Horror Films (And the Real and Rumored Murders That Follow Some of Them)

[It's me, Billy]

I was reading up on Halloween II today and one site referenced the 1982 murders of an elderly couple in Fullerton, California. Here's the gist of it. On the evening of December 7, 1982, Richard Delmer Boyer murdered an elderly Fullerton couple while he was doped up on drugs. He claimed the drugs caused him to hallucinate and flashback to images he saw in "Halloween II." The crime became known around Fullerton as "The Halloween II Murders." You can read about it here.

Here's an interesting one that I can't find any information on. There was a rumor going around for the longest time that Jean Miller, the actress that played Mother Superior in Silent Night, Deadly Night, Part 2 (1987) was murdered on Halloween night, October 31st, 1989. The story was that she was decapitated (the same way she died in the film) by some satanist. At one time, the IMDb was reflecting this information by listing her date of death as October 31, 1989 and listing the cause as homicide. Now, the date of death has been completely removed and she has a 1991 film credit.

In this instance the crime happened first, then, later, at least one (probably more) movie was based on it. On August 1st, 1966, Charles Whitman climbed the 307 feet tall University of Texas Tower in Austin, Texas and opened fire on the public below. You can read about that here, here, and here.

So are there any other good stories out there?

[Alien Redrum]

Are you talking about the stories that movies were based on, or after effects?

Many movies have been influenced by Ed Gein's crazy antics, including Psycho (albeit Bloch wrote the book, but he was influenced by Gein), The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Silence of the Lambs, Deranged and, of course, Gein.

[It's me, Billy]

Originally Posted by Alien Redrum

Are you talking about the stories that movies were based on, or after effects?

Both. I find all of them interesting. Gein is a good example. Another would be The Phantom Killer of Texarkana, Texas/Arkansas which was brought to the TV screen as 1976's "The Town That Dreaded Sundown." More Then there's the 1974 DeFeo murders in Amityville which is covered in 1982's "Amityville II: The Possession."

I don't have any links but I've always been facinated by Charles Starkweather's killing spree that inspired the films The Sadist and Natural Born Killers (and was mentioned in The Frighteners)

[Wayne Manor]

Originally Posted by Alien Redrum

Are you talking about the stories that movies were based on, or after effects?

Many movies have been influenced by Ed Gein's crazy antics, including Psycho (albeit Bloch wrote the book, but he was influenced by Gein), The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Silence of the Lambs, Deranged and, of course, Gein.

Yeah, let's keep this thread - which is preliminarily fascinating - to aftereffects of horror films.

A list of films based on serial killers would be too unwieldly - let's not even start on adaptations of the Baader-Meinhof drama!

[Erick H.]

From memory,there was a murder about twenty years ago in which the killer wrote "REDRUM" on the wall of the scene,obviously inspired by THE SHINING.

[Wayne Manor]

There was also that nut who wiped out a bunch of people (Australia, I think) and blamed it on "Child's Play 2".

Oh, yeah - here it is.

http://www.mayhem.net/Crime/murder1.html

"Martin Bryant (35) On Sunday April, 28, 1996 Martin, a 28-year-old wanna-be surfer with a history of mental problems went on a rampage through the historical town of Port Arthur in the southeastern corner of Tasmania. Packing his car with weapons and a surfboard, Martin headed to the ruins of Port Arthur's famous prison. Outside the Broken Arrow Cafe he muttered, "There's a lot of WASP's around today, there's not many Japs here, are there?" Then he entered the cafe, pulled out two expensive semi-automatic rifles from his tennis bag, and methodically shot at everyone inside.

Once they were all dead he went out and murdered the driver of a tourist bus and shot at tourists around the site. After he walked back up the main road to his car. On the way he passed a woman who worked at the site with her two daughters. He murdered the woman, her toddler daughter and chased after the five-year-old and killed her. Then drove up to the admission booth of the site, murdered the people working there, and shot at people driving by.

Next he drove to the gas station, murdered someone in a passing car, forced a driver into the trunk of his car and drove to a small bed-and-breakfast. By the time he left the colonial prison ruins and their vicinity, 32 tourists lay dead and 18 others were wounded; 20 were killed in a cafeteria, another 12 on the roads surrounding the historic ruins.

