May 26, 2017 | Josh Mendelssohn

Blood-Curdling Facts About Horror Movies


Nothing beats a good horror flick—but the stories behind the scenes are sometimes even more chilling than what we see on screen. From Scream to Psycho, Jason to Jaws, we've collected these chilling facts about the most iconic horror movies in history. Read these with the lights on!


Horror Movie Facts

1. Kill Kill Kill...Ma Ma Ma...

Advertisement

The eerie “ch ch ch…ah ah ah” sound effect from the Friday the 13th franchise haunts many a horror fan's dreams, but it’s not just random noises. Harry Manfredini, the composer for the original film, took inspiration from the line where the killer, (Spoiler!) Pamela Voorhees, says “Kill her, mommy!” in her son Jason’s voice.

Manfredini reduced the words “kill” and “mommy” to “ki” and “ma,” spoke these sounds into a microphone, heavily distorted them, and voila!

Horror Movie FactsShutterstock

Advertisement

2. Putting the Cart Before the Horse

In the post-Halloween world, Sean Cunningham desperately wanted to film the next big slasher flick, and he was going to do so by any means necessary. He actually took out an ad in Variety featuring Friday the 13th’s iconic logo smashing through glass and a release date: November 1979. Except he had one big problem: he hadn’t filmed anything yet—he didn’t even have funding!

He eventually got the money and made the film, but couldn’t quite get everything together by November: Friday the 13th came out in May of 1980.

Horror Movie FactsShutterstock

Advertisement

3. How About "Scary Camp Kill Much"?

Friday the 13th is synonymous with horror today, but it almost had a completely different name. When the film was still just Cunningham’s distant pipe dream, he envisioned calling it Long Night at Camp Blood. Just as catchy?

Horror Movie FactsShutterstock

Advertisement

4. I Wouldn't Go There

Friday the 13th’s Camp Crystal Lake was a real camp, Camp No-Be-Bo-Sco. The summer of 1979 ended, the campers all went home, and the filmmakers got free rein of the campground in September. In fact, Camp No-Be-Bo-Sco is still in operation today—hopefully with no homicidal maniacs running around.

Horror Movie FactsFriday the 13th, Paramount Pictures/Warner Bros. Pictures

Advertisement

5. Get Out of My Dreams and Into My Car

When aging actress Betsy Palmer took the role of Pamela Voorhees in Friday the 13th, it wasn’t because she believed in the project or loved the horror genre. In her words, “I desperately needed a new car…If I hadn’t needed a car, I don’t think I would’ve done Friday the 13th.”

Advertisement
Horror Movie FactsWikimedia Commons

Advertisement

6. Secret Killers

Betsy Palmer played Pamela Voorhees, the killer in Friday the 13th, but several of the movie’s early kill scenes don’t feature her at all. Filming began before the part of Pamela had been cast, and since the killer isn’t shown for the much of the movie, members of the crew simply stood in for the part.

Horror Movie FactsFriday the 13th, Paramount Pictures/Warner Bros. Pictures

Advertisement

7. Walk on the Wild Side

In an odd coincidence, the New Jersey woods where filming took place for Friday the 13th were also home to rock star Lou Reed. Apparently, he actually came by the set on occasion, and at night, he even performed for the cast and crew.

Never Meet Your Heroes FactsGetty Images

Advertisement

8. Not Safe Blood

Fans loved the realistic gore in Friday the 13th—but there was a serious cost to creating those effects. Back in the late 70s, FX artists used “Safe Blood” and “Not Safe Blood”—and it was important not to confuse the two. If the fake blood was going to get on an actor’s face, then it was imperative that “Safe Blood” be used. Well, apparently the FX team on Friday the 13th missed that memo.

In the scene where Bill (played by Bing Crosby's son Harry, of all people) is killed by arrows, the team did not use Safe Blood, and when it got in the actor’s eyes, it nearly blinded him.

Horror Movie FactsShutterstock

Advertisement

9. Slasher

The director of Scream, Wes Craven, would hide the voice actor who voiced Ghostface, Roger L. Jackson, on set during shoots. When the actors would get taunting calls from the killer, they were actually hearing Roger, hidden somewhere on set. Are we hearing voices?

