10 Horror Movies Based On True Events

Going to see a horror movie can be frightening, but once the credits roll and it’s time to exit the theater, viewers can breathe a sigh of relief knowing that nothing they saw was real. It was all just a work of fiction that couldn’t possibly be true, right? Well as it turns out, many of the classic horror movies that still give you nightmares were actually based on real life events.

They might not have the words “based on a true story” written on the screen, but the writers and directors who worked on these movies definitely got their inspiration from the real world. Here are ten horror movies that were scary enough as a fictional work of art, but have now been made even scarier thanks to their real life counterparts. It might be a good idea to sleep with the lights on tonight.

10. Open Water (2003)

This movie about two scuba divers who get lost as sea is based on Tom and Eileen Lonergan. The married couple were diving along the Great Barrier Reef back in January of ’98 and were left behind. It took two days for the diving company to search for the Lonergans, but they were never found.

9. The Mothman Prophecies (2002)

This story of a reporter who investigates the mysterious Mothman of Point Pleasant, West Virgina was initially a book by author John Keel. The book was based on Keel’s personal investigations into the urban legend as well as eyewitness testimonies from residents of the area.