99 Fun Facts About Scary Movies

Which 1984 film features a serial killer who preys on teenagers in their dreams?

A Nightmare on Elm Street's Freddy Krueger murders teenagers through their dreams as revenge on the parents who burned him alive; Wes Craven wrote and directed it, and Johnny Depp made his screen debut.

What is the 1973 possession film centred on a young girl named Regan?

The Exorcist (1973), directed by William Friedkin, follows the possession of 12-year-old Regan MacNeil; it was the first horror film nominated for the Best Picture Oscar.

Which director made the 1960 thriller about the Bates Motel that is famous for its shower scene?

Alfred Hitchcock directed Psycho (1960) in black and white with his television crew on a small budget; the shower scene alone took about seven days to shoot.

Which 1975 Steven Spielberg film made a two-note theme scarier than the great white shark?

Jaws (1975) is Spielberg's great-white thriller; its mechanical sharks kept breaking, so he mostly hid the creature and let John Williams's two-note theme announce it.

Which 1974 horror film introduced Leatherface, who wears masks made of human skin?

'The Texas Chain Saw Massacre' introduced the iconic villain Leatherface and is considered a seminal film in the slasher genre, despite its limited on-screen gore.

What horror franchise features a murderous doll named Chucky?

Child's Play (1988) introduced Chucky, a Good Guy doll possessed by killer Charles Lee Ray; Brad Dourif voices him in the original films and Mark Hamill in the 2019 remake.

Which 1991 film sends FBI trainee Clarice Starling to consult cannibal Hannibal Lecter?

The Silence of the Lambs (1991) won the 'Big Five' Oscars (Picture, Director, Actor, Actress, Adapted Screenplay), only the third film ever to do so after It Happened One Night and One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.

What famous author is known for horror novels such as 'It,' 'The Shining,' and 'Carrie'?

King has published more than 60 novels, and his adaptations range from Carrie to The Shawshank Redemption.

Which horror subgenre presents the story through a character's own camera for realism?

Found footage presents the story as the characters' own recordings; The Blair Witch Project (1999) turned a roughly $60,000 shoot into a global hit and made the style a horror staple.

Which masked killer quizzes victims by phone in the Scream franchise?

Ghostface is the Scream killer whose mask and voice changer pass to a different culprit in each film, making every entry a whodunit; the mask itself is Fun World's 'Peanut-Eyed Ghost'.

The 2008 vampire film Let the Right One In comes from which country?

An American remake, Let Me In, followed just two years later.

Which actress made her film debut as Laurie Strode in John Carpenter's 1978 slasher?

It was Curtis's first film role; her mother Janet Leigh had been the shower-scene victim in Psycho.

What Rocky Mountain establishment is the terrifying setting of the 1980 film 'The Shining'?

The Overlook Hotel is the snowbound Colorado resort the Torrances caretake; Kubrick shot its exteriors at Oregon's Timberline Lodge and built the interiors at Elstree Studios in England.

Which director created 'The Evil Dead' film series, featuring Ash Williams and Deadites?

Raimi dropped out of Michigan State to shoot The Evil Dead, financing it through friends, family and small investors.

Which 1968 film by George A. Romero is largely credited with popularizing the modern zombie subgenre?

Romero never used the word 'zombie' in Night of the Living Dead or its script, calling his flesh-eaters ghouls because they were something new; the film redefined the zombie.

What murderous clown terrorizes the children of Derry, Maine, every 27 years?

Pennywise the Dancing Clown is the favourite form of It, the shape-shifter of Stephen King's 1986 novel; Tim Curry played him in 1990 and Bill Skarsgård in 2017.

Who leads the Cenobites as the main antagonist of Clive Barker's Hellraiser franchise?

Pinhead is the leader of the Cenobites, extra-dimensional beings who perceive pain and pleasure as intertwined, offering extreme experiences to those who summon them.

Which 2015 horror film follows a Puritan family facing malevolent forces in 17th-century New England?

The Witch (2015) is Robert Eggers's debut, following a banished Puritan family in 1630s New England; its dialogue draws on period diaries and court records, and the goat Black Phillip became its breakout star.

What line does five-year-old Carol Anne deliver to the static-filled TV in 'Poltergeist'?

'They're here!' was delivered by five-year-old Heather O'Rourke, who died in 1988 shortly before the third film was released.

Which journalist investigates the cursed videotape in the American 'The Ring' films?

Rachel Keller, played by Naomi Watts in The Ring (2002) and The Ring Two, is the Seattle reporter who starts by investigating her niece Katie's death.

In Ridley Scott's Alien (1979), what is the name of the commercial space tug carrying the crew?

