Horror films often tap into the darkest corners of our imagination, but some draw inspiration from the very real and unsettling events that have occurred throughout history. In this spine-tingling exploration, we delve into ten horror films that were crafted from the unsettling stories of actual events. These cinematic adaptations bring to life the horrors that once unfolded, blurring the line between fiction and reality.
1. The Conjuring (2013)
Ed and Lorraine Warren were semi-famous paranormal investigators before director James Wan decided to turn their most well-known case into a throwback haunted house movie and made them perhaps the most famous ghost hunters in the world. Who else in their field can claim to have inspired the most successful horror franchise of all-time? The so-called ‘Conjuring Universe’ has spun off in several directions now – including the Annabelle movies – but the first film takes its inspiration directly from the Warrens’ account of investigating supernatural activity at a crumbling farmhouse in Rhode Island back in 1971. It gleefully mashes up numerous classic horror tropes, including many jump scares, and proved that Wan, previously known for the torturing Saw franchise, could conjure up more than just nausea.