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Is Jeepers Creepers Based on a True Story?

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Featured Horror Mystery and Lore Scary Movies and Series

Is Jeepers Creepers all fiction, or could it be that there was some true story inspiration for such a terrifying opening, not to mention the bloody events that follow?

Victor Salva’s millennial cult classic Jeepers Creepers (2001) was an important film in the lives of many budding horror fans. Its story of a brother and sister’s road trip crossing paths with the twisted and deadly Creeper captivated audiences in its day. Though packed with genre clichés and predictable cheese, the film features one of the more imaginative and effectively chilling openings of the 2000s; a long and sparse shot of a rural stretch of road where an increasingly menacing-looking van approaches our protagonists’ car. While the rest of the flick doesn’t quite retain the nail-biting tension offered here, Jeepers Creepers still remains a fun and gory horror outing for nostalgic or less-demanding viewers.

The Horrific Story of Dennis DePue


Here we introduce Dennis DePue, a disturbed murderer and a direct influence on the character of the Creeper himself. Dennis’ story, and that of his wife Marilynn and their three children, follows unsettlingly similar beats to that of Salva’s 2001 pseudo-slasher, though the reality is far more horrifying than any fictional, bat-winged killer scarecrow could hope to be.

Marilynn had many, many opportunities to treat me fairly during this divorce, but she chose to string it out, trick me, lie to me. And when you lose your wife, children, and home, there’s not much left. I was too old to start over.

Dennis DuPue

Following building tensions on an already tense marriage, forty-six-year-old Dennis DePue had murdered his forty-eight-year-old wife Marilynn earlier that day, beating and pushing her down a flight of stairs, as reports go. He carried her body to the car, telling their children that he was taking her to the hospital. They never saw her again. her body found by an eerie old school bus also ties back to Jeepers Creepers as it is similar how the creeper stores his bodies.

DePue was found only when his story aired on Unsolved Mysteries. Having changed his name and attracting a new girlfriend, Mary, DePue was living happily as Hank when his story was made public. After he disappeared and Mary discovered who he really was, she contacted the police immediately and DePue was located within just four hours. After firing a couple of warning shots at approaching officers, DePue then turned the gun on himself, thus ending the grim saga.

Comparing the intro to DePue’s Story

AndersYdna on youtube got creative and spliced together the intro from Jeepers Creepers and the Unsolved Mysteries story about Dennis DePue to show the similarities. It’s a quick 10 min watch.

The Thornton’s True Story Inspiration

April 15th, 1990. A couple, Ray and Marie Thornton, set off on their weekly routine of a peaceful country drive outside of Coldwater, Michigan. Little did they know that their usual Sunday tradition would this week land them in the centre of a horrific and bloody mystery. As they drove south on Snow Prairie Road a strange van revved loudly from behind as it sped past them. Marie noticed that the van’s license plate began with “GZ”, exclaiming, “jeez, he’s really in a hurry”.

Some miles down the road, the Thorntons passed an old schoolhouse where they saw the mystery van a second time. The van was parked between the school and a huge tank, and its driver was carrying a blood-soaked blanket across the grounds. Not long after this, the now-clearly-dangerous stranger was behind them once more, this time tailgating them within inches for at least two miles. As Ray pulled off the highway, the van parked itself at the side of the road and the bold Thorntons decided to swing back in an attempt to see the rest of its license plate. When the mystery driver was seen changing his license plate, the Thorntons decided to head back to the schoolhouse where they found the bloodied blanket partly stuffed into a rabbit hole. They immediately went to the police.

Is Jeepers Creepers Based on a True Story?

While many Jeepers Creeper fans will see a lot of similarities between what the brave Thorntons did (and saw) that day and the establishing minutes of Jeepers Creepers, the reality is no less harrowing than Salva’s reimagining. Although DuPue seems to have a direct influence on the Creeper it does not appear to be based purely on him.

https://unsolvedmysteries.fandom.com/wiki/Dennis_DePue
https://www.truecrimeedition.com/post/dennis-depue
https://reallifevillains.miraheze.org/wiki/Dennis_DePue

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Is Michael Myers Real?

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Featured Horror Mystery and Lore Scary Movies and Series

Is Michael Myers Based On a True Story?

Halloween in Haddonfield is one of the scariest horror movie settings of all time.  With a lot of parties and ‘trick or treaters,’ there are people wearing masks everywhere, making evil harder to detect.  Speaking of evil, everyone knows the iconic, mute, white-masked terror that is Michael Myers from the Halloween franchise. But where did Halloween creators come up with the story, plot and Michael Myers himself? What inspired one of the most popular (and deadly) horror movie slashers of all time, Michael Myers?  Is Halloween Michael Myers Real or based on a true story?

