Horror flicks can easily be about anything that makes our skin crawl. From maniacs with masks and sharp objects to haunted houses populated by vengeful spirits, finding something frightening is as easy as knowing where to look. But when it comes to certain members of the genre, they need to look no farther than human superstition.
Urban legends and campfire tales have been with us since the birth of language itself, so it makes sense that they would transition well from the campfire to the screen. Tales of curses, strange creatures, and boogeymen have populated the genre for decades. So let’s look at ten flicks inspired by urban legends.
A Nightmare on Elm Street
Partially based in truth from actual events that affected Cambodian refugees, but also partially based on the superstition that dictates if you die in your dreams, you die for real. Well, the great Wes Craven took this idea and ran the whole nine yards with it to give us the fiendish Freddy Kreuger in A Nightmare on Elm Street.
Freddy definitely gave kids in the 80s a reason to be up at night. The dream world is his world, and he won’t let you forget it. Hard to believe an entire franchise came from one superstition.
The Mothman Prophecies
Like A Nightmare on Elm Street, this film draws from two inspirations, The Mothman Prophecies by John Keel, and a series of mysterious occurrences that took place in Point Pleasant, WV involving a supposed supernatural creature. The Mothman himself is a cryptozoological creature that has been seen off-and-on since the 60s. Perfect subject for a monster movie, right?
The film is very surreal, with eerie and strange imagery and an impressive performance by Richard Gere. This version of the Mothman is definitely more demonic than alien or monstrous, but it’s worth at least one viewing for fans of the creature.
When a Stranger Calls
“Have you checked the children?” and “The call is coming from inside the house!” are two of the most chilling lines in classic horror cinema, and we have When a Stranger Calls to thank for it. Though the original and remake are both eerie in their own rights, they wouldn’t exist without a famous urban legend.
Tales of babysitters encountering home intruders while on the job have been told over campfires and flashlights since our grandparents’ days, they’re nothing new. That being said, the idea of anyone breaking in to harm children is always a scary thought. Definitely worthy of a movie or two.
The Tall Man
There’s no easy way to segway into this, but The Tall Man was a Slenderman rip-off. We know it, you know it, the filmmakers know it, and so did everyone else who put this flick on. Though it took more than a few liberties, it’s painfully obvious to tell that this film was inspired by the famous Creepypasta.
Think about it, a tall figure dressed all in black who kidnaps children? That sure sounds like your garden variety Slenderman to us. It was an interesting mystery, but as far as a Slenderman or boogeyman story goes, it’s a hard pass from us.
The Grudge/Ju-On
When it comes to grisly and gruesome ghost stories, always buy Japanese. Ju-On and its American counterpart, The Grudge, represents the nation’s incredible gift for horror. With a haunted house, a murder, and a set of vengeful spirits that scare us every time, you know they’re doing something right.
Kayako and her son are inspired by the Japanese myth of the Onryō, a vengeful spirit driven by anger or tragedy who can do physical harm to the living. Tales of Onryō have been around since the days of the samurai and thanks to films like Ju-On, they continue the tradition of fear.
The Ring/Ringu
Alright, we know we’re not going to get away with mentioning Japanese horror without talking about Samara/Sadako from the iconic Ring series of films. Though it might sound like your typical Japanese horror fare, there’s actually a little more behind it.
The idea of a haunted or cursed videotape can be traced back to chain letters and other such modern myths. It’s stories like this that give us films like One Missed Call or The Echo. That all being said, that doesn’t mean the scares are any less real, even though VHS tapes went out like the dodo.
Candyman
Our next entries all have a central theme in common, a ghost you can summon by chanting their name. This idea goes all the way back to the myth of Bloody Mary, but nowhere was it made more terrifying than in Clive Barker’s Candyman. Barker’s writing might have inspired it, but Tony Todd’s performance brought it to life.
Candyman is an urban gothic horror that desperately needs more attention. It’s a totally new take on the Bloody Mary-style of ghost story, and certainly a sweet and sinister flick. No wonder it was such a horror icon of the 90s.
Beetlejuice
And now we move things to the opposite of the spectrum with Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice. He’s the ghost with the most, a bio-exorcist looking to help out the recently deceased, and he knows how to throw one heck of a dinner party. Bloody Mary’s got nothing on this dude.
Perhaps the most light-hearted film on our list, Beetlejuice definitely takes a tried and true ghost story cliche and turns it over on his head. Many fans claim Burton did his best work early on in his career, and this flick is a prime example. It’s the director in his purest form.
Trick r’ Treat
The celebration of Halloween is practically built upon pagan beliefs and superstitions, so why not make an entire movie that celebrates them? That’s how we got Michael Dougherty’s Trick r’ Treat. This orange-saturated anthology flick has more than enough urban legends to go around.
Give out treats or you get tricked, always check your candy, and never blow out a Jack-o-lantern are all pretty good rules of thumb to live by on the creepiest night of the year. We’ve all heard stories about scary things going down on Halloween night, but Trick r’ Treat gives these spooky stories a colorful twist. And our little buddy, Sam, is the cherry on top.
Urban Legend
Now, this is how you do an urban legend movie. Don’t just use one as your horror movie’s backbone, use a whole bunch to give your killer a much more memorable M.O. Every legend in the book is in this series, and though a tad cliche at times, they are some underrated slasher flicks.
Despite the killer’s goofy design in the first one, the original Urban Legend has several classic horror elements in play, including appearances by Robert England and Brad Dourif. If you’re looking for a more modern slasher in the vein of Scream, definitely give this series a try.