Horror Movies facts Scream (1996), Dimension Films

Factinate

Sign up to our newsletter.

History’s most fascinating stories and darkest secrets, delivered to your inbox daily. Making distraction rewarding since 2017.

Thank you!
Error, please try again.
Advertisement

10. Nightmarish

In Evil Dead II, you can see Freddy Krueger’s glove above the door in the tool shed. Gotta hand it to the director, we missed this the first time.

Advertisement
Horror Movies facts Evil Dead II (1987), De Laurentiis Entertainment Group

Advertisement

11. Bloody Hell

It took about a year of technical work to get the blood pouring out of the elevator just right for the iconic scene in The Shining; but it only took three days to film once they were able to consistently achieve the desired effect.

Horror Movies facts The Shining, Warner Bros.

Advertisement

12. Bloody Hell Part II

Sissy Spacek was chillingly devoted to her role as the titular Carrie. To avoid breaking continuity, Spacek decided to sleep in bloody clothes for three days while filming the film's prom scene. Looks like she’s willing to bleed for her art.

Horror Movies facts Getty Images

Advertisement

13. Homage

John Carpenter hid many homages to Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho in Halloween. He even cast Jamie Lee Curtis, the daughter of Psycho star Janet Leigh, as the lead in Halloween. Like mother, like daughter.

Horror Movies facts Halloween (1978), Compass International Pictures

Advertisement

14. A Green October

The thing with a movie called Halloween is that you kinda need to set it in October. The only problem was: it had to be shot in the spring in order to have it ready for a fall release. In order to give the movie the proper ambiance, production designer Tommy Lee Wallace personally painted dozens of bags of fake leaves to spread all over the exteriors of the set.

However, anyone paying close attention would notice that the neighborhood trees look curiously green for October 31st.

Horror Movie FactsShutterstock

Advertisement

15. Pants On Fire

Danny Lloyd, the actor who played Danny in The Shining, wasn’t told that he was shooting a horror movie. Danny believed he was going to film a drama.

Advertisement
Horror Movies factsThe Shining, Warner Bros.

Advertisement

16. Nightmarish Part II

The high school janitor in Scream is named Fred, and wears a green and red sweater as a nod to Freddy Krueger from A Nightmare On Elm Street, which Wes Craven also directed. The janitor was played by Craven himself.

Horror Movies factsGetty Images

Advertisement

17. Too Real

Filming The Blair Witch Project was utterly harrowing for Heather Donahue, one of the film's lead actors. She was worried that the director was making a snuff film, and had taken her and the other two cast members out to the woods to kill them. Luckily for her, and all of us, she was wrong. The film only took eight days to shoot.

Horror Movies factsGetty Images

Advertisement

18. Final Destination(s)

To film the premonition scene in Final Destination 3, the actors had to ride the roller coaster 26 times. It must have been emotional roller coaster having to ride that...roller coaster over and over again.

Horror Movies factsPixabay

Advertisement

19. Not So Final Destination

Final Destination was originally an idea for an episode of The X-Files that never got written.

Horror Movies factsFinal Destination (2000), New Line Cinema

Advertisement

20. Bullocks

Virginia Madsen, the lead actor in Candyman, wasn’t sure if she should take the role. If she passed, the producers were considering giving the role to Sandra Bullock, who was relatively unknown at the time.

Advertisement
Horror Movies factsGetty Images

Advertisement

21. Potty Break

Psycho was the first time a flushing toilet was shown on screen. Countless poop jokes have followedthanks, Alfred.

Horror Movies factsFlickr, Marco Ooi

Advertisement

22. Turn Back Time

In order to make Samara’s walk even creepier, The Ring filmmakers shot the actor walking backward, and then reversed the shot.

Horror Movies factsThe Ring, DreamWorks

Advertisement

23. Count It

In all of Nosferatu, Max Schrek, the actor who plays Count Orlock, only blinked once. That’s once in a 1-hour and 34-minute long film. His eyes must have been dry when the filming was a wrap.

Horror Movies factsFlickr, FICG

Advertisement

24. Exercise Your Right

The Exorcist was the first horror film to be nominated for Best Picture at the Oscars. The movie would go on to rack up a total of 10 nominations and would win three.