The Real Story Behind Michael Myers and Halloween

Like any successful horror movie franchise, Halloween has grown throughout time.  A horror franchise grows with its sequels according to the demand of the audience and appropriate plot advances. But a lot of what Michael Myers is today, is owed to his original creators…the writers and staff responsible for putting together the original Halloween film. Here are some of the most influential contributions to making Halloween and Michael a scary slasher genre leader that it is today!

Dark History of Evil

Michael Myers

The idea of Michael Myers can be traced back to Samhain, and true evil itself.  Debra Hill, who co-wrote Halloween (1978) got into detail in one interview mentioning Samhain itself and that evil was unable to be killed or destroyed. In a traditional Samhain belief, the souls from the other side can come back for one night. This spawned the concept of Michael Myers, a Halloween (Samhain by another name) killer who would keep coming back. Originally, Michael Myers was referred to as “The Shape” by direct John Carpenter. This was allegedly due to Michael always lurking in the shadows in the scenes. The term “the shape” also has some interesting roots in witchcraft meaning that the devil or evil can take the shape of others or walk in the shadows near them. Coincidence maybe, but interesting none the less.

College Studies to Horror Slasher

John Carpenter attributes some of his inspiration for writing Michael’s evil nature from a trip to a mental institution he took with one of his college classes.  Supposedly (according to Carpenter), the patients housed at this Kentucky mental institution were the most seriously ill of all mental patients.  Many of the patients exhibited creepy characteristics. One patient in particular, a young boy, provided Carpenter with a truly evil and deadly stare.  This experience ultimately led to the creation of the hacking and slashing villain and Halloween horror star, Michael Myers.

In the documentary “Halloween – A Cut Above the Rest” Carpenter describes the boy in detail.

“This blank, pale emotionless face. Blackest eyes. The devil’s eyes. I spent eight years trying to reach him and then another seven trying to keep him locked up, because I realized what was living behind that boys’ eyes was purely and simply evil.”

John Carpenter in “Halloween – A Cut Above the Rest”

Stanley Stiers

Another potential influence is Stanley Stiers. Stiers is a tragic story of babies switched at birth by a cruel nurse. When the parents found our Stanley was not their real son they abused and neglected him. The final straw was Halloween night when he was denied trick or treating while his sister was able to go. The young boy murdered his family and his sister with a knife. Some horror fan sites believe this is the true backstory of Halloween and Michael Myers, but we have yet to hear that confirmation from Carpenter himself.

Creating Haddonfield

The two writers, Hill and Carpenter, had to come up with a fictional town that Michael could return to haunt. Haddonfield is a real place, only it is located in New Jersey. Hill grew up in Haddonfield, New Jersey, and picked the name in honor of her hometown.  The street names throughout the movie were pulled from Carpenter’s hometown, Bowling Green. In fact, much of the script details were pulled together by combining the two writers’ childhood and hometown experiences together.

Character Creation

The writers decided it would be easiest to each be responsible for drafting the characters of their respective genders.  Thus, Debra Hill would write most of the female character dialogue and behavior; and Carpenter focused on Dr Loomis and Michael Myers. 

Additionally, some of the character names came from the Carpenter’s personal live. Laurie Strode was an ex-girlfriend of Carpenter’s. Michael Myers was the name of a producer Carpenter had previously known from another film.

A Terrifying Musical Score

A lot of the horror that takes place in a Halloween film, especially the original film, take place during super eerie sound tracks.  The suspense that builds during a Halloween film can almost directly relate to the background soundtrack, as the scarier the scenes: the scarier the music.  Carpenter played a huge part in the musical composition of the Halloween soundtrack and has suggested the soundtrack is one of the movies greatest assets.

Other Inspirations

Homage to Alfred Hitchcock is paid by way of two character names. Firstly, Tommy Doyle’s character was named after a policeman from Hitchcock’s 1954 “Rear Window.” And secondly, Dr. Loomis was a nod to character Sam Loomis (played by John Gavin) from Hitchcocks’ 1960 “Psycho.”

Final Words About Halloween’s Favorite Slasher

In short, Halloween is not based upon a true story although Michael Myers is based on real people from the writers lives. However, it does not require it be based on a real story to be truly terrifying. And there WAS real inspiration for the making of Michael Myers. And there were several other real-life inspirations in the making of the Halloween franchise. Regardless of how the original concept was derived, John Carpenter capitalized on a timeless fear, as the audience still turns up strong for a good Halloween sequel!