Apparently Martin knew the proprietors of "Seascape". It is unclear whether he murdered them then, or before the rampage through Port Arthur. Holed up in the quaint seaside cottage, Bryant was surrounded by 200 police officers. During the 12-hour siege an Australian journalist managed to reach Bryant by phone. He told her, "I can't talk now, I'm having too much fun. I want to have a shower and if you ring me back again I will shoot the hostage." Later that night, he killed the driver who had been kidnapped and forced into the trunk of his car.

The next morning the house erupted in flames. Bryant ran out with his pants on fire and surrendered. He was rushed to the Royal Hobart Hospital where he was treated for second-degree burns and had several skin grafts, before being transported to Risdon Prison Hospital.

Jenetta Hoani, the gunman's former girlfriend, claimed that Bryant was obsessed with bestiality, violent videos and teddy bears, of which he had 200 in his bedroom. His best friend was a pet pig with whom he sometimes shared his bed. Jenetta said Martin's favorite video was "Child's Play 2", which features a doll named Chucky that is possessed by a serial killer and comes to life after killing a boy and taking over his body. She also said that he would undergo frightening personality changes and appeared to delight in death and danger.

Police have widened their investigation to include the killer's possible involvement in five other deaths making Martin a possible serial killer as well as the most lethal gun-toting mass murderer of the Archives. Detectives are investigating links between Martin, two or more stabbings, and the disappearance of a German backpacker three years ago, the apparent suicide of his father, Maurice, and the death of Helen Harvey, his family friend and possible lover. Dad's body was found in a dam with his son's diving weight tied round his neck. Helen died in a car accident in which Martin was a passenger. With her death Bryant inherited about $500,000. Neighbors said Martin used to grab the steering wheel when Helen was driving and several times the car had gone off the road.

On December 22, 2000, Bryant tried to kill himself again in his maximum security cell in Hobart's Risdon Prison. He was found bleeding after trying to cut his femoral artery in the groin region and making several cuts to his inner arms with a razor blade. A doctor was called in to the prison about 9.30pm Monday to stitch Bryant's wounds.

Bryant is known to have made at least four suicide attempts since his arrest, but this was the first for three years. On other occasions he reportedly took an overdose of sedatives which were supplied to him by another prisoner. He also attempted to strangle himself with bandages and tried to choke himself by swallowing a rolled-up tube of toothpaste."

[slinker]

Theres the famous case in the UK which led to an all out assault on "Video Nasties" where a Newspaper claimed that the horrific murder of a young boy (by a couple of children themselves) was linked to the viewing of "Childs Play 3" . This prompted video shops to take the titles off their shelves and a campaign in order to BURN YOUR VIDEO NASTIES. It of course was totally unfounded and quite an insult to the families involved, but then the media cant seem to accept that some people are just fucked up! and it could take anything to trigger them off, i even heard of a case surrounding Disneys The Lion King linked to some nutter!! so go figure :S

[allmessedup]

I remember those two yokels who killed that convenience store clerk and blamed in on NATURAL BORN KILLERS. One of them was the daughter of the Oklahoma Attorney General.

There were always all these reports of CARRIE and THE EXORCIST influencing people to do crazy things, but I would always only hear about them, not actually read news stories about it.

[X-human]

In Cold Blood is a true crime telling based on interviews with one of the killers. From Wikipedia:

The town of Holcomb was unwittingly thrust into the headlines on November 15, 1959, when four members of the prominent Clutter family -- Herbert, 48; his wife Bonnie, 45; daughter Nancy, 16; and son Kenyon, 15 -- were found bound and shot to death in various rooms of their River Valley Farm on the outskirts of town.

Two ex-convicts, Richard ("Dick") Eugene Hickock and Perry Edward Smith, were eventually arrested, tried, and convicted of the killings. The duo's murderous odyssey began when both Hickock and Smith were released from prison and, acting on casual comments made by a fellow cellmate who had once worked for Mr. Clutter, made plans to rob the Clutter household under the mistaken belief that Mr. Clutter kept thousands of dollars in cash in a safe at the residence. There was no safe, nor any substantial amount of cash in the home. Upon this discovery, and after killing the captive family to eliminate any witnesses, the pair fled with around $42, a portable radio, and a pair of binoculars. They were arrested months later in Las Vegas, Nevada. Following their convictions, and after several appeals, both Hickock and Smith were hanged for their crimes on April 14, 1965.

