Despite its grittiness, horror is an inherently fantastical genre. While slashers and other horror subgenres lean towards realism, they also possess elements of a heightened reality. One could even argue that the closer horror films veer toward reality, the more they eventually leave the genre entirely and become thrillers. We can’t help it; we crave the supernatural aspects of horror, however minuscule.
However, that doesn’t mean that countless horror movies don’t owe their existence to real-world events. The final product audiences interact with may bear scant resemblance to reality, but the premise that powers most horror films reflects the gruesome realities of headlines. Horror movies based on actual events automatically merit attention, as they help amplify our fear. From exorcisms to deranged psycho killers, here’s Complex’s top 10 terrifying horror movies based on true stories in 2025.
While you’re here, check out these other horrific reads:
15 Best One-Word Horror Movies Of All-Time, Ranked
20 Scariest Horror Games Of All-Time (2025)
31 Best Horror Movies of All Time, Ranked
Best Halloween TV Specials to Watch in 2025
The 20 Best Horror Franchises of All Time (Ranked)
10 Forgotten Horror Games You Need to Play in 2025
Thanks to George A. Romero and his brilliant Dead film series, the concept of zombies has shifted from its original connotation. Before Romero’s reinvention, which presented zombification as a viral plague, the traditional idea of a zombie came from Haitian Vodou. In his 1988 classic, The Serpent and the Rainbow, acclaimed horror director Wes Craven returns to the monster’s mystical roots. Adapting Wade Davis’s nonfiction book of the same name, wherein Davis presents the case of a “rehabilitated zombie” named Clairvius Narcisse, The Serpent and the Rainbow delves deep into the hallucinogenic chemicals that purportedly help Vodou practitioners control their victims.
Serial killers and their detestable exploits will always be premium fodder for horror premises. The concept of murderers lurking behind the polite masks of everyday civilians is too terrifying to ever fade from narrative utility. 2002’s Dahmer, starring eventual Avenger Jeremy Renner, translates the horrific story of one of America’s most deranged serial killers in a grisly yet grounded manner that subsequent Dahmer adaptations have seemingly eclipsed in mainstream popularity. Responsible for the murder of 17 young men, Jeffery Dahmer’s story has fueled a plethora of film adaptations, but 2002’s Dahmer is arguably the most compelling movie of the bunch.
Although Steven Spielberg’s 1975 monster hit Jaws will always be the film most audiences associate with sharks, 2003’s Open Water isn’t based on apocryphal accounts like its predecessor. The unsolved disappearances of Tom and Eileen Lonergan inspired Open Water and gave the film its unsettling survival horror appeal. On a routine scuba trip to Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, the boat escorting the couple accidentally left the Lonergans out at sea. Unfortunately for the Lonergans, the ship’s crew didn’t notice their disappearance until two days later, almost certainly sealing their grim fates. The Longergans were never recovered and are presumed dead.
Modern society’s distance from the natural world makes it easy to forget that primitive civilizations viewed wild animals as monsters. 2001’s horror-action fusion, The Brotherhood of the Wolf, centers on one such event, known in France as the Beast of Gévaudan. Between 1764 and 1767, a horde of still-undetermined animals was responsible for over 200 attacks, resulting in 113 deaths. Survivors described the creatures as a curious mix of traits, leaving the animals’ identities a mystery. Some claimed the animals were the size of a cow, with wolf-like features, whereas others described their hides as unlike those of the likely suspects.
When The Texas Chainsaw Massacre first hit theaters in 1974, audiences believed the film’s events were real. Part of this belief falls on the shoulders of director Tobe Hooper, who intentionally misled filmgoers to hype the movie’s word of mouth. Even though the Texas Chainsaw Massacre depicted in the film didn’t happen, the film is rooted in truth. Based on the notorious and hideous murderer Ed Gein, who also served as the basis for Psycho‘s Norman Bates, Tobe Hooper created his iconic slasher villain, Leatherface, to embody fear for a new generation. Although Bates came first, Leatherface’s brutality is unmatched.
The Scream franchise is beloved for how much it revels in and lampoons the tropes of the slasher genre. While the various icons of the slasher genre undoubtedly influenced the original 1996 film and its memorable antagonist, Ghostface, Scream owes its origins to a real-world horror. After watching a program recounting the events of the Danny Harold Rolling and the Gainesville student murders, screenwriter Kevin Williamson fictionalized the event for the screenplay that would become Scream. Rolling, who went on a five murder and robbery spree in the summer of 1990, used a knife to terrorize college students in Gainesville, Florida.
Freddy Krueger is one of the most implausible horror villains ever conceived, and that’s precisely why audiences love him. With his fantastical ability to manipulate the dream world, Freddy Krueger’s powers seem far too absurd ever to have any tangible basis in reality. However, the character’s creator, Wes Craven, drew on real events to craft the beloved horror icon. In the early 80s, a large swath of otherwise healthy Southeast Asian refugees, who fled the deadly Khmer Rouge, exhibited a bizarre aversion towards sleep, fearing that they would never wake up. Unfortunately for 104 male refugees, their apprehensions were well-founded.
Jeffery Dahmer isn’t the only serial killer to have a lasting impact on pop culture, for better or worse. Although there have been others, David Fincher’s 2007 film Zodiac is arguably the best adaptation of the mysterious and eponymous serial killer. In reality, the Zodiac Killer is a still unidentified serial murderer who terrorized San Francisco in the late 60s. Known for taunting the police with confessional letters and cryptograms, the Zodiac Killer has perplexed investigators while simultaneously inspiring horror screenwriters for decades. Villains inspired by the Zodiac Killer include John Doe in Se7en, Scorpio in Dirty Harry, and others.
While there’s never conclusive proof of the existence of apparitions or supernatural beings, several people have recounted experiences of otherworldly, paranormal phenomena. One of the best examples is the Lutz family, which served as the basis for 1978’s The Amityville Horror. Based on Jay Anson’s book, which tells the story of the Lutz family’s brief residence in a house located in Amityville, New York. A month before the Lutz family, Ronald DeFeo Jr occupied the residence and murdered his family, which the former attributes to the paranormal events they experienced. However, The Amityville Horror book produced another famous horror film.
The other half of The Amityville Horror‘s story serves as the basis for one of the biggest horror franchises of all time. Warner Bros. Discovery’s Conjuring universe also owes its existence to the real-life story of the Amityville Horror and the controversial couple, Ed and Lorraine Warren. Purported medium, Lorraine, and her self-proclaimed demonologist husband Ed defended the Lutz family from accusations of their experience in Amityville being fraudulent. After being launched into the mainstream, the Warrens documented several subsequent cases of reported paranormal activities. Whether one believes in the Warrens’ dealings with the supernatural, their impact on pop culture is otherworldly.