farm, brutally murdered a woman
called Bernice Worden. He also dug up corpses
from a nearby graveyard. When the police arrived at his farm, they discovered that he had made a suit from his victims' skin which
he would actually wear. This grisly discovery became
the basis for Leatherface in the Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Another influence on the film
was the legend of Sawney Bean, a man who led a Scottish clan sometime between the
13th and 16th centuries. They reportedly ate over 1,000 people. And if you thought these
stories were disturbing, we've just begun. Number nine is The Entity. The Entity was originally
released as a novel back in 1978 and then made into a
film four years later. It tells the story of a
woman who is terrorized by a malevolent spirit in her own home. The film is based on a true event known as the Doris Bither case. This was an alleged haunting in California in the early-1970s, where
Doris Bither claimed that she was attacked
in her bed each night by three supernatural entities. The case was investigated by
Barry Taff and Kerry Gaynor, who both photographed orbs and documented other strange phenomena. However, the most terrifying of these was when Doris attempted
to summon the entity by swearing and shouting into thin air. Reportedly, a green mist formed
in the corner of the room and the outline of a man
could be seen within it. Take this as a lesson: The paranormal are not
something you want to provoke. Number eight is Open Water. The 2003 film Open Water
explored a horrific situation: being stranded in the sea,
surrounded by man-eating sharks. While being a low-budget film, Open Water did well at the box
office and enticed audiences with its based-on-real-events claim. Those events surrounded the disappearance of Thomas and Eileen Lonergan in 1998. While diving in the
Australian Great Barrier Reef, they were separated
from their diving group, which left the area without them. And no one noticed they had disappeared until two days later. Their bodies were never recovered and only some diving equipment and a diving slate were ever found. The slate, which is used to write messages between divers underwater,
gave their location at the time and had a scrawled
message pleading for help. It's not known exactly what
happened to the couple, but it's a good guess
that they either drowned or were eaten by sharks. Number seven is It. Stephen King's It is such
a popular horror story that it's been adapted into a film twice. But while the story of Pennywise the Clown terrorizing the children of a small town continues to captivate
audiences around the world, they may be surprised to learn
that this supernatural tale may have been inspired by a real event. Some argue that Stephen
King was influenced by the serial killer John Wayne Gacy. Arrested in 1978, Gacy murdered
at least 33 teenage boys and young men over a six-year period and was referred to by
many as the Killer Clown. This is because Gacy often
attended children's parties dressed as Pogo the Clown. This horrific tale reminds us that sometimes truth really
is stranger than fiction. Number six is Wolf Creek. The 2005 Australian horror film Wolf Creek was marketed as being
based on real events. Though the filmmakers
were never actually able to say what those events
were for legal reasons, many have speculated that Wolf Creek was based on the crimes
of two horrific murders. In the film, three backpackers are traveling across
the Australian Outback and encounter a twisted killer. This is very similar to the accounts of Ivan Milat's murders during the 1990s. He would kidnap foreign backpackers and bury the remains in
a nearby large forest. Another true-life case cited
as an influence on Wolf Creek is that of Bradley Murdoch, who murdered an English
backpacker named Peter Falconio. They encountered each near
a place called Barrow Creek, but Falconio's girlfriend
was able to escape into the wilderness. Peter's body has never been found. Number five is Ravenous. The Western horror film
Ravenous was released in 1999 and is sad to have been based on the macabre confessions of Alfred Packer. In the film, a lieutenant
in the United States Army is sent to rescue a group of people trapped in the mountains
of the Sierra Nevada. When he finds what's left of the group, it turns out that they had
resorted to cannibalism. While this is happening,
those nearby are warned about the curse of the Wendigo, that those who eat human
flesh will crave it forever, and that one of the survivors of the group may have already consumed human flesh. In reality, Alfred Packer,
during April of 1874, traveled with five prospectors
looking for gold in Utah. Only Packer even returned
and it was soon discovered that he'd eaten the other men. Number four is Fire in the Sky. 1993's Fire in the Sky
depicts the alleged events surrounding one of the most infamous alien abduction cases of all time. The film follows a group of loggers who encounter a UFO in the
White Mountains of Arizona. The UFO abducts one of the men and we see his terrifying
experiences play out. In the alleged true story, a logger by the name of Travis Walton was abducted by aliens
on November 5th, 1975. He claimed that he was
taken from his truck when a beam of light
knocked him unconscious. He then woke to find himself
in a hospital-like room with three alien creatures,
aided by several humans, performing experiments on him. Travis then found himself five days later walking along a highway as the UFO flew off into the distance. He was described by his family as disturbed and never the same again. Number three is Annabelle. The 2014 film Annabelle is a prequel to James Wan's The Conjuring series, but this story of a
haunted children's doll was reportedly based on a real event. Famous paranormal investigators
Ed and Lorraine Warren were called in to investigate a bizarre case of doll possession. A student nurse had contacted the couple, claiming that her Raggedy Ann doll was moving around on its own and speaking to the
nurse and her roommate. Lorraine Warren, who
claimed to be psychic, told the nurse that the doll was possessed by the spirit of a dead girl
named Annabelle Higgins. In order to protect others
from its evil reach, the Warrens took Annabelle and placed her in their Museum of Occult
in demonic artifacts. Annabelle has now appeared in three movies and has terrified millions of people, alongside those who have
experienced the real doll. Number two is The Strangers. Released in 2008, The
Strangers follows the story of a young couple who are hounded by a group of masked killers
for seemingly no reason. However, the film was actually based on two real-life events. The most famous of these were
the Manson Family murders. These took place in 1969. At the behest of their cult
leader, Charles Manson, his followers broke into
a house in Beverly Hills and killed those inside. This included director Roman
Polanski's pregnant wife, Sharon Tate. As Manson had instructed, they were to totally
destroy everyone in it as gruesome as they possibly could. And they certainly did that, and the horrific crime
influenced a number of films, including The Strangers. The director was also
influenced by a chilling moment when he was a child, when a group of burglars
came to the door of his home while his parents were away. And number one is The Exorcist. Directed by William Friedkin,
The Exorcist is often voted the greatest horror film of all time. It's also based on a real-life exorcism. In the film, a 12-year-old
girl named Regan is possessed by a demon,
perhaps even the devil himself. An exorcism is then performed,
with terrifying consequences. The event which allegedly
inspired the film and the book before it was the exorcism of a boy
called Roland Doe in 1949. His name was changed to
protect his identity, but those involved claimed
that the demonic forces moved objects around Roland while he spoke in
languages unfamiliar to him and in a demonic voice. While some things in The
Exorcist were exaggerated, the core elements of
Roland's story are real, which makes this film extra chilling. So, those were 10 horror
films based on real events. And if you enjoyed this, be
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