Sometimes the scariest part of a horror movie isn’t what happens in front of the camera. From unexplained paranormal incidents on set to eerie tragedies, some horror films just feel truly cursed.
Here are 15 behind-the-scenes facts about horror movies that just might be more terrifying than the films themselves:
1.
First, A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) was inspired by a news article about a real child who died in the middle of having a nightmare.
2.
The radiographer in the infamous hospital scene in The Exorcist (1973), Paul Bateson, was sentenced to prison for murder just a few years after the film’s release.
3.
The set of Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974) was reportedly decorated with hundreds of pounds of real animal corpses, made even more horrific by the extreme Texas heat.
4.
Vic Morrow and two young child actors were killed in a helicopter crash on the set of Twilight Zone: The Movie (1983).
5.
The Omen (1976) star Gregory Peck, screenwriter David Seltzer, and producer Mace Neufeld were ALL on planes that got struck by lightning. Producer Harvey Bernard also narrowly dodged being struck by lightning while filming in Rome.
6.
The set of The Possession (2012) mysteriously burned to the ground after filming wrapped.
7.
The Hereditary (2018) scene where Peter (Alex Wolff) smashes his head on the desk involved real blood.
8.
While filming Annabelle Comes Home, the cast had multiple spooky experiences. For starters, McKenna Grace claimed to inexplicably wake up one morning with a “weird, small cut” on her forehead “in the shape of a triangle.”
9.
Cannibal Holocaust (1980) was so disturbing and realistic that it was actually seized by the Italian judiciary because they mistook it for a snuff film.
10.
Those were real bees in Tony Todd’s mouth in Candyman (1992). The actor used a dental dam to prevent them from crawling into his throat.
11.
Scream (1996) was inspired by a real-life series of murders that took place in Gainesville, Florida in the ’90s.
12.
The pianist who scored Rosemary’s Baby (1968) died in a mysterious accident that mirrors one of the deaths in the movie.
13.
Jennifer Carpenter claims that while she was shooting The Exorcism of Emily Rose (2005), her radio would turn on by itself and play “Alive” by Pearl Jam.
14.
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1970) was partially inspired by a creepy real-life incident screenwriter Hans Janowitz experienced.
15.
And lastly: Real human skeletons were often used as props in horror movies in the past.
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