The Nostromo carries a seven-member crew in stasis plus the ship's cat, Jones, one of the film's few survivors.

Most of 'The Descent' (2005) takes place in what kind of confined setting?

The Descent traps six women in an uncharted Appalachian cave system; the cave interiors were built at Pinewood Studios because shooting in real caves was judged too dangerous.

What 2018 film features a family who must stay silent to avoid creatures with heightened hearing?

A Quiet Place was directed by John Krasinski, who stars alongside his real-life wife Emily Blunt; the sightless aliens hunt by their sharp hearing.

Which 2011 horror-comedy reveals college friends being manipulated by underground technicians?

The Cabin in the Woods, directed by Drew Goddard and produced by Joss Whedon, was shot in 2009 but sat on a shelf through MGM's bankruptcy and only reached cinemas in April 2012.

Which 1998 Hideo Nakata film did Gore Verbinski remake in America in 2002?

Ringu, Hideo Nakata's 1998 original, was based on Koji Suzuki's 1991 novel; the American remake's success triggered a wave of J-horror remakes.

Which 2006 horror-comedy lets slug-like alien parasites loose on a South Carolina town?

It was James Gunn's directorial debut, made long before Guardians of the Galaxy.

Which 1977 Dario Argento film is set at a German ballet academy run by a coven?

Suspiria (1977) follows American dancer Suzy Bannion into a Freiburg dance academy secretly run by witches; Goblin scored it, and Luca Guadagnino remade it in 2018.

What 1982 John Carpenter film has a shape-shifting alien terrorising an Antarctic research station?

The film flopped on release, opening two weeks after E.T., before being reappraised as a classic of practical effects.

Which director's horror films 'Get Out' and 'Us' blend social commentary with psychological thrills?

Jordan Peele wrote and directed Get Out (2017), which won him the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay, and followed it with Us (2019) and Nope (2022).

Who is revealed to be the killer at the end of the original Friday the 13th (1980)?

Pamela Voorhees, played by Betsy Palmer, is the killer avenging her son Jason's drowning at Camp Crystal Lake; Jason himself does not start killing until the 1981 sequel.

In the original 'Scream' (1996), which two high school students are the Ghostface killers?

Billy Loomis (Skeet Ulrich) and Stu Macher (Matthew Lillard) are revealed as the two Ghostface killers in Scream (1996); Billy's motive is revenge on Sidney's mother, whose affair broke up his parents.

Who wrote and directed the 1968 horror film Rosemary's Baby?

The film was Polanski's first American production and was shot partly at the Dakota building in New York.

Which 1978 horror film unleashed Michael Myers on Laurie Strode?

Halloween (1978), directed by John Carpenter, made masked killer Michael Myers a blank, unstoppable force and one of horror's most recognisable villains; it was shot in about 20 days for roughly $300,000.

Which 1978 remake ends with Donald Sutherland's character pointing and shrieking at a survivor?

Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978), Philip Kaufman's San Francisco-set remake, ends with Donald Sutherland's Matthew Bennell pointing and shrieking, revealed as a pod person.

How many times must you say Candyman's name into a mirror to summon him?

Saying 'Candyman' five times into a mirror summons him; the 1992 film, adapted from Clive Barker's story 'The Forbidden', moves the legend to Chicago's Cabrini-Green housing project.

Who played Count Dracula for Universal in 1931, having first played him on Broadway?

Bela Lugosi played Dracula on Broadway from 1927 before Universal's 1931 film; his Hungarian accent typecast him for the rest of his career, and he was buried in a Dracula cape.

Which 2016 horror film follows a 1967 Los Angeles widow whose fake-seance business turns deadly?

Ouija: Origin of Evil (2016), Mike Flanagan's prequel to the 2014 film Ouija, is set in 1967 Los Angeles, where widow Alice Zander adds a Ouija board to her fake-seance act; it was far better received than the original.

Which 2016 Fede Alvarez film traps three burglars in a blind veteran's Detroit house?

Don't Breathe (2016), directed by Fede Alvarez, traps three Detroit burglars inside the house of Stephen Lang's blind Gulf War veteran; made for under $10 million, it grossed over $150 million.

Which 2006 animated film has a living, child-eating house?

Monster House (2006), Gil Kenan's directorial debut co-written by Dan Harmon, uses motion capture to bring a child-eating house to life and was nominated for the Animated Feature Oscar.

Which 1999 thriller has a twist ending involving a child psychologist and a boy who sees spirits?

'The Sixth Sense' became a cultural phenomenon due to its memorable line 'I see dead people' and its widely discussed, unexpected narrative twist.

