[Review] Behind the Horror

Behind The Horror: True Stories that Inspired Horror Movies

Dr. Lee Mellor

Penguin Random House - DK Publishing

2020

5/5 Stars

This kicked off the spooky season for me in the best possible way. Dr Lee covers 21 horror movies (in chronological order) and the real-life stories that inspired them. Because of some directors being influenced by more than one story, the author dissects thirty-four cases throughout the book. Each chapter is dedicated to one or two movies: the author lays out the plot, so don’t read it unless you’re ok with having all the film’s endings spoiled, proceeding to explain where and how the director got the inspiration for certain characters/plot points. He does a great job at covering the cases; he provides all the relevant information, including historical background, and recounts the facts in clear and chronological order, making it easy to follow regardless of how extensive the case really is. In fact, Dr. Lee covered them better than a handful of true crime podcasts I listen to, even though he couldn’t expand too much on all the stories due to how many there were. I expected to be familiar with most of the true-crime stories, seeing as I consume that kind of content a lot, so I was pleasantly surprised that out of the thirty-four, sixteen were completely new to me. Because of this, I’m confident that there’ll be at the very least a handful of stories unfamiliar to even the most true-crime-obsessed reader, especially since the cases range from the US, to Australia, to Italy, to Weimar Germany. 

As previously mentioned, Dr. Lee covers a movie per chapter, therefore, you can read the book in whichever order you like. That way, you can skip the ones that cover movies you haven’t seen yet and avoid spoilers. The author chose movies ranging from the 1930s to 2010s, which brings great variety and allows the reader to see the evolution of horror through the different decades. Some of the horror movies featured in the book are easy to guess since they were heavily marketed as having been inspired by true events, such as The Conjuring (2013) and The Amityville Horror (1979), there were a few that surprised me. If not for this book, I’d never have guessed that the deaths of Laotian refugees from “Sudden Unexplained Nocturnal Death Syndrome inspired the director of A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984).” Another surprise was that Scream (1996) iconic opening scene was based on the murder of Janet Christman, and Ghostface was inspired by the Gainesville Ripper, a brutal serial killer that I hadn’t even heard of before. 

I particularly liked the author’s approach with the horror movies that were based on, allegedly, real hauntings or possessions (i.e., The Exorcist (1973), The Amityville Horror (1979), Poltergeist (1982), The Mothman Prophecies (2002), The Conjuring (2013), Annabelle (2014), The Conjuring 2 (2016)). Most books and podcasts I’ve consumed opt for debunking each claim through the course of the story, whereas Dr Lee decided only explains how the case has been debunked at the very end. That way the reader gets the full effect of the narrative and can enjoy the creepy tale without the mood being constantly broken by rebuttals. 

The book flows nicely. Even though it’s packed with information, the author always uses clear language and could maintain a pace that doesn’t feel dragged or bore the reader. All the chapters were composed well and heavily researched, so they’re all equally good, but my favorites when it comes to the stories behind them are A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984), Scream (1996), Jaws (1975), and M: A City searches for a murderer (1931). I highly recommend this book to all true-crime aficionados and horror lovers; this is the perfect opportunity to find out a little more about what’s behind so many famous horror movies.

Movies discussed in Behind The Horror: True Stories that Inspired Horror Movies

M: A City searches for a murderer (1931), Rope (1948), Psycho (1960), The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974), Frenzy (1972), The Exorcist (1973), Jaws (1975), The Town that Dreaded Sundown (1976), The Amityville Horror (1979), Poltergeist (1982), A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984), The Serpent and the Rainbow (1988), The Silence of the Lambs (1991), Scream (1996), The Mothman Prophecies (2002), Wolf Creek (2005), The Conjuring (2013), Annabelle (2014), The Conjuring 2 (2016), The Witch (2015), The Lighthouse (2019).