Most of us enjoy a good scary film, but there is something about those movies that claim to be “Based on True Events” that always creep us out just a bit more.

Here is a list of 10 films that are said to be based in reality, and the true events that inspired them.

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10 A Nightmare on Elm Street

In 1984 the film A Nightmare on Elm Street was released. The film, which features the iconic villain Freddy Krueger, who hunts the children of Elm Street and slaughters them in their dreams, is eerie enough on its own, but hearing there might be some truth to this urban legend was almost too much!

The real events, while creepy, are not as inspired as the claw handed killer the film depicts. Film creator, Wes Craven, said he conceived the idea for the script after reading an article in the L.A. Times, about a Hmong family who fled the Cambodian Killing Fields and migrated to America. The family’s youngest son began having vivid nightmares, often staying awake for days on end. He was afraid that if he slept the things in his dreams would kill him.

Eventually sleep overtook the boy and his fears came to fruition as he did in fact pass away.

Throughout the 70’s and 80’s there were a rash of unexplained deaths amongst the Asian community, all taking place while they slept. Add to that the memory of a childhood bully and what you have is a movie that cemented its place in American horror culture.

9 The Strangers

Secluded home, late night knock on the door. That is where the similarities between real-life and the 2008 film The Strangers, ends.

In the movie, a couple is tormented, hunted, and eventually (spoilers) murdered by a group of Doll faced killer. According to the trailer it was based on true events. This is a good example of how far imagination can take one with just the seed of an idea.

Bryan Bertino, the writerof the film, said he came up with the script based off a childhood memory. He said his family home sat out on a street far from his closest neighbor. One night, while his parents were out, someone knocked on their door. The uninvited guests inquired about someone but Bertino or his sister recognized the name and so the visitors left. It was later discovered that the couple was going house to house and when they found homes where no one answered they were breaking in. No one was killed, but the idea lingered for years and eventually morphed into the story on the big screen.

8 The Texas Chainsaw Massacre

In 1974 Tobe Hooper deliver a film so shocking it left some questioning his sanity so imagine the shock when it was announced that The Texas Chainsaw Massacre was inspired by real life!

The film, which depicts a family of cannibals who abduct and torture a group of young travelers, was a hit, partly due to the “true story” hype, but similarities to real life events were minor.

In the film, the character Leatherface, wears a mask of human flesh. Hooper claimed Leatherface, as well as a few other small details, were based on serial killer Ed Gein. Gein made lamp shades and other household items from skin and bones and also created a “Woman suit” that he wore to pretend to be his mother.

The rest of the story came from a rogue thought one holiday season as Hooper stood in a crowded Montgomery Ward. As his eye caught a display of chainsaws it crossed his mind that he could get through the crowd swiftly if he just cranked over one of the machines. The tale of Gein, along with that disturbing thought, merged.

Not surprisingly Ed Gein was the ispiration for other Hollywood characters including Norman Bates in Psycho, and Buffalo Bill in Silence of the Lambs.

7 Return of the Living Dead

In 1968 the film Night of the Living Dead would forever change the way we saw zombies, creating a new genre that, years later, is still going strong. The genre has forked into various directions and it all started with 1985’s Return of the Living Dead.

Return of the Living Dead came from a disagreement between George Romero and John Russo on how to handle sequels to the Night of The Living Dead franchise. It gets confusing, but at the start of Return of the Living Dead, we see the words “Based on True Events”.

Wait? Are they saying zombies are real?

There are two stories why this message graces the screen. The first is more fun, although likely nothing more than urban legend. It says a chemical truck spilled in a graveyard and, as they were hauling away contaminated soil, they uncovered a grave where a body was found to be moving.

The real reason is more Hollywood than Halloween. In the film they refer to the events of Night of the Living Dead as real making that a legend and this the true story.

Misleading? Sure, but wouldn’t we much rather it be a hoax than an actual zombie apocalypse?

6 Poltergeist

In 1958, Seaford N.Y., the Hermann family made national news after reporting strange occurrences in their home. Odd noises, objects being moved and bottles suddenly popping their tops and spilling their contents.

At first the family suspected a prank by one of the kids, but after several more incidents, authorities were called in. They too believed it to be a hoax perpetrated by the family until they too began to witness bizarre activity.

Psychics were called and investigations performed. Theories were presented and quickly debunked. Something seemed to be happening inside the Hermann home and what it was no one knew.

Eventually the family moved but the story had found its way into popular culture. In 1982, the film Poltergeist hit theaters and, while the film plays out much different than actual events, the creators have claimed that the tale of “Popper the Poltergeist”, was the basis for the screenplay.

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5 When a Stranger Calls

We’ve all heard the story of the babysitter who keeps receiving phone calls from someone asking if she has checked on the children. As the campfire yarn goes, the call comes in so frequently that the girl, understandably concerned, calls the police. When the next call rings through they trace it only to discover “The call is coming from inside the house”! It is a truly terrifying twist, and the basis for the 1979 movie, When a Stranger Calls, but did you know there is some truth to this legend?

The first 20 minutes of the film are said to be some of the most thrilling in cinema history, keeping the audience on the edge of their seats. The movie was a success, spurring a sequel, When A Stranger Calls Back, as well as a remake in 2006. However, the real-life events were much more tragic.

One night in 1950, the Columbia Police Department received a disturbing call from 13-year-old Janett Christman. The call just a scream and the words, “come quick” and then the line went dead. With nothing to go on the police had no idea from where, or whom, the call had been made. At the time, Janett was babysitting 3-year-old Greg Romack. When Greg’s parents returned home, they found Janett’s body. She had been assaulted, beaten and strangled to death.

An investigation ensued and, while the killer was never found, it was deemed that whoever it had been knew the layout of the house and they suspected it had been an “inside job”.

4 Scream

The 1996 film Scream was not only influenced by a true to life serial killer, but also the aforementioned When A Stranger Calls.

The opening scene of Scream has a young girl at home alone when the phone rings and a voice on the other end begins asking her about scary movies. As it turns out the call is from a killer who is in the house.

The movie depicts a small town where local youth are stalked and tormented by a cell phone wielding killer in a mask in the likeness of The Scream by painter Edvard Munch. To say the film was “based on true events” may be a bit of a stretch, but reality did help play a part in its creation.

Written by Kevin Williamson, the idea began after hearing a news story regarding a man named Danny Rolling who murdered five college students. Then one night Williamson came home to find a window inexplicably open. That planted a seed and he penned an 18 page short story that would later form the foundation for the film.

It took years for Scream, originally titled Scary Movie, to reach fruition but, once it did, box office returns and numerous sequels proved that adding a little realism to your story goes a long way.

3 The Blob

First released in 1958 and then a remake in 1980, The Blob tells the tale of a meteor that crashes to earth and releases a gelatinous creature that absorbs any living thing it comes in contact with. As it absorbs it also grows until eventually it reaches gargantuan proportions and attacks the town.

Was there any truth behind it?

Philadelphia, 1950, two police officers report seeing something float down from the sky and land in a field. Upon investigation they discovered an odd, purplish substance with a similar consistency to soap that dissolved when touched. Half an hour later the space jelly had completely melted away.

The Air Force was called but, as there was nothing left to examine, nothing came of it. Still the idea was out there, and it worked was the foundation for the story written by Kay Linaker and Theodore Simonson.

The movie went on to earn over $4,000,000.00 from a $110,000.00 budget! Not bad for a creature inspired by space slime.

2 Annabelle

This one starts in 1970 after a nursing student received an antique Raggedy Ann doll as a birthday gift from her mother. Almost immediately she, and her roommate, noticed odd things happening in their apartment. They would find the doll in different positions than what they left it, and odd, cryptic notes began to appear with messages like “Help me”.

A psychic was called, and informed them that the doll was possessed by a young girl named Annabelle. The roommates tried to let the spirit reside with them; however, as time went by things began to take a dark turn. Scratches began to appear on them, reports of blood oozing from the doll, and one even claimed they were attacked.

That is when Ed and Lorraine Warren were called in. They examined the doll and determined that the spirit was actually demonic in nature. They cleansed the apartment and took the doll back to their occult museum where it remains locked up to this day.

Parts of the actual story of Annabelle made their way into the 2013 film The Conjuring, although the style of doll was changed. This portion of the film became so popular that eventually it spurred a spin off film, Annabelle, in 2014, an two sequels, Annabelle Creation, 2017 and Annabelle Comes Home, 2019. Aside from the inclusion of the doll and the name Annabelle, the films have relatively little in common with the original story; still, they make for a creepy good time at the movies!

1 JAWS

Considered one of the scariest films of all times, JAWS, is the one that made everyone afraid to get in the water. Released in 1975, the movie is actually adapted from the novel written by Peter Benchley.

JAWS tells the tale of a 25 Foot Great White shark that goes on a man-eating spree in the tourist town of Amity over a fourth of July weekend. After a number of attacks three men, Sheriff Martin Brady, Oceanographer Matt Hooper and self-proclaimed shark hunter Quint, are sent out to dispatch the beast

Most people speculated the novel was based off a string of shark attacks that took place in New Jersey in 1916 but Benchley has refuted this assumption. The attacks were briefly mentioned in the book, but Benchley himself has stated he was fascinated with the idea of a killer shark after reading the story of a 4,500 pound Great White that had been harpooned by fisherman Frank Mundus off the coast of Long Island in 1964. Benchley said Mundus became the inspiration for the character Quint and the rest just fell into place.

No matter where the idea came from, JAWS is a movie that holds a special place in the hearts horror fans. It has spun off several sequels and is still a staple at local drive ins over 45 years later.

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About The Author: Jason has been an avid writer since the age of twelve. He was first published after winning the Young Authors award with Breakaway Magazine at the age of 16 and has since gone on to write numerous articles, short stories, and his first novel, LYRIC.

We all know that there is a significant cross-over between great movies and books, a notion hardly surprising given that the skill of writing, whether in the form of a screenplay or novel, lies at the creative core of successful storytelling, regardless of the form its ultimately convey in.

There is always going to be an inevitable comparison drawn between movies and the books upon which they’re based. However, such is perhaps a fool’s errand, given that the two forms are so markedly different as to render any such comparison worthless, not to mention the fact that, as art-forms, their respective interpretation is a matter entirely subjective and thus dependent on individual perspective.

The point of this list then is not one of comparison but rather revelation, for, aside from the obvious likes of Harry Potter and The Lord of the Rings, a remarkable number of outstanding movies surprisingly owe their genesis to literary works. So, while many will be familiar with most, if not all, of the movies that follow, few will know that they owe their existence to the books that preceded them.

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10 Die Hard (1988)

One of the quintessential action movies of all time, and one that still holds up remarkably well as an explosive piece of filmmaking more than 30 years after its release, Die Hard introduced us to the gritty NYPD detective and all-round bad boy John McClane, as played by a young Bruce Willis. Many will be familiar with this movie which birthed multiple sequels, but few realize that it is based on the 1979 book by Roderick Thorpe entitled Nothing Lasts Forever.

Both film and novel share a basic plotline; that of a detective inadvertently becoming embroiled in a hostage situation, the resolution of which becomes entirely down to him alone. The differences between the two are numerous, however, specifically the fact that in the book the main character is significantly older and seemingly overwhelmed by the situation while in the movie the youthful McClane handles things with an aplomb that is the exclusive domain of Hollywood action heroes.

Interestingly enough, the book was a sequel to Thorpe’s 1966 novel The Detective, which was made into a film starring Frank Sinatra two years later. Fortunately, Die Hard creators chose not to follow suit with the movie, otherwise, we would have seen a 79-year old Sinatra, rather than a 33-year old Willis, galavanting around Nakatomi Plaza, which may have detracted from the finished product somewhat.

9 Fight Club (1999)

Fight Club, based on American Author Chuck Palahniuk’s 1996 novel of the same name, remains one of Brad Pitt’s finest performances on the silver screen and the movie still enjoys a large cult following to this day.

Putting aside the debate over which version is better, screenwriter Jim Uhl’s adaptation remains remarkably faithful to its source material, and rather than compete they seem to complement each other as the film attained levels of fame and recognition that Palaniuk’s book alone probably wouldn’t have achieved.

The story, about a man’s descent into insanity and his battle with his split-personality self, is shockingly brilliant, whether appreciated in book or movie form. Sure, some characters are fleshed out more in the book, the ending of which is different and significantly darker to that of its movie counterpart, but both stand as exemplary examples of writing and filmmaking in their respective rights.

8 Shrek (2001)

Who would’ve thought that DreamWorks’ classic animated movie was actually based on a book? Yet it’s true; everyone’s favorite green ogre was introduced to the world not on the big screen but in the pages of William Steig’s 1990 children’s picture book, also entitled Shrek.

While both movie and book follow the travails of a bad-tempered ogre as he reluctantly leaves the swamp he calls home and emerges from the resulting adventures a hero with newly acquired values and morals, the movie and its inevitable sequels expand on the concept significantly. With the added voice-acting talent of stars like Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, and Cameron Diaz, it was always destined to achieve its much-deserved status as one of the all-time animated greats.

As a curious aside, the Shrek that we know and love today could have been very different, as legendary filmmaker Steven Spielberg acquired the rights to the book shortly after its publication. Luckily, Dreamworks interceded 4 years later to claim the rights for themselves, so it all appears to have worked out for the best in the end.

7 The Devil’s Advocate (1997)

This excellent movie revolves around trial attorney Kevin Lomax, played by Keanu Reeves, who moves with his wife to New York City to accept a job offer that seems too good to be true, which it turns out, it is, seeing as his new boss is none other than Satan himself. Few will forget Al Pacino’s spectacularly vivid portrayal as the devil in this one, a performance that steals the show and ultimately overshadows the fact that the movie is based on the Andrew Neiderman novel of the same name.

As we’d expect, the film and book versions are not identical, most notable in their respective endings which, while different, are equally shocking and impressive. The core concept of the novel, however, is plainly in evidence in its film adaptation; the highly relatable narrative of how subtle yet slippery the slope towards compromising one’s moral code in the pursuit of fame and fortune truly is.

Anyone who’s seen the movie may have noticed that there seems to be a suggestion of Lomax’s moral descent in the color of his preferred courtroom attire. As the film progresses so his suits get ever darker until, in his final appearance whilst representing a blatantly guilty murder suspect, his suit is completely black. Like his soul, perhaps?

6 Christmas With The Kranks (2004)

Even more surprising than the fact that this light-hearted festive comedy starring Tim Allen and Jamie-Lee Curtis is based on a book, is that said book was written by no less than John Grisham, universally famous and best-selling author of countless legal thrillers. While not his sole departure from the legal genre, his 2001 book Skipping Christmas is probably the most noteworthy, and while not terrible, it surely wouldn’t have caused much of a blip on the literary radar were it not for its film adaptation 3 years later: Christmas with the Kranks.

The hilarious tale centers on Nora and Luther Krank, a couple renowned for their impressive outward display of Christmas spirit, who decide to forgo the decadence of the holidays one year and to rather spend the money on a Caribbean cruise. Disaster ensues when their daughter’s unexpected change of plans to come home for the holidays causes a mad, last-minute rush to get everything ready in time.

Not exactly award-winning stuff, both the book and movie are intended as a lighthearted look at family dynamics at Christmas time as well as just how commercialized the celebration has become and thus serve as no more than a bit of festive fun.

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5 Primal Fear (1996)

Going from one noted legal-thriller author to another, William Diehl’s 1993 masterpiece Primal Fear is a stunning example of his genre-defining talent. Featuring believable characters, a rollercoaster of a plot and a final, dramatic twist that few would’ve seen coming, it seems logical that, not only would a film version soon follow but it would stay largely true to the source material.

