Hair-Raising Stories Behind Cursed Horror Movies: When Real Tragedies Befell

Sometimes, horror movies not only scare the audience but also frighten the living days out of the cast and crew because of many unexplained events. Dig into the most haunting paranormal activity on sets of these cursed horror movies.

The Conjuring (2013)

The James Wan-directed horror film is based on the true story of the supernatural phenomena that the Perron family experienced at their house on Rhode Island in the 1970s.

In one of the times the Perrons visited The Conjuring studio, a strong wind had swirled around them, but one crew member observed that the foliage of the adjacent trees did not move.

A few days after the visit of the Perrons, the hotel where the crew stayed was set ablaze. Director James Wan himself, during a late night at the office, was astonished when his pet dog howled incessantly for unknown reasons.

Actress Vera Farmiga, who plays a psychic, never took the script home because she felt spine-chilling. She also couldn't read the script at night out of fear.

Also, she shared that something mysterious took place when she was searching for information about Lorraine Warren, the real-life paranormal investigator she would depict in the movie.
After calling James Wan to talk about the project, she hung up, opened her laptop and there were digital claw marks there, just like what the movie started with.

Moreover, one morning post the completion of the filming, Vera Farmiga with three scratches and a bruise on her thigh.

The Possession (2012)

One of the cursed horror movies witnessed many unexplainable events its studio such as light bulbs often exploded out of the blue, or even in closed spaces, there was often a cold wind flowing between the nooks and crannies of the set.

But the most frightening thing that happened was when the warehouse's props burned, scorching everything inside. The police investigation later concluded that the cause of the fire was not due to electric shock or fire. The real cause has never been found.

The Amityville Horror (2005)

The 2005 horror film which is the second time the massacre inside the Amityville house being screened is also one of the cursed horror movies. Just before the shooting, a body was pushed by the waves into the shore next to the studio.

Actor Ryan Reynolds, along with the other cast members and the lead actors, were awakened at 3:15 am each morning. This is also the time when the Amityville massacre actually happened in 1974.

The Exorcism of Emily Rose (2005)

Actress Jennifer Carpenter, who plays Emily Rose, said that during the filming of the movie in 2005, the radio in her hotel room kept turning off mysteriously. And whenever it popped up, it always played Pearl Jam's Alive.

The other cast members also recognized that the radio or the TV in their room often turned on automatically for unknown reasons. They also heard the melody of Pearl Jam's Alive. The incident was so troubling that the crew decided to move the entire radio station out of their hotel room.

Twilight Zone: The Movie (1983)

Actor Vic Morrow was killed on the movie set of Twilight Zone. The thrilling thing was that he had a feeling about it a year ago. The actor bought a $5 million insurance package and told everyone he had a hunch he would be in trouble for the upcoming film project (which is Twilight Zone: The Movie).

The result was, on set, Vic Morrow was hit by the rotor of a helicopter. The accident also killed two child actors, who were illegal labor of the film crew.

At the trial, it was also revealed that a design artist of the crew mistakenly drew a helicopter on fire in the midst of a river in the sketch, like a foretell of the terrible accident.

Poltergeist (1982)

Behind the famous 1980s horror series are many stories of death. Both child actors of the film: Heather O’Rourke and Dominique Dunne, died during and after filming. O’Rourke died on the operating table at the age of 12, after filming of the third part of the film.

Dunne was murdered with an ax by her ex-boyfriend just a day after the first film premiered.

The Omen (1976)

The success of the film The Omen is directly proportional to the series of tragedies that the actors and crew suffer.

As soon as the film was released, the son of the lead actor Gregory Peck committed suicide. On the way to the set, a member of the crew was seriously injured in a traffic accident.

The plane which the screenwriter traveled in was struck by lightning while it was on the way to the sets. The plane carrying the production director of The Omen was also struck by lightning in an accident later.

When the crew decided to move by private plane from one scene to another, the tragedy did not end. The plane carrying crew members had trouble right after taking off: it crashed into the road, collided with a car, causing it to crash into other vehicles in circulation. All 11 lives involved in the accident were claimed.

The Exorcist (1973)

Not only is the exemplary work of the horror film series, but The Exorcist is also among the cursed horror movies. The audience has to shudder listening to the behind-the-scenes stories. A series of unexplained events often occurred on set.

The MacNeil home set was burned down when a bird flew into a circuit box. However, the fire didn't damage the room where the exorcism scenes took place.

Actor Jack MacGowran suddenly passed away only a couple of days after completing all of his scenes. A special effect staff and a security staff died in the filming process. Also, the entire shooting set was mysteriously set on fire.

When The Exorcist hit the big screens, multiple cine-goers had a heart attack while watching the movie.

Rosemary’s Baby (1968)

Being a famous movie at that time, yet unfortunate events did befall some of those involved in making Rosemary’s Baby.

Seasoned producer William Castle received an anonymous letter saying he would slowly rot because of a painful and longlasting illness. Not long after, he suddenly fell ill due to serious kidney stones and had to be hospitalized in months.

Krzysztof Komeda, the movie’s music composer, slipped in a coma and passed away after a fall in April 1969.

The entire Rosemary’s Baby’s cast and crew were food poisoned and one of the producers had a heart attack while driving home from the set.

Actress Sharon Tate, who got married to filmmaker Roman Polanski, was killed by the Manson’s family with 16 stabs in 1969 when she was 8 months pregnant.

Psycho (1960)

In the middle of the production, Myra Jones - the stunt actress for female lead Janet Leigh - was murdered on set. An employee in the crew named Kenneth Dean Hunt turned himself in, reported that he wanted to carry out the murder to impress director Alfred Hitchcock.

After 60 years, Psycho is still the pinnacle of horror movies.

Whether you believe in curses or not, these behind-the-scenes stories of the cursed horror movies do add a new level of creepiness to the horror classics.

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