In The Babadook (2014), the monster first enters the family's life through what object?

Jennifer Kent's debut grew from her 2005 short film Monster; the pop-up book was later sold as a real collector's item.

Which horror game and film series is known for desolate, foggy environments and psychological torment?

The town of Silent Hill is a central character in itself, drawing protagonists into its foggy, monster-filled streets to confront their inner demons and sins.

In which 2014 horror film are friends haunted by a sexually transmitted demonic entity?

It Follows (2014) passes its shape-shifting stalker on through sex; director David Robert Mitchell said the idea grew from a recurring childhood nightmare of being slowly followed.

In which 2001 film do two photosensitive children live behind drawn curtains in a Jersey manor?

The Others (2001), written and directed by Alejandro Amenabar, stars Nicole Kidman as Grace, whose photosensitive children Anne and Nicholas live in a shuttered Jersey manor in 1945; it won eight Goya Awards.

Which Canadian director made the 'body horror' films 'The Fly' and 'Videodrome'?

David Cronenberg, born in Toronto, directed Videodrome (1983) and The Fly (1986), in which Jeff Goldblum's scientist slowly fuses with a housefly; his films defined the body horror subgenre.

Which 2007 vampire film, adapted from a Steve Niles comic, is set in Barrow, Alaska?

30 Days of Night, directed by David Slade in 2007, strands the residents of Barrow, Alaska against a vampire assault through the town's 30-day polar night.

Which 2019 Robert Eggers film strands two 19th-century keepers on a New England rock?

The Lighthouse (2019), Robert Eggers's black-and-white follow-up to The Witch, stars Willem Dafoe and Robert Pattinson as two keepers on an 1890s Maine rock; it began as an adaptation of Poe's unfinished 'The Light-House'.

In which 2017 horror film does Joey King's teenager receive a cursed Chinese music box?

Wish Upon (2017) gives Joey King's Clare a Chinese music box that grants seven wishes at a bloody price; her first absent-minded wish, that a school bully 'rot', gives the girl necrotizing fasciitis.

In which 2018 horror film does a grieving family learn their grandmother led a demon cult?

Hereditary (2018) was Ari Aster's feature debut; the Graham family discovers that grandmother Ellen led a cult serving the demon king Paimon, who demands a male host.

Who played the Monster in Universal's 1931 Frankenstein?

Karloff was billed only as '?' in the opening credits; the flat head and neck bolts came from makeup artist Jack Pierce.

What do Chris and Billy dump on Carrie White at the prom in the 1976 film?

Pigs' blood douses Carrie before Chris and Billy sneak out; the prom massacre that follows was shot partly in split-screen, and Sissy Spacek earned a Best Actress nomination.

The 2016 zombie hit Train to Busan comes from which country?

It was the first Korean film of 2016 to pass 10 million admissions at home, and an animated prequel, Seoul Station, came out the same year.

Which Harry Potter star leads the 2012 ghost story The Woman in Black?

Daniel Radcliffe plays lawyer Arthur Kipps in The Woman in Black (2012), his first film after the Potter series ended; it became the highest-grossing British horror film in two decades.

The 2023 film Five Nights at Freddy's takes place at an abandoned what?

Josh Hutcherson's night guard discovers the condemned pizzeria's animatronic mascots are possessed by the spirits of murdered children; Matthew Lillard plays the killer.

Which star is killed off in the opening sequence of Scream (1996)?

Drew Barrymore, the biggest name on the poster, is killed as Casey Becker in the first twelve minutes of Scream (1996), the film's way of telling viewers nobody was safe.

What breed of dog is the rabid Cujo in the 1983 film?

Cujo is a St. Bernard who turns after a rabid bat bites his nose; several dogs, a mechanical head and a stuntman in a dog costume shared the role in the 1983 film.

Who plays fading star Elisabeth Sparkle in the 2024 body horror The Substance?

Demi Moore plays Elisabeth Sparkle in The Substance (2024), opposite Margaret Qualley as her younger self Sue; the role won her a Golden Globe and her first Oscar nomination.

Which 2017 film became the highest-grossing horror movie of all time?

It (2017), Andy Muschietti's adaptation of Stephen King's novel, grossed over $700 million worldwide and passed The Exorcist's 1973 domestic record for a horror film, unadjusted for inflation.

Which actor played dream-stalker Freddy Krueger from 1984 until 2003's Freddy vs. Jason?

Robert Englund played Freddy Krueger in eight films, from A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) to Freddy vs. Jason (2003); Jackie Earle Haley took over for the 2010 remake.

Survivors in Dawn of the Dead (1978) barricade themselves inside what?

