Horror Movies and Their True Stories

[Dodge_Sniper]

This is my thread to start talking about all the "true stories" out there in horror movies. This is where I plan on discussing the "truths" behind the stories, and proving whether they are accurate or not. And not just based on what I believe, based on actual research and what not. Please, don't flame, bash, freak out, etc. Also, please don't hijack my thread. To see what movie I'm discussing, read each of the title bars.
First movie to discuss is one that's already been brought up, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. I already posted everything about it in another thread, so for the full story, visit Crime Library: Eddie Gein
My next story is the movie Wolf Creek.

 

[Dodge_Sniper]

Next Story: Wolf Creek

Twenty-six days had passed since Deborah Everist's body had been found in the forest. The searchers were tired. They had covered most of the allotted search area and were now entering the final gridded section three miles east of the last grave. Confidence was running high to the point that the police public relations section were already compiling a press release expressing the opinion that no further bodies would be found in Belangalo Forest.

The search team leader, Sergeant Jeff Trichter, led the searchers into a small clearing. A pair of pink women's jeans and a length of blue and yellow rope lay in plain view. Next to them was an empty .22 bullet packet. The find was not unusual as a lot of strange items had been found that were seemingly unrelated. Moving deeper into the clearing they found more articles. Empty drink cans riddled with bullet holes, a length of wire bent into loops, cartridge cases and empty bottles. At the edge of the clearing, Sergeant Trichter saw something that fired warning signals into his brain. A primitive fireplace.

Knowing that the final part of the search was going to be intensive, Trichter decided to give his men a lunch break and spend the rest of the day in the area. No sooner had they resumed when one of the men called 'find.'

The line stopped and Trichter walked to the edge of the rocky outcrop where Senior Constable Rullis stood with his arm raised. It was a bone and it looked human. Ten feet further on at the base of a pile of timber lay a skull. The sight was marked and the crime scene squad was summoned by radio.


Beyond the timber lay the, now familiar, pile of sticks and brush. Protruding from one end of it was a large bone inside a brown leather 'hiking' boot. Searchers spread out and scoured the area around the grave but no further remains were found. John Goldie, the senior crime scene investigator, identified the remains as female. She appeared to be alone.

A distinctive purple headband was found on the skull. That and the clothing found near the body, after comparisons with missing persons reports, indicated that the skeleton was all that remained of missing German girl, Simone Schmidl. The other items mentioned in the report, a large backpack and other camping equipment, were not found. Dr Chris Griffiths, the forensic odontologist, was summoned to the scene and shortly after he arrived with his file of dental charts, the body was officially identified as Simone.

This young adventurous girl who her family and friends had called "Simi," had been last seen on January 20th, 1991, in Liverpool, west of Sydney, hitch-hiking south. The confident and seasoned traveler who had seen much of the world ended her days in a lonely forest thousands of miles away from the safety and security of her home.

In Germany, Simone's parents heard the news in the worst possible way -- on the radio. They contacted German police for confirmation and, even though Australian authorities had advised them of the discovery, the German police department did not confirm the identification until more than two weeks after Simone's remains had been flown home and buried.

The original press release was aborted and another sent out in its place.
It basically said that police now believed that there were more bodies in the forest. Speculation was rife that the next bodies found would be those of the two Germans, who were still unaccounted for.

Simone's body was found still partially dressed with her shirt and underclothing pushed up around the neck. A pair of green shorts hung on the pelvis with the cord ties undone. Several items of jewelry and two coins were found next to the body. The pink jeans were not Simone's, but matched the description of a pair worn by another German girl, Anja Habschied. She and her boyfriend Gabor Neugebauer, had been missing since December 1991.

Two days later, as the search continued, the remains were transported to Sydney for the post mortem. Dr. Bradhurst examined the almost complete skeleton. He had no doubt that it was the work of the same killer.

There was no injury to the skull. The chest and back showed numerous stab wounds to the left and right sides, front and back, including the "tell-tale" knife thrusts to the spinal area, which had severed the spinal column completely. No sooner had he completed his grisly task than he was summoned back to the forest. The message was simple, "We've found two more."

Dr. Bradhurst and Dr. Griffiths were conveyed to the scene by police helicopter and taken to the site of the new graves which lay 150 feet apart at the very edge of the prescribed search area denoted on the map as "Area A."

Dr. Griffiths had in his possession the dental charts for the boy, Gabor. The charts for his companion, Anja, had not arrived from Germany. Gabor's remains were under a pile of brush partially covered by a large log. It took several burly police officers to lift it away from the grave.

Dr. Griffiths confirmed Gabor's identity. His skeleton was complete with the remains of decayed clothing evident, including a pair of jeans with the zip opened and the top button fastened. The second body, although not officially confirmed as Anja's, was that of a young female. The upper clothing was bunched up around the shoulders and no lower clothing was found on or near the body. The pink jeans had been found some distance away. The female skeleton had one striking feature, the head and the first two vertebrae were missing. No other wounds were evident.

On closer examination Dr. Bradhurst deduced that the head had been severed from the body cleanly by a sharp instrument, possibly a machete or sword. The angle of the cut indicated that the victim had probably been in a kneeling position with her head down when the cut was made. It showed all the signs of some form of "ritual" decapitation.

The Task Force Commander, Clive Small, gave a short media interview near the gravesites. He told reporters that following the discovery of the new bodies that they were now looking for a "serial killer." It came as no surprise. The media had been reporting that opinion since the investigation began.

