CURSED CINEMA

These 10 horror movies had even more terrifying facts about them

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When the spooks aren't limited to what happens inside the silver screen but also extend to the filming set and the actors' personal lives, it's hard to stay cool and rational. No matter if you believe in the supernatural or not, some of these terrifying stories will make your hair stand on end.

Join us in this macabre tour through 10 classic movies that were (supposedly) haunted by terrible curses or strange paranormal entities.

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Much like the movie itself, Roman Polanski's timeless horror classic is shrouded in mystery and tragedy. One of the producers had a near-death experience during which he claimed to see the main character approaching him with a knife.

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William Friedkin's horror masterpiece reportedly faced a series of eerie incidents during filming, including a fire that destroyed most of the set but somehow left intact the bedroom of the possessed Regan. Some of the cast believed that the movie's subject matter - exorcizing a demon - invoked a real curse, and they ended up bringing a priest to bless the set.

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This supernatural thriller of the eighties is infamous for its alleged curse, with several cast members meeting untimely ends. Among various unusual mishaps during filming, one of the child actors was choked by a creepy mechanical doll that malfunctioned, and shortly after filming the third installment, she tragically passed away at just 12 years old.

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While Ghost might not exactly fit within the horror genre, an urban legend claims that the ghost of Poltergeist's child star Heather O'Rourke haunted the set. The filming team heard someone running up on the empty catwalks and a child's laughter on numerous occasions. Coincidentally, the movie was filmed on the same set where O'Rourke had previously filmed episodes of the popular sitcom Happy Days.

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Hospitals are always a bit scary. And during the shooting of the 2010 supernatural horror film Insidious, strange things seemed to happen in the hospital set. Several members of the cast and crew claimed to feel unwell immediately upon setting foot on the set, and some even claimed to hear a buzzer from an unoccupied floor repeatedly going off.

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A bone-chilling experience all by itself, The Conjuring gets even creepier when you learn about the many eerie things that took place behind the scenes. Vera Farmiga, who plays paranormal investigator Lorraine Warren in the film, felt terribly uncomfortable during filming, to the point where she started leaving the script outside of her house. Among many other strange events, despite not doing any stunts, she and other members of the cast repeatedly found themselves covered in inexplicable bruises.

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The true story behind The Exorcism of Emily Rose is already terrifying without adding any behind-the-scenes elements, but according to various sources, the film set was also haunted by a supernatural entity. According to both actress Jennifer Carpenter - who played the titular Emily Rose - and the film’s director Scott Derrickson, at several points during filming, they experienced inexplicable phenomena. Among other things, TVs and radios would mysteriously turn on by themselves at random times, and music would start playing loudly.

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Inspired by the tale of a haunted dybbuk box, this supernatural horror film tells the story of a family terrorized by a malevolent entity. But besides the eerie premise and intense performances that likely left some cast and crew members feeling uneasy, strange occurrences also plagued the set. The film's lead actor, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, has stated that he didn't believe in ghosts before the movie. However, during filming, he experienced events that convinced him of the reality of supernatural phenomena. To make things weirder, the possessed box featured in the film was later destroyed in a mysterious storage facility fire.

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Another outlier in this list, though Return to Babylon was never intended as a horror movie of any kind, ended up having a reputation for being cursed. The indie film explores the scandals and tragedies of Hollywood's silent film era, delving into the lives of iconic stars like Clara Bow and Rudolph Valentino. Soon after filming, rumors of on-set mishaps and strange occurrences have circulated, including claims of actors' faces morphing into demonic shapes in certain shots, and apparitions of dead actors. In particular, actress Jennifer Tilly described feeling watched and touched by invisible forces during production.

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A spin-off of The Conjuring franchise, Annabelle follows the haunting of a possessed doll wreaking havoc on unsuspecting victims. John R. Leonetti, the movie’s director, claimed to have seen "three fingers drawn through dust" multiple times on set. This would be strange enough by itself, but there is more: the creepy doll featured in the film has only three fingers. Also, an actor dressed up as a demon was almost killed by a light fixture falling on his head in the same place on the set where a murder would take place later, according to the script.

MYTH-MANIA

Spark Your Curiosity With 10 American Folk Stories and Urban Myths

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Delve into the mysterious realm of American folklore and urban mythology, where reality blurs the lines with the supernatural. These captivating tales of mystery, passed down through generations, are now part of the very fabric of American culture.

From strange creatures of the forest to all kinds of unexplained phenomena, here are 10 riveting stories of the unknown that are as American as apple pie.

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Location: Point Pleasant, West Virginia

The legend of the Mothman first took flight in the 1960s, in the quiet town of Point Pleasant. Witnesses reported encounters with a winged humanoid with glowing red eyes that induced a sort of hypnotic effect on onlookers. The most infamous sighting preceded the collapse of the Silver Bridge in 1967, leading locals to consider his appearances a bad omen.

While today most agree that the legend likely originated from sightings of out-of-migration sandhill cranes, for many the Mothman remains an enigma. Was it an evil creature or a guardian spirit that wanted to warn of impending tragedy?