The Golden Globe Winning 1996 film of the same name, starring Richard Gere as acclaimed trial attorney Marty Vail as he represents young indigent defendant Aaron Stampler, who has been accused of murdering the beloved archbishop, may not always live up to the high standard of the novel upon which it is based but proves all the same to be an immensely enjoyable film in its own right.

The story provides not just a fascinating view of the workings of a criminal trial but also of the moral dilemmas faced by defense lawyers, as Vail gradually becomes convinced of Stampler’s innocence only to later have his hard-won illusions shattered most spectacularly. Much like his performance in Fight Club, Edward Norton’s excellent portrayal of Stampler in this movie, his big-screen debut, proves what an amazing actor he truly is.

4 Reservation Road (2007)

Reservation Road probably isn’t going to feature on many all-time great movie lists, but it manages to tell a story so heartbreaking and intriguing that, anyone prepared to overlook the movies various faults, will doubtless find themselves captivated by the tale. A tale that comes directly from John Burnam Shwartz’s excellent novel of the same name.

The story revolves around college professor Ethan Learner as he seeks to hunt down the culprit in the hit-and-run death of his son by unwittingly enlisting the help of the very man responsible. Actors Joaquin Pheonix and Mark Ruffalo do a passable job in portraying the two lead characters, yet the emotional turmoil of one family’s loss and another man’s struggle between his conscience and his responsibilities as a father that set the novel apart don’t always translate as well on the big screen.

Nevertheless, the key elements which comprise the heartwrenching story are sufficiently present in the movie so that it doesn’t entirely fall short of the mark, and, as such, is not quite as bad as the poor reviews suggest. It’s simply that Shwartz’s gripping novel, spectacularly written, was never going to be quite as impressive in movie form.

3 American Psycho (2000)

The movie American Psycho is another that has gained cult classic status since its release 20 years ago. Featuring the gruesome, graphic first-person account of an investment banker who rapes and tortures women in his spare time as he slides increasingly towards darkness and despair, the movie was released amid a swarm of controversy, much like the widely criticized 1991 novel by Bret Easton upon which it is based.

So contentious was the novel’s subject matter that Easton was inundated with hate mail and death threats after its release, primarily from advocates of feminism. Told from the perspective of the protagonist; Patrick Bateman, brilliantly brought to life by Christian Bale in the movie, Easton later admitted that the book was a personal reflection of what he was going through at the time. Before you get excited, this was not an admission of guilt on his part as he later added in the murder scenes based on extensive serial killer research.

Now considered one of the best horror movies of all time, it’s somewhat surprising that so much of the novel’s graphic content made it into the film adaptation. In a dramatic reversal though, the movie was written and directed by women and some now even claim it as a feminist work.

2 The Martian (2015)

On to a more recent film, The Martian thrilled sci-fi fans and space junkies alike upon its late 2015 release and the Hollywood blockbuster has since grossed over $600 million worldwide. With Matt Damon in the lead role, Ridley Scott in the director’s chair, a massive budget, and a fascinating plot, the movie was always destined to be a success. Much of this, however, can be attributed to the debut effort some 4 years earlier by author Any Weir, who’s novel The Martian inspired the subsequent film.

Weir, a self-proclaimed space-nerd, created a fictional tale with such an accurate scientific basis that the ordeal of astronaut Mark Watney, stranded and forced to survive alone on Mars, comes across as thoroughly realistic and believable.

In a classic case of “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it” the creators of the movie chose not to alter the story in any significant way but rather to transplant it intact onto the big screen. The result was the Golden-Globe winning box office blockbuster film which has almost entirely overshadowed its literary counterpart. Weir’s follow up novel Artemis has since proven that he’s no one-hit-wonder, and it’s surely only a matter of time before we see a movie version of that one as well.

1 Apocalypse Now (1979)

The 1979 release of the Vietnam war movie Apocolypse Now, directed by the legendary Francis Ford Coppola, represents one of the defining moments in film making history and is arguably one of the best movies ever made. Like so many silver screen successes, the film is also based on a book; in this instance Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad, published 77 years prior to its cinematic adaptation. Although Apocalypse Now is said to only be inspired by, and not strictly based on, the book, the similarities between the two suggest the association is somewhat closer than this claim suggests.

The movie’s updated backdrop is the Vietnam war, while the book is set amid conflict in the jungles of the Congo, yet both share the same basic plotline; that of a company of soldiers in a war zone dispatched to locate and eliminate a troublesome renegade colonel named Walter Kurtz.

Featuring a disturbingly accurate portrayal of the harsh realities of war and their effects on individual soldiers as the mounting horrors cause an eclipse of the soul, something referenced in both titles, there are certainly differences between the two. Yet the similarities are both significant and surprising, proof that the film was heavily influenced by Conrad’s work.

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It’s not exactly a secret that many famous songs are based on, or were inspired by, books. The art of storytelling for the sake of entertainment, be it in written or musical form, is ancient and universal, so some degree of cross-over is expected.

Discovering what stories influenced certain songs, however, can be fascinating not just for the insight it provides into the songs themselves, but for what it tells of the creative process behind the compositions and the individuals responsible. Whether you’re familiar with the songs in this list and the books behind them or not, you’re sure to learn something interesting. Let’s get to it, then

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10 Paranoid Android – Radiohead (1997)

Radiohead’s 1997 album Ok Computer stands out as one of the top alternative albums of the ’90s – they’ve got the Grammy to prove it. The record is packed with unique, stylistically innovative tracks, and Paranoid Android is arguably the best of the bunch.

The song was inspired by Douglas Adams’ sci-fi novel A Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, and is told from the perspective of Marvin – a robot deeply depressed at having his infinite intelligence wasted on mundane, everyday tasks.

Wrapped within the six and a half minute tune, we find not just unusual chord progressions, catchy transitions, and Thom Yorke’s haunting vocals, but a relatable story of unrealized potential and fantasies of vengeance that closely mirror Yorke’s own personal experiences. And the influence of Adams’ work extends beyond just the song. The title of the album comes directly from a line in the story – a fitting nod to the author’s creative genius by a band whose musical innovation could be described as the same.^[1]

9 Pet Sematary – The Ramones (1989)

The Ramones are known today as one of the pioneers of the punk rock genre, and it was their ’89 hit Pet Sematary, written for the movie based on the horror novel by Stephen King, that helped propel them to greatness.
Opinions of the song are largely divided. Some people love it, some hate it. Regardless of which camp you fall into, it’s hard to deny that the tune, written in the band’s distinctive 3-chord style, is pretty catchy and does a fair job of incorporating the subject matter of the story upon which it’s based.

Speaking of the story, it’s well known that King is a big fan of The Ramones and he mentions them several times in the book. Fitting then, that they were chosen to write the song. Legend has it that Dee Dee Ramone penned the tune in the author’s basement after reading an early draft of Pet Sematary, but King himself has subsequently rubbished the claims. The movie has since been remade but, sadly (or not, depending on your musical preferences) the song was not featured in the 2019 release.^[2]

8 Scentless Apprentice – Nirvana (1993)

Whether you admire his musical work or not, it’s hard to deny that Kurt Cobain falls squarely into the category of tortured genius. Given his untimely death by suicide at an early age, it’s easy to look back at his songs and identify proof of the mental anguish that would cause him to take his own life. And while one could argue that it’s certainly there, one of Nirvana’s more disturbing songs, Scentless Apprentice, is based not on Cobain’s personal experience but rather on the novel Perfume, by Patrick Suskind – a story about a man born with an incredible sense of smell but no scent of his own, who takes to murdering young women for their scent.

The track is full of the raw, emotional power that defines the entire In Utero album, and the heavy-handed drumbeat and edgy guitar riff, both devised by Dave Grohl, give it a disturbing, frantic quality that fits perfectly with the dark subject matter. The star of this show, however, is Cobain on vocals. As he did so often in his short career, he elevates the song with unrestrained yet melodic screeching, making this not just a great tune, but a fan favorite live performance as well.^[3]

7 A Farewell to Arms – Machinehead (2007)

Machinehead set the metal world alight with the release of their 2007 album The Blackening, easily one of the best heavy metal compilations of recent time, possibly ever. Something just clicked for the Oakland boys on this one – the unique use of drop-B tuning gives it a heavier tone and feel even for the genre, the musical interplay and dynamic use of dueling guitar solos ups things a notch further, and Robb Flynn’s incredibly versatile vocals round out each and every song on the album perfectly.

One of the standout tracks on a record full of them is A Farewell to Arms. You could rightly call this 10-minute long tour de force a ‘power ballad’ although, by the time the gentle, melodic beginning develops into the full-fledged churching power chords and in-your-face style Machinehead are known for, it’s definitely more power than ballad.

The title of the track comes from Ernest Hemmingway’s iconic WWI novel, and whilst the song deals with the topic of war and destruction in a more general sense than did the novel, and omits and references to love entirely, the common theme and the name itself make it clear where the inspiration for this one came from.^[4]

6 Sympathy for the Devil – The Rolling Stones (1968)

One of the most iconic rock songs in history, this classic is the only Stones song solely credited to Mick Jagger, and firmly cemented the band’s occult orientated reputation. This wasn’t helped when a group of the band’s biker bodyguards stabbed a young man at a concert during a live performance of the song a year after its release. The truth, however, is the legendary song was based not on devil-worship or Satanism, but rather on a classic Russian novel, The Master and Margarita, by Mikhail Bulgakov
.
While soviet-era Russian literature is typically dark and depressing, Bulgakov’s story is just the opposite. Taking a light-hearted look at what would happen if the devil, a debonair gentleman, had visited the USSR during Stalin’s reign, the book blends humor and magical realism in a way similar to another contemporary great, Japan’s Haruki Murakami.

The Stone’s song builds on the theme, showing the devil – a man of wealth and taste – visiting various defining world events in history, from the crucifixion of Christ to the second world war and beyond. The intriguing subject matter makes the song worth listening to alone, but the musical elements present, from the distinctive African-sounding drumbeat, the instantly recognizable ‘hoo-hooing’ pre-verse, Keith Richards’ minimalist guitar solo, and, of course, Jagger with his typical vocal flourishes are what makes this number one of the most recognizable pieces of rock music in the world.^[5]

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5 One – Metallica (1988)

Metallica are no strangers to literature inspired music. From Hemmingway to King, Lovecraft, and even the Bible, written works have appeared in their songs throughout the band’s decades-long career. A metal classic, and featuring one of the greatest guitar solos of all time, their ’88 song One is a brutal portrayal of the ravages of war and was directly inspired by Donald Trumbo’s famous anti-war novel, Johnny Got His Gun.

The story concerns a World War 1 soldier who wakes up in hospital and gradually realizes he’s had his arms and legs amputated and has lost all his senses. The song presents this nightmarish perspective chillingly in both the melodic verses and the emotion-ridden chorus line ‘Hold my breath as I wish for death/Oh please god wake me.’ By the time we reach the lyrical crescendo just before the solo, the listener is fully immersed in the plight of the soldier, the One, and the cruel, senseless anguish of war. As good as the original recording was, the band somehow seems to improve the song with each new playing which is why it remains one of their favorites and a staple of every live Metallica set even now, over 30 years on from its release.^[6]

4 Resistance – Muse (2009)

George Orwell’s famous dystopian novel, 1984, is one of the most widely read books of the last century, and some see the social science fiction construct as an ominous foreshadowing of where the world is swiftly heading. Political commentary aside, the story, at heart, is about love, and award-winning British alternative band Muse portrays this excellently in their Orwell inspired song, Resistance.

The novel had a massive impact on Muse frontman Matt Bellamy, and the song, with the lyrics, ‘Love is our resistance’ perfectly captures the essence of the story – Winston Smith’s ill-fated love affair with the mysterious Julia. In a society where a totalitarian regime controls everything, and even individual thought is policed, is not love the ultimate act of resistance? Orwell portrays this masterfully in the story and Muse, with Bellamy’s distinctive vocals and astute lyrical construction, presents a powerful song that is a fitting companion to one of the defining novels of the last hundred years.^[7]

3 Rocket Man – Elton John (1972)

Rocket Man is one of Elton John’s most popular songs, so much so that it was chosen as the title for the musician’s recent biographical film. Space exploration was a big deal when the song was released back in 1972 when the Apollo missions were ongoing, and John is often accused of stealing the idea for this song from another space-based classic by David Bowie. But, Bernie Taupin, the man who wrote the lyrics for Rocket Man, got his inspiration instead from the Ray Bradbury short story of the same name.

The story is told from the perspective of a child who’s astronaut father is conflicted about leaving his family behind and venturing to the stars, and whilst that is the basis of the lyrical contents of the song as well, the whole thing also forms an astute extended metaphor of the meteoric rise to stardom that musicians, or anyone famous, experiences. From the obligatory drug use (I’m gonna be high as a kite by then) to the isolation that comes with rising to the top (It’s lonely out in space), the challenges of family life (Mars ain’t the kind of place to raise your kids), the lyrics mirror not just Bradbury’s story but John’s musical journey as well and combines a literary masterpiece with a stark look at the realities of life in the spotlight.^[8]

2 The Rime of the Ancient Mariner – Iron Maiden (1984)

Iron Maiden, no strangers to literary-inspired songs, did something quite special when they retold Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s epic 1779 poem The Rime of the Ancient Marnier in a song of the same name on their excellent 1984 album Powerslave. Rather than incorporating the general idea of the poem in the song, the band chose to retell the tale in its entirety, complete with some of the poet’s original lines, and did so in the crunching, fast-paced metal style that has since seen them acknowledged as one of the founding acts of the heavy metal genre.

Both poem and song concern a naval captain who has a profound experience at sea and, having survived against the odds, goes about telling his story to anyone who’ll listen. The moral of said story being: love all of God’s creatures. Not exactly what one would expect from a band responsible for classics like, The Number of the Beast and Bring your Daughter to the Slaughter. But then it does involve an encounter with Death, animated corpses, and a pesky albatross, so it’s right up Iron Maiden’s dark, twisted alley. The song tends to get lost in amongst the band’s wealth of excellent offerings over the years, but any fan of the genre or 18th-century classical poetry (or both) would do well to check it out.^[9]

1 The Alchemist – Blue Oyster Cult (2020)

Yes, they’re back. Over 57 years since they first formed, legendary rock outfit BOC has proven, once and for all, that they are one of the most underrated bands in history, and the fact that they haven’t yet been inducted into the Rock ‘n Roll Hall of Fame is an ongoing travesty. But never mind. Their most recent album, The Symbol Remains, is a throwback to everything that made the band great to begin with and I’m going to go out on a limb here and call it one of the best albums of the year. Period.

The Symbol Remains is packed with a wide array of incredible songs and The Alchemist, which feels like a classic 80’s metal tune, is one of the best. Based on H.P Lovecraft’s early short story, The Alchemist is a retelling of a chilling tale of betrayal and murderous revenge between a French noble and a wicked sorcerer. The song drips with the same dark malevolence Lovecraft was a master at depicting. Everything from the haunting keyboard intro to the crashing power chords and Buck Dharma’s electrifying solo exudes a sense of magical evil, and when Eric Bloom croons the pre-chorus line transplanted whole from the story, chills are sure to ensue. It’s not too surprising that this song is so good – BOC and Lovecraft make for a perfect combination and the result speaks (or shrieks) for itself.^[10]

Top 20 Best Rock Bands Of All Time

About the author: I’m 32 years old and I live in South Africa. I work full time in logistics and I’m a freelance writer in my (limited) spare time. I have various projects in the works, including a potential novel, and I regularly participate in the Reedsy Prompts short story contest, where a growing collection of my work is available for reading. I have been a shortlisted finalist there twice so far.

