There are two types of people out there: those who eat, sleep, and breathe horror and those who start sweating at even the thought of watching scary movies. If you're in the former camp (you brave soul, you!), then you probably live for true-crime podcasts, haunted houses, and all that spooky sh*t.
And you probably know that the most terrifying stories are based in reality. With most horror flicks, you can turn on the lights when it ends and say, "Phew, I'm safe 'cause it's just a movie." But when the words "Based on a true story" pop up on the screen, well, that's when things get r-e-a-l.
Maybe your idea of horror is blood and gore. Maybe you like psychological thrillers that mess with your head. Or maybe you're all about ghosts and paranormal phenomena. Whatever you're into, there's a scary film inspired by actual events for every subgenre, and they're chock-full of serial killers, supernatural encounters, and seriously disturbing incidents. While you probably already know about the classic inspired-by-real-events scary movies like Poltergeist, Psycho, and The Exorcist, you mayyyy not be as familiar with some of the more recent scary flicks based on reality—all of which are available to stream right now. They range from mildly unsettling to fully nightmare-inducing, so if you're up for a good scare this spooky season, then these are the real-life scary movies you need to stream tonight...with the lights on, maybe.
This might be one of the most revered scary films of all time—and with good reason. Based on the 1988 novel, this movie tells the story of Buffalo Bill, aka Jame Gumn, a killer who targeted and killed women to craft a suit for himself out of their skin. Luckily, the movie’s main character didn’t actually exist IRL. However, he was loosely based on numerous other famous killers, including Jerry Brudos, Ted Bundy, Gary M. Heidnik, Edmund Kemper, and Gary Ridgway.