Are you a TRUE Halloween franchise enthusiast? Check out Surprising Facts About the Halloween Movies for some real Halloween Movie Trivia!

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Is Rose Red Based On a True Story?

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Haunted Places Horror Mystery and Lore Scary Movies and Series

Is the Movie Rose Red a Real Story?

How Real is the Rose Red Movie?

The very interesting road to filming the haunted house horror movie Rose Red is a special one.  The idea started out as a way to combine Stephen King and Steven Spielberg to make “the scariest haunted house movie ever made,” however, the two simply could not see eye-to-eye, and parted ways with King purchasing the full rights to the movie from Spielberg. It is a good thing he did (no offense to Spielberg), as King is better suited for the cerebral type of horror…which is exactly what Rose Red turned out to be: a psychological horror masterpiece.  So how real is Rose Red? Is it truly based upon a real story, as its $200,000 promotional marketing campaign implied? And if so, where is the “real Rose Red”? Let’s break it down a little, as the mansion is pretty big after all!

Is Rose Red based upon a real story?

The short answer is: YES, Rose Red is based upon a true story, however, there are plenty of embellishments and Stephen King combined multiple inspirations to achieve the end product that is the Rose Red movie we all know and love.

Where is the Real Rose Red?

Rose Red was filmed in a house known as the Thornewood Castle in Tacoma, Washington. However, the film was inspired by the story of the Winchester Mansion in San Jose, California.

The Winchester Mystery House [aka Winchester Mansion]

While there are many horror movies about haunted houses, and many movies about ghosts, Rose Red still strikes a uniquely creepy vibe. This is probably because Stephen King’s primary inspiration for the film came from the Winchester Mystery House story.  King first heard the story in a Ripley’s Believe It or Not  comic book as a kid. The story goes a little something like this…

Sarah Winchester was the wife of William Wirt Winchester, one of the most important originals of the Winchester Repeating Arms Company. The Winchester company was responsible for developing the weapon that revolutionized weaponry. The Winchester rifles would kill so many people, that lore would ultimately spawn the tale behind the mansion itself. Sarah Wichester was a huge believer of the paranormal and life beyond living, thus naturally succumbing to a number of psychics and paranormal investigators in her area.  The most notable of all spiritualists who would be hired by Sarah was Adam Coons…who supposedly explained to her that her family was cursed by the spirits of those killed by the family’s prominent invention.  Furthermore, Coons suggested she should move west and construct a home for the spirits and herself to reside.

Located in San Jose California, the Winchester Mystery House started out a smaller mansion in 1884, being built up with the massive inheritance Sarah Winchester was left after her husbands death.  In fact, it was only an eight room farm house at the time she purchased it. After she purchased the property, construction began nearly immediately, first starting with renovations and then the additions of rooms.  It has been said that construction continued in the property from the time she purchased it, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year…for more than 38 years! By the time of her death, the Winchester House had grown to a massive 160 rooms making up 24,000 square feet. Much of her staff required a map in order to navigate the home, despite working there every single day.  The sheer size of the mansion created a natural uneasiness which fostered the development of the best ghost stories!

Fun Fact: There are 47 fireplaces, 40 stairways, 6 kitchens and 3 elevators in the Winchester Mystery House.  It is obvious as to why the Winchester Mansion was the perfect inspiration for Rose Red!

Is the Winchester Mansion Really Haunted Like Rose Red?

In real life, the Winchester Mansion does not expand indefinitely like the haunted mansion portrayed in Rose Red.  The idea of an ever expanding house that was bigger on the inside than the outside did come from the Winchester Mansion story.  And the house itself was believed to be haunted by Sarah Winchester, and many others (even still to this day). Additionally, the sound of hammers and construction being heard from within Rose Red does come from tales reported from within the Winchester Mansion…as many guests have reported such audible anomalies.  The house currently serves as a historic tourist attraction at 525 South Winchester Blvd (and yes, it’s still located in San Jose, California!).  Unfortunately there have been some exploits of the Winchester house, such as modifications to the home to include the number “13” more prominently to back up a suspected-false rumor that Sarah was obsessed with the number 13. There are scattered reports of several construction workers and laborers (carpenters, electricians, engineers, etc), who claim to have been paid to modify the property after her death (chandeliers, bathrooms, windows, etc) to increase the frequency of the number 13 throughout the house.

Stephen King and his crew did explore the Winchester Mystery House prior to selecting a filming location with the intention of possibly using the Winchester Mansion itself.  Ultimately, however, the rooms proved to be too small for filming high quality footage, and Thornewood Castle was selected.

