On November 16, 1957, police officer Frank Warden became suspicious of quiet and seemingly harmless farmer Ed Gein. Especially after the latter showed erratic and inexplicable behavior that attracted people’s attention. From drinking to falling to the ground to rumors of vandalism at a local cemetery in Plainfield, Wisconsin. The truth is that the peasant seemed more dangerous than anyone could have imagined. So, after Bernice, the officer’s mother, was killed during armed robbery, all signs pointed to a man who lived alone on the outskirts of town.
But what no one could have predicted was that more than signs of robbery or other petty crime would be found on Gein’s farm. In fact, what they found in the family home was a bloodbath. Dismembered human organs, a heart on a slab, and even dissected heads were turned into plates and cups. The atrocities committed by Ed Gein shocked and horrified officers for decades. Even more grimly, they showed that the killer acted in the very center of the city, and no one knew or could imagine what was happening.
This story created such a resonance that it became not only national, but then world news. It also had a profound impact on pop culture and especially cinema. From Texas massacre (1974) before Silence of the Lambs (1991), going through the recent version of Ed Gein, played by Charlie Hunnam in the anthology. Monster from Netflix. The killer’s crimes have inspired horror cinema in many ways.
But this is not the only time something like this happens. As proof, we leave you with five real horror stories that made it into the movies. From a supposed contact with aliens whose story has scared North America, to an active exorcist who can tell his most twisted cases. Everything for lovers of horror and the strange. who are also interested in the origins of their favorite stories.
Travis Walton case
On November 5, 1975, forestry worker Travis Walton disappeared from the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest near Heber, Arizona, while returning home. In the middle of a seemingly quiet ride, Walton and a group of colleagues, including his son-in-law Michael H. Roberts, noticed a bright light through the trees. Puzzled, they stopped the car they were in. and Travis Walton stepped forward to find out what was going on.
The next thing that happened was a story that scared the whole country. According to Roger and others present, Walton was struck by a beam of white light, which lifted him onto a ship floating above the treetops. Terrified, the group fled, leaving the victim behind and later reporting him missing to the Navajo County Sheriff’s Office. A search operation was immediately carried out, but did not yield any results.
Five days later, Walton showed up on a local road with no memory of what had happened in the meantime. He barely remembered the light, the impact that sent him crashing to the ground and then waking up surrounded by what he described as humanoid but faceless creatures. His case immediately became national news and large-scale debate about the possibility of violent contact with aliens.
Travis Walton’s movie story
Although there was later controversy over what the panel of witnesses may or may not have seen, and there was even an outright accusation that Walton was a liar, his story caused a sensation. So much for publishing a book. Walton’s experience in 1978, which was later adapted into a film in 1993. fire in the skydirector Robert Lieberman, spoke in detail events of the play, and it soon became a popular horror film.
Ralph Sarchie case
Ralph Sarchie, a New York Police Department (NYPD) sergeant in the South Bronx precinct, has a story to tell. And not only his experience as an experienced street crime officer. And also as a self-proclaimed demonologist who, during his more than forty-year career while on duty, he claimed to have discovered evidence of violent paranormal activity in the city.
Because it couldn’t have been any other way, the statement caught the attention of Ed and Lorraine Warren, who had collaborated with the agent on various investigations over the years. This led him to clash with the priest Mayombe sticka supposed incubus and even the ghost of a woman murdered in the 19th century. A journey that he said showed him the power of supernatural evil in our world.
Various events made him famous all over the world, and in 2001 he published a book. Beware of the night (also called Deliver us from evil). Written in four hands by Lisa Collier Cool, it brings together much of the horrific events in Sarchie’s career, as well as his struggles with the terrifying demonic entities lurking within the bloody events.
The story of Ralph Sarchie in cinema
In 2014, a film adaptation Deliver us from evil Scott Derrickson adapted Sarchie’s book and turned it into a sinister horror film. Starring Eric Bana as Sarchie, the story follows a police officer in the midst of a case that becomes increasingly frightening and complicated. Much more, when it is obvious, is directly related to demonic activity.