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Location: Pine Barrens, New Jersey

Legend has it that this supernatural creature originated in 1735 from a resident of the Pine Barrens called Jane Leeds, better known as "Mother Leeds." After giving birth to twelve healthy children, Mother Leeds' cursed 13th child was born with bat-like wings, hooves, a forked tail, and a devilish visage. But before anyone could recover from their shock, the devil child escaped, flying up the chimney and disappearing into the dense forest.

There are many versions of the tale, retold many times through the centuries, but what’s sure is that the Jersey Devil is now a permanent resident of both the Pine Barrens and New Jerseyans’ minds.

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Location: Anywhere in the States

An urban legend so popular that there are more versions of it than anyone could remember, the Vanishing Hitchhiker’s Tale has hitchhiked through the whole country, from mouth to mouth. However, all versions agree on the following: Travelers pick up a hitchhiker who mysteriously disappears during the journey. In most cases, the ghostly hitchhiker leaves behind a personal item - later revealed to be from a deceased person - as a chilling reminder of their spectral presence.

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Location: Sleepy Hollow, New York

Washington Irving's timeless tale introduced the infamous Headless Horseman in the New York village of Sleepy Hollow. The ghostly figure, believed to be a decapitated Hessian soldier, roams the countryside seeking his lost head. The legend has inspired countless adaptations and remains a Halloween staple. Interestingly, Irving was also responsible for the popular story of Rip Van Winkle, a man who falls asleep for twenty years in the Catskill Mountains after being tricked by a group of mysterious Dutchmen.

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Location: Fairfax County, Virginia

Originating from two real incidents in Northern Virginia in 1970, the Bunny Man legend has taken a life of its own, becoming an urban myth throughout neighboring states. While there are many variations to the tale, most involve an escaped mental patient donning a bunny costume and wielding a hatchet, terrorizing anyone who has the misfortune of crossing paths with him.

The Fairfax County Police actually opened an investigation into the reported incidents, but the case was eventually closed for lack of evidence.

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Location: Chicago, Illinois

For almost a century, the Chicago Cubs MLB team endured a purported curse, allegedly stemming from the mistreatment of William Sianis, the owner of a local tavern called Billy Goat. Faithful to his business’ name, Sianis brought his pet goat Murphy to one of the games of the 1945 World Series at Wrigley Field. When the pair were asked to leave the stadium, he got enraged and declared, "Them Cubs, they ain't gonna win no more."

According to fans and believers, the tavern owner’s curse caused the team's prolonged championship drought, which was finally broken in 2016, after 71 years.

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Location: Pacific Northwest

In the vast wilderness of the Pacific Northwest, the elusive Bigfoot, also known as Sasquatch (an anglicized version of sasq'ets, meaning "hairy man" in the Halkomelem language), has been the subject of countless sightings. Bigfoot is usually described as a very large and bipedal ape-like creature covered in dense dark-brown hair.

Some Bigfoot believers attribute the reports to the survival of a relict population of the extinct southeast Asian ape species Gigantopithecus blacki, an animal of very large proportions certainly compatible with the sightings.

While scientists and skeptics dismiss these encounters as mostly hoaxes or misidentifications of known animals (particularly black bears), the allure of discovering this giant and mysterious creature persists, with dedicated enthusiasts exploring remote areas in search of conclusive evidence.

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Location: Greenbrier County, West Virginia

In 19th-century West Virginia, Elva Zona Heaster’s testimony from beyond the grave played a pivotal role in solving her own murder. Elva's mother claimed her daughter's ghost revealed the truth about her suspicious death, leading authorities to reopen her case. Although it is unlikely prosecutors believed the ghost story, there was enough doubt about the case to justify a new inquiry. After reexamining the evidence, unmistakable signs of violence were found on her body, leading to the conviction of the main suspect, her own husband.

A unique blend of ghost story and true crime, the story of the Greenbrier Ghost remains forever etched in the memory of West Virginians.

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Location: Anywhere with an Internet connection

A recent addition to the long-winded bestiary of urban mythology, the Slender Man is a faceless, extremely tall entity that stalks and traumatizes children. Born from internet forums and "creepypasta" tales (meaning viral spooky stories that are copy and pasted - and often enriched in a collaborative fashion by anonymous Internet users), this modern myth is influenced by the writings of various horror authors, including H. P. Lovecraft and Stephen King.

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Location: Lincoln County, Nevada

Hidden in the Nevada desert, Area 51 is a highly classified United States Air Force facility within the Nevada Test and Training Range. The secrecy and isolation of the facility have fueled conspiracy theories and urban myths surrounding extraterrestrial life and government secrets for decades. Many conspiracy theories claim that the base hides evidence or remains of crashed UFOs, weather control devices, and even time travel technology.

Ironically, the rumors may have helped to maintain the secrecy over Area 51’s actual operations, mainly related to the testing of classified aircraft prototypes.