© NL Beeld

'The Possession' (2012) -

In this movie a young girl buys an old box at a yard sale, not knowing that there is actually a spirit trapped inside it.

© NL Beeld

'The Possession' (2012) -

The film is inspired by tales about a dybukk box. The concept, which originates from Jewish mythology, is of a box that holds spirits.

© NL Beeld

'The Amityville Horror' (2005) -

Both the 1979 and the 2005 versions tell the story of a couple who move to a house where a mass murder took place. They then start experiencing a series of paranormal events.

© NL Beeld

'The Amityville Horror' (2005) -

The plot is inspired by the Lutz family. They moved to the Amityville house in 1975 and were subsequently beset with a series of supernatural occurrences.

© NL Beeld

'Zodiac' (2007) -

This movie is about a cartoonist who is obsessed with solving the case of the Zodiac killer.

© NL Beeld

'Zodiac' (2007) -

The Zodiac killer terrorized California in the '60s and '70s. At least five murders are confirmed to have been his, but he claimed to have been responsible for 37. Zodiac sent letters to the press, but his identity was never discovered.

© NL Beeld

'The Silence of the Lambs' (1991) -

In order to catch a serial killer that skins his victims, a young FBI agent seeks the help of another imprisoned murderer in this film.

© NL Beeld

'The Silence of the Lambs' (1991) -

The movie is based on a novel by Thomas Harris. The author used to be a a journalist covering the police beat. Harris used real-life events as inspiration for the character, including an interview with a doctor who was a murder convict on death row.

© NL Beeld

'The Texas Chainsaw Massacre' (2003) -

The film was inspired by the true story of Ed Gein, a serial killer whose home authorities found a number of artifacts made of human body parts in.

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'The Texas Chainsaw Massacre' (2003) -

Several movies have been made ever since its original release in 1974, including this film in 2003 about a group of friends hunted down by a disfigured man with a chainsaw.

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'The Exorcism of Emily Rose' (2005) -

In this film, a lawyer defends a priest who is accused of negligent homicide after carrying out an exorcism.

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'The Exorcism of Emily Rose' (2005) -

The story is based upon the supposed possession of Anneliese Michel. She was known for having been subject to over 60 exorcisms. Michel eventually died of malnutrition. Her parents and priest were convicted for the crime.

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'The Strangers' (2008) -

In this film a young couple spends their vacation in an isolated house and is terrorized by a family of three.

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'The Strangers' (2008) -

The movie was inspired by writer/director Bryan Bertino's real-life childhood events (strangers knocked on his door, who he later found out were burglars). The film was also inspired by the Manson family murders.

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'The Exorcist' (1973) -

This horror classic is about a girl who's possessed by an evil spirit, so her mother asks for help from two priests.

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'The Exorcist' (1973) -

The movie is inspired by a book by the same name, which itself was based on the real exorcism of Roland Doe in 1949.

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'The Haunting in Connecticut' (2009) -

In this film a family experiences a series of paranormal events after moving to a new house.

© NL Beeld

'The Haunting in Connecticut' (2009) -

This is based on the true story of Allen and Carmen Snedeker, who bought a house that was previously used as a funeral parlor. Many paranormal events depicted in the film reportedly happened.

© NL Beeld

'The Conjuring' (2013) -

The film is based on the real events experienced by paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren.

© NL Beeld

'The Conjuring' (2013) -

Some of the elements of the movie are based on real events. A lawsuit was filed by the previous owners of the house on which the movie was based. The claim was that the house had been vandalized after the movie was released.

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'Annabelle' (2014) -

The makers of 'The Conjuring' (2013) released this film after the interest generated by the doll in the 2013 movie.

The film is based on a real-life paranormal investigation by Ed and Lorraine Warren, who believed that a doll was possessed by an evil spirit.

© NL Beeld

'The Hills Have Eyes' (2006) -

Both 'The Hills Have Eyes' (2006) and 'Wrong Turn' (2003) end up with people being hunted down and eaten by a family of cannibals in an isolated area.

© NL Beeld

'Wrong Turn' (2003) -

The plots of these movies are inspired by a story about a 16th-century Scottish clan who ate hundreds of people. Sawney Bean, the head of the clan, was eventually executed.

© NL Beeld

'Eaten Alive' (1976) -

The film is based on the true story of Joe Ball, a serial killer who murdered more than 20 women in the 1930s. He supposedly fed the bodies to his crocodiles.

See also: 30 of the greatest horror movies of all time

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