Horror’s staying power at the box office owes as much to savvy filmmaking as to the unsettling true stories behind horror movies. Franchises built on modest budgets can generate long-running series, spin-offs, and seasonal merchandising. Many of the genre’s most enduring titles draw on real investigations, crimes, and folklore.
Below are the real cases that informed classics and contemporary hits, including The Conjuring saga, The Exorcist, A Nightmare on Elm Street, and Jaws.
The true stories behind horror movies: The Conjuring universe
“The Conjuring” and the Perron family in Rhode Island
Roger and Carolyn Perron and their five daughters moved into the Old Arnold Estate in 1971, according to local reporting. They soon described unexplained phenomena, from moving furniture and doors opening to physical attacks. Paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren concluded the property was haunted by several spirits, with a hostile presence they associated with Bathsheba Sherman, a 19th-century resident. Historians have noted Bathsheba was never convicted of a crime or formally accused of witchcraft. The farmhouse sold for 1.5 million dollars in 2022 and was later purchased by Ghost Hunters personality Jason Hawes for 1.3 million dollars, land records show.
“The Conjuring 2” and London’s Enfield poltergeist
In August 1977, the Hodgson family reported disturbances at their Enfield home, including flying furniture and thrown objects. Janet Hodgson said she was possessed by a man named Bill Wilkins. Records later confirmed a man with that name had lived and died in the house of a brain hemorrhage. Janet later said a small portion of the incidents were fabricated, though she maintained the broader haunting occurred. Audio recordings from the period remain a point of debate.
“The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It” and the Arne Cheyenne Johnson case
In 1981, 19-year-old Arne Cheyenne Johnson fatally stabbed his landlord and later claimed demonic possession, a defense supported by the Warrens and widely reported at the time. Johnson and the Warrens said a demon had been expelled from 11-year-old David Glatzel and then attached to Johnson. The court rejected the possession defense. Johnson’s attorneys shifted to self-defense, and he was convicted of manslaughter, serving five years.
“The Conjuring: Last Rites” and the Smurl haunting
The latest installment draws loosely on reports from Jack and Janet Smurl in West Pittston, Pennsylvania. In 1986 the couple sought help from the Warrens after alleging violent attacks on family members and their dog. An exorcism was performed but reportedly failed. Skeptics, including a priest who spent two nights in the house, said they witnessed nothing unusual. The family later moved to Wilkes-Barre. The film emphasizes a narrative transition to the Warrens’ daughter, Judy.
“Annabelle” and the Raggedy Ann doll
A Raggedy Ann doll, now displayed at The Haunted Warren Museum in Salem, Massachusetts, is at the center of the Annabelle spin-offs. In 1970, a nurse received the doll as a gift and later reported it changed positions, left notes reading “Help me,” and appeared to leak blood. The Warrens said the doll was manipulated by a spirit rather than possessed, and they removed it after cleansing the home.
Other films drawn from real-life cases
“The Amityville Horror” and the DeFeo murders
On November 13, 1974, Ronald DeFeo Jr. killed six family members in their Amityville, New York, home, later claiming voices compelled him. He was convicted and died in 2021. The Lutz family moved in the following year and reported rapid-onset phenomena, including nightly awakenings around 3:15 a.m., the approximate time of the murders. They left after 28 days, fueling decades of argument over whether the house was haunted.
“The Haunting in Connecticut” and the Snedeker family
In the 1980s, the Snedekers rented a home to be near a hospital where their son Phillip was treated for cancer. They later learned the property had been a funeral home. Phillip’s mother said he began seeing an apparition urging him to act out. He was subsequently hospitalized and diagnosed with schizophrenia. The family later reported escalating activity and sought help from clergy and the Warrens, who participated in an exorcism.
“Veronica” and the Vallecas case in Spain
In 1992, Madrid teenager Estefania Gutierrez reportedly conducted a makeshift séance at school. Months later she died after seizures and visions of shadowy figures. The following year her parents contacted police about disturbances they said mirrored their daughter’s accounts. Officers documented sounds they could not explain, describing the scene as unusual in an official note.
“The Strangers” and home-invasion fears
Writer-director Bryan Bertino has said the film was shaped by a childhood memory of strangers knocking at his family’s rural home and later learning intruders hit nearby houses when no one answered. Viewers have also linked the film’s senseless violence to the Manson murders and the unsolved Keddie Cabin killings.
“The Exorcist” and the Roland Doe case
The 1973 classic drew on a 1949 case involving a 14-year-old pseudonymously called Roland Doe, whose family reported moving furniture, unexplained scratches, and disembodied voices. A priest, Father Raymond Bishop, kept a diary that noted violent reactions to religious rites. After several attempts, clergy reported success and the boy returned to normal life. His identity was later reported as Ronald E. Hunkeler, an engineer who died in 2020.
