10 Horror Movie Backstories That Get Worse The More You Think About It

When we first meet Annie Wilkes (Kathy Bates in an Oscar-winning performance) she seems like a genuinely good person. She rescues famous author Paul Sheldon (James Caan) from a car crash and takes him back to her home to treat his wounds. Being one of the writer’s biggest fans, she couldn’t be more thrilled to be in his company.

However, when Annie discovers that Paul has killed-off her favourite character (the titular Misery) in his latest manuscript, she transforms into more of a captor than carer. She locks him in his room and forces him to rewrite the book to her liking. She even goes as far as “hobbling” him to prevent his escape.

But Annie is more than your average overly obsessed fan, she’s a fully-fledged psychopath. Later in the film when Paul manages to escape his room, he discovers a scrapbook of newspaper clippings that reveal Annie is a life-long serial killer, with her own father being one of her first victims.

Working at various hospitals as a nurse, she was responsible for the deaths of dozens of elderly and infant patients. She would eventually be caught, but she was exonerated due to a lack of evidence.