Horror Movies factsGetty Images

Advertisement

25. Shy Guy

The shark in Jaws doesn’t appear in the film until an hour and 21 minutes into the film. While part of the reason behind this is to build suspense, the biggest reason behind it was that the mechanical shark built for the film rarely worked as intended. The end result is a truly terrifying entrance.

Advertisement
Movie Industry factsWikipedia

Advertisement

26. Alienated

It took over seven years for Aliens to get made. Talk of a sequel began shortly after the success of the first film, but disputes over money from the producers delayed the project.

Horror Movies factsAlien (1979) , Twentieth Century-Fox Productions

Advertisement

27. Beam Me Up

The mask Michael Myers wears in Halloween is a stretched out, whitewashed Captain Kirk mask from Star Trek. Set your phasers to creepy.

Horror's Scariest Monsters factsShutterstock

Advertisement

28. Double Whammy

A double amputee stood in for Richard Dysart for the scene in The Thing where Dr. Copper has his arms chomped off by Norris’s chest-cavity-jaw. The special effects designer found a double amputee to participate and made prosthetics with wax bones and jelly veins. Once the mechanical jaws closed down, the actor pulled his arms back, causing them to sever and produce horrific visuals.

Horror Movies factsThe Thing (1982), Universal Pictures

Advertisement

29. That's Dynamite!

Kurt Russell threw an actual stick of dynamite while filming The Thing. The explosive was allegedly more powerful than the actor anticipated, and Russell was thrown back by the ensuing blast. Carpenter wasn’t complaining though: Russell was unhurt, and the unexpected shot looked so good he put it in the final cut of the movie.

Horror Movie FactsGetty Images

Advertisement

30. That Probably Won't Pass the Bechtel Test

The Thing pushed visual effects to a new level, but progressive it was not. Aside from the voice of MacReady’s computer, there isn’t a single woman in the entire cast.

Advertisement
Horror Movie FactShutterstock

Advertisement

31. Days to Terrify

The beauty of Halloween is in its simplicity: John Carpenter and Debra hill wrote the entire script in just 10 days.

Halloween Film Franchise factsGetty Images

Advertisement

32. GPS

The production team of The Blair Witch Project used pre-programmed GPS trackers to lead the actors to plastic canisters hidden in the woods. The canisters contained the direction their character was going in on that day, but they were told not share their directions with each other. Everything else was improvised by the actors.

Horror Movies factsPixabay

Advertisement

33. Paranormal Bank Activity

Believe it or not, but Paranormal Activity is the most profitable movie of all time. With an initial budget of $15,000, the movie went on to gross $193 million worldwide. That’s over one million percent return on investment!

Horror Movies factsPixabay

Advertisement

34. Scary Movie

Scream was originally titled Scary Movie, but the Weinstein brothers changed the name after hearing Michael Jackson’s song “Scream” in their car. Good thing they weren’t listening to “Beat It.”

Horror Movies factsPixabay

Advertisement

35. Edits

Before Joel and his brother Ethan Coen were a famous writer-director duo, Joel was an assistant editor on Sam Raimi’s Evil Dead. He was inspired by Sam’s pitch trailer, eventually making one for his own movie Blood Simple.

Advertisement
Horror Movies factsGetty Images

Advertisement

36. Hack It

Gene Hackman was slated to star in The Silence Of The Lambs, but decided to pull out of the project after he saw a clip of himself at the 1989 Oscars as FBI agent Alan Parker from Mississippi Burning. He didn’t want to follow up such a dark character with an even darker one.

Horror Movies factsGetty Images

Advertisement

37. Modeling Career

The creature from The Creature From The Black Lagoon was modeled after the Oscars statue given to winners of the award.

Horror Movies factsWikimedia Commons, Greg Willis

Advertisement

38. Crafty

The Craft wanted to ensure all the witchcraft they were portraying was authentic, so they hired Pat Devlin as a consultant. Pat is a member of a large Wiccan religious organization, known as the Covenant of the Goddess, and was the organization’s first officer for their Southern California Local Council.