Additional Inspirations

The rest of the inspirations for Rose Red either came from Stephen King’s impressively twisted mind, or from the 1959 book “The Haunting.”  The Haunting would be turned into a movie in itself in 1963 and showcased a professor with an interest in the supernatural recruiting a group of psychics specifically to investigate a haunted house for proof of paranormal activity.  Stephen King wanted a hands-on type of professor, and portrayed Joyce Reardon as a more aggressive character, rather than simply an inquisitive one.  Stephen King also turns to a variety of other horror tactics to put the character of the house, Rose Red itself, into physical terms.  King gives Rose Red the ability to grow more powerful and manifest real, “in the flesh” types of anomalies…even summoning back its victims as zombies to haunt the rest of the living!

It turns out, additionally, that Thornewood Castle (the place Rose Red was filmed within, not based upon), also has its own sets of scares and ghost tales! While none of the crew or cast have reported any strange occurrences while filming, many guests and tourists most certainly have. Many staff members have reported seeing apparitions and other spiritual inhabitants…and guests report seeing the figure of a woman in a mirror throughout the castle. Thornewood Castle is an English Tudor in a gothic style built for Chester Thorne in 1911.  Although no where near the size of the Winchester Mansion, it possesses a respectable 54 rooms, including 22 bedrooms and 22 bathrooms.  And the castle itself was a most obvious choice for the film Rose Red, given the intense level of detail paid within the architecture.  Even the famous red brick facing seen in the movie was imported straight from Wales! 

Final Words About Rose Red

Rose Red is one of the most creative horror movies of all time, despite being about a cliché haunted house.  There are psychological thrills to be found in nearly every scene, riddled among just the right amount of paranormal action and phenomena. Probably one of the most critical parts of the suspense buildup is the heavy peppering of the house’s creepy history.  Unfortunately, most of the history of the actual house itself was made up, though we have to give Stephen King props where deserved…as its one hell of a story!

Huge Rose Red Fan? Check out some Rose Red Trivia, Behind the Scenes and Fun Facts!

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Is the Adlet the Werewolf of the Far North?

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Horror Mystery and Lore

What is the Adlet?

Artwork by Mary Farnstrom

Not a true werewolf—but they are the closest thing you’ll see to one in Inuit folklore. The Adlet (ah-dlit), also known as the Erqigdlet (urk-kig-dlit) in Greenland, is considered the arctic counterpart of the well-known werewolf and for good reason. Although they are not shapeshifters and the moon has no effect on them, their physical appearance is enough to make anyone believe they’re one and the same. In their own lore, they are considered a ferocious man-eating beast, originating from an unnatural mating between an Inuit woman and a dog. This woman ended up birthing a litter of ten—five of which were dogs, and five that were half-human, half-canine monstrosities which began their history of terrorizing the frozen north.

Many accounts of this murderous race of humanoids, have described them as having a more human upper-half and a fully canine lower-half, but there are more who say that they resemble the more infamous werewolf of European lore. What all of these descriptions have in common though is the details of their monstrosity. The Adlet, in particular, possesses a mouth full of razor-sharp teeth, a rusty-red coat, a pronounced canine snout, pointed ears, piercing eyes, and a long, wolf-like tail. Other than the known ability of a werewolf to transition back into a human form after a full moon, they both seem rather similar, don’t they?

Photography by Neil Rosenstech

Origin of the Adlet


It would be negligent to speak at length about the Adlet, without giving an explanation of where this creature originated from within the Inuit culture, luckily there are recorded tales from the late nineteenth century that help to fill the gap of our knowledge on this particular cryptid.



Uinigumissuitoq married a dog. One night she was found outside the hut sleeping with the dog. She gave birth to ten children, one half of them dogs, the other Adlet. The children grew up. Every time their grandfather had got a seal, he loaded it upon his kayak and carried it to them. His grandchildren were very voracious. Therefore, he selected an island for their place of abode and carried them over there, his daughter, the dog, and the children.

Photography by Virginia Johnson

Their father, the dog, swam every day to the old man’s hut to fetch meat in a pair of boots which he had hung around his neck. One day the grandfather filled them with stones instead of meat and thus drowned the dog. When he was drowned their grandfather continued to send them food.

The mother, however, said to her children, “Watch your grandfather, when he goes out in his kayak, and attack him!” They killed him. Then she searched for her children, and after having cut a sole for herself, she transformed it quickly into a boat, in which she ordered them to travel across the ocean. She sang, “Angnaijaja. When you have arrived on the other side, you will make many little things. Angnaija.”

