Title: Behind the Horror: True Stories That Inspired Horror Movies
Author: Lee Mellor
Genre: Nonfiction, adult, horror, true crime
Publication date: July 2020
Published by: DK
Source: Borrowed from library
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Synopsis: Uncover the twisted tales that inspired the big screen's greatest screams.
Which case of demonic possession inspired The Exorcist? What horrifying front-page story generated the idea for A Nightmare on Elm Street? Which film was based on the infamous skin-wearing murderer Ed Gein?
Unearth the terrifying and true tales behind some of the scariest Horror movies to ever haunt our screens, including the Enfield poltergeist case that was retold in The Conjuring 2 and the serial killers who inspired Hannibal Lecter in The Silence of the Lambs.
Behind the Horror dissects these and other bizarre tales to reveal haunting real-life stories of abduction, disappearance, murder, and exorcism.
I’ve been really getting into nonfiction books in recent years. One subgenre I discovered I really enjoyed is nonfiction books that discuss horror movies. I love horror movies, so it would make sense that I enjoy this genre of books. This book, as the title suggests, talks about horror movies and the true stories that inspired them. It was wild because there were some movies I didn’t even realize were inspired by true events!
Jaws, for example, I had no idea was inspired by true events! There was a shark in a creek and a shark hunt... it was wild! Poltergeist is another one I didn’t know was based on true events. This one was interesting because apparently it took place 18 years before the Amityville events and it was only 4 miles away from that house.
And yet another movie I didn’t know was inspired by something was Scream! I adore Scream! It’s one of my favorite horror movie franchises! But this one was... disturbing. The events in this movie were inspired by were seriously messed up. But this also talked about the infamous Ghostface mask and how it was inspired by the Scream painting, another thing I didn’t know!
Speaking of disturbing, a lot of the movies this book talks about are slashers, which I love. But one thing I have discovered about myself is that while I love horror, I can handle the gore in them because I know it’s fictional. I enjoyed delving into the stories that inspired these movies but good god were they disturbing. I could not get over how horrible these humans were and the atrocities they committed on other humans. It was interesting but disturbing. I really appreciated when we deviated from the true crime stories into the more supernatural ones in nature or even the killer sharks 😂 It was a nice break from all the horrific murder that I found hard to read about. But that’s just me. I know a lot of people love true crime, and that’s cool. I don’t consume much of it because I’m always so acutely aware that these terrible things being described happened to real people. But people getting slaughtered left and right in horror movies? I’m totally cool with that 😂
And then there were the movies I sort of knew were inspired by true events. For example, I knew that Psycho and Texas Chainsaw Massacre were inspired by the same person: Ed Gein. But while Texas Chainsaw focused on the more cannibalistic aspect, Psycho focused on the psychological aspect and Bate’s unhealthy relationship with his mother. This was very interesting. Two completely different movies inspired by the same terrible guy.
A Nightmare on Elm Street is another one I knew was inspired by true events, but I didn’t really know the details of it, so I was excited to learn more because this is another of my favorite horror movies! I, however, was not expecting all the war talk. I’m not gonna lie, it got boring in places and my eyes glazed over 😅 But for the most part, I felt like this book was pretty well written. And the added benefit of photographs throughout the book was a plus.
And one thing I liked about this book was all the horror movie recommendations I found 😆 M, Rope, and Frenzy are just a couple of movies I added to my To Watch list!
But I really enjoyed this book! Some sections were more interesting than others, but it was overall very intriguing. It went into great detail on all the cases... sometimes too much?? For me, at least. Lol. Give me fictional horror any day of the week, but real-life horror? I will enjoy learning about it but will also probably cry while doing so 😂 But I really did like this! I appreciated how we got a recap of the movies, especially because there were a couple I hadn’t seen (but I will be watching now!), and then got a rundown on the events that inspired the movie. I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves horror movies or even true crime!
And yet another movie I didn’t know was inspired by something was Scream! I adore Scream! It’s one of my favorite horror movie franchises! But this one was... disturbing. The events in this movie were inspired by were seriously messed up. But this also talked about the infamous Ghostface mask and how it was inspired by the Scream painting, another thing I didn’t know!
Speaking of disturbing, a lot of the movies this book talks about are slashers, which I love. But one thing I have discovered about myself is that while I love horror, I can handle the gore in them because I know it’s fictional. I enjoyed delving into the stories that inspired these movies but good god were they disturbing. I could not get over how horrible these humans were and the atrocities they committed on other humans. It was interesting but disturbing. I really appreciated when we deviated from the true crime stories into the more supernatural ones in nature or even the killer sharks 😂 It was a nice break from all the horrific murder that I found hard to read about. But that’s just me. I know a lot of people love true crime, and that’s cool. I don’t consume much of it because I’m always so acutely aware that these terrible things being described happened to real people. But people getting slaughtered left and right in horror movies? I’m totally cool with that 😂
And then there were the movies I sort of knew were inspired by true events. For example, I knew that Psycho and Texas Chainsaw Massacre were inspired by the same person: Ed Gein. But while Texas Chainsaw focused on the more cannibalistic aspect, Psycho focused on the psychological aspect and Bate’s unhealthy relationship with his mother. This was very interesting. Two completely different movies inspired by the same terrible guy.
A Nightmare on Elm Street is another one I knew was inspired by true events, but I didn’t really know the details of it, so I was excited to learn more because this is another of my favorite horror movies! I, however, was not expecting all the war talk. I’m not gonna lie, it got boring in places and my eyes glazed over 😅 But for the most part, I felt like this book was pretty well written. And the added benefit of photographs throughout the book was a plus.
And one thing I liked about this book was all the horror movie recommendations I found 😆 M, Rope, and Frenzy are just a couple of movies I added to my To Watch list!
But I really enjoyed this book! Some sections were more interesting than others, but it was overall very intriguing. It went into great detail on all the cases... sometimes too much?? For me, at least. Lol. Give me fictional horror any day of the week, but real-life horror? I will enjoy learning about it but will also probably cry while doing so 😂 But I really did like this! I appreciated how we got a recap of the movies, especially because there were a couple I hadn’t seen (but I will be watching now!), and then got a rundown on the events that inspired the movie. I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves horror movies or even true crime!
Okay, I didn't know Psycho had to do with Ed Gein too! Now I've got to read this book. Thank you so much for bringing it to my attention!
ReplyDeleteLisa Loves Literature
Yes! This whole book was so interesting!
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