Horror Movies factsThe Craft (1996), Columbia Pictures Corporation

Advertisement

39. House of History

John Carpenter used an actual house to film Halloween, and it’s still standing today—though not in its original location. For years, it sat at 709 Meridian Avenue in South Pasadena, California, but in 1987, it was lined up to be demolished. To save it, the house was relocated to 1000 Mission Street in South Pasadena, and it was eventually named a historical landmark. So don’t worry, it’s not going anywhere.

Horror Movie FactsWikimedia Commons

Advertisement

40. Spoiler Alert

Both The Hollywood Reporter and Variety published spoilers for the film Psycho months before it was released, despite Hitchcock’s best efforts to keep the ending a secret. Mum’s the word, Alfie.

Advertisement
Horror Movies factsFlickr, Insomnia Cured Here

Advertisement

41. Dance For Me

One of the most chilling scenes in The Silence of the Lambs almost wasn't included at all. Buffalo Bill’s famous dance scene wasn’t in the script, though it was in the book. Ted Levine, the actor who played Bill, was insistent that the scene be included to help the audience understand the demented character better. Thanks Ted, we’ll never hear "Goodbye Horses" by Q Lazzarus the same again.

Horror Movies factsThe Silence of the Lambs (1991), Orion Pictures

Advertisement

42. Too Scary

A man sued Warner Brothers for injuries he obtained from fainting after attending a screening of The Exorcist. Warner Brothers settled the deal out of court, which usually means big bucks. What’s the next big horror film that’s coming out?

Horror Movies factsGetty Images

Advertisement

43. Too Sane

Stanley Kubrick thought Robert DeNiro wasn’t psychotic enough for the role of Jack in The Shining. This decision was made after Kubrick watched Taxi Driver. Sure, Kubrick, not psychotic enough.

Horror Movies factsTaxi Driver (1976), Columbia Pictures Corporation

Advertisement

44. Too On The Nose

The original title for Halloween was The Babysitter Murders. Way to not beat around the bush with that title, guys.

Horror Movies factsPixabay

Advertisement

45. Tastes Like Barf

The vomit used in The Exorcist was Andersen’s Pea Soup. The special effects team tried using Campbell’s Pea Soup, but they weren’t happy with the way it looked.

Advertisement
Horror Movies factsPixabay

Advertisement

46. Jacked Up

Jack Nicholson was once considered for the role of Hannibal Lecter in Silence Of The Lambs. The role would eventually go to Anthony Hopkins, who was perfect for the part.

Horror Movies factsThe Silence of the Lambs (1991), Orion Pictures

Advertisement

47. Stunt Doubles

Church, the cat in Pet Sematary, was actually played by seven different cats. Must have been just as confusing for the cats as it was for the cast.

Horror Movies factsPixabay

Advertisement

48. Whites Only

The robe Ghostface wears in Scream was originally supposed to be white, to better show the blood and gore once he got busy. Wes Craven had it changed because he feared it would look too much like the robes of the Ku Klux Klan. Good choice Wes.

Horror Movies factsFlickr, Miguel Castaneda

Advertisement

49. Saw That Coming

The original Saw film only took 18 days to film due to its limited use of sets. That’s smart, no matter how you cut it.

Jason Bourne Movies factsShutterstock

Advertisement

50. Bugs Me

The cocoons used in Silence Of The Lambs were made of gummy bears and tootsie rolls. Still looks gross, if you ask us.

Advertisement
Horror Movies factsPixabay

Advertisement

51. Nice Do

Pennywise’s hair was actor Tim Curry’s actual hair in the original It miniseries. The only thing production did to it was dye it red and style it to give it that crazy look.

Horror Movies factsGetty Images

Advertisement

52. Sweety

Bosco chocolate syrup was used as blood in the original Night of the Living Dead. The film was shot in black and white, and chocolate syrup had a similar appearance to blood on black and white screens.

Horror Movies factsShutterstock

Advertisement

53. Gein Momentum

Serial killer Ed Gein was so twisted, he has inspired three major horror films. These were Psycho, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and Silence Of The Lambsnot to mention a whole lot of cheesy straight to video movies. When police raided his farm, they discovered masks, bowls, and lampshades made of skin, decapitated heads, and even a belt made of nipples.

