10 Weird Sci-Fi Movies You Won't Believe Were Inspired By True Events

These science fiction movies were based off of actual events.

1. The Blob

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1958’s horror classic, The Blob, is about an alien lifeform that consumes everything in it’s path as it grows and grows. As farfetched as the story sounds, the events in the movie are based on an incident that happened in Philadelphia in the 1950s. Officers discovered a quivering purple lump that had crash landed in a nearby field. The officers reported that the mass was like a giant glowing jelly ball that left sticky residue on anything it touched.

2. E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial

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When Steven Spielberg created the 1982 masterpiece E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, the special effects at the time were so revolutionary it was difficult to believe the alien wasn’t real. In addition, the fact that the concept for E.T. was based on an imaginary friend Spielberg created after his parents got a divorce in 1960, it makes it even more impossible to separate fiction and reality.

3. Ghostbusters

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The blockbuster hit Ghostbusters was a concept inspired by Dan Aykroyd’s, aka Ray Stanz's, fascination with the paranormal. Aykroyd came up with the idea of Ghostbustin’ superheroes after reading an article about quantum physics and parapsychology in the American Society of Psychical Research Journal.

4. Space Jam

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When "His Royal Airness" agreed to help the Looney Tunes play a basketball game vs. alien slavers to determine their freedom back in 1996, minus the cartoon characters, the story seemed a little too familiar for moviegoers. Space Jam used real elements from Michael Jordan’s life such as his 1993 retirement speech, his departure from the game of basketball to pursue a baseball career, and even his real family members’ names were used in the film.

5. Battle: Los Angeles

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In February 24, 1942, the so-called “Battle of Los Angeles” gave birth to tons of conspiracy theories about the targets during the cover-up battle being alien spacecraft. The events of 1942, during the height of World War II, inspired the 2011 science fiction film Battle: Los Angeles.

6. The Amityville Horror

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Both the 1979 classic and 2005 remake of The Amityville Horror were based off the 1977 book by Jay Anson which chronicled alleged real-life events that occurred to the Lutz family in 1975.

7. The Exorcist

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1975’s The Exorcist is about a teenage girl possessed by a mysterious entity and her mother seeks the help of two priests to save the possessed daughter. One of the scariest movies of all time and it’s sure to send chills up your spine after you discover the picture is based on an exorcism performed on a young boy from Cottage City, Maryland back in 1949.

8. This is the End

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2013’s This is the End is a disaster black comedy film that features comedic actors such as Jonah Hill, Seth Rogen, Craig Robinson, James Franco and others playing themselves in a meta-humor take of the Apocalypse.

9. A Nightmare On Elm Street

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Although, it’s safe to say Freddy Krueger won’t hunt you down in your nightmares, you’ll still have a tough time falling asleep after you learn some aspects of the film were based off of actual events. A Nightmare on Elm Street contains many biographical elements -- for example, Freddy Krueger is based off a childhood bully the director encountered as a youngster and the film was inspired by several newspaper articles printed in the LA Times in the 1970s involving a group of Khmer refugees who, after fleeing to the US, were suffering disturbing nightmares.

10. Transformers: Dark of the Moon

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In the third installment of the Transformers franchise, the film includes a sub plot storyline involving the 1969 Apollo 11, the first spaceflight that landed humans on the Moon. The movie even includes a cameo by the real astronaut Buzz Aldrin, the second person to walk on the moon.