Horror movies—everyone loves them. I cannot tell you how many people populated my local theater for the release of "It," myself included. We are all so easily captivated by a good jump-scare and some crazy stomach-churning special effects. However, not many people know about what goes on behind the screen without all of the makeup and scripts.
For example, what if I told you that the haunted doll from "Annabelle" wasn't fake? Or how about that some movies have used actual skeletons on set instead of fake ones? Or that after suspicious activity on a movie set, the actors tragically passed away one by one? Don't worry, I shivered too.
So, in honor of it finally being Halloween, I present to you six horror movie facts to blow your mind:
1. The doll from "Annabelle" was based on a real doll.
Significantly less scary in appearance, this doll brings more scares than the actual movie. In 1970, a mother brought home Annabelle for her daughter as a present. The daughter, Donna, was a nursing school student living with her friend Angie. After a small amount of time with the doll, they noticed strange movements and sounds they had never heard of before. Donna even had claimed for there to be small spots of blood on the doll's hands.
After having a medium come and check the doll (as well as the surrounding area), they concluded that the apartment that the girls were living in was built where a dead little girl was found. This meant that the spirit of the young girl had taken on the doll and was now living in her. Donna's close friend Lou often stayed at the apartment. He found notes that said "Help me" around everywhere and even had a realistic dream about the doll hurting him.
After some more strange occurrences, they decided to contact Ed and Lorraine Warren, the famous paranormal investigators. They took the doll and observed her, noting how she would levitate and try to cause trouble every now and then. She now remains in the museum at Lorraine and Ed's home, even though he passed in 2006. Lorraine says that she will never look the doll in the eyes.
2. The actors and actresses in "Poltergeist'" passed away after filming.
There are lots of rumors that fly with this fact. Not every single person that star in the movies has passed away, but a few have unexpectedly, leading everyone to believe there is a curse on the movies. About five months after the premiere of the first film in 1982, Dominique Dunn, aged 22, passed away after being in a coma. Her boyfriend was very abusive to her and choked her into the coma, which only lasted for four days before her death.
In 1985, Julian Beck who starred in the second film passed away due to stomach cancer. His death was a bit foreseen, due to the fact that he had been fighting the sickness for a while. Still, a lot of people continue to associate it with the curse. In 1987, William Sampson died of kidney failure from a failed procedure and infection.
Others that starred in the movies have passed including Lou Perryman, Brian Gibson, and almost Richard Lawson. Lawson was on a plane in 1992 that crashed in New York. In fact, 27people died, and he was almost one of them. The most convincing death to go along with the curse was the death of 12-year-old Heather O' Rourke in 1988. She was thought to have the flu, which unexpectedly (and quickly) turned into cardiac arrest due to an infection that flowed through her body. No one knew that anything was wrong with her, and she died on the operating table.
3. There were real skeletons used in "Poltergeist."
Yes, you read that right. And yes, I most certainly believe that if this whole "curse" is real, those skeletons are the cause. Jo Beth Williams confirmed in an interview that the skeletons in the pool scene are 100 percent real. She says that they didn't want to go and spend a lot of money in order to get realistic looking ones, so they decided to use actual skeletons. Are you hearing this? ACTUAL SKELETONS. She was on set with REAL SKELETONS. She touched ACTUAL SKELETONS of DEAD PEOPLE. Are they insane!?
4. Real bees were used in "Candyman."
Tony Todd was an amazing actor. How do I know? Well...would you be able to sit with LIVE bees crawling around your face and mouth without screaming? Probably not. In the scene where the Candyman tries to kiss Helen, he opens his mouth to bees flying frantically out. He wore a mouth-guard to prevent any of them from going too far in his mouth or even down his throat. However, they could have stung him at any point. He just remained so calm that they didn't do anything to him.
5. The children in 2017's "It" are now afraid of clowns.
Bill Skarsgard, the new Pennywise, was perfect at playing his role. So perfect that in fact, he remained in full character even between takes! In doing so, Skarsgard constantly scared the children they hired as extras. He felt really bad, and some of these kids were never afraid of clowns before. Imagine walking around behind the set and being followed by the sewer-loving clown. Nightmare fuel to the max.
6. Priests blessed theaters playing "The Conjuring."
The makers of "The Conjuring" hired real priests to be available to speak to after people saw the movie. (No, I'm not kidding.) They stated that the movie brought a negative energy, and advised people to see the selected priest if they felt weird about anything after seeing the film. Then, when "The Conjuring 2" was released, a man died during the middle of the movie! He was having chest pains and eventually passed out in the theater. They pronounced him dead, and apparently, the body went missing. I think I'll rule out paranormal movies for a while.
Did I spook you too much? Or were you like me, and once you read one you dove into the great world of Google to search more crazy horror movie facts?
