The most terrifying films and TV shows to binge this Halloween – and they’re all based on real events
HORROR fans have an abundance of spooky movies to choose from on streaming platforms this Halloween.
And some of the most chilling tales are even based on true stories.
For anyone planning to curl up on the sofa with a scary flick on October 31, here is a list of all the frightening shows and films that have a real-life history behind them.
The Enfield Poltergeist
The new Apple TV docuseries about a London family being haunted in the 70s is not all smoke and mirrors.
Even a journalist became convinced that there was a supernatural presence in the Enfield house after he was called up to do an investigation into the claims.
Graham Morris initially thought the haunted house story was a hoax, but when he went to visit the Hodgson family with a photographer he became convinced there was a spirit in the room.
He later told the Metro: “I got struck on the head with a Lego brick that was flying through the air and I knew that no one was throwing anything because I could see everybody in the room.”
The writer from The Mirror became so engrossed in the supernatural events happening in the Enfield home that he kept visiting them and documenting evidence for the next 18 months.
At first it was just objects that appeared to float or be thrown around by an invisible hand, but at one point a whole cast iron bed was overturned.
Mum Penny Hodgson had four kids and at first Graham thought they may have been responsible, but he became convinced they were not behind the strange incidents.
He eventually snapped the famous photo of Penny’s daughter Janet levitating.
The girl was the most affected by the haunting, and over time even began to speak in a creepy voice, calling herself Bill Wilkins – who turned out to be a former tenant who died in the house.
The Exorcist
Speaking of haunted children, this classic horror film is also based on a terrifying true story.
As the sequel hits cinemas, fans will no doubt be thinking back to the story of 14-year-old Roland Doe, who is said to have inspired the original.
In 1949 the teen’s family believed he was possessed by a demon and called on the Catholic Church to help bring their boy back to sanity.
One of the priests who participated in the exorcism documented seeing bloody scratches appearing on Roland’s body as they attempted to give the boy communion.
Father Raymond Bishop wrote in his diary: “Even while the institution of the Blessed Sacrament was explained, his body was badly scratched and branded. The word HELLO was printed on his chest and thigh.”
The Haunting of Hill House
Real Mike Flanagan fans who have followed his TV shows since the beginning will be aware his first Netflix series was based on a book of the same name by Shirley Jackson.
But what they may not realise is there was a real life tale behind the supernatural thriller.
In the late 1800s an American heiress called Sarah Winchester broke ground on a huge ‘haunted’ house which Hill House was inspired by.
The woman felt guilty that her family had made money off a firearms business, and reports say she felt haunted by ghosts who had been killed by the weapons of the years.
When her husband died of tuberculosis and the $20 million inheritance went to her, she moved to California to build an estate for the ghosts she had profited off.
Over 38 years Sarah went on to design the Winchester Mystery House, which is now a tourist attraction because of its strange architecture.
The mansion had over 200 rooms, but was built with bizarre twists that meant it was unfit for the living.
Sarah designed staircases that just led to the ceiling, windows built into walls inside the house that didn’t look out on anything, and doors that led nowhere.
Some visitors have claimed to feel a ghostly tap on the shoulder while exploring the building.
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre
This one is not for the faint of heart, because if you thought the horror movie was bad, the true story is even worse.
Infamous killer Leatherface from the film series was actually inspired by a real man, Ed Gein.
The serial killer, who became known as the ‘Butcher of Plainfield’, actually made a bodysuit out of the skin of women he murdered.
This is said to have sparked the idea behind the Texas Chainsaw Massacre villain wearing a mask stitched together from human skin.
Gein also tried his hand at other forms of DIY, creating lamps, belts and even bowls out of the body parts of his victims.
When cops caught him they found his sick chamber of secrets as well as the body of a missing woman who had been decapitated.