People Shared Horror Films That Most People Don't Realize Are Based On True Events And Holy Heck, Y'all

Based on a...Hey, no thanks!

We recently asked members of our BuzzFeed Community, "What's a horror film that a lot of people don't realize is actually based on a true story/inspired by true events?" and, WHEW BUDDY, they did not disappoint. Here are just a few of the freakiest films you may not have known are based in reality:

Also, WARNING: Due to the nature of this post, there are several graphic descriptions of true events, so please proceed with caution!

1. Scream (1996)

Dimension Films

"The first film is loosely based off of the Gainesville, Florida, murders. In the fall of 1990, Danny Rolling went on a killing spree and killed five students in four days. Obviously the movie exaggerates it a little bit, but it’s closer to the real story than most 'based on a true story' horror movies."

—amazinganne90

2. Grimm Love (2006)

Marco Weber/Vanessa Coifman

"It's a really gory, horror-filled movie about Armin Meiwes, who went on an online website to find someone to 'love,' but becomes a part of a cannibalistic fantasy."

—sleepingvolcano59

3. The Entity (1983)

20th Century Fox

"This one is the scariest 'based on true events' movie that I have ever seen. A woman is beaten and sexually assaulted by an invisible entity, and it's all a true story. Scientists tried to study the phenomenon, as well. Crazy, scary, real story."

—becalm

4. Men Behind the Sun (1988)

Warning This image is graphic Tap to reveal Click to reveal

Grand Essex Enterprises

"I have to give it to this one as the most disturbing movie based on real-life historical events. It’s about the human scientific experiments that went on during WWII to mainly Chinese and Soviet Union prisoners in Japan. A woman’s hands are frozen off, a man’s intestines explode from a pressurized chamber, and don’t get me started on what happens to a cat..."

—liebe764

5. The Exorcism of Emily Rose (2005)

Screen Gems

"The reality of the situation is that she probably had epilepsy and was really sick, but what they believed happened to her made it even scarier."

—mikaelm3

6. Psycho (1960)

Paramount Pictures

"Norman Bates is so much like Ed Gein — aside from being younger — and that adds an extra layer of terror to the already masterfully-built suspense Hitchcock created. The horror of Ed Gein isn't so much about what he did, but how his life experiences, especially his abusive mother, led him to do those things...exactly like Norman!"

—hannahc20

7. Deliver Us From Evil (2014)

Screen Gems

"It's a movie about demonic possession that is actually based on a book by Detective Ralph Satchie and his real-life experiences. Olivia Munn stars in the movie, and she said she didn't believe in it at all until she heard some recordings from exorcisms Ralph witnessed."

—cazboline

8. Amityville Horror (1979)

American International Pictures

"It's based on a real story of this family's account of what happened to them while they were living in a house on Long Island."

—rnmonica

9. Jeepers Creepers (2001)

United Artists

"Not the whole movie, but specifically the opening scene when the brother and sister see the truck driving down the highway while playing the classic license plate game. It's based on the real-life murder of Marilyn DePue, who was murdered by her estranged husband, Dennis. Marilyn and Dennis were sharing custody of their kids after separating, and after one of his children refused to go with him during one of his custody visits, Dennis flew into a fit of rage, killing Marilyn. He put his wife’s body in the van while his children watched and raced off. An elderly couple, Ray and Marie Thornton, saw Dennis’s van while playing the license plate game, and saw it pulled over at an abandoned church to dispose of Marilyn’s body."

—samanthafarrell

10. The Exorcist (1973)

Warner Bros. Pictures

"It's based on events that happened to a young boy in the late '40s. It was all recorded by the priest involved, which led William Peter Blatty to write the book, and then the movie came out a couple years later. It’s actually a really interesting story!"

—alexisquinn730

11. The Nun (2018)

Warner Bros. Pictures

"I watched this last night and was so freaked out that I wanted to know more. When I researched it a little more, I found out it was loosely based on real events."

—mmabry91

12. Fire in the Sky (1993)

Paramount Pictures

"Travis’s flashback scene scarred me for life. I will never get LASIK or go to space. Ever."

—carolinec49b8ef490

13. Verónica (2017)

Netflix

"It was loosely based on an unexplained phenomenon. It is the only police case in Spain that was categorized as 'supernatural.'"

—nanak424018202

14. The Town that Dreaded Sundown (1976)

American International Pictures

"It's based on the Texarkana Moonlight murders, in which a still unidentified serial killer known as the 'Phantom Slayer' attacked eight people, killing five."

—lucky87_87

15. The Sacrament (2013)

Magnolia Pictures

"Hands down, this one is the scariest. It’s based on the real mass suicide of the People’s Temple in Jonestown. You know, the event where the phrase 'drinking the Kool-Aid' comes from?"

—juliatheavalongirl

16. The Conjuring (2013)

Warner Bros.

"When I read 'based on true story' at the beginning, I thought the movie would be stupid, but then I couldn't get the witch out of my mind. And knowing that it really happened... I couldn't sleep at night."

—chucky123

17. The Mothman Prophecies (2002)

Screen Gems

"This one really happened. It's based on the book written by the guy Richard Gere played. His book actually delves WAY deeper into the weirder, spookier stuff, but the movie does a decent job is focusing on the actual bridge incident."

—orangejoe

18. The Strangers (2008)

Rogue Pictures

"It gave me nightmares as an adult. It's very loosely based on the Keddie Cabin murders, as well as an incident that happened to the director as a child."

—ashleyl31

19. An American Crime (2007)

Showtime

"This one is based on the torture and murder of Sylvia Likens by the woman who was taking care of her. This woman even got her oldest children and some of the kids in the neighborhood involved in the torture until Sylvia eventually died from the abuse."

—aubartka

20. Wolf Creek (2005)

Roadshow Entertainment

"This one is famously 'based on true events' and, to be honest, still scares the living daylights out of me."

—shannonmoes

21. Devil's Knot (2014)

Image Entertainment

"It's a biographical film about the 'ritual' killing of three young boys in west Memphis, Tennessee, during the Satanic Panic. Basically, three teenage boys — who were thought to be 'satanists' by the town — were arrested for the crime. One of them was sentenced to death and later executed. The other two were held in prison. However, the case was reopened in the early 2000s, when it was discovered that evidence from the trial had been tampered with, and the knife — which was found in possession of one of the victims adoptive fathers — had DNA evidence of blood from both himself and the victim. After a retrial, the two surviving convicts were freed."

—thomasheaf

Now it's your turn! What's a super scary horror film that a lot of people don't realize is actually based on a true story/inspired by true events? Share your pick in the comments below, and be sure to follow BuzzFeed Community for a chance to be featured in an upcoming post and/or video!

Some entries have been edited for length and/or clarity.