Its Halloween month, which means we’re going
to up our spooky content game. Since so many of you saw similarities between
the 2009 movie the orphan and the true story of Natalia Barnett, I thought it was high
time we did a list of scary movies that were inspired by real life events. Grab your candy corn and buckle up, You’re
about to the top 10 scary movies that were based on true stories. Welcome back to another informoverload top
10 list, I’m charlotte dobre, thanks for checking out another one of these videos,
they are absolutely sooo much fun to research. If you’re new here, subscribe for spicy
news updates and epic facts and follow the Io team on social media. Make sure you stick around until the end of
the video for some comment features and bonus content. Now lets get into this list. At number 10, Child’s Play. Okay, so the doll that inspired Child’s
play wasn’t as scary looking as Chuckie, but the story that goes along with him is
definitely spooky. It goes back to 1909, when painter and author
Robert Eugene Otto claimed that one of his servants put a voodoo curse on his childhood
toy, Robert The Doll. Apparently this female servant had been abused
by his family, this was of course at a time when slavery was common, so she put a curse
on Robert to get back at the family. Robert the doll put a sort of spell over otto,
and otto would talk to him like he was a friend and his parents would often hear him having
conversations with himself. The scary thing is, otto’s parents heard
the replies from Robert, that were made in a completely different voice. But that’s not all, Robert would move around
on his own, from room to room. Otto would always blame Robert when furniture
would get knocked over or when misfortune stuck the family. Otto’s parents would also wake up in the
middle of the night to the sound of Otto screaming, and when they went to check on him, they saw
Robert the doll by his bedside and all the furniture in his room tossed around. Robert the doll was eventually banished to
the attic of Otto’s home until his death in 1974, when a new family moved in. The home’s new owners also claimed that
Robert the doll would cause strange incidents. If you’re interested, you can actually go
and see Robert. He’s on display at the Key West Fort East
Martello Museum At number 9, Open Water. Open water is a film about an American couple
who were abandoned by accident in shark infested waters during their Bahamas vacation. It was an amazing film that was shot with
handheld cameras on a budget. Open water is actually based on the story
of Tom and Eileen Lonergan, American tourists who disappeared off Australia’s graet barrier
reef in January 1998. They’d spent years travelling the world,
but before they returned home, they went to the great barrier reef. They took a day trip on a passenger boat,
where a crew would take them on 3 dives. On the 3rd dive at around 3 pm, they dove
down together, and were last spotted swimming about 12 meters down. When they came back up, the passenger boat
had left without them. The danger of being left in the middle of
the ocean is not drowning, but dehydration. A day later, on another boat tour, a diver
found six dive weights on the bottom, but still, the crew had no idea they were left
by tom and Eileen, who might have still been alive at that point. Several months later, a fisherman 100 miles
north of the dive site found a dive slate, scribbled with the words, Monday January 26th
1998, 8 am. To anyone who can help us. We have been abandoned on Agincourt reef by
MV outer edge. Please help us come to rescue us before we
die, help. Over the following months, other belongings,
including a eileens wetsuit, fins and dive jackets were found. The couple did not die by shark attack like
the couple in the film open water. Instead they likely died from a combination
of dehydration and drowning. In case you’re wondering what happened to
tom and Eileen sparked international outrage. No one even knew they were missing until toms
wallet and their passports were found on the boat. Regardless, it was by most accounts an accident. An accident that inspired the 2004 film, open
water. At number 8, Psycho. Alfred Hitchcock’s classic horror, Psycho
from 1960 is one of the best thriller movies of all time. It was based on a novel of the same name written
by Robert Bloch. And the main character in psycho, Norman Bates
was actually loosley based on real life psychopath, ed gein. The notorious Wisconsin murderer and grave
robber. The atrocities committed by Ed Gein earned
him the nickname, the mad butcher of plainfield, and that wasn’t a nickname given lightly. Gein murdered two women and dug up dozens
of bodies from several local graveyards. He took the remains of these bodies and decorated
his house with items made from bones and skin. Gein was eventually caught, and was found
guilty, but legally insane. He was sent to live out the rest of his life
in psychiatric institutions. He finally passed away at age 77 at the Mendota
Mental Health Institute in 1984. There were a couple similarities between Norman
Bates and Ed Gein. Both had obsessions with their mothers and
both their houses contained sealed off shrines to their dead mothers, and both of them also
enjoyed wearing womens clothing. But the main difference between Bates and
Gein is that Gein wasn’t really a serial killer. He only killed 2 people and desecrated a bunch
of graves. Bates on the other hand murdered around 20
people. The more you know. At number 7, The Shining. Soooo the shining is one of my favorite movies
of all time, because jack Nicholson duh, but yeah, that hotel? It was inspired by a real hotel that’s said
