11 Horror Movies Based on True Stories!

I am not just a horror fan, I’m a paranormal fan. I don’t break into old houses and shout profanities at the walls in hopes a door will slam, but I’ve had some interesting experiences. I even had one of my own, “I was a skeptic but after this I am a total believer,” moments with my husband at a Civil War battlefield (it still makes me tear up and shiver just thinking about it). And I do love a good ‘true’ scary story.

For our readers out there who believe there may be “others” among us, I bring you my list of 11 Horror Movies Based on True Stories. For those of you who think I’m full of crap, I also threw in a few that aren’t necessarily of the paranormal nature– just the tried and true, “ew, ew, ew,” nature– so there’s something for the whole family! Well, maybe not the whole family. The Manson family maybe…

Ah, my ADD kicked in, I’m going to go find something shiny, here’s your list, weirdos:

11.  Audrey Rose

The Movie:

‘Audrey Rose’ is about a man who believes that the 11-year-old daughter of another couple is the reincarnation of his daughter who died in a fiery car crash. It’s a great psychological thriller, a little dated, but it’s worth the watch for the story.

The True Story:

Frank De Felitta, the man who wrote both the novel and the screenplay for Audrey Rose, based it on actual events from his life. He and his wife were on their porch when they heard piano music coming from the house. They entered to discover their six-year-old son, Raymond, playing music on the family piano, both beautifully and perfectly. Little Raymond, however, had never played the piano before. De Felitta said this about the incident, “We went in and there was Raymond at the piano, going like the devil. We were shocked. In fact, we were scared. Raymond said his fingers were doing it.” De Felitta then consulted an occultist named Barbara Ryan, who told him that the incident was an “incarnation leak,” and that these were talents from his previous life.

10. Child’s Play

The Movie:

A little boy receives a Good Guy Doll for his birthday, only to discover it’s been possessed by the spirit of serial killer Charles Lee Ray. (First to tell me in the comments who Charles Lee Ray was named after gets a follow on Twitter!)

The True Story:

Child’s Play is loosely based on the legend of Robert the Doll. The story of Robert the Doll is super freaky. Basically, Robert Eugene Otto was given the doll as a gift by his Bahamian servant in 1906 as a young boy, he named the doll Robert after himself, since he mostly went by Eugene or Gene. Allegedly, the servant was skilled in black magic AND was mad at the family, and you know, you should totally accept a creepy looking doll from an angry Santeria practicing servant who you treat poorly.

Pretty quickly little Eugene’s parents realized things weren’t right. First of all, they would hear Eugene talking to Robert, and they would hear Robert talk back. At night, they would hear screaming coming from Eugene’s room. When they would rush in, furniture would be knocked over, and a terrified Eugene would exclaim, “Robert did it!”

Robert the Doll

Even neighbors would claim to see Robert moving from window to window when the family was away. The family claims to have caught glimpses of Robert running from room to room. Guests said they would see Robert’s expression change, or see him blink while they were looking at him.

The doll was tucked away in the attic. The new family who moved in after Eugene died in 1974, had a little girl. The family found Robert the Doll and gave it to her. The little girl had the same experiences and more than thirty years later still claimed that the doll was alive and tried to kill her.