Romero shot in Pennsylvania's Monroeville Mall overnight after closing, and the consumerism satire became the film's calling card.

Which actor plays the Satanic serial killer Longlegs in the 2024 film?

Nicolas Cage plays Longlegs under heavy prosthetics, and the marketing kept his face hidden; director Osgood Perkins is the son of Anthony Perkins, Norman Bates himself.

What is the vampire called in the 1922 silent film Nosferatu?

Count Orlok, played by Max Schreck, was renamed from Dracula to dodge Bram Stoker's estate; Florence Stoker sued anyway and a court ordered every print of Nosferatu destroyed.

Michael Myers's white mask was made from a mould of which actor's face?

The mask is a 1975 Captain Kirk mask cast from William Shatner's face; the Halloween crew bought it for about two dollars, widened the eyes and sprayed it white.

Kathy Bates won an Oscar for playing which obsessive 'number one fan' in Misery?

Annie Wilkes, the nurse who holds novelist Paul Sheldon captive, won Kathy Bates the 1991 Best Actress Oscar; she was then a stage actress largely unknown to film audiences, and Rob Reiner directed.

For how many hours is all crime legal during the annual event in The Purge?

The Purge runs for 12 hours, from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m., once a year; the first film (2013) cost about $3 million and was set in the then-future year 2022.

In 28 Days Later, the chimpanzees that start the outbreak are infected with what?

The chimps carry the Rage virus, a blood-borne contagion Danny Boyle and Alex Garland framed as biological rather than supernatural, which is why the infected sprint instead of shuffle.

Ryan Coogler's 2025 vampire film Sinners is set in which state in 1932?

Sinners is set in Clarksdale, Mississippi, in the 1932 Delta; Michael B. Jordan plays twin brothers Smoke and Stack, who return from Chicago to open a juke joint.

Which future star had his first leading role in the 1958 sci-fi horror The Blob?

Steve McQueen took his first lead in The Blob (1958) for a flat $3,000, turning down a smaller fee plus a share of the profits that would have made him far richer.

Who directed the 2000 horror spoof Scary Movie?

Keenen Ivory Wayans directed Scary Movie (2000) while brothers Marlon and Shawn co-wrote and starred; the title had been the working title of Scream, the film it mostly parodies.

What is the name of the tricycle-riding puppet in the Saw films?

Billy the Puppet delivers Jigsaw's rules rather than killing anyone; Saw IV reveals John Kramer built the original as a toy for his unborn son Gideon.

What is the name of the demon that takes the form of a nun in the Conjuring films?

Valak is the demon that appears as a nun; Bonnie Aarons first played it in The Conjuring 2 (2016) before The Nun (2018) gave it a Romanian abbey of its own.

The Creeper in Jeepers Creepers wakes to feed every how many years?

It feeds for 23 days each cycle, taking whichever body part it needs to replace its own.

In Talk to Me (2022), teens contact spirits by gripping what object?

The embalmed hand, said to be a medium's, lets anyone gripping it channel a spirit; the Australian film was the feature debut of YouTube twins Danny and Michael Philippou.

Who plays the pagan island leader Lord Summerisle in The Wicker Man (1973)?

Lee called it his best film and worked on it for free, hoping to escape his Hammer Dracula typecasting.

In which film does Jason Voorhees first wear his hockey mask?

Jason first dons the hockey mask in Friday the 13th Part III (1982), taking it from prankster Shelly; he wore a sack over his head in Part 2, and Part III was shot in 3-D.

Which flight number explodes after Alex's premonition in Final Destination (2000)?

The story began as a spec script for The X-Files; the number 180 recurs as an omen throughout the franchise.

Which Rhode Island family do the Warrens help in The Conjuring (2013)?

The real Perrons lived in the Harrisville farmhouse for nearly a decade; daughter Andrea later wrote a trilogy about it.

Which actor plays Kane, host of the chestburster, in Ridley Scott's 1979 Alien?

John Hurt plays Kane, the officer who hosts the chestburster; the cast knew the creature would emerge but not how violently, and Veronica Cartwright's horrified reaction to the blood spray is genuine.

Near which Maryland town do the students vanish in The Blair Witch Project?

Burkittsville, Maryland, is the real town the Blair Witch students set out from; it was so overrun by fans after 1999 that its welcome signs were repeatedly stolen.

In Orphan (2009), the 'girl' Esther turns out to be a woman of what age?

Esther is really Leena Klammer, a 33-year-old whose hormonal disorder stunted her growth; Isabelle Fuhrman, 12 when filming, returned to play her in the 2022 prequel Orphan: First Kill.