The Case of Exorcist Gary Thomas
While the supernatural subgenre never goes out of fashion, belief in such events is much less common in the world. So the idea of a priest specializing in confronting events of this nature seems like a rarity from another era. But the truth is that this is the work of Gary Thomas, one of fourteen priests certified by the Vatican as exorcists on American soil.
The most curious thing is that the priest with more than thirty years of experience had no idea that he would devote himself to such an unusual job. But after an internship in Rome in 2005, he specialized in this subject. First, academically and, of course, theologically, then through so-called field practice. This is no more than two years of visiting, together with his mentor in Italy, situations that elude scientific explanation. However, according to Gary Thomas, investigating such events also requires medical and psychiatric knowledge. A combination that confirms allowed him to understand the physical reality of events without a clear diagnosis.
In 2009, journalist Matt Baglio accompanied Father Thomas on his extensive training. The journey that ultimately led to the publication of the book The Rite: The Making of a Modern Exorcist in 2010. Covering over sixty different cases, the work explores the physical reality of exorcism as well as methods of the church to prove its existence.
The Gary Thomas Story in Film
In 2011 Ritualthe adaptation of Matt Baglio’s book contained some obvious changes, story by Gary Thomas. In the fiction, priest Michael Kovak (Colin O’Donoghue) begins his apprenticeship with his experienced mentor, Father Lucas Trevant (Anthony Hopkins). Only to find out very soon that, In addition to the academic experience, you will have a first-hand encounter with the horror of the supernatural.
The case of writer Elizabeth Brundage
In the late 1990s, writer Elizabeth Brundage and her family rented a house near the historic Malden Bridge in New York City. Six bedrooms, a basement and a large private garden made it feel like the couple were dreaming of a quiet season. So they occupied the house, which at that time had been uninhabited for more than 30 years.
But almost immediately, inexplicable events began to occur. According to the author’s post on her website, her eight-year-old daughter told her about three girls who lived in the house and died in the fire. As if that weren’t enough, the girl knew specific details about the house that were inexplicable given her age and access to property information. Soon after, Brundage herself She began to feel that someone’s presence was following her everywhere and constantly gliding around her.
The family later came across objects that seemed to suggest more than just signs of a fire, the physical reality of which they would later verify. Also during the tragedy, three girls, daughters of the former owner, died. By then, the horrific events were multiplying and did not stop. until the author, her husband and daughters left this place.
The Story of Elizabeth Brundage in Film
In 2021 Appearance of things adapted the experience presented in the book All things stop appearing 2016. Like the novel, the film follows a family who moves into an old house where paranormal events begin to occur. But the film – and the book – they veer into the territory of family trauma and, ultimately, a murder mystery.
Doris Bieter case
In 1974, Doris Biter, a single mother of four and a resident of Culver City, began experiencing alleged attacks from an invisible entity. At first, objects fell around him, doors closed, and unpleasant odors. After this, the woman began to be subjected, according to her, to beatings and even episodes of sexual violence. Horrified, she turned to researchers Kerry Gaynor and Barry Tuff, who worked at the University of California at Los Angeles. for Thelma Moss’ (now defunct) parapsychology laboratory.
The duo accompanied Biter to his home and over the course of several weeks they were able to capture what they claimed was paranormal activity. However, throughout the trial they were accused of being biased in their investigative methods and ignoring the victim’s history of substance abuse. However, they insisted that although they could not explain what was happening, they were able to collect evidence among them is a photograph of unexplained luminous phenomena.
In 1978, Frank De Felitta published the book Essencewhich caused a sensation. Especially since it explores the possibility that Doris Beater may have had a psychotic break. However, the book does not completely rule out the possibility of the supernatural. allowing you to express an intriguing point of view on the event.
The Doris Beater Story in Film
Following the success of Frank De Felitta’s book in 1982, it was released. Essencefrom director Sidney J. Furie, who adapts the book and explores all the circumstances from the point of view of the victim. Starring Barbara Hershey, it becamewas a box office success and brought the case back into the public eye, once again becoming a source of widespread interest.
Source: Hiper Textual
