Top 10 Horror Movies Based on True Stories That Will Haunt You

Horror movies can be frightening for viewers, but what makes them even more spine-chilling is knowing that some horror movies are based on real events. From paranormal hauntings to gruesome crimes, these movies draw from true-life horrors. Here's a list of the top 10 horror movies based on true stories that will make your skin crawl.

1. The Conjuring (2013)

Based on: The Perron Family Haunting

Ed and Lorraine Warren, famous paranormal investigators, had been called out to assist the Perron family in the 1970s. The supernatural events that unfolded in their farmhouse in Rhode Island were terrifying to the family. The film exhibits eerie possessions, ghostly apparitions, and a demonic presence associated with the witch Bathsheba Sherman. Although the actual Perron family claimed the haunting was real, skeptics continue to be split.

2. The Exorcism of Emily Rose (2005)

Based on: Exorcism of Anneliese Michel

This psychological horror movie is based on the tragic case of the German woman Anneliese Michel, who in 1976 received 67 exorcism sessions and died of malnutrition. The movie blends a court drama with supernatural horror as it depicts her efforts to get rid of alleged demonic possession. The real-life case created controversy; the case led to the conviction of two priests and her parents for negligent homicide.

3. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003)

Inspired by: Ed Gein's Crimes

Although Leatherface's spree in this graphic slasher film is the product of fantasy, Leatherface was not fictional, but, rather a character motivated by Ed Gein, a murderer and grave raider from the 1950s. This murderer had furniture and clothes made out of human flesh, which have inspired horror masterpieces such as Psycho and Silence of the Lambs. No one ever attacked with a chainsaw, yet Gein was terror enough on his own account.

4. The Amityville Horror (2005)

Based on: The Lutz Family's Haunting

In the year 1974, Ronald DeFeo Jr. killed his whole family in their Amityville, New York house. One year after, it was occupied by the Lutz family, who claimed to have been provoked with extensive paranormal activities that include voices from demon, ghostly appearances, and cold spots without any explanation. Their stories were sensational, although people debated this was a scam. Anyway, the film adaptation is one of the most frightening haunted house movies.

5. The Strangers (2008)

Based on: The Keddie Cabin Murders & Manson Family Attacks

This home-invasion horror film is based on the murders of real crimes, particularly the unsolved 1981 Keddie Cabin Murders where the family was viciously murdered in the cabin, as well as other home invasions by the notorious Manson Family. Chilling and unreal, this is a very unsettled movie from the eerie realism in it, to just random acts of violence, to "Because you were home."

6. Veronica (2017)

Based on: The Vallecas Case

Spain's most frightening horror movie is inspired by the 1991 case of Estefanía Gutiérrez Lázaro, a teenager who allegedly died after using a Ouija board. Her family said they had experienced supernatural phenomena, including shadowy figures and objects moving on their own. The police even recorded inexplicable activity in their report, making this one of Spain's most frightening real-life hauntings.

7. The Haunting in Connecticut (2009)

Based on: The Snedeker Family Haunting

The Snedeker family had to move into a former funeral home in Connecticut during the 1980s, which later became a terrifying paranoiac experience. The Warrens investigated the said case by claiming that this house was infested with malevolent spirits. Portraying such alleged experiences of ghostly apparitions, possessions, and terrifying visions have been described in the film.

8. Wolf Creek (2005)

Based on the crimes: Ivan Milat & Bradley Murdoch

This is one of the horror movies in Australia inspired by serial killers Ivan Milat and Bradley Murdoch who target backpackers in the Australian outback. Its sadistic antagonist, Mick Taylor, portrays real-life horror his victims underwent. Gritty realism and the disturbing violence have made this film one of the most frightening pieces of horror cinema in recent history.

9. The Possession (2012)

Inspired by: The Dybbuk Box

This is a supernatural horror movie based on the cursed Jewish artifact known as the Dybbuk Box. A real box had been sold through eBay for making ill fortune among the possessors. There were nightmare issues, dark presence, and illness among people when they had owned it. In the film, these facts have been fabricated, but the center mystery is still intact.

10. Deliver Us from Evil (2014)

Inspiration taken from: Cases of Ralph Sarchie

The movie is a horror-thriller based on the real-life NYPD officer who later became a demonologist. This demonologist had followed paranormal cases tied to demonic possession. It is very unique and frightening and represents a sublimely frightening entry into supernatural horror through the injection of exorcism with a crime drama.

Final Thoughts

Horror movies are born out of reality; some films have been constructed on real-life horror stories, which make for the most haunting cinema ever seen. Whether a believer in spirits or not, the movies shown below prove how the truth may sometimes be even scarier than fiction. Below are ten must-watch horror films for fans like you with actual real-life relations.

What's your favorite horror movie based on a true story? Sound off in the comments!