The Conjuring 2 is based on a 1977 poltergeist case in which part of London?

The Enfield poltergeist centred on the Hodgson family's council house at 284 Green Street, investigated by the Society for Psychical Research as well as Ed and Lorraine Warren.

Which 1986 charity event do the Tethered re-enact at the end of Us?

Hands Across America, the May 1986 charity human chain, is the first thing young Adelaide sees on TV in the prologue of Us, and a promotional T-shirt for it becomes a clue.

In Nope (2022), what do the Haywoods name the creature in the sky?

The Haywoods call the creature Jean Jacket, after a horse Emerald was once promised; it turns out to be a living animal rather than a ship, swallowing anyone who looks it in the eye.

In Midsommar, the Hårga's nine-day festival is held only once every how many years?

The Harga hold their nine-day midsummer festival once every 90 years; Ari Aster shot the Swedish commune in Hungary in near-constant daylight and called it a breakup film dressed as folk horror.

Which demon possesses 12-year-old Regan MacNeil in the 1973 film?

Pazuzu, an Assyrian demon, possesses Regan, who first knows it as an imaginary friend called Captain Howdy; Mercedes McCambridge performed the demon's voice.

The Italian horror-thriller genre 'giallo' takes its name from which colour?

Giallo means yellow: Mondadori's pulp crime paperbacks carried yellow covers from 1929, decades before Bava and Argento put the style on screen.

Rick Baker won the first-ever Academy Award for Best Makeup for which 1981 film?

An American Werewolf in London won Rick Baker the first competitive Best Makeup Oscar at the 1982 ceremony; its transformation scene was shot in bright light rather than hidden in shadow.

A grieving couple keep glimpsing a red-coated figure in which city in Don't Look Now?

Don't Look Now (1973) follows John and Laura Baxter to Venice after their daughter drowns; Nicolas Roeg adapted Daphne du Maurier's story, and its cross-cut love scene was so frank that censors suspected it was real.

What does the name of the killer doll M3GAN stand for?

M3GAN stands for Model 3 Generative Android; her hallway dance went viral before release, and Allison Williams plays Gemma, the roboticist aunt who builds her.

The 1961 ghost film The Innocents adapts which Henry James novella?

The Innocents adapts The Turn of the Screw (1898), with Deborah Kerr as the governess Miss Giddens; Truman Capote co-wrote the screenplay, and the film never settles whether the ghosts are real.

Bob Clark made the 1974 sorority-house slasher and which 1983 holiday classic?

A Christmas Story (1983) came from Bob Clark, who had made Black Christmas in 1974: the same director gave horror its killer-in-the-attic phone calls and family TV its leg lamp.

In Phantasm (1979), the Tall Man's mausoleum is patrolled by flying silver what?

The flying silver spheres, drill-tipped orbs that bore into victims' skulls, became the franchise's signature across five films; Don Coscarelli made the original for about $300,000.

Which child-eating pagan deity stalks the home-movie reels in Sinister (2012)?

Bughuul, the 'eater of children', lurks in the Super 8 reels Ethan Hawke's true-crime writer finds in his attic; a 2020 Broadband Choices heart-rate study rated Sinister the scariest film ever made.

Which composer won his only Oscar for the 1976 film The Omen?

Jerry Goldsmith won his only Oscar, from 18 nominations, for The Omen (1976); his Latin chant 'Ave Satani' was also nominated for Best Original Song, a rare nomination for a song praising Satan.

Who directed the 1999 Japanese film Audition, infamous for its piano-wire finale?

Takashi Miike directed Audition (1999), which plays as a gentle romance for an hour before turning; walkouts at its Rotterdam festival screening helped build its reputation.

For about how many years was Freaks (1932) banned in the UK?

Freaks was refused a UK certificate for 30 years, until 1963; Tod Browning cast real sideshow performers, and MGM cut the film by a third after test screenings, nearly ending his career.

In The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920), what is the name of the murderous sleepwalker?

Cesare the somnambulist, played by Conrad Veidt, kills at Dr. Caligari's command; the painted, tilting sets made the film the textbook example of German Expressionism.

In Hellraiser (1987), where does Frank Cotton buy the puzzle box?

Frank buys the Lament Configuration from a dealer in Morocco in the opening scene; Clive Barker directed the adaptation of his own novella The Hellbound Heart, with Doug Bradley as Pinhead.

In The Evil Dead (1981), what is the Sumerian Book of the Dead called?

In The Evil Dead the book is the Naturom Demonto; the Necronomicon Ex-Mortis name only arrived with the 1987 sequel, and the first film's own working title was Book of the Dead.