8 Horror Movies Supposedly Based On "True" Events

Perhaps never in the history of horror cinema has there been a movie that played up the "based on true events" angle more than The Strangers. Rogue Pictures really wanted the public to know that this simple tale of a husband and wife besieged by masked strangers REALLY happened.

But did it? Fortunately no. Although horror historians have tired to fudge similarities to cases such as The Keddie Cabin Murders or the infamous Manson Murders, little of The Strangers finds its roots in reality. Writer/Director Bryan Bertino has since clarified that he was inspired to write the tale by an incident from his childhood. Late one night a woman knocked on their door asking if someone they didn't know was home. It was only the next morning that it was discovered a rash of burglaries had taken place in the unoccupied homes on their street.

That's as true as The Strangers gets, there are no ties to real life murders. The Strangers' "based on true events" schtick is nothing more than that. Something designed to make audiences uncomfortable and look over their shoulder when they leave the theatre. Most importantly it makes sure they remember the film. It evidently worked, as The Strangers grossed $86 million and has since gone down as one of the best horror movies of the 2000s. Critics and scholars have praised it for bringing stranger on stranger violence to the forefront with its message that no one is ever truly safe.