In the wilderness, we have little control over our surroundings, and, whether a provincial park, a rain forest, a crocodile-infested area along a flooded river, or another forbidding location, our environment can be hostile, dangerous, or even deadly.

Trees obscure lines of sight; darkness impedes vision; sounds in the darkness seem ominous. Especially in remote locations, the wilderness isolates us, cutting us off from civilization and the assistance that social institutions and government agencies could otherwise provide. No ambulances, fire trucks, or police cruisers are standing by; no emergency telephone operators await our calls; no infrastructure of highways, hospitals, and other resources is available.

In movies that combine horror with wilderness environments, characters are likewise vulnerable and helpless. They are alone, in the dark, among wild animals or other threats. They may find themselves in the presence of killers, some of whom could be family members or friends. These 10 wilderness horror movies based on horrific true stories may make us think twice about power outages, camping, traveling, or even staying home alone.

Top 10 Classic Horror Movie Misconceptions

10 Razorback

Based on Peter Brennan’s novel of the same title, Russell Mulcahy’s 1984 film Razorback features opening footage that alludes to the investigation of the murder of Azaria Chamberlain, who was allegedly carried off and devoured by a dingo.

On August 16, 1980, as the Chamberlain family enjoyed dinner with other campers who had set up in an Uluru campsite near Ayer’s Rock, they heard their infant daughter scream. The child’s bassinet, which was situated just inside the opening of their tent, was empty: baby Azaria was missing! Searchers discovered a trail of paw marks accompanied by marks of the bassinet, but Azaria was not found.

When the Chamberlains, Seventh-Day Adventists mistaken for Jehovah’s Witnesses, returned home, rumors spread that they had sacrificed their daughter to atone for the world’s sins or because she was the devil’s child. Denis Barritt, the coroner, sought to dispel these wild stories, but he was replaced by Coroner Jerry Galvin, and Barritt’s findings were overturned.

The baby’s mother, Lindy, was tried, found guilty, and spent two years in prison before she was released. A review of her case by a Royal Commission found that laboratory findings had been misrepresented or falsified. For example, Azira’s “blood,” found in the family’s car, turned out to be the remnants of a “spilled milkshake,” and the baby’s “blood” on nail scissors was identified as the “industrial chemical, Dufiz 101, sprayed on during manufacture.” The Northern Territory Supreme Court “fully exonerated” Lindy and her husband Michael.

The parallels to the Chamberlain’s horrific experience and that of the film’s protagonist, Jake Cullen (Bill Kerr), are clear. While he babysits his grandson at his home in the Australian Outback, a razorback boar breaks into the house, making off with the child to devour. Charged with murdering the child, Jake is finally acquitted due to a lack of evidence. The movie’s plot then takes a direction of its own, as Jake seeks vengeance against the razorback, blaming the boar for the destruction of his reputation, borrowing now, perhaps, from Herman Melville’s Moby Dick.

9 Alive

Directed by Frank Marshall, Alive (1993) recounts the horrific ordeal experienced by a rugby team and the player’s family members and friends as they fly to a match in Chile. The movie, based on Piers Paul Read’s 1974 book Alive: The Story of the Andes Survivors, is horrifying, but the actual incidents on which the film is based are even ghastlier and more horrendous.

Not much of their plane survived the crash into the Andes that occurred on Friday the 13th, October 1972. Lying on its side on the snow-covered mountainside, its nose crumpled, its wings sheared off, and its tail pulverized, the remains of the fuselage were smashed and dented.

Roberto Canessa, another surviving member of the rugby team, also wrote an account of the ordeal. In his own book, I Had to Survive,
he recalled the “irreversible” decision that he and three others made, a choice that cost them their “innocence.” Cut off from “vegetation” and “animal life,” the survivors “lacked food,” he reported, although they “knew the answer”: “The bodies of our friends and team-mates, preserved outside in the snow and ice, contained vital, life-giving protein that could help us survive.” Nevertheless, they resisted: “It was too terrible to contemplate.”

Finally, nine days following the crash, hunger persuaded them. “I will never forget that first incision nine days after the crash,” Canessa declared, explaining how he and the other three men cut “thin strips of frozen flesh” from the dead and “laid [them] aside on a piece of sheet metal” to be claimed and consumed when each of the men “could bear to” do so.

Twenty-seven of the 45 passengers aboard the ill-fated aircraft survived the crash, but an avalanche killed an additional eight. The slide also carried off the dead, upon whose flesh the men had been feeding. Canessa recalled steeling himself “to do what needed to be done,” as he decided “to use one of the bodies of the newly dead.”

The survivors were not rescued until December 23, seventy-two days after the airplane’s crash. At home again, Canessa confessed, “Mother, we had to eat our dead friends.” “That’s okay, that’s okay, sweetie,” she replied. The son also told his father that he would next inform the families of those he’d eaten of his deed. To his surprise, Canessa found them to be understanding and “supportive.”

Now a pediatric cardiologist, Canessa attributes his survival to his family and his desire to see them again.

8 Cabin Fever

An eruption of psoriasis resulting in “cracked and bleeding” legs that made walking impossible and a later infection on his face, resulting in his shaving “off chunks of [his] face,” made Eli Roth, the director of Cabin Fever (2002), realize that “weird things . . . can happen to your body.” These unsettling experiences also helped him to realize that a similar infection “would be a great idea for a horror movie.” The result was Cabin Fever, which involves a flesh-eating virus.

Since the movie is a horror film, audiences know something horrific will happen, but the infection of a hermit who stumbles upon a dead dog and becomes a bloody, disfigured mess as a result is also certainly a clue that disgusting and terrible incidents are at hand, especially when the hermit vomits blood during a visit to the cabin of college students vacationing in the deep woods. When one of the vacationers, Karen, develops an infection between her legs, the audience receives another clue that things are probably going to get much worse before they get better, if they get better.

7 Wolf Creek

Wolfe Creek National Park in the Western Australian Outback is the setting for the movie Wolf Creek (2005) directed by Greg McLean. British tourists Liz Hunter (Cassandra Magrath) and Kristy Earl (Kestie Morassi) and their Australian friend Ben Mitchell (Nathan Phillips) are victimized by Mick Taylor (John Jarratt), who poses as a good Samaritan after the trio’s car fails on the Great Northern Highway, leaving them stranded.

In reality, as Joanne Lees points out in her autobiographical account of her horrific ordeal, No Turning Back: My Journey, the movie’s British tourists were Peter Falconio and Lees herself, who were traveling the Stuart Highway at night, 2,000 kilometers from Wolfe Creek National Park. They were between Alice Springs and Darwin when a mechanic, Bradley John Murdoch, pulled them over to advise them that their vehicle’s exhaust was throwing sparks. Murdoch shot Falconio and bound Lees, placing her in his own four-wheel-drive vehicle, while he concealed Falconio’s body. She escaped, staying hidden in the bush until Murdoch gave up looking for her. Later, she was assisted by two truck drivers, after she’d walked back onto the highway. Murdoch was subsequently arrested, tried, convicted, and sentenced to serve from 28 years to life in prison.

The movie’s Mick Taylor is also based on serial killer Ivan Milat, who, during the 1990s, took hitchhikers whom he picked up in New South Wales into the Belango State Forest, where he tortured and killed them. McLean added elements of the actual cases involving Murdoch, Lees, Falconio, Milat, and Milat’s victims only after he’d learned of them, following his writing of his film’s original script. Art imitates life, it seems—and vice versa.

6 Turistas

Director John Stockwell’s warning to potential cast members of his upcoming film Turistas (2006) indicated the discomforts and potential dangers they would face in the wilderness if they signed on to star in the movie, which was to be shot on location in the rain forests of Brazil. The actors’ home would be a tent. Their chairs would be rocks. They’d wade through water polluted with bat excrement. They’d probably be injured, although, he added, it was highly unlikely any of them would die.

A bizarre incident that occurred to Stockwell during a surfing expedition in Peru interested him in directing Turistas. He’d been “robbed,” he said, “by a group of 13-year-old, glue-sniffing kids and had been shot at.” When he reported the incident to the local police, they said he could “kill” his attackers in exchange for $300. Upon his return to the United States, he read the script for Turistas, and “it resonated” with him, he said.

In the movie itself, American tourists Alex (Josh Duhamel), his sister Bea (Olivia Wilde), and Bea’s friend Amy (Beau Garrett) are backpacking through Brazil when they’re joined by British men Finn (Desmond Askew) and Liam (Max Brown). Drugged during a party, they awaken stranded on a deserted beach, the latest turistas to become part of a heinous black-market enterprise.

5 Backcountry

Possibly, the black bear wandering a provincial park in northern Ontario, Canada, had developed a taste for human flesh and blood. The animal attacked Jacqueline Perry while she was camping with her husband Mark Jordan eighty kilometers north of Chapleau. He fought back, stabbing the predator with his Swiss Army knife, before the bear could drag his wife further into the deep woods.

Jordan carried his badly injured wife to their kayak and paddled to the closest campsite, where he was assisted by a father and son from Pennsylvania who were visiting the park. Unfortunately, although a North Carolina doctor treated Perry aboard the Pennsylvanians’ boat, Perry did not survive the ordeal.

The couple’s horrific experience inspired the movie Backcountry (2014) directed by Adam MacDonald. In the film, thanks to Alex (Jeff Roop), he and his girlfriend Jen (Missy Peregrym), a lawyer, get lost during a weekend camping trip to a provincial park, and Alex fights a bear, allowing Jen to escape. The bear kills and devours him, but she lives, finds her way back to the shore of the lake where she and Alex beached their canoe, and paddles across a lake to a group of tourists and their guide. Although she has broken her leg in a fall and is much the worse, emotionally and physically, she survives, unlike Alex.

MacDonald was inspired by Open Water (2003), in which a couple are attacked by sharks after they are stranded at sea. He wanted Backcountry to be an “Open Water in the woods,” he said. However, rather than having Jen be attacked and killed by the bear, he made Alex the victim because he wanted to show the experience that caused Jen to become a strong woman. In the film, he said, audiences “can actually see the moment where she becomes strong and faces life for what it is.” The test of her ordeal was a test of her character, and her survival proved her mettle, MacDonald suggests.

Gov. Gen. Michaëlle Jean was so impressed by Jordan’s bravery that she awarded him the Star of Courage for protecting Perry in an attempt to save her life at the risk of losing his own, during which attempt he received wounds requiring 300 stitches. The governor said that the award is reserved for “acts of conspicuous courage in circumstances of great peril.”

4 Bodom

Directed by Taneli Mustonen, the Finnish film Bodom (2016) concerns four young adults who camp near Lake Bodominjärvi in Espoo, a city in Finland’s Uusimaa region. The director, who had grown up in Outokumpu, thought the events surrounding a murder mystery constituted an intriguing story, but he also saw a problem with making such a film. How could he make “a universal topic,” such as “young people camping,” offer audiences “something new”? Visiting “the scene when the murder trial was reopened in 2004,” he found his answer: “I went there on a trek during the trial and noticed that there were young people out there looking for that same headland. That’s when I got the idea for the movie.”

In the film, friends, Nora, Elias, Atte, and Ida, go camping near Lake Bodom, as Lake Bodominjärvi is called. They aren’t just vacationing, though: they want to reconstruct the murders that occurred there in 1960. Unfortunately, they themselves encounter a killer. Interesting twists follow, although the ending of the film may strain its audience’s credulity.

3 Black Water

Black Water (2018), written and directed by Andrew Traucki and David Nerlich, is set in an Australian mangrove swamp, the home of hungry crocodiles. During a vacation, Grace (Dianna Glenn), her husband Adam (Andy Rodoreda), and Grace’s sister Lee (Maeve Dermody), take in a crocodile show. The next day, during a fishing trip, a crocodile capsizes the boat they’ve rented, and their armed guide (Ben Oxenboul) is killed, leaving the hapless vacationers alone with the swamp’s top predator and no help in sight.

According to an article in The Guardian, “The Wet,” located in Australia’s Northern Territory, is notorious for the occurrence of “tropical cyclones, monsoon rains, and stifling humidity,” its downpours frequently flooding the Finniss River and turning dry land to mud and “partially submerging . . . trees.” The area’s crocodiles have killed as many as a dozen people, including tourists, over the last two decades, and the reptiles’ attacks are the basis of Black Water’s storyline. However, as the Guardian’s article points out, although Black Water “claims to be ‘based on true events,’” it is, in reality, merely a “monster” movie, the “horror” of which does not approach that of the actual victims’ anguish and terror.

2 Cocaine Bear

Cocaine Bear hasn’t been made yet. Its production is scheduled for the summer of 2021. The movie’s script is based on a 1980 incident: a parachuting drug smuggler, finding it necessary to lighten his load, dropped bags of cocaine as he drifted over Georgia, and a 175-pound black bear helped itself to the unexpected treat, dying as a result of an overdose.

A few months later, a hunter found the bear dead in the Chattahoochee National Forest in Georgia, its belly “literally packed to the brim with cocaine,” according to the animal’s autopsy, and the bear suffered “cerebral hemorrhaging, respiratory failure, hypothermia, renal failure, heart failure, [and] stroke.” The ursine victim was stuffed and sold to various owners, including country singer Waylon Jennings. In 2015, the animal was on display, under the name Pablo Escobear, at the Kentucky Fun Mall. Soon, greater exposure will follow, with the premiere of Cocaine Bear!

The bizarre event attracted the attention of producers Phil Lord and Chris Miller, who plan to produce the movie as part of their deal with Universal Pictures. Elizabeth Banks will direct.

1 The Widow

Due in the spring of 2021, The Widow, directed by Svyatoslav Podgaevsky, is set in a thick forest north of St. Petersburg, Russia, where people have been disappearing for thirty years, often without a trace, and the few bodies that have been found were invariably naked. Now that a teenage girl has vanished, volunteers search for her among the dense trees and brush. Mysteriously, they lose communication with one another, leading the local population to wonder whether this strange incident is further work of the Limping Widow’s spirit.

The movie, starring Viktotiya Potemina, Anastasiya Gribova, and Margarita Bychkova, is based on the strange fact that 300 people each year actually do go missing in this part of the country. As in the film, when the bodies of the dead are discovered, they are sometimes naked and bear no signs of violence. Ironically, the crew began filming on October 14, 2018, the Holy Virgin’s Day, when, folklore claims, the forest becomes a deadly location. As far as we know, folklore doesn’t account for the corpses’ nudity, however. The picture is scheduled for North American release on digital, on-demand, DVD, and Blu-Ray in March 2021.

Top 10 Must-See Recent Genre-Defying Horrors

About The Author: An English instructor at the University of Nevada Las Vegas, Gary L. Pullman lives south of Area 51, which, according to his family and friends, explains “a lot.” His four-book series, An Adventure of the Old West, is available on Amazon.

Frightful stories of cryptids, aliens, and urban legends get retold every Halloween. Campfire versions embellish the truth for cheap scares. The following origins of 10 popular tropes prove that sometimes real life is even more bizarre.

10 Unsettling Premonitions That Came True

10 Neighbors Poison Halloween Candy

Ronald O’Bryan ruined everyone’s fun. Cautious parents inspect their children’s Halloween haul to make sure no nefarious prankster tainted it. They usually test this by courageously eating some portion of the candy themselves. Only one recorded child has died from poisoned Halloween candy. It was not done by a demented boogieman, but the child’s own father.

In 1974, eight-year-old Timothy O’Bryan went trick or treating. Timothy and his five friends approached an ominous house with its lights off. No one answered when they rang the doorbell. Instead, Ronald O’Bryan walked out shadows. He handed each kid a restapled 21-inch pixy stix coated in cyanide. Floundering in debt, Ronald killed his son to cash in on the life insurance policy. On June 3, 1975, a jury convicted Ronald of one charge of capital murder and four counts of attempted murder.

