Ghost stories, occulthorror, and monsters are all fine and dandy. But sometimes, the true monsters are all too human. People are unlikely to actually get possessed by demons, or turn into werewolves. However, their chances of coming across a guy with a knife and bad intentions are much higher.
Horror films can be especially frightning when they skip the fantasy elements seen in theNightmare on Elm StreetorFriday the 13thseries. The more realistic stories can send chills because it’s all too likely it could happen to the poor viewer if their luck ran out. Some movies went that step further and based theirslasher movie villainson real-life killers.
6The Clovehitch Killer: Don Burnside Is Based On The BTK Killer
The Clovehitch Killertells a chilling story about the Burnside family. On the outside, they look like the perfect family. Then the son, Tyler, discovers a cache of photos of women bound and gagged. He begins to suspect his father Don may be the Clovehitch Killer, who killed 10 women a decade prior to disappearing. This story is strikingly similar to how Dennis Rader,the BTK Killer, went down.
Like Burnside, the BTK Killer bound 10 victims up and tortured them before finishing them off. He’d also taunt the police with anonymous letters before stopping around 1991. Just like in the movie, he kept quiet for a decade and lived a regular life. While the police had begun closing in on him, he was caught when he tried resuming his taunting, and was convicted in 2005.
5The Strangers: Based On The Manson Family & Keddie Murders
ThefirstStrangersmoviewas about a family being stalked and tortured by a man and two women in masks. They don’t have names, and don’t have a real reason behind their actions. The Strangers just kill their victims because they can, unlike their inspiration. Director Bryan Bertino combined a spree of home break-ins from his hometown with the Manson Family.
Related:The Evolution of Slasher Movies, Explained
The Manson Family plotted to start a race war when three of their members, a man and two women, killed Sharon Tate and her friends at her home. Viewers also drew comparison with the Keddie Cabin Murders, where a family was found murdered at a holiday home. Bertino didn’t cite the Keddie case personally, but it has enough parallels with the movie for some to join the dots, particularly as the Keddie killer’s identity and motive still remain unknown.
4Wolf Creek: Mick Taylor Is Based On Bradley Murdoch & Ivan Milat
Killers don’t need dark woods or a creepy basement to corner their prey. Movies likeThe Hills Have EyesandThe Hitcherhave shown that figures hiding in the open wild can be just as intimidating. After all, there’s no one else for miles around.No phones, no phone signals, and no hope of rescue beyond a working set of wheels and a lot of luck.Wolf Creektook advantage of this by having its unfortunate backpackers stalked through the Australian Outback by a killer called Mick Taylor.
The movie caught on with horror fans, despite some critics finding the violence a little too realistic. Some also felt it was too soon, as it was partly inspired by Bradley Murdoch, who murdered British backpacker Peter Falconio just 4 years prior to the movie’s 2005 release. Meanwhile, Taylor’s MO was inspired by Ivan Milat, who killed seven people by pretending to lend a hand with transport across the highways. Then he’d take them to a quiet spot and finish them off. With no prying eyes to spot him, and few people to grow suspicious, he got away with it for 3 years until he was caught in 1992.
3Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer: The Real-Life Henry & Otis
Wait, isn’tHenry: Portrait of a Serial Killeralready about an actual murderer? The movie was about drifters Henry and Otis living and killing together, which was close enough to the real-life case of Henry Lee Lucas and Otis Toole. Both men claimed to have killed over 600 people on their capture in 1983, which caused a tremendous stir at the time. However, the movie took a few liberties.
The film’s Henry and Otis feud over the latter’s sister Becky, while their non-fiction counterparts were in a relationship with each other. Their actual kill count was much smaller too, as it turned out they falsely confessed to murders they couldn’t have done. Combined, they’re confirmed to have killed 9 people, with 9 more in dispute. Movie Henry kills 14 across its total runtime. Turns out he was a touch deadlier than the real deal.
2Scream: Ghostface Is Based On The Gainesville Ripper
With how self-referentialScreamgot, it’s hard to imagine it being based on any killings outside the silver screen. It twisted horror conventions by calling them out openly, while engaging in others for a mix ofsnark and shocks. Yet the premise of a serial killer targeting women around a city in California was taken from a real person called Danny Rolling.
Related:Characters vs. Kills: What’s More Important in a Good Slasher?
Better known as the Gainesville Ripper, Rolling murdered 5 students in the city, then 3 more in Shreveport, Louisiana in 1990. His MO was more blunt than Ghostface’s, sticking to direct killing rather than commenting on movies. However, he did aspire to join the ranks of other real killers, hoping he’d become like Ted Bundy. Instead, he became a footnote to a Wes Craven movie before his execution in 2006.
1Ed Gein Inspired Norman Bates, Leatherface, Ezra Cobb, & The Firefly Family
It takes a special killer to inspire villains in four slasher horror franchises. Ed Gein, the Butcher of Plainfield, confessed to killing 2 women across 1954-1957, but may have killed 7 more. He also stole bodies from the local cemetery, fashioning the different body parts into household items and keepsakes. Leatherface and his family would do the same inThe Texas Chainsaw Massacre,killing any trespassers to add to their collection. Rob Zombie did the same for his Firefly Family inHouse of 1,000 CorpsesandThe Devil’s Rejects.
Psycho,the first movie based on Gein, focused on his mother complex. He’d fashion a ‘woman suit’ from human skin to ‘be inside’ his mother, though Alfred Hitchcock’s movie toned it down to Norman Bates taking on her personality instead and sticking to regular clothes. Out of the slashers, 1974’sDerangedis the closest to Gein’s story, with Ezra Cobb killing and desecrating the dead on his own. Here’s hoping killers of Gein’s quality stay fictional.