The shocking murders and the arrests and convictions of both Hickock and Smith were the basis for author Truman Capote's acclaimed work, In Cold Blood, which was serialized in The New Yorker magazine in 1965 and published in book form in 1966. The best-selling book, in turn, spawned two filmed versions of the compelling story: director Richard Brooks' theatrical feature film in 1967 starring Robert Blake, Scott Wilson and John Forsythe, and a two-part made-for-television movie starring Eric Roberts, Anthony Edwards and Sam Neill that aired on network TV in 1996. Portions of the 1967 theatrical film were shot on location in and around Holcomb and nearby Garden City, including the actual Clutter house where the crimes occurred.

Speaking of which, the upcoming movie 'Capote' is also a version of those interviews.

[Wayne Manor]

There's a Japanese film called "Schoolgirls in Cement", based on a true-life story of a torturer who, when released from jail, promptly went out and tortured another person. It was remade - sort of - in 2004 or so as "Konkurito".

I can still remember Martin Bryant’s massacre – the biggest in Australia I believe, and the trigger for pretty much banning guns here.

Man! Didn’t know there were so many (only just found these from a quick search - so there's got to be many more)…


The Matrix:

“Josh Cooke, a 19-year-old in Oakton, Virginia, owned a trenchcoat like the one worn by Neo, the character played by Keanu Reeves in the movie, and kept a poster of his hero on his bedroom wall. Then he bought a gun similar to the one used by Neo to fight evil.

In February, he shot his father and mother in the basement of their home and then called the police. His lawyers say he believed that he was living inside the Matrix.”

More info - http://www.buzzle.com/editorials/5-18-2003-40524.asp


The game Manhunt:

In the UK, the parents of a teenage murder victim have blamed the crime on the Rockstar game Manhunt. The parents of Stefan Pakeerah, 14, said their son was lured to a park by a 17-year-old player of the game, who stabbed and beat their son to death with a knife and claw hammer.

More info - http://www.gamespot.com/pc/action/ma...s_6103718.html or
http://www.totalvideogames.com/news/...134_3093_0.htm



Here’s a page with around 20 crimes (just in Canada), I’ve only posted the murders below, but there’s other crimes and people killing themselves inspired by the follwing movies: Nightmare on Elm Street, Basic Instinct, The Program, The Crow, American Psycho, Heat, Grand Theft Auto (Game), The Fast and the Furious (x2)
http://www.fradical.com/Canadian_copycat_incidents2.htm

Vancouver, British Columbia: Brian Allender admitted killing Cheryl Anne Joe in Vancouver in January 1992. He was convicted of first-degree murder after the jury heard he sought out a prostitute after watching the movie Silence of the Lambs, then beat her to death and cut out her sexual organs. (Appeal set in copycat killing, Toronto Sun, October 4, 1996)

Flin Flon, Manitoba: Following the broadcast of Murder in the Heartland on ABC and CTV affiliates, James Bridson, 18, abducted 13-year-old Meaghan McConnell, shot her mother and brother dead and seriously injured another daughter, 15-year-old Shannon. The shooting spree mirrored the movie. A Winnipeg psychologist said he couldn't help but see similarities between the Flin Flon incident and the story related in the movie about the crimes of Charles Starkweather. (Manitoba murders mimic show on TV, Kitchener-Waterloo Record, May 8, 1993)

LaRonge, Saskatchewan: 14-year-old Sandy Charles murdered a 7-year-old boy. He was fascinated with the horror movie Warlock and its sequel, which he watched 10 times before the child was killed and mutilated. Mutilations done to the child mirrored incidents depicted in the movie. (Case in Saskatoon renews criticisms of TV violence, Globe and Mail, June 20, 1996)

Kyle, Saskatchewan: 18-year-old Leroy Linn received a life sentence for killing Diane McLaren and Sandra Veason in May of 1997. During the trial, Crown prosecutor Glen Herman was able to show that Linn not only boasted about the killings, but proudly dubbed himself a "natural born killer". While testimony suggesting a link to the movie Natural Born Killers was ruled inadmissible, Herman believed Linn was mimicking the behaviour of Woody Harrelson's character from the movie. Linn used a line from NBK when he told an undercover officer "I'm a natural born killer -- what a rush". (Saskatchewan's 'Natural Born Killer', Leader Post, November 7, 1998)

Scream:

France's third teenage murder in two years linked to the influence of the Scream horror film trilogy has sharpened fears about the impact of screen and video game violence on the young.
The case brings to nine the number of killings around the world specifically linked to Wes Craven's movie. Other violent films and video games have been linked to many more, including the 16 deaths in April at a school in Erfurt, Germany, when a teenager obsessed with violent computer games ran amok.
A signature of the Scream trilogy, a mask based on Edvard Munch's famous painting 'The Scream', has also figured in killings carried out by adults in Britain and the US.