Following the unsolved Chicago Tylenol poisoning, the very real threat of child dying no longer seemed like quirky holiday superstition. Retellings turned the myth of deadly candy into the far more innocuous problem of needles in the chocolate. It only made sense that the type of sadistic monster willing feed trick-or-treaters razor blades is the same kind of person who hands out apples.^[1]

9 Piranhas are Flesh Eating Monsters

Nature-loving Teddy Roosevelt unknowingly spread one of its most groundless myths. Piranhas’ reputation as pocket sized demons that devour meat in seconds is unjustified. The fish are omnivorous. Some species are strictly herbivores. They only eat animals bigger than insects or other fish when they are starved, like when President Roosevelt first saw them.

In 1913, Brazilian dignitaries were eager to impress the former President. Desperate to make an impressive spectacle, they closed off a section of the Amazon river. For days, the isolated Piranhas were denied food. In honor of Roosevelts arrival, the locals dropped a live cow into the swarm. Like the velociraptor frenzy in Jurassic Park, the school stripped apart the bovine. Chunks of barren bone were all that was left to float to the top. Recalling the event in his travelogue Through the Brazilian Wilderness, Roosevelt described the fish as the “embodiment of evil ferocity.” Schlocky b-grade movies like James Cameron’s Piranha II: The Spawning ingrained the misconception in popular culture.^[2]

8 Celebrities get their Ribs Removed

On-stage antics are meant to be for shock. Theatric rocker Marilyn Manson’s legacy has been eclipsed by the rumor that he removed his ribs to suck his penis. The oft trot out line has no validity. This allegation was as false for the first person to have it applied to them. He unleashed horrors far more appalling than “The Beautiful People”

Rumors around celebrities removing their ribs is frequently targeted against women looking for unorthodox weight loss. That strain of story still gets retold with various stars like Cher, Elizabeth Taylor, Jane Fonda, Racquel Welch, or Britanny Spears. The salacious wrinkle that someone would opt for the surgery for self-fallacio is attributed to Gabriele D’Annunzio. D’Annunzio trafficked in gossip. To bolster his fame, D’Annunzio spread scandalous tales that he cooked baby flesh, stitched a robe to expose his penis, and stole the Mona Lisa. Despite his controversial history, Italy still heralds D’Annunzio as one of their nation’s great poets. The world is more familiar with his other work, fascism.

The first modern fascist state was the city of Fiume. The enclave was seized by D’annunzio’s 2,000 strong militia. Italian forces tried to reclaim the small town for 15 months. Eventually, the navy compelled surrender. Benito Mussolini admired D’Annunzio’s resolve. After his rise to power, Mussolini modeled himself after D’annuzio. D’annuzio was wary of Il Duce’s legitimacy, but he did suggest an easy symbol to identify followers of the cause. Initially known as “The Roman Salute,” the Nazi’s adopted the hand gesture as the Seig Heil.^[3]

7 The Jersey Devil

Two people birthed the Jersey Devil. Tradition holds that Mother Leeds conceived her thirteenth child in a pact with Satan. The deformed offspring sprouted wings, hooves, and a tail. The second culprit is nearly as unbelievable, Benjamin Franklin.

The Leeds family lack the same name recognition as their Founding Father rival. They still shaped history. Daniel Leeds’ Almanac was the earliest printing in the New Jersey colony. It’s anti-Quaker stance is among the first political attacks in American history. Quakers retaliated by calling Daniel Leeds, “Satan’s Harbinger.”

Daniel passed almanac responsibilities to his son, Titan. Under his pseudonym “Poor Richard,” Benjamin Franklin joked in his competing almanac that astrological calculations prophecized Titan’s imminent death. As the prediction passed in 1733, the very much not dead Leeds called Franklin, “a liar.” Franklin retorted that he was still right. Titan was just a ghost. By the time of Titan’s real 1738 death, anti-British sentiment turned the Leeds family into a symbol of ridicule. Their family crest was mocked as the Leeds Devil. A 20th century huckster trying to stir up business towards his store revitalized and embellished oral stories of the Leeds Devil into the name of the cryptozoological chimera that terrorizes the Garden state’s forests and, occasionally, the National Hockey League.^[4]

6 Nazi UFO’s

Like any good melodrama, Baron Edward Bulwer-Lytton’s life starts with, “it was a dark and stormy night.” The hackney cliché first appeared in Bulwer-Lytton’s 1830 novel Paul Clifford. Other common phrases, like “The almighty dollar” or “The pen is mightier than the sword,” were coined within the pages of Bulwer-Lytton’s works. His life was as florid as his writing. In retribution for locking her in an insane asylum under false pretenses, his wife, Rosina Doyle Wheeler, sabotaged Bulwer-Lytton’s Parliamentary campaign. She leaked misinformation that he was having an illicit affair with future Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli. No story better encapsulates his insane life than the far-reaching consequences of his 1871 potboiler The Coming Race.

The pulp novel was among the first science fiction texts to use the plot device of a traveler unearthing a mythical land. The main character discovered a secret undergound commune inhabited by a race of angels called Vril-ya powered by the fluid “vril”. A fan of the occult, Bulwer-Lytton’s fictional realm referenced common pseudoscientific ideas of the day. In 1947, researcher William Ley inspired real life quests to tap into Vril’s power. One such organization, the Vril Society, was allegedly founded when psychic Maria Orsic used her telepathic hair to communicate with aliens. Intergalactic beings equipped the Third Reich with superior technology in the waning days of the war. Shockingly, historians are not convinced the society existed.

The absurd idea of aliens working with the Nazi high command permeated pop culture. Tongue-in-cheek video games like Iron sky: Invasion, the Wolfenstein franchise, or the zombie levels of Call of Duty are based on the conspiracy theory. Along with all of their other wrongheaded views, some Neo-Nazis sects still maintain Vril is out there.^[5]

10 Beloved Stories Based On Horrible True Events

5 Chemirocha

Jimmie Rodgers was a legend in life. Death made him a deity. As “The Father of Country Music,” generations of composers were inspired by Rodger’s pioneering yodel. A fraction of the artists shaped by Rodgers’ catalogue include Bob Dylan, Louis Armstrong, Hank Williams, Mudddy Waters, and Howlin’ Wolf. His influence stretched far beyond the American South, including, curiously, Kenya’s Great Rift Valley.

British missionaries brought the word of God and the yelps of Rodgers. To further spread their message, evangelists played gramophone copies of country records. The Kipsigis tribe were particularly fond of Jimmie Rodgers. Through bungled translation, the formative country singer’s name became “Chemirocha.” “Chemirocha” entered the lexicon for anything new or interesting.

In the 1950’s, ethnomusicologist Hugh Tracey returned to the Kipsigis village to field record local songs. The phrase “Chemirocha” morphed into lore. Because of his unnaturally high-pitched voice, “Chemirocha” was described as a half-man and half-antelope faun. Either in myth or his music, Jimmie Rodgers achieved immortality.^[6]

4 The Loch Ness Monster

Murmurs of some creature lurking within Scotland’s Loch Ness were told for centuries. The modern notion of an aquatic reptile comes from a single 1934 photograph published in The Daily Mail. Dubbed “The Surgeon’s Photo,” the grainy black and white visual of a long neck and humped figure breaking through the water became the standard depiction of the beast. Everyone involved has since admitted it was a hoax.

In 1933, the Inverness Courier printed the first sighting of the legendary animal. The Daily Mail wanted to get in on the craze. They stationed Marmaduke Wetherall to gather evidence. In December 1933, he discovered a set of footprints on the shoreline. Natural History Museum scientists examining the plaster copies determined they were made by a dried hippo’s foot from an umbrella stand. Mocked for being so gullible, Wetherall concocted his revenge.

Wetherall approached his stepson Christian Spurling to create a fake monster. Molding some clay on top of a toy submarine, Spurling photographed the replica as it drove around the lake. To lend some credibility, the duo employed noted surgeon Colonel Robert Wilson to hand the pictures to The Daily Mail. Marmaduke Wetherell embarrassed the British tabloid just as they embarrassed him.^[7]

3 The Babysitter and the Man Upstairs

1979’s When a Stranger Calls begins with the classic twist of a panicked babysitter realizing that the killer’s call was coming inside the house. The tragic crime that inspired it was even more of a macabre irony. The phone cord she thought could save her, killed her.

On March 18, 1950, 13-years-old Janett Christman babysat Ed and Anne Romack’s 3-year-old son, Gregory. Worried about her safety, Ed lent Janett a shotgun if anyone suspicious stopped by. It was never used. Around 10:35 p.m., the local Sheriff’s Department received a frantic phone call. In between disjointed breathes, the dispatcher barely made out a plea for help. The phone was cut dead. Within three hours, Christman was too. She had been bludgeoned, raped, and strangled with the wires from an electric iron and the telephone. Thankfully, Gregory was unharmed.

Jurisdictional squabbles hampered the investigation. The Romacks lived 100-yards over the city limits. Competing agencies feuded over withheld evidence. This divide allowed the prime suspect Robert Mueller to evade justice. Mueller had a lecherous reputation in the community for young virgins. His occasional babysitter, Mueller lusted after Janett in particular. The stationary shotgun suggests Christman knew the culprit. The night of the murder, Mueller excused himself for two hours to allegedly meet his doctor. Mueller’s doctor says he never showed up. Most damning, Mueller phoned the Romacks the morning after the murder. Obviously out of compassion, he asked if they needed any assistance cleaning the blood. This call came before the press reported the murder. Taken to barn outside city limits, police interrogated Mueller. Denied a proper setting, the questions were inadmissible. Mueller died in 2006 never charged with any crime. Officially, the case remains unsolved.^[8]

2 Grey Aliens Probe Butts

There are two possibilities. Believers contend that on September 9, 1961, husband and wife Barney and Betty Hill were abducted by a flying saucer somewhere along New Hampshire’s White Mountains. Aliens shoved a needle through Betty’s navel and a metallic capsule inside Barney’s rectum. Skeptics maintain it was all made up. Neither view justifies why so many people have shared this delusion.

Logic explains away most of the supposed details. Sleep-deprived, the Hills drove five hours nonstop in the middle of the night. In this foggy state, an observatory tower light weaving along the wooded road could be confused for a craft. The visual of grey skinned aliens with an enlarged forehead closely resemble the costume design of a beast in an episode the Outer Limits aired two weeks before Barney shared his account. The intrusive surgery resembles accounts of accidental awareness Barney might have experienced if anesthesia wore off in a recent tonsillectomy. Physical evidence like Betty’s ripped dress, Barney’s scuffed shoes, or circular dents on the car are harder to rationalize, unless this whole story was created by an unscrupulous doctor.

The Hills were reluctant to publish their account. They only came forward at the recommendation of their psychiatrist, Dr. Benjamin Simon, in 1964. Under hypnosis, the Hills were susceptible for the opportunistic doctor to plant false memories. The couple did not initially seek out the counseling over concerns about a three-year-old hazy recollection. They faced tangible problems. Barney’s doctor warned he needed to treat stress-induced high blood pressure and ulcers. His first psychiatrist concluded Barney’s anxiety stemmed from being a black man married to a white woman. Active in the civil rights movement, the stigma of the interracial marriage caused the two mental unrest. Shortly before their sighting, the waitress at the diner they visited to was disgusted by the couple’s race. Black and white together make grey.^[9]

1 Elvis Faked His Death

Jimmy Ellis wanted to be a star. Every record with his name on it flopped. Critics always complained he sounded too much like Elvis Presley. After 15 years of scrounging by, Ellis abandoned music. He settled on just being himself. Then, Elvis died.

Mercury Records Vice President Shelby Singleton is one of music’s great conmen. His first shameless scam was buying Sun Records’ back catalog, the Memphis studio that launched the King of Rock and Roll’s career. In 1972, Singleton released Ellis singing 1950’s standards under the implication this was the lost first Elvis’ recordings.

By Elvis’ 1977 death, Singleton hatched a more fantastical con. Loosely inspired by Elvis’ biography, Gail Brewer-Giorgio’s unpublished novel Orion: The Living Superstar of Song tells of a Southerner who lucked into becoming the world’s most popular singer. After squandering his fame on drugs and vice, Orion faked his death to find peace.

Dressed in bedazzled jumpsuits, jet black hair, and a rhinestone mask, Singleton marketed Ellis as Orion. Local publications, not too worried about their accuracy, ran that Orion actually was Elvis reincarnated. Singleton fostered such theories by coyly rerecording old Jerry Lee Lewis albums as duets with Orion. 11 Orion albums were released between 1978 and 1982, including nine charting country singles.

Despite his burgeoning success, Ellis hated his fabricated identity. He grew convinced he was Vernon Presley’s illegitimate child. Sharing the same biological father might explain Ellis’ uncanny similarities. On New Year’s Eve 1983, Ellis tore off the Orion mask. He renounced his alter ego to manage a pawn shop in Alabama. In 1998, he was killed in a botched. He was 53.^[10]

Top 10 True Stories More Interesting Than The Myths They Inspired

About The Author: If you thought this article was unbelievably bad, you can email Nate at [email protected]. If you thought it was scary good, you can follow him on Twitter @nateyungman.

These days, comic book movies are all the rage, but most of the ones the public knows about come from either Marvel or DC Comics. While there’s nothing wrong with either publisher, they’re not the only ones putting out amazing content.

For years, fans have unknowingly watched movies based on some of the most notable independent comic books ever made. This list features ten of the best film adaptations of comics most people outside the core fandom haven’t read or heard of before seeing the movie.

10 Of The Most Offensive Superheroes In The History Of Comics

10 From Hell (2001)

When most people heard about a new Jack the Ripper film starring Johnny Depp in 2001, comic books were likely the last thing on their minds. After all, most popular comics deal with superheroes and villains, not slasher serial killers from Victorian London.

The movie featured stellar performances by Depp and Heather Graham, who brought the characters to life in a fantastically set motion picture. The story, sets, and high production value place the film fairly high in its genre, but it doesn’t scream “comic book movie” in any way.

From Hell is based on a comic of the same name by legendary scribe Alan Moore of Watchmen fame. It was illustrated by Eddie Campbell, and like most of Moore’s work, it’s a highly praised book many consider his magnum opus. From Hell was published between 1989 and ’98 by Top Shelf Productions.

The compiled series is 572 pages long, which is considerably long for the genre. Moore is notorious for hating film adaptations of his work, and his hatred for the 2001 film is no exception. While the movie received a mostly positive reaction, it deviated enough from the source material to earn Moore’s ire such that he called Depp an “absinthe-swilling dandy.”

9 RED (2010)

In 2010, audiences around the globe gathered in movie theaters to see an all-star cast come together for RED, an action comedy film. The movie stars Bruce Willis, Morgan Freeman, John Malkovich, Helen Mirren, Karl Urban, Brian Cox, Richard Dreyfuss, and many more — it truly is an all-star cast.

The film follows Willis’ Frank Moses, a “Retired Extremely Dangerous” former black-ops agent who reunites with his old team to take down an assassin who’s put a target on his back. It’s a great mix of comedy and action, and it all comes from a comic book series of the same name from WildStorm and Homage Comics.

The entirety of the series consists of only three issues. Still, two films were made from that limited monthly series (a sequel to RED was released in 2013). The books were written by Warren Ellis, with illustrations by Cully Hamner.

The movie deviated from the comics in several areas, but they are thematically very similar. The level of violence and the concept of government overreach in dealing with its trained killers are all there, even if the plot’s events are relatively different. The movie also introduces several characters not seen in the comics.

8 Kingsman: The Secret Service (2014)

Another subject that doesn’t often find itself in comics these days is that of the secret agent. So, when viewers sat down to watch Kingsman: The Secret Service in 2014, they probably didn’t realize they were watching a movie based on a comic book.

