10 True Ghost Stories That Inspired Horror Films

In what is one of the more interesting roles in his career, Anthony Hopkins's time playing a Catholic priest and America's top exorcist came in 2011, when he donned the robes and took his studies at the Vatican's own exorcism school in The Rite. The inspiration came from Father Gary Thomas, a Californian man tasked by his local bishop to learn the ways of exorcism for the diocese.

Father Gary Thomas was discovered by journalist Matt Baglio during a seminar at the vatican, and Baglio soon decided that Thomas's story was one interesting enough to turn into a book, aptly titled The Rite: The Making of a Modern Exorcist.

Both the film and Baglio's novel explore Thomas's battle with his belief in the paranormal, pitting demonic possession against the very human horrors of undiagnosed illness. The film does this through main character Michael Kovack (Colin O'Donoghue), a student on the vatican's exorcist course who is uncertain in his faith and led to Father Lucas Trevant (Hopkins) for some first-hand possession experiences, who deals with a young sexually abused girl as his main project throughout.

Despite Hopkin's patient coughing up nails and performing all sorts of abnormal behaviour throughout the film, there's a level of skepticism from his young apprentice that reflects Father Thomas's experience of discerning between mental health issues and true possession - which makes sense, since he served as an advisor throughout filming to the cast and crew on set.

Thomas's dealings with the devil and other paranormal creatures are something of nightmares, as reflected in his cinematic creation. He happily has discussed his experiences with devilish creatures at length in interviews, in which he's seen people take on the qualities of snakes, inherit incredible strength, and speak in tounges. Scary.