Scary Movies Based on Real Events—See the True Stories Behind Them!

We usually watch scary movies for a quick thrill, something to get the blood rushing and the adrenaline spiking. Oftentimes, we’ll go into one of those fright fests expecting to be scared but knowing that it is only fiction, so what’s the harm of watching a masked killer stalk a group of teenagers? But what if you were aware that some of your favorite horror movies were based on true events? Would it deter you from watching them or make you even more intrigued? 

Classic scary movies like The Conjuring (2013) and The Amityville Horror (1979) were created following events that really happened, but those were only the tip of the … blade. Keep reading to find out which of your most-watched fright flicks were based on real events. — but proceed with caution.

1. 'The Conjuring’ (2013)

You might recall the story of paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren, who are summoned to a private farmhouse in Rhode Island, owned by the Perrons, where a supernatural presence has made itself known. Events that follow are slow and seemingly harmless … at first, but the horror quickly progresses, leaving the Perrons’ lives at stake. 

While you probably watched this film with the thought in mind that there is no way this could ever happen in real life, we have some bad news. The Conjuring was loosely based on the true events of real-life paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren, who reached out to the Perrons after hearing about the situation in their home. While some of the events in the movie are fictionalized, there were nonetheless some very strange and terrifying moments that happened in the family home.

One of the Perrons' daughters, Andrea, has shared about her experience in the home and recounted her mother’s interactions.

“We all experienced encounters with spirits…” she related in an interview. “From benign to benevolent to oblivious to mean-spirited, the spirits were just like us: a wide variety of personalities.”

Although the film showed the Warrens performing more of an exorcism, the true story is that the Warrens and the Perrons performed a séance, where they were able to speak with whatever was haunting the home.

Andrea, who witnessed the alleged séance, shared what she saw in real-time. “My mother began to speak a language not of this world in a voice not her own. Her chair levitated and she was thrown across the room.”

After living in the home for nearly 10 years, the Perrons sold it and relocated, with Andrea recalling her mother saying she wouldn’t survive another year there. Today, the home is owned by someone else and has become a horror film hotspot. There have also been many reports of paranormal activity since the Perrons left, including objects flying off of furniture, footsteps and falling books.

2. ‘Annabelle’ (2014)

Serving as a sequel to The Conjuring as well as the beginning of a new film series, Annabelle features the terrifyingly creepy doll who is gifted to an expectant mother, Mia (Annabelle Wallis), from her husband. But one night, when a pair of devil worshippers break into their home and attempt to violently attack the couple, a drop of blood lands on the doll, triggering her to become a deadly conduit for evil.

The real story, though not quite as violent, is similar to the one on-screen. A real Annabelle doll, actually a Raggedy Ann doll, was gifted to a young woman by her mother. The doll would allegedly be found in different positions — sometimes with its legs crossed or laid on its side — while next to her bed.

Other times, the doll would be found in a completely different room from where it was left. They even went on to discover disturbing messages written on ripped parchment paper, which they didn’t own, that would say things like “help me” or “help us.”

Strange things continued to occur, such as a friend of the doll’s owner waking from a nap feeling like he was being strangled, only to realize the doll was staring directly at him. He later noticed visible scratches on his body. Soon, the Warrens were contacted and immediately knew that the doll was “not in fact possessed, but manipulated by an inhuman presence” — a young girl named Annabelle Higgins who died on the property years earlier at age 7.

The Warrens confirmed the spirit was looking to inhabit a human and would have succeeded had events gone on a few more weeks. The Warrens took the doll with them and placed her in a locked box that was later put on display in a museum. Although now closed, the Annabelle doll and other artifacts remain in the building.

3. ‘The Amityville Horror’ (1979)

The terrifying true story behind the 1979 film served as inspiration for the film, as well as multiple other projects. In 1974, Ronald Joseph DeFeo Jr. committed six murders in his family home against his parents and four siblings. The 23-year-old pled insanity but was ultimately sentenced to life in prison.

But a year after the murders, in December 1975, the home was purchased by Katherine and George Lutz, who moved in with their children. Knowing the history of the house, George asked a priest to bless it, but he then told the family he heard a voice telling him to “get out” during the blessing. However, a series of incidents occurred that were supposedly so terrifying that they vacated the home after 28 days.

Although the next homeowners never experienced any paranormal activity for over a decade, the story of the Lutz family was enough to inspire the 1979 film, as well as a 2005 remake and seven other films in between.

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