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38 Haunting Facts, Behind-the-Scenes Tidbits and Real-Life Horror Stories From the Production of Scary Movies

These range from sort-of-interesting to vomit-inducing-horror

38 Haunting Facts, Behind-the-Scenes Tidbits and Real-Life Horror Stories From the Production of Scary Movies

April 07, 2024

What’s a horror movie shoot but an occult gathering with the intention of conjuring up supernatural terror?

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38

BTS STORIES FROM HORROR MOVIES 2005 THE AMITYVILLE HORROR Before production for this remake began, a dead body washed up on set. During filming, Ryan Reynolds and the rest of the team would wake up at 3:15am, the same time around which Ronald DeFeo Jr. killed his family in the events that inspired the franchise. CRACKED.COM — Source

37

Return to Babylon

BTS STORIES FROM HORROR MOVIES 2013 RETURN TO BABYLON Not a horror movie, but the story is too juicy to pass. During production, actresses Jennifer Tilly and Maria Cochita Alonso said they felt weird presences. Then, while editing the film, the director saw ghostly images and distorted faces (that were left in the final film.) CRACKED.COM — Source

36

Twilight Zone

BTS STORIES FROM HORROR MOVIES 1983 TWILIGHT ZONE: THE MOVIE The tragic helicopter accident that killed actor Vic Morrow and two child actors was just due to gross negligence from the higher-ups. The spooky-ass coincidence, though, is that Morrow got a $1 million life insurance in 1974 because, I have always had a premonition that I'll be killed in a helicopter crash. CRACKED.COM — Source

35

The Lords of Salem

BTS STORIES FROM HORROR MOVIES 2012 THE LORDS OF SALEM Some sequences were shot at the Linda Vista Hospital in Los Angeles, which has an infamous spooky reputation. Filming in the basement would make people sick, and the crew would report weird and random sounds at other empty parts of the hospital. CRACKED.COM — Source

34

BTS STORIES FROM HORROR MOVIES 1968 ROSEMARY'S BABY Shortly after release, composer Krzysztof Komeda went into a coma after falling off a cliff, and soon died. Producer William Castle got hate mail, developed kidney stones, and hallucinated about the film at the hospital, eventually screaming, Rosemary, for God's sake, drop the knife! And finally, there's the infamous fate of Roman Polanski's wife, Sharon Tate. CRACKED.COM — Source

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BTS STORIES FROM HORROR MOVIES 2010 INSIDIOUS The crew would feel sick while filming hospital scenes. On other parts of the set that were not being used, strange noises would be heard, including a buzzer repeatedly sounding off from an empty room. CRACKED.COM — Source

32

The Ring Two

BTS STORIES FROM HORROR MOVIES 2005 THE RING TWO A burst water pipe flooded the production office, and weeks later a five-gallon water jug burst wide open and flooded it yet again. Then, on the set, a swarm of bees attacked and then simply vanished. Finally, a set decorator saw an antlered buck running in her direction (no reports on whether it was dodgy CGI, though). CRACKED.COM — Source

31

BTS STORIES FROM HORROR MOVIES 2011 THE INNKEEPERS The movie is based on a haunted hotel Ti West where and his crew stayed while shooting The House of the Devil. During production, they witnessed flickering lights, slamming doors, and according to West, actress Sara Paxton would wake up in the middle of the night thinking someone was in the room with her. CRACKED.COM — Source

30

BTS STORIES FROM HORROR MOVIES 2012 THE POSSESSION Actor Jeffrey Dean Morgan did not believe in spooks, but he does now. While filming, Morgan would feel random cold breezes, a light went from being turned off to exploding, and a fire engulfed a storage room full of props (including the possessed Dibbuk box prop the movie revolves around). CRACKED.COM — Source

29

BTS STORIES FROM HORROR MOVIES 1982 POLTERGEIST Tragedy followed this film. Actress Dominique Dunne was strangled and died in the same year the film came out, and Heather O'Rourke died of cardiac arrest at age 12, in 1988. A priest exorcized the set of the 1986 sequel, so maybe it all comes from the original using actual human remains for the pool scene. CRACKED.COM — Source

28

BTS STORIES FROM HORROR MOVIES 2016 THE CONJURING 2 Director James Wan talked about self-moving curtains: None of the doors were opened ... They just moved on their own. And I just watched the video Patrick showed me and this person who was filming just walked right up to the curtain ... and there's no one there swaying it, and there's no wind in the room. CRACKED.COM — Source

27

The Exorcist

BTS STORIES FROM HORROR MOVIES 1973 THE EXORCIST The home where the movie would be filmed caught on fire, so filming was delayed. During the shoot, actress Ellen Burstyn was injured, and her scream of agony can be heard in the film. Relatives of Linda Blair and Max Von Sydow died during production, and two actors died shortly after production wrapped. CRACKED.COM — Source

26

BTS STORIES FROM HORROR MOVIES 2013 THE CONJURING Things mysteriously changed places in the Warrens' store room. Actress Joey King became covered with bruises, while Vera Farmiga woke up with three scratch marks on her thigh, and the same marks would also appear on her laptop and cellphone. Also, Farmiga would wake up between 3 and 4 a.m., the same time at which the witch dies in the film. CRACKED.COM — Source

25

BTS STORIES FROM HORROR MOVIES 1986 MAXIMUM OVERDRIVE Cars broke down, a hurricane destroyed sets, a cameraman almost died during a truck stunt gone wrong, and cinematographer Armando Nannuzzi lost an eye during an accident. During a killer lawnmower scene, Stephen King apparently insisted on keeping its metal blades, and it ended up shooting a piece of wood straight at Nannuzzi. CRACKED.COM — Source