Excerpt from Journal of American Folklore v. 1-2 (1888-1889): Eskimo Tales and Songs

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Is the Saw Movie Based On a True Story

Categories
Horror Mystery and Lore Scary Movies and Series

Is There a Real Jigsaw Killer (Like Saw)

The Saw Movie Franchise: Is It Based Upon A Real Story?

The Saw horror franchise is notorious for its sick and twisted death scenes (even being produced by a company called “Twisted Pictures”). The Saw franchise takes advantage of a very real fear in all of us: sadistic torture and body horror.  Given torture is a fairly realistic fear, free of supernatural elements, it is more logical that there could be a real life killer like John Kramer (Jigsaw from the movie). After all, many of the traps (or similar mockeries) could be devised from simple components and parts available online and from hardware stores.

Is There Any Real Life Killer Like John Kramer (aka Jigsaw) From Saw?

Who could possibly come up with such sadistic torture strategies like those employed by Jigsaw, if they weren’t basing it off of some type of real life event? Twisted Pictures.  Twisted Pictures is responsible, along with James Wan and other directors and writers, for coming up with the deranged story line that is the Saw franchise.  That said, there is one really strong media push to WANT a jigsaw killer, probably due to the movies themselves. In 2009, Jeffrey Howe was murdered by Stephen Marshall and Sarah Bush. Howe was dismembered completely and the body parts were found scattered throughout multiple places. Because the many body parts turning up, the media referred to Howe as the “Jigsaw Man,” and later referred to Marshall as the “Jigsaw Killer.”  Truly, Howe was Marshall’s only victim, and Marshall was no where near as smart as John Kramer. In fact, Marshall was a body builder who killed Howe, his friend, in order to steal his food and housing benefits…hardly an intelligent move!

Ultimately, there is no real life Jigsaw killer, however, there are still several notable murders and deaths which ACTUALLY DO resemble Saw-like devices.  And it is most certainly reasonable to assume a fair amount of murderers and conspiring-to-be murderers would draw inspiration from Jigsaw, Saw and the traps from the movies.

Notable Murders, Deaths & Plots That Resemble Saw Movie Deaths

Real Death Like Saw #1: The Death of Brian Douglas Wells

A device was attached to Brian Wells’ chest and he was ordered to rob a bank.  The device armed and exploded, leaving a huge baseball-sized hole in his chest, instantly killing him.

Real Death Like Saw  #2: The Death of Richard Hamilton

In 2013, a murderer was spawned who copied a scene out of a Saw film directly by slicing through his victim, Richard Hamilton’s spine until he revealed his ATM card’s PIN number. The murderer was Matthew Tinling, who owned a copy of the very Saw with the torture scene itself. Turns out he only wanted £240, specifically to spend the money on crack cocaine.

Real Death Like Saw  #3: A Triad Murder

Although the murder occurred before the time of Saw, the famous Hello Kitty Murder in Hong Kong (1999) left the world shocked in a similar sense of sadistic. A woman was murdered, decapitated, and her head stuffed into a Hello Kitty doll as an intimidation tactic.

Real Death Like Saw  #4: Canadian Serial Killer Cody Legebokoff

Cody was a fairly young serial killer and decided to murder those he felt sorry for, similar to John Kramer’s reasoning for trapping and murdering his victims in the Saw franchise.

[Close Call] Saw Inspired Plot #5: Recreating the Movie

Two teenage boys (15 and 14 years old) were turned in by one of their mothers after she heard them discussing a plot to recreate the saw movies by kidnapping a police officer and 2 girls around their age, who they believed deserved the saw treatment. They had even begun collecting their necessary supplies, including camcorders for documenting their recreation.

[Close Call] Saw Inspired Plot #6: Saw-Like Phone Calls

Two 13 year old girls from Tennessee got into a little trouble after harassing an older woman with a Jigsaw-like voice, leaving messages that insinuated a game had begun in her home.  The voice messages exclaimed her friend was trapped, hidden in fact, in her home and that she needed to risk dying of toxic gas poison while trying to find her friend, or immediately save herself by escaping the home.  The poor woman instead had a stroke and was rushed to the hospital!

Final Notes About a “Real Jigsaw Killer”

Although many people are inspired by movies, and there may most certainly have been some notable murders that could have been inspired by Saw’s fictional killer Jigsaw…there is no real Jigsaw killer.  The Saw franchise, no matter how creative, is not based upon a true story.

Still, James Wan, Twisted Pictures and everyone else involved in the production of the Saw movies, deserve a standing ovation for their originality within a wildly-saturated industry that is the horror genre.

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