Truly scary movies have a way of staying with you long after the credits roll. So it’s no surprise that making some of the scariest ever can sometimes be a terrifying process. Whether the tragedies that surround these films were caused by simple bad luck or something more supernatural, these real-life back stories are all sure to have you looking over your shoulder and jumping at every creaky sound you hear.
1.
The more I read about it, the more I’m convinced that The Exorcist (1973) was a truly cursed movie from the start. Before filming even began, a fire began blazing out of nowhere and burned down the entire house that was to be the movie’s main set — except for the room where the film’s famous exorcism scene was supposed to be filmed. Several stars were also badly injured during filming, including Linda Blair and Ellen Burstyn, who both sustained permanent damage to their spines on set.
2.
Numerous cast members said they often found themselves waking up between three and four in the morning while filming The Conjuring (2013), an eerie event that characters in the movie also experience.
3.
During one of the most iconic scenes in Poltergeist (1982), Diane Freeling (JoBeth Williams) falls into a pool filled with skeletons. Williams later told Vanity Fair that years after filming, she discovered that the skeletons she’d been swimming with had been real.
4.
Jennifer Carpenter, who starred in The Exorcism of Emily Rose (2005), once told Dread Central that her radio would sometimes turn on in the middle of the night during the filming process — and apparently, it would always be playing the Pearl Jam song “Alive.” She also said something similar happened to co-star Laura Linney’s television.
5.
At one point while making Psycho (1960), Albert Hitchcock left a prop corpse in star Janet Leigh’s dressing room — apparently to see how scary the faux dead body actually was.
6.
Just before filming began for the 2005 remake of The Amityville Horror, a dead body washed up on the shore near the set, setting the tone for an overall spooky filmmaking experience.
8.
The cursed energy surrounding Annabelle seems like it’s still going strong, at least according to the cast of the franchise’s most recent installment, Annabelle Comes Home (2019). Per PopSugar, star Madison Iseman once saw the doll sitting on a random bed when it had been in a rocking chair all day — only to see it in a chair just minutes after. Eisman also said that right after the incident, her trailer lights wouldn’t turn on.
9.
The Omen (1975) is nearly unrivaled when it comes to tragic and scary events surrounding its cast and crew. Star Gregory Peck’s plane was struck by lightning as he was flying to London to start work on the movie. Soon after, lightning also hit writer David Seltzer’s plane, and producer Harvey Bernhard was also almost struck by lightning during filming.
10.
During the filming of The Crow (1994), horrific tragedy struck when star Brandon Lee was shot during filming. The event occurred during a scene when his character gets shot while facing off against a group of thugs, but unfortunately, one of the prop guns contained a fragment of a prop bullet that was used in a previous scene. When a new blank cartridge was placed in the gun, it caused the fragment to shoot out with enough force to harm Brandon.
11.
The movie The Conqueror (1956) was filmed in Utah downwind of a nuclear testing site in Nevada, leading to tragic consequences for many of its cast and crew members, including star John Wayne.
12.
When it comes to horrific real-life consequences suffered by people involved in making these movies, Rosemary’s Baby (1968) is definitely worth mentioning.
OK, now I definitely have to go channel the Warrens and clear out all this negative energy. I ask that all non-benevolent entities leave this space this instant!
Which one of these movies was the most cursed? Which would you least want to have been a part of? Let us know in the comments!
Stream the chilliest of Halloween films on HBO Max.
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