12 Horror Films With Horrifying Real-Life Backstories
Truly scary movies have a way of staying with you long after the credits roll. So it’s no surprise that making some of the scariest ever can sometimes be a terrifying process. Whether the tragedies that surround these films were caused by simple bad luck or something more supernatural, these real-life back stories are all sure to have you looking over your shoulder and jumping at every creaky sound you hear.1. The more I read about it, the more I\“m convinced that The Exorcist （1973） was a truly cursed movie from the start. Before filming even began, a fire began blazing out of nowhere and burned down the entire house that was to be the movie’s main set — except for the room where the film’s famous exorcism scene was supposed to be filmed. Several stars were also badly injured during filming, including Linda Blair and Ellen Burstyn, who both sustained permanent damage to their spines on set. /uploads/allimg/2025/10/2806780145531786604.gifTap to play GIF Tap to play GIF Warner Bros. / Via giphy.com
But the tragedy did not end there. Actors Jack MacGowran and Vasiliki Maliaros, whose characters both died in the film, also died before the film’s premiere, one of the flu and one of natural causes. Also, a child of the actor who voiced the demon in the film later wound up dying in a murder-suicide that involved him killing his daughters and wife.
All this has led to rumors that the film was cursed, which frankly sounds quite possible to me after learning about all this, particularly when real-life exorcisms are most definitely a thing.
2. Numerous cast members said they often found themselves waking up between three and four in the morning while filming The Conjuring （2013）, an eerie event that characters in the movie also experience. /uploads/allimg/2025/10/6132845528171570192.gifTap to play GIF Tap to play GIF New Line Cinema / Via giphy.com
Creepily, this hour of the night is sometimes referred to as the “witching hour,“ and is known as a time when the veils between this world and the supernatural realm are particularly thin. Peculiarly, the witch in The Conjuring itself also dies at this time, and Ed and Lorraine Warren, the real-life paranormal investigators who inspired the film, apparently often said that waking up at this time was a sign of demon possession.
If that wasn\“t spooky enough, Vera Farmiga, who played Lorraine, said that claw marks appeared on her laptop and body after filming concluded. Additionally, star Joey King apparently wound up with bruises all over her body a few weeks into filming despite not actually taking part in any of the movie\“s stunts. The fact that The Conjuring is based on a true story makes all this even creepier.
3. During one of the most iconic scenes in Poltergeist （1982）, Diane Freeling （JoBeth Williams） falls into a pool filled with skeletons. Williams later told Vanity Fair that years after filming, she discovered that the skeletons she’d been swimming with had been real. Tap to play GIF Tap to play GIF MGM / Via giphy.com
Some theorists have proposed that this misuse of skeletons could be why the Poltergeist cast has experienced a truly uncanny amount of tragedy over the years. To name a few, Dominique Dunne, who played one of the two Freeling children, was killed by her boyfriend soon after the film’s premiere,and Heather O’Rourke — who played her sister — died at age 12 of health issues shortly before the release of Poltergeist III. Many other cast members also found themselves beset by tragedy and misfortune in the years following the film’s release.
4. Jennifer Carpenter, who starred in The Exorcism of Emily Rose （2005）, once told Dread Central that her radio would sometimes turn on in the middle of the night during the filming process — and apparently, it would always be playing the Pearl Jam song “Alive.“ She also said something similar happened to co-star Laura Linney’s television. Tap to play GIF Tap to play GIF Screen Gems / Via giphy.com
While all that’s not quite as creepy as the horrifying true story that inspired the film, random electronic activity is apparently another sign of demon possession, which is definitely spooky.
5. At one point while making Psycho （1960）, Albert Hitchcock left a prop corpse in star Janet Leigh’s dressing room — apparently to see how scary the faux dead body actually was. Tap to play GIF Tap to play GIF Alfred J. Hitchcock Productions / Via giphy.com
Also, the infamous shower scene at the end of the film, which required 78 pieces of film and 52 cuts, was so traumatizing for Leigh that she told Woman’s World she “stopped taking showers” entirely because of it. Stars, they’re just like us!
6. Just before filming began for the 2005 remake of The Amityville Horror, a dead body washed up on the shore near the set, setting the tone for an overall spooky filmmaking experience. ©MGM/Courtesy Everett Collection
Apparently cast members including Ryan Reynolds would also often wake up at 3:15 in the morning during filming, which happens to be the exact time that Ronald DeFeo Jr. murdered six members of his family in the bloody tragedy that inspired the film. Coincidence? Or something much more sinister? It’s up for us to decide.
7. Few films have generated as much real-life lore as Annabelle, the horror flick about a cursed doll that is, for some reason, now under the care of Matt Rife. Courtesy Of Warner Bros. Pictures / ©Warner Bros/Courtesy Everett Collection
During the making of the first film, scratch marks apparently appeared on one of the windows on set. Even more crazy, though, is the story that producer Peter Safran told to The Hollywood Reporter.