“The Exorcism of Emily Rose” and Anneliese Michel
German student Anneliese Michel was diagnosed with epilepsy as a teen and treated with multiple medications, reports state. She later described visions and intrusive voices and undertook intense religious practices that injured her knees. Over 10 months she underwent 67 exorcism rites. In 1976 she died from starvation at age 23. Her parents and two priests were convicted of negligent homicide.
“The Texas Chain Saw Massacre” and Ed Gein
Leatherface’s gruesome traits echo the crimes of Wisconsin murderer and grave robber Ed Gein, known as the Butcher of Plainfield. Gein admitted to killing two women and exhuming corpses to fashion items and a human skin garment, as chronicled in historical accounts. His crimes also helped inspire Psycho and The Silence of the Lambs.
“Poltergeist” and the Hermann family
The 1982 film reflects accounts from a Long Island family who said objects flew through their home. They eventually moved but maintained the disturbances were genuine.
“When a Stranger Calls” and the Janett Christman murder
In 1950, 13-year-old babysitter Janett Christman phoned police pleading for help, then the call cut off before tracing. She was later found raped and strangled in a home where she was babysitting. Investigators believed the killer was familiar with the house. The case remains unsolved.
“Dead Ringers” and the Marcus twins
New York gynecologists Stewart and Cyril Marcus were found dead in their apartment in 1975. Reports cited barbiturate addiction, with initial speculation of overdose later shifting to complications from withdrawal. The medical examiner said one brother survived the other by a couple of days before also dying in the apartment. The story was reimagined in a 2023 series starring Rachel Weisz.
“Jaws” and the 1916 Jersey Shore attacks
Peter Benchley’s shark tale and Steven Spielberg’s film echo a series of attacks in 1916 along the New Jersey coast. A 25-year-old man died in Beach Haven, and another in Spring Lake five days later. The same shark is believed to have moved north, then inland to a creek, killing a boy and a would-be rescuer. A fifth victim in the creek survived. An ichthyologist later called the cluster uniquely unusual.
“The Girl Next Door” and the murder of Sylvia Likens
Sixteen-year-old Sylvia Likens died in 1965 after months of abuse in the Indianapolis home of Gertrude Baniszewski, who was paid to care for Sylvia and her sister. Police found Likens emaciated with extensive injuries. Baniszewski was sentenced to 21 years and later paroled. Several youths, including some of her children, served shorter terms.
“The Possession” and the dybbuk box
A wooden cabinet sold online became infamous after an owner posted claims of misfortune tied to it, including a relative’s stroke and recurring identical nightmares among guests. Collector Jason Haxton later acquired the box. In Jewish folklore, a dybbuk is a restless human spirit that seeks a living host.
“The Rite” and Father Gary Thomas
The film adapts the experiences of Father Gary Thomas, a U.S.-based priest certified after training in Rome in 2005. He has said he performed exorcisms on five individuals and regularly receives requests for help.
“The Pope’s Exorcist” and Father Gabriele Amorth
Based on memoirs by the longtime Rome exorcist, the 2023 film starred Russell Crowe. Amorth, who died in 2016, claimed to have participated in more than 100,000 exorcisms. He told filmmaker William Friedkin that only a small fraction of people seeking help are truly possessed.
“Wolf Creek” and the Backpacker Killer
Australia’s Ivan Milat was convicted of torturing and murdering at least seven young travelers in the 1990s in the Belanglo State Forest. He denied guilt until his death in 2019. Some observers suspect additional victims.
“Eaten Alive” and Joe Ball
Texas bar owner and bootlegger Joe Ball kept alligators near his saloon in the 1930s. He killed at least two women who worked for him. Rumors held he fed bodies to the alligators, though no proof emerged. When questioned by police in 1938, Ball died by suicide.
“Open Water” and the Lonergans
In 1998, Tom and Eileen Lonergan were left behind during a Great Barrier Reef dive after a headcount error. Their absence was discovered two days later. A dive slate found months on suggested they had been abandoned and pleaded for help. Some of their gear later washed ashore without evidence of an attack. The couple’s bodies were never recovered.
“A Nightmare on Elm Street” and a news report that haunted Wes Craven
Wes Craven said he read about a Cambodian refugee boy in Los Angeles who feared sleep after surviving the Killing Fields. The boy reportedly stayed awake for days before finally sleeping, then died during a nightmare. That paradox of unseen terror denied by adults became the franchise’s premise and has since influenced how technologists frame the ethics of fear and surveillance in contemporary storytelling.