10 Horror Movies You Didn't Know Nearly Happened

After the utter disaster that was the Slender Man film adaptation from 2018, it is not surprising that studios have not returned to the Creepypasta well, but this was not entirely the case before the aforementioned flick's release. Back in 2009, a website simply known as ThisMan.org was launched and it was focused on the unsettling visage of a man who a woman claimed was a constant feature in her dreams despite never meeting him in real life.

The hook was that over 2,000 people worldwide had also reported seeing the man in their dreams and there was no rational explanation for his presence in their subconscious lives. This 'phenomenon' quickly entered mainstream discourse and even somewhat inspired the final season of The X-Files.

It was later revealed that this inexplicable event was a 'subversive hoax' by sociologist/marketer Andrea Natella, and it eventually served as a form of viral marketing campaign for a film adaptation under Sam Raimi's production company. However, hype surrouding the feature ran out of steam after more people learnt the truth behind the omnipresent individual.

Bringing this story to the big screen may have made for an interesting film, albeit an implausibly-premised one due to the vastly interconnected nature of society today.