Is Final Destination Based On A True Story

Categories
Scary Movies and Series

Are The Final Destination Movies About Real Stories?

The Final Destination movies are pretty insane in terms of “believability.”  Some of the deaths are simply down-right unlikely and of course the supernatural nature of the movies make them feel safer. Still, a lot of similar deaths have been documented. People around the world, have (unfortunately) suffered some pretty horrible fates that sound both, unlikely and unbelievable in nature. Some deaths are more like the plot in Final Destination, where a tragedy is side skirted one day, only to return another.  Some even involve actual plane crashes.  There are also real life deaths which have been extremely graphic, while also complicated…much like the movies.  In short, yes, Final Destination is possibly based on real events and many of these cases basically prove it!

Real Life Examples of Final Destination

There are some really crazy coincidences out there, and sometimes, they involve death! Like the popular Final Destination franchise, these deaths are very similar to the outrageous sequence of events many of the characters suffer throughout the movies.

Drowning in a Water Bowl

In 2001, a swimming coach tripped and fell on some concrete. The fall knocked him out and he slid down an icy sidewalk.  His face landed in his cat’s water bowl, which was barely full at all.  Still, the water was enough to cause him to asphyxiate and drown. Sadly, even a tiny bit of water is enough to take down the best of swimmers in the right conditions.

Wanted by Death

In 1977 Air Indiana Flight 216 crashed and there were no survivors. There was one single team member who was not on the flight, however, surviving the tragedy much like the Final Destination movie itself.  Unfortunately, however, he would only survive a couple weeks longer, his life being taken by a drunk driver along with his younger brother.

Ejected And Run Over

In 2013, Asiana Airlines crashed a Boeing 777 into the San Francisco International Airport runway.  The plane landing was bumpy, and exposed passengers to the open air, where 3 Chinese schoolgirls were thrown from the plane.  They were some of the only passengers without their seatbelts on.  While two of the girls died on impact, one survived only to be run over by one of the rescue vehicles rushing around the scene.

Destined to be Gunned Down

The interesting case of a famous sportscaster in 2012 showcases a woman who almost diverted death by bullet.  Jessica Redfield is recorded noting that she received a strange, eerie feeling that caused her to leave Eaton Centre Mall in Toronto, Canada. The mall was then shot up, deaths in the same food court she was just enjoying.  One month later, she died in the Aurora, Colorado movie theater shooting.

Spear Through The Eye

The year is 1999 and the location is Liverpool.  Unfortunately the rest of the story involves a physical education instructor and a javelin.  As the story goes…the instructor loses his balance on a high jump and the javelin strikes the eye and pierced the actual brain.  He died several days later after suffering both, a coma and a chest infection.

Surviving One Plane To Die On Another

One woman is recorded surviving the attacks of September 11th (on the World Trade Center in New York), only to suffer a strangly-related death shortly thereafter. Two months following the 9/11 attacks, Hilda Mayol died as a passenger of American Airlines Flight 587 when it crashed in New York.

The Exploding Lava Lamp

In the year 2004, in Washington state, a man in his mid-twenties decided to heat his lava lamp using the stove range, rather than the bulb it came with.  The result was a high-pressure bomb-like effect that caused the lava lamp to explode, sending tons of glass shards splintering the air.  Unfortunately, one of these shards punctured his heart and he died.

Death by Rescue

In 2013, Asiana Flight 214 crashed.  It was a terrible disaster, leaving 3 people dead and many injured.  Supposedly, one of the passengers who survived the incident was struck and killed by a rescue vehicle (fire truck), approaching the scene. It should be noted, however, that there are many conflicting stories and the official ruling several years later may argue she was already dead.  Still, so many people were convinced of seeing her alive before the vehicle approached, and thus the death seems very “Final Destination-like.”

Fire Hydrant From Hell

There is a recorded case in Oakland, California involving a large SUV plowing into a fire hydrant and turning it into a rocket.  This rocket was propelled by the insane water pressure in the hydrant finally being able to bust loose the hydrant.  In this case, the hydrant shot off and impacted the back of a man’s head, killing him instantly.  Supposedly, the fire hydrant still continued another 20 feet, even after striking the man’s skull.

Could Final Destination Happen In Real Life?

Final Destination movie scene on escalator with woman being saved by a man

With the large number of strangely similar deaths, it is very obvious that something like Final Destination could most certainly happen in real life. While the movies themselves were not based on true stories directly, they were most certainly inspired by unbelievable tragedy…and that is seen all the time! These deaths, however, are so close to the “level of craziness” depicted in the Final Destination deaths, that there is more than enough evidence to support real-life Final Destination-style dangers.  That said, it may be best to outfit your summer cottage with a few corks and fire extinguishers…because YOU JUST NEVER KNOW!

blank

Advertisements

Join "The Horror List" for Weekly Horror in your inbox






Is Rose Red Based On a True Story?

Categories
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]

blank

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

Winchester Mystery House Painting

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!

blank

Advertisements

Join "The Horror List" for Weekly Horror in your inbox






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.

drawing of knife machine from Jigsaw Killer and Saw 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.

Teddy bear with fake murder scene imagery

blank

Advertisements

Join "The Horror List" for Weekly Horror in your inbox






Join The Horror List