Hollywood has long realized that one of the surest ways to reach the public’s pocket is with a chill down their spine.
But some of the biggest horror movies in history have left cast and crew with their own chilling real-life stories.
From on-set filming to behind-the-scenes exorcisms, here we reveal how on many occasions it wasn’t just the viewers who wanted to hide behind the sofa.
The exorcist
The Exorcist is probably one of the most well-known horror films made in recent years.
The Exorcist is probably one of the most well-known horror films made in recent years.
For many, although the film was first released in 1973, and at the time was called the scariest film ever made, it still gives some people the chills.
The plot tells the story of a demonic possession of a girl and a Catholic priest who is asked to come and exorcise the entity.
What some people may not know is that in one case, the set used as the family home caught fire after a bird flew into a circuit box, the sun information.
But in a sinister twist, the only section to survive the fire was the bedroom where the exorcisms were performed in the film. The fire ended up delaying filming by six weeks.
However, in case the set was haunted by an evil spirit, the team enlisted the help of a Jesuit priest to bless the set after the incident.
The spooky stuff didn’t end there, however, because the main reason people believe the set was cursed was because of the number of deaths associated with its cast.
For Jack MacGowran and Vasiliki Maliaros, both characters died in the 1973 film. However, both also died in real life shortly after filming on the film was completed.
Stars Linda Blair and Max Von Sydow were also affected by the so-called ‘curse’, and Linday’s grandfather was also affected during the production of the show, while Max’s brother passed away on the first day Max was on set.
Jason Miller, who played Jesuit priest Damian Karras, also had a near-death experience when he was hit by a motorcycle during filming.
Elf
Shortly before the release of the third film in 1988, four cast members, including 12-year-old Heather O’Rourke, pictured, died in 1988 after cardiac arrest and septic shock.
People have had suspicions that Poltergeist is accused of allegedly using real human remains during filming.
In one scene, movie star JoBeth Williams is dragged into her family’s pool and, trying to get out, comes across corpses and decomposing skeletons.
He said he had “assumed” they were “prop skeletons” made of plastic, but later discovered, along with the crew, that they were using real skeletons, as it is “too expensive to make fake skeletons out of rubber.”
Shortly before the release of the third film in 1988, four cast members, including 12-year-old Heather O’Rourke, died following cardiac arrest and septic shock.
Dominique Dunne, 22, who played the older sister of O’Rourke’s character, was supposed to be strangled by her ex-boyfriend just months after the film’s release.
In 2009, Lour Perryman was also hacked to death with an ax by an ex-convict.
Shortly before the release of the third film in 1988, four cast members, including 12-year-old Heather O’Rourke, died following cardiac arrest and septic shock.
Dominique Dunne, 22, who played the older sister of O’Rourke’s character, died after being strangled by her ex-boyfriend just months after the film’s release.
In 2009, Lour Perryman was also hacked to death with an ax by an ex-convict.
annabelle
Annabelle and her sequel apparently had strange incidents, including lamps apparently falling and the doll moving on its own.
Many of us will remember the creepy Annabelle doll and how we could forget the way it made us feel to have that terrifying figure staring at us through the screen.
To make matters worse, both Annabelle and her sequel apparently suffered from strange incidents, such as the lamps falling and the doll moving on its own.
The film’s producer, Peter Safran, told The Hollywood Reporter: “In particular, the first day that the demon was filming in full makeup, we took him up in the elevator.
“He comes out and walks towards the green room where we have the talent, and just as he passes under it, the actor playing the building’s maintenance staff follows a giant glass chandelier, and suddenly the whole glass chandelier falls on his head. , the head of the janitor.
And in the script the demon kills the janitor in that hallway. It was totally strange.’
ring two
A series of strange events happened in the movie that mirror the movie.
A series of strange events happened in the movie that mirror the movie.
Water was used to symbolically represent an evil spirit, while in real life the production office was also flooded.
During production, a supposedly six-foot-tall deer ran toward Jeannine Bourdaghs, a customer, and she said that if she had been a few feet ahead, the deer probably would have crashed directly into her at nearly 100 miles per hour.
Ironically, in the movie itself a character, named Samara, tries to kill Rachael and Aidan with a deer.
the crow
The Crow starred Brandon Lee, pictured, son of martial artist Bruce Lee.
The Crow starred Brandon Lee, son of martial artist Bruce Lee.
The film was to be the actor’s breakthrough role, however, during production, Brandon died after being shot with a prop gun accidentally loaded with a real bullet.
It hit the 28-year-old actor’s abdomen and unfortunately caused his death. However, his father was only 32 years old when he too died, leading some to think that the family was somehow cursed.
The liberation
The film’s production experienced some strange cases in arriving at this list.
The most recent movie on this list is Netflix’s The Deliverance 2024.
The film’s production experienced some strange occurrences including actor Mo’Nique being taken to the hospital and director Lee Daniel’s dog dying.
Furthermore, the director also later revealed how his sister was diagnosed with lung cancer just days before he was to film a chemotherapy scene.
The omen
The 1976 film also had a number of tragic circumstances surrounding its production.
The 1976 film also had a number of tragic circumstances surrounding its production.
Just two months before filming, lead actor Gregory Peck had a tragedy in his family when his son took his own life.
Additionally, while traveling to London to film the film, the award-winning actor’s plane was struck by lightning. The film’s producer, Mace Neufeld, faced the same situation.
As part of the film, they had planned to rent a plane to film aerial shots in Israel, however at the last minute the planes were changed and in the end the original location crashed killing everyone on board.
To really cement the curse rumors, John Richardson, the film’s special effects designer behind the famous beheading scene, was in a car accident while sculptor Liz Moore was in the passenger seat.
Richardson survived the incident, but Moore was decapitated.
He also claimed that when he got out of the car he saw a road sign that said he was 66.6 kilometers from the city of Ommen.