more info - http://www.fradical.com/Scream_related_murder.htm



Another list of crimes at this page. Below are only the murders, but there’s many more including accidental death of others (wrestling move), accidentally killing themselves (imitating Kenny from South Park! And one blowing themselves up inspired by MacGuyver) and many more other crimes
http://www.mediascope.org/pubs/ibriefs/cc.htm

January 1998 : A 16-year-old boy and his two teenage cousins were arrested for the murder of Gina Castillo, the mother of one of the boys. According to a Los Angeles County spokesperson, "they admitted to homicide investigators that they killed the mother after getting the idea from the Scream movies."

December 1997 : Michael Carneal, a Kentucky high school student, entered his school lobby and fired seven shots from a semiautomatic weapon into a group of students, killing three and wounding five. He told investigators that he had seen it done in a scene from the movie Basketball Diaries, in which a character, played by Leonardo DiCaprio, walks into a classroom and kills several students with a shotgun.

June 1997 : Timothy McVeigh, convicted of bombing the Oklahoma City federal building, reportedly told interviewers that he was inspired by, among other things, a 12-year-old film called Red Dawn. This film is about a group of teenage guerrillas who retaliate when Russians and Cubans lead an invasion of the U.S. from Mexico, an invasion made possible only by the inherent moral bankruptcy of the Federal Government and the pervasiveness of America's enemies within it.

February 1997 : A Bridgeport, Connecticut, 8-year-old was killed by a gunshot to the forehead by another child. Police said the children imitated a scene from the movie Set it Off after watching it on videotape.

November 1995 : New York City subway clerk Harry Kaufman was torched and killed by teen robbers. City officials attributed the crime to a scene from the film Money Train, which had been recently released; in the film, the torched clerks escape without injury.

June 1995 : A Boston murder suspect said that he was inspired by the film Natural Born Killers. Several other murders were also allegedly influenced by the film. In particular, a man fascinated with the movie was charged with killing a firefighter for the thrill of it. A bi-partisan group of senators and public policy groups decided to release a "public admonition" to Time Warner, parent company of Warner Brothers, which released the Oliver Stone film and is also a major purveyor of violent and sexually explicit rap lyrics.

December 1993 : Two teenagers jointly robbed and killed a Milwaukee motorist. The two blamed their actions on having been "hyped up" by the film Menace II Society.

November 1993 : Two 11-year-olds were sentenced for the murder of a 2-year-old in Britain. The judge who tried the case was quoted as believing violent films may have spurred them on. Although this was unsubstantiated and not heard at trial, police acknowledged that, a few days before the murder, one of the boys' fathers had rented the film Child's Play 3, in which two boys battle and kill a toddler doll that is possessed by demons. In reaction to this, Sky-TV, a London-based cable network, announced it would withdraw the film from a scheduled Friday night lineup.

August 1992 : Nathaniel White, 32, of Middletown, New York, confessed to killing five women and one girl in a year-long murder spree. He claimed that his rampage began after he saw the film Robocop. One of the victims had her throat and chest slit in the same manner shown in Robocop I and Robocop II.

June 1992 : A group of students at Northwestern Preparatory in California established a secret society called "The Nine," whose members wore dark clothes, carried weapons, and vowed to kill anyone who threatened the school. Two members of "The Nine" stabbed a homeless man repeatedly in the neck, killing him. "The Nine" was allegedly inspired by the films The Lords of Discipline and Rambo.

I know many the other way around, but these are my favourites as movies…

Wolf Creek – based on a few Australian cases - mostly based on Ivan Milat “The Backpacker Murderer” (Crime Library ), and on Peter Falconio’s murder (trial in courts at the moment – Wikipedia), but also inspired by The Snowtown case (Crime Library), and also The Birnies case (Crimezzz ). see www.WolfCreek.co.uk for info too.

Citizen X - Andrei Chikatilo “The Rostov Ripper” (Crime Library) – there’s also another newer movie based on Chikatilo called Evilenko

[Grim]

The RoboCop one baffles me, as, atleast in the first film, all the people to die are men, not too mention criminals themselves (with the exception of Kinney, Murphy, and Morton (although I guess he could be because of his drug-use) How this could inspire the guy to kill five women and a girl is beyond me.