Horror movies are an essential part of Halloween fun! From slasher classics to paranormal movies, it’s basically impossible to not enjoy some type of horror movie during the spooky season. But, did you know that a lot of our favorite horror movie monsters are based off of real crimes committed by real killers? Here are some horror movie killers inspired by killers in real life!
Trigger Warning:
There will be mentions of murder, assault and other various crimes. Please read at your own discretion
- Pennywise – It (1990/2017/2019)
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Ah, the classic killer clown. Who doesn’t know who Pennywise is?
Pennywise was inspired by infamous serial killer John Wayne Gacy. Gacy was a performance clown who went by “Bogo/Patches The Clown”. Before he was arrested, Gacy killed and assaulted over 30 young men and boys.
- Annie Wilkes – Misery (1990)
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Stephen King wrote the novel Misery in 1987. The story follows novelist Paul Sheldon, who ends up unconscious after trying to make it through a gnarly snowstorm. He was nursed back to health by nurse Annie Wilkes. Wilkes then keeps him captive, forces him to write a new novel for her and threatens him with violence if he doesn’t comply.
King was inspired by the case of Genene Jones, a real life nurse who killed numerous people through lethal drug injections as a way to make her patients sick so she could revive them. She was labeled an “Angel of Death” due to the nature of her killing.
- Dracula – Dracula (1931)
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I bet you had no idea that the most famous fictional vampire was based on a real person!
Although he was not based on a real vampire, he was based on someone just as evil, Vlad The Impaler. Vlad was a ruler in the 15th century. During his time ruling, he massacred thousands of people, impaling them all after invading their villages.
- Ghostface – Scream (1996)
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Scream is a classic slasher film (Secret time, I actually watched it for the first time last year!) While this film is purely fictional, it is influenced by the infamous Danny Rolling, AKA the Gainesville Ripper.
Rolling was a serial killer who camped outside of the University of Florida before brutally assaulting and murdering five college students in the span of four days. He was caught two years later and was sentenced to death.
I think I speak for us all when I say, “No, please don’t kill me, Mr. Ghostface. I wanna be in the sequel!”
- A Nightmare On Elm Street (1984)
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Fortunately, there has never been a murder case where someone was killed by a serial killer in their dreams, so don’t panic! Although this film wasn’t based on true crime, the origin story was so interesting that I had to include it.
“A Nightmare On Elm Street” stars Freddy Krueger, a terrifying serial killer with knives on his hands that killed his victims in their dreams. This movie was based on a condition called sudden unexplained death syndrome.
In the 1970s, a group of genocide refugees from Southeast Asia were suffering from intense nightmares and were refusing to sleep due to them. Those that ended up falling asleep died during it even though they were completely healthy. This led to the condition of sudden unexplained death syndrome, which inspired this terrifying film.
Now while you watch your favorite horror movies this Halloween, you might want to think again when telling yourself, “It’s just a movie!” Don’t worry yourself too much. Happy Halloween and keep it spooky!