24

Annabelle Comes Home

BTS STORIES FROM HORROR MOVIES 2019 ANNABELLE COMES HOME The set for the third Annabelle installment was so spooky, a priest had to intervene. A piano bench would move by itself, door knocks would be randomly heard, and performers saw shadowy figures on the set. CRACKED.COM — Source

23

BTS STORIES FROM HORROR MOVIES 2005 THE EXORCISM OF EMILY ROSE During filming, the radios of actresses Jennifer Carpenter and Laura Linney would turn on by themselves, right in the middle of Pearl Jam's Alive. Cool song, but also, they would start shouting right where the lyrics scream I'm still alive. Eventually, all the radios were unplugged to avoid, erm, messages. CRACKED.COM — Source

22

Ghost of Goodnight Lane

BTS STORIES FROM HORROR MOVIES 2014 GHOST OF GOODNIGHT LANE A movie about a haunted set filmed at said haunted set... had a haunted set. Before production, a specialized team considered Media World Studios actually haunted. Then, while doing the movie, lights flickered, things would move around, and disembodied voices could be heard. People felt slapped by invisible forces, and even reported visions of unknown figures. CRACKED.COM — Source

21

BTS STORIES FROM HORROR MOVIES 2014 ANNABELLE During filming, they found markings in doors and windows resembling three fingers, just as the demon in the movie. Moreover, a light fixture almost fell on top of the actor playing the janitor - right where the janitor is actually killed by the demon. CRACKED.COM — Source

20

BTS STORIES FROM HORROR MOVIES 2006 THE OMEN A processing lab accident destroyed 13,500 feet of film during post-production, requiring the scene revealing young Damian's 666 birthmark to be reshot. Still, this loses the paranormal edge because it was revealed in 2021 that the fire was caused by religious protesters. CRACKED.COM — Source

19

BTS STORIES FROM HORROR MOVIES 1976 THE OMEN On two separate occasions, airplanes carrying actor Gregory Peck and the film's executive producers were hit by lighting. The FX artists that designed the iconic decapitation scene were in a car crash and witnessed an actual decapitation not long after production. Oh, and the animal trainer was mauled by a tiger one day after filming the baboon scene. CRACKED.COM — Source

18

Horror movies on streaming peacock Dracula The movie didn't have a musical score for a long time, until Philip Glass created one in 1998. CRACKED.COM — Source

17

Horror movies on streaming peacock Army of Darkness Sam Raimi originally wanted the movie's title to be The Medieval Dead, as it is the third film of the Evil Dead franchise. CRACKED.COM — Source

16

Horror movies on streaming HBO hulu peacock max Paramount+ The Blair Witch Project There was no script, only a 35-page outline for the actors to improvise dialogue around. CRACKED.COM — Source

15

The Wolf Man

Horror movies on streaming peacock The Wolf Man Bela Legosi auditioned for the part, but lost it to Lon Chaney Jr. (But he's Dracula, so he's already a horror icon.) CRACKED.COM — Source

14

Horror movies on streaming Tucker & Dale prime video vs. Evil The DVD release included a special feature cut of the film from the college kids' POV, seeing Tucker and Dale as evil murderers. CRACKED.COM — Source

13

Horror movies on streaming HBO NETFLIX It max Even though Derry, Maine is supposed to be your typical New England town, the scenes were actually shot in Port Hope, Canada. CRACKED.COM — Source

12

Horror movies on streaming NETFLIX Raw Due to the film's graphic nature, at least one movie theater in Los Angeles offered movie goers custom-made barf bags. CRACKED.COM — Source

11

Horror movies on streaming HBO max The Exorcist When the film was first released, police in Washington, D.C. were arresting people who sold tickets to anyone under 18 years old. CRACKED.COM — Source

10

Horror movies on streaming NETFLIX The Mist Director Frank Darabont took six weeks to prepare, even though he previously never prepped a movie in less than five months. CRACKED.COM — Source

9

Horror movies on streaming Titane hulu At the Cannes Film Festival in 2021, Director Julia Ducournau became the second woman to win the Palme d'Or. CRACKED.COM — Source

8

Horror movies on streaming A Nightmare HBO on Elm Street max Freddy wears a red and green sweater because Wes Craven read on Scientific American that the human eye doesn't like seeing those colors together. CRACKED.COM — Source

7

Horror movies on streaming hulu Let the Right One In The kids weren't allowed to read the script, but their parents were, and had to approve everything before scenes were shot. CRACKED.COM — Source

6

Horror movies on streaming Halloween Ends Jeremy watches The Thing on TV, peacock another John Carpenter franchise. CRACKED.COM — Source

5

Horror movies on streaming HBO max Poltergeist Drew Barrymore auditioned to play little Carol Anne, but Stephen Spielberg thought she'd be better suited for his next feature, E.T. CRACKED.COM — Source

4

Horror movies on streaming HBO max The Omen The film had two title changes. It was originally titled The Antichrist nd then The Birthmark, before landing on the title we know today. CRACKED.COM — Source

3

Horror movies on streaming It Follows NETFLIX The film is based on an anxiety dream writer/director David Robert Mitchell had of people menacing him. CRACKED.COM — Source

2

Horror movies on streaming SHOWTIME aMC+ SHUDDER The Texas Chainsaw Massacre Gunnar Hansen wasn't originally cast as Leatherface. The original actor got drunk at a motel and quit after feeling bad karma from the film shoot. CRACKED.COM — Source

1

Horror movies on streaming HBO max The Shining Stephen King sent a script adaptation of his novel to director Stanley Kubrick. Kubrick didn't bother to read it. CRACKED.COM — Source

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