The books in question were illustrated by Dave Gibbons and written by Mark Millar, a man whose work has been translated to the silver screen numerous times. He’s the man behind Wanted, Kick-Ass, and many other movies. His 2012 comic book series about a boutique spy agency in London is one of his many properties made into live-action.

The movie stars Taron Egerton as Eggsy, a young man brought into the spy game years after his father died saving an agent named Harry. Once recruited, he goes from small-town thug to a proper butt-kicking gentleman. In the end, he saves the world from Samuel L. Jackson’s version of a crazed billionaire.

The film is a very loose adaptation of the comics, as numerous elements are considerably different. The overall structure is there, but the stories are vastly different, as are the characters, their backstories, and pretty much everything else. At most, the movie is inspired by the books, but it’s still considered an adaptation of the Icon Comics series.

7 The Mask (1994)

The Mask is arguably one of the most important films on Jim Carrey’s CV, as it took a relatively unknown actor and made him a superstar. Granted, it was released a few months after Ace Ventura, and before Dumb & Dumber, so it’s fair to say that 1994 was a good year for Carrey.

The Mask also introduced Cameron Diaz to the world. It smashed records, earning more than $350 million on a budget of around $23 million. It shouldn’t be too surprising to learn that The Mask is based on a comic book series, but the two properties are really different.

Dark Horse Comics published The Mask from 1991 to 1995 as three limited series. The books were created by John Arcudi and Doug Mahnke, but it featured several prominent artists throughout its run.

The biggest difference between the comics and the movie is the tone. While the film is a slapstick comedy, the comics are satirical and ridiculously violent. The Mask is also sentient in the comics and is referred to as “Big Head.” Additionally, wearing the titular artifact in the comics leads the wearer to insanity, while the movie helps teach them a valuable lesson.

6 Road To Perdition (2002)

Tom Hanks doesn’t seem like the kind of actor who would take on a comic book character, but that’s precisely what he did when he starred in 2002’s Road to Perdition. The period crime drama features Hanks, Paul Newman, Jude Law, and Daniel Craig in a tale of vengeance in 1931 Depression-era America.

The movie is based on a graphic novel of the same name written by Max Allan Collins with illustrations by Richard Piers Rayner. Road to Perdition was published by Paradox Press in 1998 and was inspired by The Godfather, The St. Valentine’s Day Massacre, real-life gangster John Patrick Looney, and a manga titled Lone Wolf and Cub.

There are four stories in the graphic novel, with only the first one titled “Road to Perdition.” Only the first story was adapted for the film, as the subsequent stories take place after the events of the first.

The book and the movie follow the same story and characters. Regardless, there are some differences in terms of tone. The comics delve deeper into the nature of Catholic sin and redemption. The film focuses more attention on the relationship between father and son. Still, for the most part, it’s a faithful adaptation of the source material.

5 Oldboy (2003)

Oldboy is arguably one of the most well-known neo-noir action thrillers to come out of South Korean cinema in the past several decades. According to Roger Ebert, Oldboy is a “powerful film not because of what it depicts, but because of the depths of the human heart which it strips bare.”

The movie is centered on Oh Dae-Su, a man imprisoned in a hotel room-style cell for 15 years without explanation. He doesn’t know who his jailers are or why after 15 years, he’s inexplicably released. After this, he goes on a full-on vengeance tour, taking the fight to the people who destroyed his life.

Oldboy is based on a Japanese manga series of the same name serialized in Weekly Manga Action. The books were written by Garon Tsuchiya with illustrations by Nobuaki Minegishi. The comics were published between 1996 and ’98, consisting of 79 chapters collected into eight volumes, and are an exceptional read.

The movie and comics differ in some respects, though unlike the other films on this list, the movie version is far more violent than the comics. It’s also much lewder and harsher on the protagonist, who is imprisoned for ten years (not 15) in the comics.

4 The Crow (1994)

As discussed yesterday in Top 10 Eerie Predictions That Foreshadowed Celebrity Tragedy, just as Brandon Lee’s film career was getting off the ground, he was tragically killed in an on-set accident while filming The Crow. This is what the movie is most remembered for, as it indeed was a tragedy, but the released film was far more than that. It was a fantastic story of violence met with love and vengeance.

The Crow is centered around Eric Draven, a murdered musician resurrected from the grave via the power of a crow to avenge the deaths of himself and his fiancée. The film is dark and features an incredible soundtrack that perfectly pairs with the on-screen action. When it was released, it was dedicated to Lee and his fiancée, Aliza Hutton.

The film is based on James O’Barr’s comic book of the same name, which was published by Caliber Comics in 1989. He wrote the books as a sort of therapy to help him deal with the death of his own fiancée at the hands of a drunk driver. The comic was a massive underground success.

The 1994 movie is a close adaptation of the books that keeps much of the darker, brooding dialogue of the protagonist intact. There are several character differences (Eric doesn’t have a surname in the books and isn’t a musician), and some of the violent deaths are also different.

3 A History Of Violence (2005)

David Cronenberg stepped away from his usual fare of body horror films to direct an action-thriller in 2005. A History of Violence stars Viggo Mortensen as Tom Stall, a diner owner in a small town. When two robbers come into the store and begin threatening his employees and customers, things turn… well, violent.

He quickly and easily kills the two men, which thrusts him into the spotlight, which is a problem. He’s soon confronted by a hitman from the Philadelphia-based Irish Mob, who claims Tom is actually Joey Cusack, a hitman for the Mob who disappeared some time ago.

A History of Violence is another movie most people could have gone their entire lives without knowing it was based on a comic book. A History of Violence was published by Paradox Press in 1997 and was written by John Wagner with illustrations by Vince Locke.

The graphic novel and the movie are almost identical up to a point. The first half of the film matches that of the comic, but it deviates from there. While the movie follows the central theme of the book, the plot changes considerably. Regardless, both the film and the movie are exceptional despite the differences.

2 Men In Black (1997)

In 1997, a major film franchise was launched with the release of Men in Black. The film was a phenomenal success, earning almost $600 million on a $90 million budget. It elevated Will Smith to superstardom following his past performances in mega-hits, Bad Boys and Independence Day.

Given the film’s subject, it shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise that it’s based on a comic book. The Men in Black was published by Aircel Comics from 1990 to ’91 and was written by Lowell Cunningham with illustrations by Sandy Carruthers.

There were six issues published for the series (broken into two runs of three). When Aircel was acquired by Malibu Comics and subsequently Marvel Comics, additional books were published to coincide with the film, including a prequel, a sequel, and a movie adaptation.

The comics weren’t successful in the underground market, but they gained enough attention for the adaptation, which is very different. The books are dark and have no comedic elements, while the film is most definitely a comedy.

The MiB in the books are more of an extermination force than border patrol agents, and nobody cares about collateral damage. Ultimately, the film is far superior to the comics it’s based on.

1 Ghost World (2001)

2001’s Ghost World is an Academy Award-winning black comedy starring Scarlett Johansson, Thora Birch, and Steve Buscemi. It was a massive critical success, which earned cult film status almost immediately. It took home the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for Daniel Clowes and Terry Zwigoff.

Ghost World is centered around the lives of Enid and Rebecca, both of whom are teenage outsiders in an American city. Ultimately, Their relationship begins to sour as an older man named Seymour comes into their lives. The film focuses on the nature of relationships, loneliness, and an analysis of modern life in America.

The movie is based on a comic book series of the same name, published by Fantagraphics Books from 1993 to 1997. The comics were a commercial and critical success, becoming a cult status in the underground comic book scene. The books were created by Daniel Clowes, who wrote and illustrated them. He helped adapt his work into the screenplay.

The movie and comics are different in various ways, but these are relatively minor. Of course, the existence of Seymour offers the most significant difference, as he isn’t in the books. Despite this, the theme and structure of the story remain mostly true, which is largely due to the involvement of Clowes.

10 Insane Facts About Marvel Comics

Spells, enchantment, magic, whatever you may call it, has always attracted people. The movies based on magic, in fact, are a favorite of not only kids but also teenagers and adults alike. In those 60-90 minutes being in a world where anything can happen give us immense pleasure and for this short period we forget everything else and get completely engrossed. Such is the power of magic and this is why movies based on magic do really well. And, here we present you the top 10 of them right below.

You can watch some of these Movies Based on Magic on Netflix or Amazon Prime or Hulu.

Best Magic Movies – Top 10 Movies Based on Magic

10. Enchanted

This perhaps is the only Disney movie in our list of magic movies. The film, in which the classic fairytale meets the present day reality when the evil queen Narissa casts a magic spell on the bride-to-be and princess Giselle and she lands in the modern day New York City.

She then gets to meet Edward Philips, the lovable lawyer with whom she falls in love with. The movie is a fantasy, comedy musical, filled with old-school magic.

See also; 10 Most Watched Movies of All Time.

9. Practical Magic

A curse is cast on a family of witches which does not let them fall in love as it otherwise will take the lives of their beloveds. Two sisters of this family fight with all their courage and magic skills to battle against the supernatural force and end the curse.

Though the movies did not do as well compared to most others in this list it still does manage to entertain because of the great performance of the artists, particularly the wild aunts who managed to make everybody laugh their hearts out.

See also; Top 10 Movies Based on True Stories.

8. Hugo

Asa Butterfield did full justice to the character of the twelve-year-old boy who lives all by himself in Paris in the walls of 1930s railway station and steals food to satiate himself. After the death of his loving watchmaker father, he had no option but to repair clocks for his alcoholic uncle. Also, Hugo would spend time working on the last project of his father, the automaton – a mechanical man who could write.

He was very keen on finding out if his dad had left behind any message in the automaton and thus he did everything possible, even stealing, to attain the parts he required. During one such theft, he met the owner’s daughter, Isabelle, who planned to help him in his projects. An adventurous journey begins with a key that will help them disclose a secret from a magician’s past.

7. Narnia

Directed by Andrew Adamson, the series is made in three parts, each of them equally amazing. The Chronicles of Narnia has its focus on the life of three kids who belong to the time of World War II and are sent to the home of a relative so they could be safe.

It is here that their adventure starts when the youngest kid, Lucy, finds a parallel world in one closet. This is basically the world of Narnia but the Evil White Witch has brought it under her control. Now the children and the real ruler of the world, Aslan, plan to save Narnia.

See also; 10 Must Watch Hollywood Movies Before You Get Old.

6. Spirited Away

Spirited Away is the story of a young girl, Chihiro, who gets trapped in the world of spirits. After the witch Yubaba transforms her parents into pigs, Chihiro had to work in her bathhouse so that she could free her family and go back to her world. The English-version of this movie was spearheaded by John Lasseter. It was the highest grossing movie ever in Japan and had even won the Best Animated Feature Oscar.

5. Oz the Great and Powerful

This is a fantasy adventure film directed by Sam Raimi. The film is about a magician who is driven out from Kansas and then comes to stay in the land of Oz. People think he is the great wizard who has come to Oz to bring an end to their sufferings, and the magician takes advantage of their belief. Soon after, three witches come to Oz to destroy his plans of taking advantage of the innocent people.

See also; Top 10 Highest Grossing Hollywood Movies.

4. The Craft

This is one of the most famous films about witches. The Craft is remembered for the realistic portrayal of spell-casting consequences. Though most witches’ movies made for Disney channel is a morality tale, this one bravely gets dark. It is the story of 4 high school girls who have incredible powers and thus is also about spells, curses, and more than one murder. The great acting and great story paved the way to a huge success.

3. Lord of the Rings

Lord of the Rings series, directed by Peter Jackson, takes you to an amazing mystical and adventurous journey that is undertaken by Frodo, Elijah Wood. The film is about his adventure to reach a mysterious ring that he came across just by chance. He undertook the dangerous mission for a noble cause that is to prevent the rule of the Dark Lords.

2. Hocus Pocus

Hocus Pocus is a Halloween film for children of all ages. It is full of extravagant costumes, buck teeth, and silly spells and you will thoroughly enjoy watching it. The performances are quite campy but if you have enjoyed watching Halloweentown or Sabrina the Teenage Witch then you will love watching this one as well.

1. Harry Potter

Talking about movies based on magic and not mentioning Harry Potter is just not possible. J. K. Rowling’s world-record-setting and award-winning movie on a wizard boy of Hogwarts turned into eight series and is mainly about Harry Potter and his dear friends Hermoine Granger and Ron Weasely. The series was extremely popular as were the books and this also resulted in video and computer games being made, which are loved and played till date.

See also: Awesome Fictional Characters That We Wish Were Real

Each of these 10 magic movies is stunning, fun, and you are going to have a thoroughly amazing time watching them. If you have not seen either of them yet, then you have the perfect weekend plan.

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Horror and thriller films “have legs,” as they say in the Hollywood film industry, meaning that they have long-lasting appeal. Not surprisingly, the true stories on which many such movies are based also have legs, intriguing generations of moviegoers long after the actual crimes that inspired them have been solved.

These 10 cinematic chillers and thrillers based on horrific crimes are no exceptions. Like the movies they are based on, the crimes—chillers and thrillers in their own right—continue to horrify us as much today as when they were first committed.

Related: 10 Gruesome Crimes Fit For Horror Movies

10 A Place in the Sun

Directed by George Stevens and starring Montgomery Clift, Elizabeth Taylor, and Shelley Winters, A Place in the Sun (1951) is based on the same horrendous crime that inspired author Theodore Dreiser to write his 1925 novel An American Tragedy: Chester Gillette’s 1906 murder of his girlfriend, Grace Brown.

Brown had moved to Cortland, New York, seeking the excitement and glamour for which she had longed as a child growing up on a dairy farm in New York’s Otselic Valley. In Cortland, she took a job at the Gillette Skirt Factory. There, she met the owner’s son, Chester. They began a secret romance, and, despite Gillette’s concern that Brown was not “suitable” to become a member of his family, he fathered a child by her. After she told him the news, perhaps hoping he would marry her, she returned to her parents’ home to have the baby.

Gillette asked her to accompany him to Big Moose Lake, located about 200 miles northeast of Cortland, in the shadow of the Adirondack Mountains in upstate New York, a beautiful, serene setting perfect for boating.

A sign near the lake commemorates the occasion: “On July 11, 1906, Chester Gillette and Grace Brown left here for a boat trip….” He planned to propose! Brown thought. However, as the rest of the sign’s text reads, the boat trip ended “in her death and his 1908 execution for murder.”

The rented boat was not returned, and a search for the missing couple was launched. Finally, Brown’s body was found, along with the capsized boat. The victim’s killer had struck her with a tennis racket, and she’d fallen into the lake, where Gillette had drowned her. The news of her pregnancy had been unwelcome; he had not wanted to be a father, and he had not wanted to marry her.

After killing her, Gillette fled the scene, but he was arrested in a nearby hotel, where he was found hiding in a room. He insisted he did not know Brown, but the love letters he had exchanged with her, which prosecutors shared with the jury during Gillette’s 1908 trial, told a different story. Convicted, he was executed the same year at Auburn Prison.^[1]

9 Anatomy of a Murder

It is 1952. Allegedly, a rape has occurred, and the husband has murdered the suspected rapist. He is tried for murder in the first degree. The defense attorney attempts to get his client off, even though a “crowd” of witnesses observed the murder—a shooting—as it occurred in the Lumberjack Tavern in the unincorporated community of Big Bay, Michigan.

The 1958 novel Anatomy of a Murder by attorney John Voelker (writing as Robert Traver) recounts this thrilling crime and is the basis for the 1959 movie of the same title. It was directed by Otto Preminger and starred James Stewart and Lee Remick. Both the book and the film are based on an actual case: Voelker’s successful defense of Coleman Peterson.

