The 5 most spine-tingling horror movies inspired by terrifying true stories.

I love a scary movie.

I love a haunting.

I love a poltergeist.

I love a big, creepy house that’s been built on an ancient Indian burial ground.

And I especially love all these things if they’re based on a terrifying true story.

If you’ve read this far, I’m guessing you bloody love them too.

So I’ve rounded up the best horror movies based on spine-tingling true stories that will keep you up at night:

The Amityville Horror

The Amityville Horror is kind of, sort of, not really based on a true story.

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In December 1975, George and Kathy Lutz and their three children moved into a large Dutch Colonial house in the suburban neighbourhood of Amityville, in Long Island, New York.

After just 28 days, the Lutzes fled the house, claiming they were terrorised by paranormal activity while they were living there.

They turned their story into a book and it’s since inspired a series of movies including the aptly named The Amityville Horror.

All of this may or may not be true… but the house does have a horrifying history.

On November 13, 1974, Ronald DeFeo Jr shot and killed six members of his family, who were living in the house at the time. He was later convicted of second-degree murder.

Over the years there’s been a lot of debate as to whether a demonic force really dwells in the house or whether it was just the location of a terrible family tragedy.

The Conjuring

The Conjuring is the movie that introduced us all to Ed and Lorraine Warren.

From 1971 to 1980, the Perron family (including mum, dad and five daughters) lived in a rustic farmhouse in Rhode Island which they believed was haunted.

In 1984, the Warrens came to investigate their claims.

Of course, while there was never any solid proof of paranormal activity in the house, the Perrons still remember some very scary moments.

In 2013 Andrea Perron, the oldest of the five sisters, told USA Today that though the film had “some moments of fiction”, she vividly remembered the presence of spirits and some of them were very “angry”.

She also witnessed a seance in which her mother became briefly possessed.

Whether or not it’s true, The Conjuring is a bloody scary movie.

The Conjuring 2

The Conjuring 2 is a prequel to the first movie and in it Ed and Lorraine Warren investigate The Amityville Horror.

So basically every horror movie fan’s ultimate wet dream.

The Haunting in Connecticut

The Haunting in Connecticut tells the story of the Snedeker family who rented an old house in Southington, Connecticut in 1986.

Allen and Carmen Snedeker moved in with their daughter and three young sons.

When Carmen was exploring their new home she found strange items in the basement and old tools used by morticans.

The family soon discovered their home had once been a funeral parlour and their eldest son started seeing ghosts and horrifying visions.

When the rest of the family started experiencing things they turned to – yep, you guessed it – Ed and Lorraine Warren for help.

The Snedekers have told their story many times and in 2009 it was made into a pretty damn scary movie.

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The Exorcism of Emily Rose

This spooky movie is based on the life of Anneliese Michel.

In 1975, Michel’s family thought she was possessed by the devil so they turned to the Catholic Church for help. In the year before her death she went through extensive Catholic exorcism rites.

After she died it was determined she was malnourished and dehydrated, and her parents and the priests responsible were charged with negligent homicide.

Instead of being possessed, it’s more likely that Michel was suffering from mental health issues. She had been diagnosed with epileptic psychosis and had a history of psychiatric treatment, none of which seemed to be effective.

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