Horror Movies factsPixabay

Advertisement

54. Hedging Their Bets

The Thing has a famously dark ending, but the film’s editor, Todd Ramsay, was worried that such a bleak finale wouldn’t test well. Just in case, he told Carpenter to film a second ending, one where MacReady is rescued and takes a blood-test which proves he wasn’t assimilated by the Thing. To the relief of fans everywhere, while the scene was filmed, Carpenter stood firm to his original vision.

Halloween Film Franchise factsGetty Images

Advertisement

55. Mouthful

Tony Todd, the actor who played the titular character in Candyman, had to go to disturbing lengths for the film. He actually put real bees into his mouth to film the movie’s climax. It’s a good thing he wasn’t allergic, because the show must go on.

Advertisement
Horror Movies factsPixabay

Advertisement

56. All Work

Stanley Kubrick is thought to have personally typed out all 500 pages of “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy” that was used in The Shining, but it’s not known for sure whether that's true. Kubrick never addressed the rumors before his death.

Horror Movies factsWikimedia Commons, Matthew J. Cotter

Advertisement

57. In the Blood

The Halloween novelization reveals that Michael’s great-grandfather killed a couple at a harvest dance on Halloween. Great-grandpa Myers then identified his victims by name before he was hanged, even though he’d never met them, saying he heard the names in his dreams.

Michael Myers FactsHalloween Wiki - Fandom

Sources: 1, 2, 34, 5, 6, 7

Advertisement

More from Factinate

Featured Article

My mom never told me how her best friend died. Years later, I was using her phone when I made an utterly chilling discovery.

Dark Family Secrets

Dark Family Secrets Exposed

Nothing stays hidden forever—and these dark family secrets are proof that when the truth comes out, it can range from devastating to utterly chilling.
April 8, 2020 Samantha Henman

Featured Article

Madame de Pompadour was the alluring chief mistress of King Louis XV, but few people know her dark history—or the chilling secret shared by her and Louis.

Madame de Pompadour Facts

Entrancing Facts About Madame de Pompadour, France's Most Powerful Mistress

Madame de Pompadour was the alluring chief mistress of King Louis XV, but few people know her dark history—or the chilling secret shared by her and Louis.
December 7, 2018 Kyle Climans

More from Factinate

Featured Article

I tried to get my ex-wife served with divorce papers. I knew that she was going to take it badly, but I had no idea about the insane lengths she would go to just to get revenge and mess with my life.

These People Got Genius Revenges

When someone really pushes our buttons, we'd like to think that we'd hold our head high and turn the other cheek, but revenge is so, so sweet.
April 22, 2020 Scott Mazza

Featured Article

Catherine of Aragon is now infamous as King Henry VIII’s rejected queen—but few people know her even darker history.

Catherine of Aragon Facts

Tragic Facts About Catherine of Aragon, Henry VIII’s First Wife

Catherine of Aragon is now infamous as King Henry VIII’s rejected queen—but very few people know her even darker history.
June 7, 2018 Christine Tran



Dear reader,


Want to tell us to write facts on a topic? We’re always looking for your input! Please reach out to us to let us know what you’re interested in reading. Your suggestions can be as general or specific as you like, from “Life” to “Compact Cars and Trucks” to “A Subspecies of Capybara Called Hydrochoerus Isthmius.” We’ll get our writers on it because we want to create articles on the topics you’re interested in. Please submit feedback to contribute@factinate.com. Thanks for your time!


Do you question the accuracy of a fact you just read? At Factinate, we’re dedicated to getting things right. Our credibility is the turbo-charged engine of our success. We want our readers to trust us. Our editors are instructed to fact check thoroughly, including finding at least three references for each fact. However, despite our best efforts, we sometimes miss the mark. When we do, we depend on our loyal, helpful readers to point out how we can do better. Please let us know if a fact we’ve published is inaccurate (or even if you just suspect it’s inaccurate) by reaching out to us at contribute@factinate.com. Thanks for your help!


Warmest regards,



The Factinate team




Want to learn something new every day?

Join thousands of others and start your morning with our Fact Of The Day newsletter.

Thank you!

Error, please try again.