10 Terrifying True Stories That Would Work Perfectly As Horror Movies
3. Hinterkaifeck
Ever feel like you're not alone? We've all heard a funny noise late at night and experienced a moment of dread at the thought that someone might be hiding away in our own homes, but it usually turns out to be nothing. In the Hinterkaifeck case, however, there really was someone hidden away on one family's property.
On the 31st of March, 1922, all of the inhabitants of the Gruber family farm were brutally murdered with a mattock. The culprit was never found and the crime has long been considered a major mystery, with no clear motive behind the killings.
A few days before the murders, the owner of the farm, Andreas Gruber, mentioned to neighbours that he'd seen footprints leading to his home from the nearby forest. He also claimed to have heard strange noises in the attic. Additionally, months before the killings, the family's maid quit her job, claiming that the farm was haunted.
It was all very mysterious, and the fact that a large sum of money wasn't taken from the home dispelled the theory that the killings were the work of a thief. A couple of German films have been made on the case but English-language cinema hasn't yet investigated it.