Could Voelker’s defense have swayed juries today? That’s the question that former Army Judge Advocate Eugene Milhizer, author of Dissecting Anatomy of a Murder, investigates. How Coleman committed the dastardly deed left Voelker with little room to maneuver in his defense, Milhizer suggests, since it amounted to “a public execution.” However, Voelker was able to persuade the jury that Coleman should be acquitted based on his client’s having been seized by an “irresistible impulse” that had rendered the killer himself a victim of temporary insanity.

Such a defense might well fail today, Milhizer suspects. Times were different in the 1950s, he points out, when the public tended to look more favorably on the possibilities of rehabilitation and on criminals’ rights. The Model Penal Code, he says, was intended for states’ use when such attitudes were the norm. It also allowed the possibility of an acquittal on the grounds of “cognitive disability,” the inability to know right from wrong, or “volitional disability,” the inability to exercise self-control, despite knowing right from wrong.

After John Hinckley, Jr., was acquitted of attempting to assassinate President Ronald Reagan on the basis of insanity, Congress and the American public were incensed. Many states adopted the federal insanity statute that Milhizer says “not only [places] the burden on the defendant to prove he’s insane…but [also] removes… ‘irresistible impulse’ as a defense.” Nevertheless, Milhizer admires Voelker’s story, which he finds “compelling for all sorts of reasons.” ^[2]

8 The Honeymoon Killers

Janus Films calls The Honeymoon Killers (1969), directed by Leonard Kastle, “a stark portrayal of the desperate lengths to which a lonely heart will go to find true love,” not that the victims of Martha Beck, played by Shirley Stoler, and Raymond Fernandez, portrayed by Tony Lo Bianco, ever found true love in their encounters with these serial killers.

As Dirk C. Gibson points out in Serial Killing for Profit: Multiple Murder for Money, Beck and Fernandez are rare, if not unique, in one respect. Most serial killers use the same modus operandi every time they strike. Yet, Beck and Fernandez employed “a different MO for each crime,” which indicates that the couple’s murders were more or less unplanned, spontaneous events, the motive for which was always the same: financial gain. The murderers were not above killing even “a baby and two elderly women.”

Beck and Fernandez were an odd couple. “Despite baldness and questionable looks,” Fernandez was a ladies’ man, Gibson writes, and Beck was “larger than life literally and figuratively,” her weight having been estimated as between 200 and 300 pounds.

A “puny” boy, Fernandez had an unhappy childhood and tended to daydream. As an adult, in a 1945 accident aboard a ship, he suffered a head injury, which “changed his personality completely”; thereafter, he embarked on a career of crime. During a period of incarceration, he embraced voodoo, attributing his sway with women to his practice of the religion. Between crimes, his vocation was that of a gigolo.

Beck was born in Milton, Florida, and may have been “raped by her brother” when she was 13 years old, Gibson says. Large even as a child, due to a “glandular condition,” she was teased mercilessly by her peers to the extent that she “became a recluse.” Sexually mature at age 10, she was also sexually “obsessed” and enjoyed “bizarre sex.” She wed three men, having two children by Alfred Beck, before moving to California, where she met Fernandez through a lonely-hearts ad she placed. They became partners not only in romance but in murder as well.

Although there is no definitive tally of their murders, they are suspected of having killed between three and twenty victims.^[3]

7 Murder on the Orient Express

The 1974 movie Murder on the Orient Express, directed by Sidney Lumet, has an all-star cast, with Albert Finney as detective Hercule Poirot. It is based on the Agatha Christie bestselling 1934 detective novel by the same title. As The Home of Agatha Christie website points out, the novel, and, therefore, the movie, is based on “a real life crime,” that of Bruno Hauptmann, the kidnapper of Charles Lindberg, Jr., the famous aviator’s infant son who “was taken from his crib in the middle of the night.”

Christie, her official website explains, “rewrote this case for [her novel] Murder on the Orient Express when she crafted the subplot of the Armstrong kidnapping case.” Charles Jr. is replaced by Daisy Armstrong, whose mother succumbs to complications of her pregnancy after the girl’s remains are discovered, and “the devastated father kills himself.” As a result, “an innocent servant” who becomes a suspect in the father’s apparent murder commits suicide.

A close approximation of this subplot appears in the movie’s plot, with gangster Lanfranco Cassetti substituting for Hauptmann and Daisy again replacing Charles Jr. The Armstrongs are represented by Sonia, who dies in childbirth, and her husband Hamish, who afterward commits suicide. The couple’s French maid, Paulette, is the suspected servant.^[4]

6 Eaten Alive

Eaten Alive (1976), directed by Tobe Hooper and starring Neville Brand and Carolyn Jones, concerns Judd, a mad hotel owner in eastern Texas, who feeds his victims to his giant pet alligator, which inhabits a nearby swamp. The plot sounds unlikely, to say the least, which makes the fact that the movie is based on a true story even more astounding.

The movie’s story is inspired by tavern owner Joe Ball of Elmendorf, Texas, who, during the 1930s, kept five alligators in his backyard. Although he is known to have killed two women, Ball may have murdered more. According to reporter Rebecca Hawkes, his known victims include his waitress Minnie Gotthardt and “another of Ball’s women,” 22-year-old Hazel Brown, whose bodies he disposed of as pet food for his hungry reptiles, thereby earning himself the sobriquet “Alligator Man.” Between the meals of Ball’s human victims, Hawkes reports, his alligators enjoyed snacks, it is said, courtesy of his bar’s patrons, who tossed live dogs, cats, and other stray animals to the reptiles.

Then, someone reported an odd-smelling barrel behind a neighbor’s barn. Had Ball, for some reason, stored human remains inside the barrel instead of feeding them to his alligators? Perhaps he was storing them there temporarily until he could feed the hungry reptiles. In any case, local police took an interest in him. The tavern owner persuaded the lawmen to allow him one last drink before escorting him to jail. When they accommodated him, he seized the opportunity to retrieve a gun stashed near his cash register and shot himself in the heart. Ball’s handyman, Clifford Wheeler, then confessed to having aided and abetted Ball in committing the murders and admitted to helping him dispose of the women’s bodies.

These were the only two murders that could be proven against Ball, and it may well be that at least some of the others attributed to him resulted from the legendary status he acquired among the locals. As Hawkes suggests, “In a strange way, it’s almost as if people…want the rumours to be true. There’s something inherently horrific about the prospect of ‘being eaten’: it’s a deep-set, psychological fear, that taps into childhood tales of Hansel and Gretel and Little Red Riding Hood.”^[5]

5 Looking for Mr. Goodbar

Intentionally or not, Looking for Mr. Goodbar is a cautionary tale of sorts. Its plot is an implicit warning to young women who go looking for love in all the wrong places. In the 1977 movie, directed by Richard Brooks, Diane Keaton, playing Theresa Dunn, a young teacher in New York City, meets Richard Gere’s Tony in a bar. She takes him to her apartment, where he drugs her after taking cocaine with him. She then seeks other lovers, during and after Tony’s return, until, finally, she encounters Gary (Tom Berenger), a bisexual man who kills her in a fit of rage when, unable to have sex with her, he mistakenly assumes that she is questioning his masculinity.

The movie is based on the 1973 murder of an actual teacher, 28-year-old Roseanne Quinn, who was stabbed to death after making the fatal mistake of picking up prison escapee John Wayne Wilson in a bar and taking him home with her for a one-night stand. In her article about the crime, writer Cheryl Eddy spells out a possible theme for both the actual story and its fictional accounts, as presented in Judith Rossner’s best-selling 1975 novel and the movie based on it: “It seemed like hip, sexy fun, until the Quinn case gave a stark reminder of the dangers of letting strangers into your bedroom.”

When Quinn didn’t answer her telephone or show up for work for two days in a row, the school principal at which she taught dispatched a male teacher to her studio apartment, but Quinn did not answer his knock. The building’s superintendent unlocked her door. Inside, they found Quinn lying on her fold-out bed, dead from 18 stab wounds. According to an account of the crime, “a red candle had been thrust into her vagina, and a statue lay across her face.” Her killer had covered her corpse with a blue bathrobe.

Police canvassed the neighborhood, discovering that, at night, Quinn had frequented such local bars as the Copper Hatch and W. M. Tweed’s. While she was at Tweed’s, she had drunk with and talked to Charlie Smith, who was with another man, Geary Guest. Becoming bored, Guest left soon after the men had arrived at the bar. Smith stayed. He was visiting New York from Chicago, seeking work, he said. A regular customer who drew caricatures sketched two for Smith: a Mickey Mouse drawing and a picture of Donald Duck. Police found both caricatures at Quinn’s apartment.

Smith, who was actually Wilson, told Guest that he had stabbed Quinn to death after she insulted him when he had been too intoxicated to perform, and, after showering, dressing, and cleaning up the crime scene, he had left. Guest gave him some money, and Wilson went to Miami to see his pregnant wife before visiting his brother in Springfield, Illinois.

Police, meanwhile, released a sketch of a suspect, and Guest, seeing a resemblance to himself, called a lawyer, who advised him to notify the authorities. The Manhattan assistant district attorney agreed to give Guest immunity in exchange for his testimony against Wilson, who was subsequently arrested at his brother’s residence. Extradited to New York City, Wilson used sheets to hang himself while awaiting charges.^[6]

4 Badlands

Described by a Filmsite reviewer as a “remarkable and impressive,” if “alienating and disturbing,” independent film about “two estranged young fugitives who are mad lovers,” Badlands (1973), directed by Terrence Malick, stars Martin Sheen and Sissy Spacek as Kit Carruthers and Holly Sargis.

After Kit murders Holly’s father, the lovers fake their own deaths before setting up housekeeping in a treehouse that they construct in a remote location. Bounty hunters, would-be informants, and a couple who let the duo hide out at their house occasion additional murders until, tired of running, Holly surrenders to the police and is sentenced to probation. Captured, Kit is executed.

Malick’s plot is based on the 1958 killing spree committed by Charles Starkweather and his 14-year-old girlfriend Caril Ann Fugate, whose 11 victims included Fugate’s mother, stepfather, and two-year-old sister. Fugate received a life sentence, but she was paroled after 18 years; Starkweather was electrocuted.^[7]

3 Double Indemnity & The Postman Always Rings Twice

Double Indemnity (1944), directed by Billy Wilder, stars Fred McMurray as insurance salesman Walter Neff, Barbara Stanwyck as Phyllis Dietrichson, and Tom Powers as their victim, Phyllis’s husband, Mr. Dietrichson.

By seducing Neff, Phyllis gets him to write her an insurance policy on her husband. The policy includes a double indemnity clause, paying double in the event that the insured’s death is accidental. Phyllis drives her husband to a train, and Neff, hidden in the back seat, murders him before boarding the train himself, jumping off, and dragging the dead man’s body onto the tracks.

However, the insurance company suspects either suicide or murder rather than accidental death and refuses to pay. Later, Phyllis, eavesdropping, overhears insurance adjuster Barton Keyes telling Neff that Phyllis and an accomplice are suspected of killing her husband for his insurance money. A double-cross ends with one of the partners in crime murdered by the other. The surviving partner, wounded, waits for the arrival of an ambulance—and the police.

In The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946), directed by Tay Garnett, Cora Smith (Lana Turner) and Frank Chambers (John Garfield), the drifter who falls for her after they meet at the diner owned by her husband Nick (Cecil Kellaway), conspire to murder Nick and start over together as the new owners of Nick’s diner.

Several attempts to murder Nick fail before the killers are finally successful. However, they turn on one another when the district attorney investigates Nick’s death as suspicious, and Cora receives probation. Although they marry and have a child, their relationship remains problematic, and Frank kills Cora and their child in a car accident, for which, ironically, he is convicted of their murders and is executed.

Both Double Indemnity and The Postman Always Rings Twice are based on 1943 novels by the same titles, both written by author James M. Cain. The novels, in turn, are based on the 1927 crime that Ruth Snyder and her lover, Judd Gray, committed: the murder of Snyder’s husband Albert for his life insurance.

After her murder conviction, Snyder predicted that she would never be executed: “This is just a formality,” she insisted. “I have just as good a chance now of going free as I had before the trial started.” Instead, as New York Times writer Janet Maslin declares, Snyder “actually wound up with her hair on fire when she was electrocuted at Sing Sing in 1928.”^[8]

2 Scream

Directed by Wes Craven, Scream (1996) stars Neve Campbell as Sidney Prescott, an intended victim who turns out to be her would-be killer’s killer. Skeet Ulrich, as Billy Loomis, and Matthew Lillard, as Stu Macher, play the murderers, who blame Sidney’s mother, Maureen (Lynn McRee), for having driven away Billy’s mother after she had had an affair with Billy’s father (C. W. Morgan).

Having already killed Maureen, the boys are now murdering their fellow high school students, planning to pin the killings on their hostage, Sidney’s father (Lawrence Hecht). More or less a device to causally link the slasher film’s series of murders together, the plot seems unlikely, to say the least. Still, the movie won four Saturn Awards and other accolades, earned $173 million at the box office, and launched a series of sequels.

A 1990 crime in Gainesville, Florida, inspired Scream. Danny Rolling bungled his attempt to kill his father, who routinely abused his mother, “succeeding only in taking the man’s eye and ear,” reports D. DeGroot, but his next attempt at murder succeeded entirely. This second crime inspired Scream and led to Rolling’s becoming known by the nickname “The Gainesville Ripper.”

During a four-day crime spree in Gainesville, DeGroot writes, Rolling “would stalk, stab and kill” four coeds and a male college student after invading their apartments while they slept and “stabbing them in their beds.” First, though, he would rape the female students; then, he would kill them. Next, he would mutilate them, staging his victims’ “severed heads and corpses…in lewd sexual positions for authorities to find.” When his DNA was matched to the crime scene, he was arrested and charged with multiple counts of murder.

Rolling made it easy for the authorities by confessing to the crimes. He wanted to be “famous like Ted Bundy,” DeGroot explains. He was convicted and sentenced to death, and, on October 25, 2006, he was executed by lethal injection in the Florida State Prison. There is a clear difference between Rolling’s brutal murders and those depicted in Scream, as DeGroot points out: “In the movie, the killers are out for revenge. In real life, Rolling’s crimes were random and a matter of accessibility.”^[9]

1 Alpha Dog

Alpha Dog (2006), directed by Nick Cassavetes, stars Emile Hirsch as drug dealer Johnny Truelove; Justin Timberlake as Johnny’s lieutenant, Frankie Ballenbacher; Anton Yelchin as Zack Mazursky; and Ben Foster as Jake Mazursky, Zack’s older brother. Johnny kidnaps Zack, whom he spots on the road after Zack has run away from home, planning to hold him until Jake pays an outstanding debt.

After a couple of Johnny’s associates dig a grave in a remote area in the mountains, one of them kills Zack, and they bury him. The remote grave is discovered, and the gang members involved in Zack’s kidnapping and murder are convicted of their crimes, receiving various sentences. Zack’s murderer, Elvis Schmidt (Shawn Hatosy), is sentenced to death.

According to NBC News, the true story behind Alpha Dog began in the West Hills section of Hollywood, California, among “million-dollar homes…swimming pools and tidy lawns.” After giving him repeated chances to reform, the parents of troubled Ben Markowitz finally told him to leave home. Not long after he did so, Markowitz became friends with Jesse James Hollywood, who resided nearby.