to be haunted even to this day. Its called the Stanley hotel, its a haunted
resort in the state of Colorado. The shining is the story of a hotel caretaker
who’s driven insane by evil spirits. But you know what? As if that already isn’t scary enough, the
real story is a lot scarier. There are 142 rooms in the hotel, but one
room has a terrible history. Room 217. Room 217 used to belong to a chambermaid,
Mrs Wilson, who is spending eternity cleaning up the room she’s trapped in. Guests who have stayed in the hotel report
that they have been terrorized by strange incidents. People report they wake up to the sensation
of something poking them in the ribs if their room is messy. Steven king is also said to have spent a night
in room 217 while he was battling alcoholism in 1974. He apparently had a terrifying nightmare that
his son was being chased down the hall by a possessed fire hose. It was this stay in the hotel that inspired
steven king to write the book, the shining, which is about an alcoholic writer who spends
the winter being driven crazy by spirits in a haunted hotel. At number 6, The Girl Next Door. The film is based on a novel by Jack Ketchum,
that follows the story of a man named david who recalls memories from his childhood about
a pair of orphan girls who were sent to live with their aunt. The orphans are tortured and degraded at the
hands of their family members. All the while, david struggles to decide if
he should intervene. The girl next door is actually based on a
true story. 16 year old Sylvia Likens was held captive
by her caregiver, Gertrude Baniszewski. For three months, Gertrude, her children and
other kids in their neighbourhood abused and tortured Sylvia until she died from her injuries. Eventually Gertrude, her eldest daughter paula,
her son john and 2 kids from the neighbourhood were treid and convicted in may of 1966 of
neglecting, torturing and eventually killing Sylvia. The counsels of the defendants called the
case the most diabolical to ever be presented before a court or jury. To this day, the torture and murder of Sylvia
likens is the worst crime ever to be committed in Indiana. Half way there at number 5, The Hills Have
Eyes. Okay, I definitely didn’t know that the
hills have eyes was based on a true story, or a legend that’s said to be based on a
true story. The hills have eyes is a story about a family
who’s car breaks down in the desert. While they are stranded, they are targeted
by a group of cannibalistic mutants. How could cannibalistic mutants be real? Well.. have you ever heard about Sawney Bean? The legend of Sawney bean is one of scotlands
most shocking legends. Alexander Sawney bean was the head of a 45
member family in Scotland back in the 16th century. He left home with a woman named Agnes Douglas
who was accused of being a witch. Neither of them were a fan of honest labor,
and they were said to have robbed and cannibalized an innocent victim. They sought refuge in a coastal cave where
they remained for 25 years in hiding. The cave was very deep and was blocked by
water during high tide, very difficult to find and very difficult to enter. The couple bore 8 sons and 6 daughters, who
had incestual relationships, and they bore 18 grandsons and 14 granddaughters. The clan were said to have survived by ambushing
passers by at night and murdering them. The bodies were brought back to their caves
where they were eaten. Sometimes body parts washed up on shore. This legend is supposed to be fictional but
many experts believe it was based on a real story. Wes craven used the legend of sawney bean
as his inspiration for his 1977 film, the hills have eyes. In at 4, The silence of the lambs. This to date is one of my favorite Anthony
Hopkins films, and that’s saying a lot. Hopkins is a legend. The silence of the lambs revolves around a
cannibal named Hannibal lecter. No one knew that the character was based on
a real person until 2013, when the 25th anniversary of the silence of the lambs was released. Hannibal Lector was based on an actual doctor
from mexico, Alfredo Balli Trevino, a surgeon who was convicted of murdering and chopping
up his gay lover. Thomas Harris, who wrote the book that the
movie is based on, actually met Trevino in the 60’s while he was working on a story
for a magazine, and managed to score an interview with him after he performed life saving surgery
on one of the inmates. He killed his lover for one of two reasons,
he found out he was leaving him, or he refused to pay back money that was owed. Either way, Trevino ended up in prison and
his murder was categorized as a crime of passion. He injected a drug into his lovers body, dragged
his body into a bathtub, slit his throat with a scalpel and drained the blood. Afterward he sliced up the body and stuffed
the pieces into a box. Harris described Trevino as someone who had
a certain elegance about him, which is pretty interesting because the guy chopped up his
lovers body. But that definitely speaks to Anthony Hopkins
portrayal of him. Interestingly, after serving 20 years, Trevino
was released in the year 2000 and continued to practice medicine, providing medical care
for the poor until his death in 2009. Getting close now at number 3, A nightmare
on Elm Street. Okay so freddy kruegers freaky face wasn’t
based on a real life person so you can cool your jets about that. But a nightmare on elm street was inspired
by a terrifying true story. The movie revolves around a terrifying villain,
freddy Krueger, who’s the spirit of a serial killer who uses a gloved razor hand to kills
his victims in their dreams, which causes their deaths in the real world as well. Wes Craven said he was inspired by an L.A.