“The first day that the demon was shooting in full makeup, we brought the demon up in the elevator,” Safran said. “He walks out and walks around to the green room to where we’re holding the talent, and just as he walks under — a giant glass light fixture is being followed by the actor playing the handyman of the building — and all of a sudden the entire glass light fixture falls down on his head, the janitor‘s head. And in the script, the demon kills the janitor in that hallway. It was totally freaky.”
Does life sometimes just randomly happen to imitate art, or was this actually the work of a demonic doll? Most likely, Rife will soon find out.
8. The cursed energy surrounding Annabelle seems like it\“s still going strong, at least according to the cast of the franchise’s most recent installment, Annabelle Comes Home （2019）. Per PopSugar, star Madison Iseman once saw the doll sitting on a random bed when it had been in a rocking chair all day — only to see it in a chair just minutes after. Eisman also said that right after the incident, her trailer lights wouldn’t turn on. Tap to play GIF Tap to play GIF Warner Bros. Pictures / Via giphy.com
A similar thing happened to star McKenna Grace, who shared that she also returned to her trailer to find the lights were out — and a terrible smell filled the room. Grace also said her rosary broke on set, and noted that when she tried taking photos of Annabelle, they came out black.
Grace and costar Michael Cimino also told Variety they both experienced severe nosebleeds while on set that stopped after they finished filming. All that’s just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to weird and eerie occurrences on this particular set. Personally, I wouldn\“t want to be anywhere near that doll, but that\“s just me.
9. The Omen （1975） is nearly unrivaled when it comes to tragic and scary events surrounding its cast and crew. Star Gregory Peck’s plane was struck by lightning as he was flying to London to start work on the movie. Soon after, lightning also hit writer David Seltzer’s plane, and producer Harvey Bernhard was also almost struck by lightning during filming. ©20thCentFox/Courtesy Everett Collection
Also, an animal trainer who helped wrangle a host of vicious baboons for the film was killed by a lion soon after the baboon scene was filmed. And after the premiere, special effects designer John Richardson was in a car accident in which his fellow passenger was decapitated by a tire that flew into the car, an event that’s eerily similar to a scene in the film where a photographer is decapitated by a falling pane of glass. He also reportedly said that the accident occurred right near a sign saying that a town called Ommen was 66.6 kilometers away.
10. During the filming of The Crow （1994）, horrific tragedy struck when star Brandon Lee was shot during filming. The event occurred during a scene when his character gets shot while facing off against a group of thugs, but unfortunately, one of the prop guns contained a fragment of a prop bullet that was used in a previous scene. When a new blank cartridge was placed in the gun, it caused the fragment to shoot out with enough force to harm Brandon. Tap to play GIF Tap to play GIF Miramax / Via giphy.com
The film\“s special effects team ultimately used a body double to complete the film, which was nearly finished when the tragedy occurred. Brandon Lee\“s death left a lasting impact on all involved in the movie and sparked a larger conversation about prop safety in Hollywood, which unfortunately reemerged after Halyna Hutchins died on the set of Rust.
11. The movie The Conqueror （1956） was filmed in Utah downwind of a nuclear testing site in Nevada, leading to tragic consequences for many of its cast and crew members, including star John Wayne. RKO Radio Pictures via Everett Collection
Of the 220 people who worked on the film, 91 people eventually developed cancer and 46 wound up dying of it — including John Wayne, who died of stomach cancer. Many believe these deaths were caused by exposure to radiation during the making of this movie.
12. When it comes to horrific real-life consequences suffered by people involved in making these movies, Rosemary\“s Baby （1968） is definitely worth mentioning. Tap to play GIF Tap to play GIF William Castle Productions / Via giphy.com
Most of the chilling events surrounding this film took place after its release, but several people involved in the movie suffered various violent or tragic fates. William Castle, who had a small role in the movie, called the film “cursed“ and apparently shouted out “Rosemary, for God’s sake, drop the knife“ while he was sick in the hospital. Meanwhile, composer Krzysztof Komeda fell off a ledge soon after the premiere, resulting in a four-month coma that ended in death — and eerily, one of the characters in the movie, Rosemary\“s friend Hutch, suffers a very similar fate. If all that wasn\“t enough, director Roman Polanski\“s wife, Sharon Tate, was killed by the Manson family while pregnant with Polanski\“s child just over a decade after the movie\“s release, solidifying the Satanic Panic that Rosemary\“s Baby helped seed.
OK, now I definitely have to go channel the Warrens and clear out all this negative energy. I ask that all non-benevolent entities leave this space this instant! Tap to play GIF Tap to play GIF The Orchard Films / Via giphy.com
Which one of these movies was the most cursed? Which would you least want to have been a part of? Let us know in the comments!
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