1. The Exorcist (1973)

Of all the horror movies based on true stories that I have seen, The Exorcist has to be one of the creepiest. This movie is about a young girl who is possessed by a demon and is based on a story about a young boy who was deemed to be possessed by, and later exorcised, of a demon. I watched a documentary of the boy's possession, and I am pretty sure the documentary is scarier than the movie itself!

2. The Exorcism of Emily Rose (2005)

The Exorcism of Emily Rose was based on the story of Anneliese Michel who apparently attacked her family members and freaked out over religious relics. She had forty exorcisms performed on her, and died of pneumonia in 1976 before her last exorcism. Eerie…

3. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is inspired by the story of Ed Gein -- a serial killer who murdered women and (gasp) wore their skin. This man was so brutal that at least three horror movies were inspired by his gruesome acts including Psycho and Silence of the Lambs, in addition to Texas Chainsaw Massacre.

4. Jaws (1975)

Jaws was based on the 1916 shark attacks off the coast of New Jersey, in which five people were attacked and four died in a period of just twelve days. A shark was later caught and killed and upon an autopsy, human remains were found in its stomach. Creepy.

5. Borderland (2007)

Borderland is based on the true story of a young man who got caught up in a human-sacrificing cult, and wound up being murdered by them. However, I believe the movie is slightly less gruesome than the actual story.

6. Open Water (2003)

Open Water is based on a 1998 incident where a couple got left behind from a diving group in the Great Barrier Reef and were never found. Terrifying!

7. Child's Play (1988)

If you've ever seen Child's Play, you are probably wondering why it is on this list. However, the movie was allegedly inspired by a man who would hear his child talking to a toy doll and found eerie things happening whenever the doll was around. How scary is that?!

8. A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)

I thought this one was bizarre when I heard it was inspired by a true story. I mean, Freddie Krueger killed people in their dreams, which doesn't seem plausible at all! But apparently, the director, Wes Craven, got the idea for this movie from a series of deaths of Cambodian immigrants that occurred while they were sleeping. Strange, huh?

I think it's so creepy that these movies are based on or inspired by true stories! After I heard this and re-watched some of these movies, I found them to be even more terrifying because of it! What other scary movies do you know of that are based on true stories?

Sources: totalfilm.com
horror.about.com
chillertv.com
moviesdrop.com