Times article that survived the killing fields in Cambodia. The family made it to the united states, but
the boy was haunted by nightmares, likely fuelled by traumatic events. The boy told his parents that he was afraid
of something that was chasing him in his dreams, and so he refused to sleep for days at a time. Of course, your body will not allow you to
stay awake for days at a time, so eventually the boy fell asleep. But his parents awoke to a scream in the middle
of the night. They ran to check on their son…but by that
time it was too late. The boy died in the middle of a nightmare. BROO. The boy had died from Sudden unexpected death
syndrome, a condition that affects young Hmong males and Filipinos. It claims anywhere from 43 to 100 victims
per year. Basically… victims die of fright from their
own belief of what happens in their dreams. This is where Wes Craven got his idea for
a nightmare that can kill. Almost there now at number 2, Scream. It isn’t a Halloween month without scream,
a slasher movie that took a dark humor approach to tell the true story of the Gainseville
Ripper, aka Danny rolling. The screenplay for the films were written
by Kevin Williamson, an actor, who was captivated and horrified after reading about the tragic
events that took place during the summer of 1990 at the university of florida. Over the course of 3 nights, danny rolling
murdered 5 students. He broke into the apartment of freshman roommates
aged 18 and 17, and stabbed them to death before putting their bodies in sexually suggestive
positions. The next day, he did the same thing to another
victim, only this time he cut off her nipples, severed her head, then placed her head on
a shelf so it looked at the body. Would not have wanted to come across that
crime scene. Two days later, he struck again, killing 2
roommates, a man and woman aged 23. The murders took a tole on the community. Universities closed for a week, students took
turns at night keeping watch. But danny rolling didn’t kill again. Police didn’t figure out it was rolling
until a year later, but by that time he was already in jail for an unrelated burglary
charge. He was eventually sentenced to death, but
during his court appearances, rolling would sing love songs to his fiance’, Sondra London. He also sang just before he was executed 15
years later in 2006. And at number one on our list, The exorcist. This is the scariest film on this list in
my opinion. And don’t come for me in the comments, but
I was truly disturbed after I watched the exorcist. The exorcist is based on the real life exorcism
of Roland Doe. Back in the 1940’s in suburban Washington
DC, a 13 year old boy was traumatized over the loss of his beloved aunt harriet. His aunt was a spiritualist who taught him
how to use a Ouija board. Before his aunt died in 1949, Roland started
experiencing strange things. He was haunted by the sounds of water dripping,
scratching sounds coming from the walls, and his mattress would move on its own. His family consulted experts…doctors and
psychiatrists and their local Lutheran minister. None of them could help. Their minister suggested they seek out the
help of a catholic priest, Father E Albert Hughes, who got the permission to perform
an exorcism on Roland. But the exorcism was cut short when roland
broke off a piece of the spring from his mattress he was strapped down to and sliced the priest
across his shoulders with it. A few days later, strange scratches formed
on the boy that spelled the words, Louis, indicating the family had to go to st lous. They sought the help of family members who
knew 2 priests, who performed another exorcism on Roland. During it, the men gathered had witnessed
scratching on the boys body and the mattress moving violently around. Roland also was in a trance like state, during
which he would utter strange sounds in a guttural voice. The two priests continued the exorcism night
after night, until one night roland urinated all over his bed and started cursing at the
priests. His parents took him to Alexian Brothers Hospital
in st lous, where finally, the Monday after easter, Ronald awoke with seizures, yelling
at the priests ‘satan would always be with you’. The priests adorned him with holy relics and
objects. At 10:45 pm, the priests called on st Michael
to expel satan from rolands body. Seven minutes later, Ronald woke up from his
trance, saying, he’s gone. Ronald went on to live a completely normal
life after this, and there were no other documented incidents or behaviour. The cool thing is, you can actually go to
the staircase, the famous staircase from the exorcist that the priest falls down at the
end of the movie. Its in Georgetown Washington. I’ve totally been there, no biggie. Alright, I need a breath. Everyone take a breath with me. That one was a doozy. But we’re not finished yet. I still gotta read out some comments from
my video, the top 10 youtube channels that might be shutting down. Grant – as long as IO doesn’t shut down
then I’m all good. Love you potato queen. Unique Reisen – I just watched this episode
of IO with free data and its worth it. Glaco – I don’t think you know what a
pun is.