Dropping out of high school, Hollywood became a drug dealer, taking in enough money by age 19 to make “a big cash down payment” on a house of his own. His criminal associates were friends, and Hollywood made room for Markowitz. Despite their friendships, however, business always came first for Hollywood, and his crew were afraid of him—all of them, that is, except Markowitz, whom Hollywood himself feared. Markowitz had incurred a $1,200 debt with Hollywood, though, and the debt—and Markowitz’s refusal to pay up—made Hollywood angry enough in August 2000 to kidnap Markowitz’s younger half-brother Nick, with whom Markowitz was close.

When Hollywood learned that kidnapping could result in a sentence of life in prison, he decided to kill Nick or order him killed. That way, Nick could never testify against any of his abductors. Hollywood ordered Ryan Hoyt to commit the murder. A grave was dug in the mountains, and, bound with duct tape, Nick was taken to the site by his captors.

According to Los Angeles Magazine senior writer Jesse Katz, Ryan Hoyt “whacks Nick in the back of the head—cold cocks him [and] pulls out this Tech 9,” shooting his victim nine times. Nick “falls into this grave that had been dug for him, [and] they tuck the gun under Nick’s knees, [as they] now try to bury him,” but, as NBC News adds, “the grave [is] too shallow.” Located alongside a popular hiking trail, the burial site was spotted later, and leads poured in.^[10]

Theft, robbery, rootlessness, swindling, political corruption and vice, twisted desire, physical and sexual abuse, recklessness, and manipulation are associated with the horrific crimes on this list.

The criminal offenses, which include body-snatching, train robbery, kidnapping, and fraud, involve the use of picks and shovels, dynamite, “burking,” pistols, ropes, knives, water, machine guns, and, yes, even cameras. In addition, each has inspired a cinematic chiller or thriller nearly as terrifying and electrifying as the crime itself.

Related: 10 Things You Never Knew About Famous Movie Plot Twists

10 The Body Snatcher & The Flesh and the Fiends

William Burke (1792–1829) and William Hare (d. 1859?) most likely met while working as laborers on the Union Canal in Scotland. The work was hard labor, and they decided to quit. Instead of helping build the canal, they began to supply bodies to Edinburgh’s medical schools, which were always in need of cadavers for dissection during anatomy classes.

At first, they dug up graves and stole corpses, but they found that this enterprise was not much easier than the manual labor they had done while working on the canal. They soon hit upon a simpler, easier way of acquiring their stock in trade. Instead of snatching bodies from cemeteries under cover of darkness, they would simply murder people and sell their remains to the medical schools. In doing so, the partners in crime developed an undetectable technique for suffocating their victims. It was called “burking,” after Burke.

All went well—until their sixteenth murder—when a witness informed police that a dead body was being stored under Burke’s bed. Burke, his mistress Helen McDougall, Hare, and Hare’s “wife” Margaret were arrested (they were not actually married but lived as man and wife). Fearing there was insufficient evidence to convict the defendants, Lord Advocate Sir William Rae offered Hare immunity from prosecution in return for his testimony against his partner and their accomplices. His wife also received immunity.

As a result, Burke was hanged on January 28, 1829. McDougall was released after being acquitted on the grounds of insufficient evidence. Ironically, Burke’s body was donated to a medical school for dissection, and his skeleton remains on display at the University Medical School in Edinburgh. Although Hare’s ultimate fate is uncertain, one source states that he may have died in London, in 1859, as a blind beggar.

The Burke and Hare crimes are memorialized in a gruesome snatch of 19th-century verse, which includes a mention of one of their best customers, Dr. Robert Knox: “Up the close and doon the stair,/ But and ben’ wi’ Burke and Hare./Burke’s the butcher, Hare’s the thief,/ Knox the boy that buys the beef.”

Their body-snatching and murders also inspired the 1884 short story “The Body Snatcher” by Robert Louis Stevenson, which, in turn, loosely inspired the 1945 movie of the same title, directed by Robert Wise. The movie focuses on an unscrupulous doctor, Toddy MacFarlane (Henry Daniell), and his protege, medical student Donald Fettes (Russell Wade). They are blackmailed by John Gray (Boris Karloff), the body snatcher who supplies their cadavers, into remaining silent after Fettes discovers that Gray has committed murder in order to supply a corpse to them.

In the movie, Dr. Knox is not the murderous body-snatcher’s customer, but MacFarlane’s mentor, and, in one of the movie’s scenes, MacFarlane tells the story of Burke and Hare to Joseph (Bela Lugosi), an assistant (and another blackmailer). A number of complications develop, which include additional murders.

A later British film, The Flesh and the Fiends (1960)—released in the U.S. as Mania—is also based on the Burke and Hare murders. Directed by John Gilling, it stars Peter Cushing as Robert Knox, Donald Pleasance as William Hare, and George Rose as William Hare.^[1]

9 Special Agent

The DeAutremont brothers—twins Roy (1900–1983) and Ray (1900–1984) and Hugh (1904–1959), committed the American West’s last train robbery, the Meriden, Connecticut, Record-Journal notes in a December 22, 1984, article. The brothers, the newspaper explains, “jumped aboard…the Southern Pacific’ Gold Special’ bound for San Francisco as it passed through a remote mountain tunnel near Ashland,” hoping to relieve the U. S. Post Office Department of the articles in the mail car.

Things did not go exactly as planned. The dynamite they used to blow open the car scattered its contents. Worse yet, four of the train’s crew were shot by the heavily armed brothers. The attempted robbery failed for the very good reason that, as the robbers later discovered, the money they attempted to steal was never even on the train.

Fleeing the scene of the crime, the brothers assumed aliases, with Hugh joining the army. He was stationed in the Philippines, where a buddy, having seen his likeness on a wanted poster, notified police of his whereabouts. After growing mustaches as a disguise, the other brothers took jobs at a steel mill, but they were followed to Steubenville, Ohio, by authorities who were not fooled by their mustaches.

Charged with murdering three of the train’s crew members, Hugh pleaded not guilty, while the twins confessed. Nevertheless, all three brothers were convicted and sentenced to life in prison. Hugh died there at age 55, but the twins were paroled, Ray in 1961 and Roy in 1983, after receiving a lobotomy in 1949. Asked what had possessed him and his brothers to attempt to rob the train and kill three people in the process, Ray said, “I suppose at the time I was carrying my share of adolescent neurosis.”

The attempted robbery and the murders committed by the DeAutremont brothers inspired the 1949 film Special Agent. Directed by William C. Thomas and starring William Eythe, the movie features two, rather than three, brothers, farmers Edmond and Paul Devereaux, played by Paul Valentine and George Reeves, respectively.

Hoping to avert the financial disaster threatening their farm, the brothers take it upon themselves to rob a train, which puts investigating Detective Johnny Douglas hot on their trail. To lend authenticity to the production, the opening credits point out, “This picture is based on material in the official files of the American Railroads,” but cites the fictitious “Devereaux Case,” rather than the crimes of the DeAutremont brothers.^[2]

8 The Hitch-Hiker

When he left prison at age 21, Billy “Cockeyed” Cook told his father that he had but one ambition in life: to live by the gun and roam. Hitchhiking in Texas in December 1950, he began living his dream as he kidnapped a driver who’d stopped to give him a ride. His victim, whom Cook had forced into the trunk of his car, escaped.

The next man Cook kidnapped, 33-year-old Illinois farmer Carl Mosser, who was on his way to New Mexico, was not as fortunate, nor was his family, who was traveling with him. They made the same mistake as Cook’s first victim: they stopped to offer the hitchhiking killer a ride.

After they drove to Cook’s hometown of Joplin, Missouri, Cook shot Mosser, his wife Thelma, 29; their sons Ronald, 7, and Gary, 5; and their daughter Pamela Sue, 2—and the family’s dog—before dumping their bodies down a well. Near Blythe, California, Cook kidnapped a deputy. The lawman was lucky; Cook had once worked with the deputy’s wife, who had treated him well, so Cook was generous: he spared his victim’s life.

A Seattle salesman named Robert Dewey was not as fortunate. Cook shot him, dumping his corpse into a ditch. The outlaw’s murder spree ended a few days later when the killer forced two hunters to drive him to Mexico. There, Santa Rosalie Police Chief Luis Parra recognized Cook, arrested him, and turned him over to the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

In Oklahoma, Cook was tried and convicted of killing Mosser and his family and received a sentence of 300 years in prison. The justice system was not finished with Cook, however. In California, found guilty of having murdered Dewey, he was sentenced to death. He was executed in San Quentin’s gas chamber on December 12, 1952, at age 23, having accomplished his life’s goal “to live by the gun and roam.”

As reporter Ben Cosgrove points out, in a Life magazine article concerning the killer, Cook became the subject of a movie “less than a year after he was put to death.” Written and directed by actress/director Ida Lupino and starring William Talman as Emmett Myers, The Hitch-Hiker is “one of [Hollywood’s] first films…clearly based on a killer whose crimes were still fresh in the minds of filmgoers.” ^[3]

7 The Night of the Hunter

Supposedly, Harry Powers was a self-described lonely heart. According to his 1939 American Friendship Society advertisement, he was a wealthy widower who earned between $400 and $2,000 a month and was worth more than $100,000. He also had a lovely “10-room brick home” in which his future wife could be more than comfortable; he promised to buy her a car and give her plenty of spending money, so she could “enjoy herself.”

Chicago widow Asta Eicher, 50, thought she had found Mr. Right. A man like Powers, who called himself “Mr. Pierson” in his ad, could support both her and her children—Greta, 14; Harry, 12; and Annabel, 9—very nicely, indeed! Oddly, it seemed that the couple would live in Eicher’s house rather than his 10-room brick home. To make room for the new love of her life, who visited her frequently at home, she asked her boarder, William O’Boyle, to move out.

When the former boarder returned to Eicher’s residence to retrieve some tools he had forgotten, he saw “Mr. Pierson,” but there was no sign of either his former landlady or her children. Oddly, Eicher’s boyfriend was busy carrying the family’s belongings from the house. Pierson could explain, though. Handing O’Boyle a letter, allegedly from Eicher, which supported his claims, he told O’Boyle that she and her children had moved to Colorado, asking him to take care of her outstanding personal business. Further details were unavailable, it seemed, which made O’Boyle suspicious, as it did the police, who decided an investigation was in order.

Love letters led investigators to a place near Quiet Dell, West Virginia, which would acquire the nickname “murder farm.” In a garage, police found Eicher’s personal property and the bodies of Eicher, her children, and another victim, Northboro (also spelled Northborough), Massachusetts, divorcee Dorothy Lemke, age 50.

Police discovered that Powers had preyed upon women for decades. A trunk on the premises contained over 100 letters to and from “loved-starved widows and spinsters from all over the country,” reports Mara Bovsun, in a New York Daily News article. His modus operandi had been to date the women, drain their bank accounts, and leave them—or, in the cases of Lemke, Eicher, and the latter’s family, kill them.

Less than two hours after the jury began its deliberation, members reached a verdict. Found guilty, Powers was sentenced to hang. Before his execution on March 18, 1932, he was asked if he had any final words to offer. The man who had confessed to police that he had hanged his victims one at a time, allowing 12-year-old Harry “to watch the killing of his mother and the others,” until the boy began to scream and Powers, fearing someone hearing the boy, “picked up a hammer and let him have it,” proved strangely reticent, saying simply, “No.” ^[4]

The Night of the Hunter (1955), directed by Charles Laughton and starring Robert Mitchum, Shelley Winters, Lillian Gish, and Billy Chapin, is loosely based on Powers’s crimes. However, the film departs significantly in some ways from its inspiration. Mitchum, as Harry Powell, a self-proclaimed minister who says he does God’s work by fleecing women out of their money before killing them, marries widow Willa Harper but encounters a problem when her children refuse to divulge the place in which their father hid the $10,000 he stole during a robbery. After killing Willa, he is arrested, and police rescue him from a lynch mob. As he is led away, however, the state’s executioner promises to see Powell again before long.

6 The Phenix City Story

Phenix City, Alabama, was a hotbed of lawlessness, both during the Great Depression when it was a refuge for bootleggers and following World War II, when nearby Fort Benning, Georgia, soldiers frequented its seedy bars, brothels, and gambling establishments. A Washington Times article points out that Albert Patterson, the Democratic candidate for state attorney general, attempted to clean the city up, but his assassination ended those efforts. It also made national headlines—and became the basis for a 1955 movie.” Patterson’s son, John, explained how corruption and vice mushroomed in Phenix City in the 1930s. The city “opted to permit illegal gambling to get the funds to run their town and pay off their bonded debt [and] folks…at the state Capitol looked the other way [and the feds] did not get involved.”

Once the criminals gained control of juries and ballots, Patterson was the last hope of the good citizens of the town. Unfortunately, he was murdered on June 18, 1954. Although Circuit Solicitor Arch Ferrell was tried and acquitted, Albert Fuller, Russell County’s chief sheriff’s deputy, was convicted of murdering Patterson and spent 10 years in prison before being paroled.

As a result of Patterson’s assassination, Governor Gordon Persons declared martial law and ordered the National Guard to act as local law enforcement. In addition, the local judiciary was replaced. Special agents of the state’s Investigative and Identification Division (now the Alabama Bureau of Investigation) launched an investigation, and “the organized crime syndicate running Phenix City was completely dismantled within six months.” Ultimately, it exposed the magnitude of the corruption and criminality that Patterson had opposed in Phenix City. Once the investigation was complete, the grand jury brought 734 indictments, including charges against many law enforcement officers, local business owners connected to organized crime, and elected officials.

The Phenix City Story (1955) is based on Patterson’s assassination. Directed by Phil Karlson, the movie makes Rhett Tanner (Edward Andrews) the city’s crime lord, who runs the town’s bars, brothels, and gambling establishments, while paying off the police. When political candidate Albert “Pat” Patterson (John McIntire) promises to clean up the corruption and vice, he is murdered, and his son John (Richard Kiley), having returned home after serving in the military, vows to avenge his father’s death.^[5]

5 While the City Sleeps

William Heirens, 17, the notorious “Lipstick Killer,” spent 65 years and 181 days of his three consecutive life sentences in prison, the last at the Dixon Correctional Center in Dixon, Illinois. That is where he died in 2012, at the age of 83, his confession to three murders having landed him in prison on November 15, 1928. The novel The Bloody Spur, by Charles Einstein, is based on Heirens’s heinous crimes. The book became the basis of the 1956 movie While the City Sleeps.

The killer’s victims included two women, Josephine Ross and Frances Brown, and 6- or 7-year-old Suzanne Degnan (accounts differ regarding her age). Brown had been stabbed through the neck and shot in the head. Ross had been stabbed repeatedly in the neck. Regarding all three victims, the killer’s motive, he confessed to police, was the same: sexual pleasure.

A contemporary account of the police’s investigation of the kidnapped child’s murder, which appeared in The Daily Banner, a Greencastle, Indiana, newspaper, describes the results of the horrific crime: “The child’s blonde, curly head, her legs and torso were found…in separate cesspools within a one-block radius of her parents’ home.” An ax had been used to dismember and decapitate her, police said.

While the City Sleeps (1956), directed by Fritz Lang, departs quite a bit from the actual crimes, focusing on a contest among a news company’s journalists to identify the serial murderer known as the “Lipstick Killer” (John Drew Barrymore). The winner received a promotion, becoming the organization’s new executive producer. The film also stars Dana Andrews, Rhonda Fleming, Ida Lupino, and George Sanders.^[6]

4 Butterfield 8

Starr Faithfull was a beautiful young flapper who, according to her diary, lived what police characterized as a promiscuous lifestyle that involved sexual escapades with 19 men. Her parents were poor, but her wealthy cousins paid her tuition at Rogers Hall Academy in Lowell, Massachusetts, an exclusive boarding school.

