Horror films: Fact vs. Fiction

You’re probably already familiar with the ‘based on a true story’ tagline; a sentence that’s spliced into even the most outlandish horror movies in an effort to separate us from the contents of our wallets over Halloween. But despite what movie marketeers claim, most cinematic scare stories are about as accurate a reflection of real life as the Super Mario brothers are of the career trajectories of Italian-American plumbers.

[Quiz: Can you guess the horror film by the first victim?]

Nevertheless, like lies, the best horror stories have a grain of truth to them and some of the most terrifying have a whole lot more. Let us guide you through the spine-tinglingly true tales to have hit the silver screen.

Psycho (1960)

The movie: Hitchcock’s seminal slasher is a movie masterpiece that still has the power to shock audiences more than 50 years on. It follows shower-stalking mummy’s boy Norman Bates, the murderous cross dressing proprietor of a motel that makes Holiday Inns look like five star resorts.

The reality: The character was based on Ed Gein, who was arrested in 1957 for murdering two women - and digging up the corpses of countless others - who reminded him of his dead mum. A man with issues we suspect.

[See more: The Ghostbusters cast - where are they now?]

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)

The movie: How's this for a horror flick tick-list: cannibalism, a mask made out of human skin and a villain who chops up victims with a chainsaw. No wonder this visceral flick - a tale of slaughterhouse workers, er, slaughtering Texan teens - was banned in countries around the world on its original release.

The reality: The movie played heavily on its ‘based on a true story’ schtick. But whilst the events themselves were entirely fictitious, the character of Leatherface was another character based on Gein (see ‘Psycho’, above), who also skinned his victims in order to make a bodysuit made of human flesh. 

The Exorcist (1973)

The movie: ‘The Exorcist’ is quite possibly the scariest movie ever made. Even writing its name down here has me squirming uncomfortably in my seat. Controversial and truly harrowing; its release roused audiences back in the 70s by questioning the existence of god and offering Satan the squatting rights to the body of a 12-year-old girl.

The reality: The film took its inspiration from the last known Catholic-sanctioned exorcism in the United States, where priests attended to a 13-year-old boy after his parents complained about his aggressive behaviour. The facts are a little murky, so whilst there may be some truth to reports that the boy spoke in a demonic accent and moved objects with his mind; he almost definitely didn’t spin his head entirely round, levitate or talk gobbledygook.

Even spookier however is the so-called ‘Exorcist’ curse, which afflicted the film’s crew. Depending on who you ask, between four and nine people involved with the movie died either in production or shortly after; whilst filming was repeatedly delayed by a spate of mysterious fires and serious on-set accidents.

[See more: Our Ghostbusters 3 fantasy cast]

The Amityville Horror (1979)

The movie: Haunted houses have fascinated filmgoers ever since some clever director realised that a creaky window and rattling door handle could scare the bejesus out of us. That director was probably Stuart Rosenberg, whose 1979 spooktacular provided the template from which just about every haunted house flick has been cut since.

The reality: 'Amityville' is based on the real-life experiences of the Lutz family, who had overcome estate agents, removal men and endless reams of bubble wrap only to find out that the house they’d moved into was haunted. As in the film a mass murder had once take place in their new pad which perhaps explains how over a period of four weeks they experienced cold spots, inverted crucifixes and walls covered in green slime. That’s if they weren’t just making the whole thing up, which many suspected they were...

[See more: The movie deaths you don't see coming]

A Nightmare On Elm Street (1984)

The movie: Before it launched a seemingly endless series of sequels, prequels and parodies, ‘A Nightmare On Elm Street’ set the standard for imaginative slasher flicks with its heady mix of horror and humour. It also made stripy sweaters, jaunty angled hats and leather gloves something of a fashion faux pas for anyone who’d been burnt alive by ‘Elm Street’s over enthusiastic neighbourhood watchers.

The reality: Craven based his movie’s marvellous MacGuffin on a real life condition that became known as Asian Death Syndrome. The affliction was found in Cambodian refugees who suffered recurring nightmares, after which they refused to sleep, fearing death if they did. Some were even proved right as they died shortly after. Spooky eh?

Do you agree with our choices or have we missed one of tinsel town’s gruesome true life tales from our list? Trick or treat us in the comments section below.