Unfortunately, an adult cousin, Andrew J. Peters, “doused her with ether…and seduced her,” often taking her on overnight road trips with him. As a teen, she behaved oddly at times, hiding her femininity by wearing boy’s attire. After her parents divorced and her mother, Helen, married Stanley Faithfull, Starr took his name as her surname. She began attending parties, abused alcohol, barbiturates, and inhalers. She behaved erratically and, on one occasion, overdosed on “sleeping drugs.”

When she reported Peters’s abuse to her mother, Peters bought Helen’s and Stanley’s silence. On June 8, 1931, Faithfull’s body was found on a deserted beach amid some seaweed. Perhaps intending to stow away aboard a ship bound for the Bahamas, she had drowned, her autopsy revealed, but “bruises suggested she had had help.”

Neither an investigation nor an inquest determined whether Faithfull’s death had resulted from murder or suicide. Still, her diary mentioned “AJP” as one of the men with whom she had had a sexual liaison. The public wondered whether the initials stood for her cousin, Andrew J. Peters, especially after Faithfull’s stepfather, believing her to have been murdered, confronted the district attorney about the case, accusing him of poorly investigating and prosecuting the case. He even gave the D.A. the agreement Peters had him sign in 1927 with a copy of the check he received—for $20,000—to “hold Peters harmless.”

After Faithfull’s death, it was reported that peters had a nervous breakdown. On the other hand, Dr. George Jameson Carr revealed that Faithfull had sent him letters, one of which referred to her dull and worthless life, declaring her desire for “oblivion.” Whether murder or suicide claimed Faithfull’s life, it seems clear that her cousin’s sexual abuse may well have contributed to her demise.

The story of Faithfull’s fateful life is the basis of Butterfield 8 (1960), directed by Daniel Mann, in which Elizabeth Taylor reluctantly plays Starr Faithfull. A later biography revealed that she did not want to play the part but was under contract with MGM Studios, who forced her to star in the film. Despite her reluctance to portray Faithfull, Taylor won an Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance in Butterfield 8.^[7]

3 Mad Dog Coll

Critics were not kind to Mad Dog Coll (1961). The New York Times’s reviewer Harold Thompson thought the film “belongs back in the pound.” Directed by Burt Balaban, the movie stars John Davis Chandler as Mad Dog Coll and Vincent Gardenia as Dutch Schultz; Telly Savalas appears as Lt. Darro. The film opens with a memorable scene: Coll machine-gunning his abusive father’s headstone.

As the leader of a street gang, he keeps his Tommy gun handy and never hesitates to use it to spray his enemies with bullets. In general, the movie’s plot plays fast and loose with the life and crimes of Vincent “Mad Dog” Coll. The sensationalized nature of the film is made clear to prospective audiences by its poster’s description of the hitman as a “maniac with a machine gun” and his terrifying effect on crime lords who “tremble when Killer Coll calls.”

That’s not to say that Coll was anything but a vicious, ruthless killer, the worst of his acts being the killing of a child, albeit accidentally. Active during Prohibition, Coll was wild and unpredictable, and he was reckless. After Dutch Schultz killed his brother Peter in May 1931, Coll sought revenge by hunting down and killing four of Schultz’s men in the next three weeks. In addition, his gang and Schultz’s continued to face off—often amid gunfire—in the streets of New York, where many men fell dead.

In June, as he attempted to kidnap rival bootlegger Joseph Rao, a spray of his bullets struck five children, killing a five-year-old boy. The horrendous deed resulted in New York’s Mayor Jimmy Walker calling Coll a “Mad Dog.” Later brought to trial, Coll was acquitted, only to be shot on February 8, 1932. At age 23, Mad Dog was dead.^[8]

2 10 to Midnight

10 to Midnight, the 1983 movie directed by J. Lee Thompson and starring Charles Bronson as Detective Leo Kessler, is based on the murders committed by Richard Speck. The criminal’s cinematic counterpart, Warren Stacey (Gene Davis), is an amoral, nearly psychotic serial killer who delights in the murder of naked women—with himself also in the nude. Willing to do whatever needs to be done to take the ruthless killer off the street, Kessler plants evidence, despite his partner’s objections, and, when the suspect is released on a technicality, goes after him: a cop turned vigilante.

The particulars of Richard Speck’s crimes are fairly well known. On July 14, 1966, he killed eight women, all student nurses, in a Chicago townhouse. The horror of the killings came back to John Schmale when he discovered a cardboard box in his basement after inspecting the cellar after it had flooded. The box contained four carousels of slides, heavily damaged and water-logged. They were part of the legacy left to him by his father. The slides included images of his sister Nina, one of Speck’s victims.

Ironically, Speck’s deeds made him infamous, while his victims have been largely forgotten. Schmale believed they should be remembered: Nina Jo Schmale, Patricia Ann Matusek, Pamela Lee Wilkening, Mary Ann Jordan, Suzanne Bridget Farris, Valentina Pasion, Merlita Gargullo, and Gloria Jean Davy.

The 2007 horror movie Chicago Massacre is also based on the Richard Speck murders. It was directed by Michael Feifer and stars Corin Nemec as Speck. The film begins with the father’s abuse of the main character as a child, which causes the boy to run away from home. Subsequently, he marries, is divorced, and begins his torture-and-murder spree. Afterward, he drifts until an attempt at suicide lands him in a hospital, where a doctor spots a tattoo that alerts him to the fact that his patient is wanted by the authorities. Speck is arrested, tried, convicted, and sentenced to life in prison, where he dies.^[9]

1 To Die For

Although accounts of high school educators, both male and female, having sex with students have increased dramatically in recent years, such trysts were far less common—or perhaps only far less commonly reported—in the past. In 1990, one such case involved 22-year-old Pamela Smart, a New Hampshire high school media coordinator found guilty of conspiring with a student, William Flynn, then 15, with whom she was having an affair, to kill her husband. To this day, Smart, now 54, says she never asked Flynn to kill anyone, but she has been twice denied a reduction of her life sentence.

The murder of Smart’s husband, Greggory, inspired the 1995 movie To Die For, directed by Gus Van Sant. It stars Nicole Kidman as Suzanne Stone-Maretto, a Smart-like woman seeking independence from her husband Larry Maretto (Matt Dillon), and Joaquin Phoenix as Jimmy Emmett, the teen she seduces into murdering Larry.

As might be expected, details of the film’s plot differ somewhat from those of the true crime on which the movie is based. Stone-Maretto, an aspiring television journalist, wants her husband dead for reasons that differ from Smart’s motive. Likewise, in the actual crime, the Mafia played no role in avenging the husband’s death, as the mob does in the film. Art may imitate life, but the two are seldom the same.

Although the movie was generally well-received, one person did not care for Kidman’s portrayal of the murderous seducer—Smart herself. Smart found the Academy Award-winning actress’s representation of her both embarrassing and inaccurate as well as simplistic. Although Smart considers Kidman an acclaimed actress, the convicted killer finds Kidman to have played her as though Smart is a complete airhead and points out that Kidman never consulted her about how to play the part. Instead, the actress “played a one dimensional character.” Smart insisted, “I’m not that person.” ^[10]

There’s a famous saying that truth is stranger than fiction, so it stands to reason that reality is simply more interesting than fiction. That is probably why writers so frequently base characters on people they have met, people who have quirkier and more interesting traits than anything the writer could conjure himself. Here is a list of some classic characters you may not have known were based on real people.

Some people are only familiar with globetrotting comic reporter Tintin through the Steven Spielberg film that came out in recent years, but the character has been around since 1929, the creation of Belgian comic writer Herge. Over 200 million volumes chronicling Tintin’s adventures have been sold, and he became one of the most beloved international comic strip characters in history.

But even those who are familiar with the comics might not know about the real life inspiration for Tintin Danish Boy Scout named Palle Huld, who at the age of 15 won a contest to re-enact Phineas Fogg’s circumnavigation of the globe in the novel Around the World in 80 Days. Of course, unlike Fogg, Huld needed only 44 days to complete the trip. This took place in 1928, less than a year before Tintin debuted. Some people believe Tintin was based on another young adventurer named Robert Sexe, but one look at Huld should give anyone pause and convince just about anyone that he was, indeed, the real-life Tintin.

Ebenezer Scrooge is the infamous miser from the Charles Dickens classic A Christmas Carol, who learns the error of his ways when he is visited by three ghosts on Christmas Eve. It is one of the most told and retold tales in modern literature, ranging from CGI retellings to re-imaginings like Scrooged. But while you are no doubt familiar with the story, you may not have realized that Scrooge is based on a real-life person named John Elwes.

Elwes was an 18th century politician and notorious penny pincher, and despite having a vast fortune he lived like a homeless hermit, by all accounts. He would eat rotten food and live in abandoned houses rather than finding himself a home or buying food that wasn’t totally gross. The eccentric miser was born into money but refused to spend any of it, choosing instead to live in squalor in order to save his fortune.

Other than the titular character, Severus Snape is likely the most widely recognized character from the Harry Potter universe. A cold and morally ambiguous character, he is almost immediately an enemy of Harry and his friends, and was brought to life on the big screen by Alan Rickman. But certainly, a potentially evil wizard in this young adult novel about all things magic could not have possibly been inspired by anyone in the real world, right?

If you said “of course not” then we hate to break it to you, but Professor Snape was in fact based on a real person named John Nettleship. So what did this man ever do to inspire such a loathsome sounding character? Why, he was JK Rowling’s teacher, of course. Snape taught potions at Hogwarts, so it makes a bit of sense that Rowling would use her former chemistry teacher as the inspiration. Nettleship did not know he was the inspiration for the character until the films came out and his students, along with his wife, pieced things together. Rowling’s mother actually worked as an assistant in the chemistry department under Nettleship, so we can’t help but wonder what the real life professor, who dies in 2011, thought about the revelation that Snape was in love with Harry’s mother.

You might not have ever heard the name Dave Toschi, but you have no doubt watched some incarnation of the man in any of the numerous films in which he was an outright character, or the inspiration for a character. Toschi was an inspector for the San Francisco Police Department, and was the chief investigator on the infamous Zodiac Killer case. He has been portrayed as himself by Mark Ruffalo in the film Zodiac, and Steve McQueen took some inspiration from Toschi for the character of Bullitt, but even more impressive is the fact that Toschi is the man on which the entire Dirty Harry franchise is based.

If you are familiar with the original Dirty Harry film, it should not come as a surprise to learn that he was based on Toschi, though obviously some liberties were taken to turn him into more of a badass than he was in real life. The film echoes the investigation into the Zodiac killings, with “Dirty” Harry Callahan working on tracking down the killer. Of course, unfortunately, unlike Callahan, Toschi never got his man as the Zodiac killings remain unsolved to this day.

The Picture of Dorian Gray is the only novel that famed wit Oscar Wilde ever wrote, and it tells the story of a man of unsurpassed beauty who has his likeness painted as a portrait. To make a long story short, Dorian sells his soul in order to maintain his youth and beauty while the painting version himself ages instead. It’s a bit of a strange and supernatural tale, but the character of Dorian Gray, believe it or not, was based on a real man named John Gray.

John Gray was an acquaintance of Wilde, and that’s really just a nicer way of saying he was one of Wilde’s many trysts. The real Gray was a poet who traveled in the same social circles as Wilde, and was reputedly an “Adonis” of a man. While Wilde did not bother to change his last name for the fictionalized version, he did change John to Dorian, but it was for a very specific purpose. The Dorians were an ancient Greek tribe that famously practiced and engaged in sex between men. Apparently, when the story came out the real Gray was mortified, as it was abundantly clear that the titular character was based on himself, and the connection caused a rift between he and Wilde.

Norman Bates, the titular Psycho in the classic Alfred Hitchcock film, can be most aptly described as a sick puppy. While he is a transcendent horror movie villain, you may not realize he has something in common with such other horror villains Leatherface from Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Buffalo Bill from Silence of the Lambs. You know, other than being a twisted murderer. As it turns out, all three characters are based on the same man: Ed Gein.

Gein was a brutal murderer in the 1950’s in Wisconsin, a 51 year old handyman who the police discovered had butchered women and, just like Buffalo Bill in Silence of the Lambs, was attempting to make a “woman suit” out of their skin. Body parts had been chopped off and strewn about Gein’s little farmhouse. The man who went on to pen the novel Psycho lived less than an hour away from where this took place, and quickly turned to fictionalizing this deranged and brutal string of murders.

Indiana Jones, famed adventurer and archaeologist extraordinaire who enjoyed nothing more than ditching his work as a college professor to go gallivanting around the world in search of lost treasures, is one of the most beloved characters in cinematic history. For the most part, the character and his stories take their cues from the serial adventures of the early 20th century, but believe it or not, Indy was also inspired by several real life people. No one knows exactly which adventurers he is truly based on, and in likelihood is an amalgamation of several people, but none is more apparent than Hiram Bingham III.

Bingham was a professor in the history of Latin America at Yale University, where he worked from 1907-1915. Most famously, however, he was the man who re-discovered Machu Picchu. One of the connections between Bingham and Indiana Jones is actually a separate movie called Secret of the Incas, a 1954 film starring Charlton Heston as a character named Harry Steele, who explores the lost city of Machu Picchu. Steele, of course, was inspired largely by Bingham, and the makers of Raiders of the Lost Ark have openly admitted to basing Indiana Jones largely on Harry Steele.

Just like with Indiana Jones, it’s hard to believe that James Bond could have actually been based on a real person. And, as with Indiana Jones, it turns out that no one is quite sure exactly who 007 is inspired by, but there are several prime suspects from author Ian Fleming’s own days as member of British Intelligence. However, many believe the most direct inspiration for Britain’s top secret agent was a man named Forest Yeo-Thomas, renowned as one of the UK’s top spies during World War II.

Yeo-Thomas parachuted into occupied territory three times on secret missions and reported directly to Winston Churchill. He was actually captured and tortured by the Gestapo before being placed in a concentration camp, but escaped and made his way back to allied territory. As it turns out, it was not long after this that Fleming held a briefing about Yeo-Thomas and his exploits in escaping from the Nazis. Considering they did not actually work together during the war, yet Fleming was clearly fascinated by Yeo-Thomas, it lends credence to the theory that the agent known as “White Rabbit” was certainly one of the strongest inspirations for James Bond.

Over the years, Zorro has become something of a superhero in popular culture. The masked, swashbuckling, sword fighting vigilante was created in 1919, and has been the star of many books, television shows, and movies. It’s hard to believe that a character like that could have actually been based on a real person, but as it turns out, Zorro was indeed inspired by a man named Joaquin Murrieta, also known as the Mexican Robin Hood.

Born in 1829, Murrieta found success mining for gold in California before his family was attacked and murdered by American miners. He was unable to find justice through the legal system, so that’s when he became the vigilante that would inspire Zorro. He formed a gang to exact his revenge on the men who had attacked his family and raped his wife, and he and his gang continued to rob banks and commit murder until the Texas Rangers became involved and tracked down and killed Murrieta in 1853. Soon after his death, the legend of Joaquin Murrieta began to spread and he became a folk hero of sorts.

At first glance, Sherlock Holmes and a medical lecturer might not seem to have much in common. After all, Holmes is perhaps the greatest fictional detective of all-time, and certainly the most famous. However, when you really stop to think about it, it makes sense that Holmes would be based on a medical doctor renowned for his keen observational skills and superior intelligence. That man was Dr. Joseph Bell, and he was a lecturer at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland in the 19th century.

Bell was an acquaintance of Holmes’ creator Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and in fact served as the doctor’s clerk at the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary. Bell was famous for being able to observe a man and instantly deduce things he could not possibly have known, which should like a familiar trait to anyone even loosely aware of Sherlock Holmes. Reportedly, Bell even advised the police in several investigations in Scotland, including the Ardlamont Mystery, and testified as an expert witness in the ensuing murder trial.