Back at the morgue, Dr. Bradhurst examined Gabor's remains. The mouth contained two gags. One that had been tied across the mouth using a "reef" knot. The other had been placed in the mouth prior to the other being tied. Even though Bradhurst had performed all of the autopsies, he still retained the details of them all in his mind. One thing that didn't escape his attention was the fact that this gag was tied with a different knot. The last gag used, the one on Joanne Walter's body, had been tied in a simple overhand, or "granny" knot.
The size of the cloth in the mouth cavity made strangulation very likely. Supportive to this theory was the fractured hyoid bone in the throat, which is usually an indication of manual strangulation. The jaw was fractured in several places. The skull showed six bullet entry wounds, three from the left rear and the others from the lower rear. One exit wound was found on the right side. Gerald Dutton the ballistics investigator on the case, was present when the examination of the skull took place. Four bullets were recovered from inside the skull. A fifth bullet was recovered from the bones of the upper body.

Dutton had found no fired cases near the body and the angle and alignment of the entry wounds versus the exit wounds indicated that seven bullets had been fired into the skull. When found, the skull had been laying on its side but, after searching the soil under the grave, no spent bullets were recovered. Gabor had not been killed at the gravesite. Later, several fired bullets and empty cartridge packets would be found near the new graves. Over ninety fired cases were found scattered around the area. After examination under a comparison microscope, the cases and bullets were positively identified as the same as those found at the Walter's site.

The ballistic evidence showed conclusively that the same weapon that murdered Joanne Walters had been used only 200 feet from Anja and Gabor's remains. Dr. Bradhurst completed the examination of Anja's skeleton and found no other evidence of additional wounds.
Most horrifying was the fact that the seven had died in various ways. They had been either beaten, strangled, shot, stabbed and decapitated and almost certainly sexually molested in some way, male and female alike. Given the extent of the injuries and the various methods used to inflict them, the investigation team deduced that the killer, or killers spent more time with each victim as the crimes progressed. This fact indicated that, apart from being cruel and sadistic, the perpetrator was a calculating and confident individual.
Read the rest at Crime Library: Ivan Milat

 

[Dodge_Sniper]

Btk

This one won't be much different from the BTK movie.
BTK - Birth of a Serial Killer


Wichita is the largest city in Kansas and recognized as one of the major mid-sized cities in the nation. Founded in 1868, the city enshrined the name of Wichita Indians, who had made that area their home.


Wichita, Kansas
The people of Wichita take great pride in their community, a fact which has earned the city the national distinction of "All American City" not once, but three times. Home to Boeing, Cessna, Learjet and Ratheon, the city has also been nicknamed the "Air Capital of the World."
chapter continues
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In this booming city with one of the best economies in the nation, something terrible was born. It's hard to say just when it happened and how long it took to reach maturity. No doubt it began as a fantasy, an angry internal cauldron of hate and frustration. Slowly, the fantasy became an obsession that demanded fulfilment. The planning and execution of this seminal event took over his conscious thought. Just once, he told himself, and then he would be free of this overwhelming need. It wouldn't be necessary to ever risk doing it again.
But he was deluding himself. The trophies, the photos, and the memories were poor substitutes for the electrifying thrill and release of the act itself. The power he felt when he held a life in his hands was unparalleled. There just had to be some way to continue what he was doing without getting caught. Stopping was not exactly an option he had to consider.
Of course there was a way. For someone with his intellect, there was always a way. Cops are stupid, he knew that. No match for him. No Harvard graduates there on the Wichita police force. If he was careful, there was no reason for him not to indulge himself as many times as he wished. Truth be told, that element of danger added to his excitement and kept him on his guard.
Read the rest at Crime Library: BTK
Next story: The Amityville Horror.

 

[Dodge_Sniper]

The Amityville Horror

Frantic Phone Call


It was another routine evening at the Suffolk County, NY, emergency dispatch switchboard. Calls had not been pouring in, and anyways, this placid New York City suburb scarcely had any crime to complain of, at least by City standards. Suddenly, at 6:35 p. m., the calm was destroyed by a phone call that would shatter the safe suburban aura that pervaded the county. Transcripts from the conversation demonstrate the caller’s rattled composure as he tried to relate to an operator the horrifying scene he and his friends had been led to:
Operator: This is Suffolk County Police. May I help you?"
Man: "We have a shooting here. Uh, DeFeo."
Operator: "Sir, what is your name?"
Man: "Joey Yeswit."
Operator: "Can you spell that?"
Man: "Yeah. Y-E-S W I T."
Operator: "Y-E-S . .
Man: "Y-E-S-W-I-T."
Operator: ". . . W-I-T. Your phone number?"
Man: "I don't even know if it's here. There's, uh, I don't have a phone number here."
Operator: "Okay, where you calling from?"
Man: "It's in Amityville. Call up the Amityville Police, and it's right off, uh . . .Ocean Avenue in Amityville."
Operator: "Austin?"
Man: "Ocean Avenue. What the ... ?"
Operator: "Ocean ... Avenue? Offa where?"
Man: "It's right off Merrick Road. Ocean Avenue."
Operator: "Merrick Road. What's ... what's the problem, Sir?"
Man: "It's a shooting!"
Operator: "There's a shooting. Anybody hurt?"
Man: "Hah?"
Operator: "Anybody hurt?"
Man: "Yeah, it's uh, uh -- everybody's dead."
Operator: "Whattaya mean, everybody's dead?"
Man: "I don't know what happened. Kid come running in the bar. He says everybody in the family was killed, and we came down here."
Operator: "Hold on a second, Sir."
(Police Officer now takes over call)
Police Officer: "Hello."
Man: "Hello."
Police Officer: "What's your name?"
Man: "My name is Joe Yeswit."
Police Officer: "George Edwards?"
Man: "Joe Yeswit."
Police Officer: "How do you spell it?"
Man: "What? I just ... How many times do I have to tell you? Y-E-S-W-I-T."
Police Officer: "Where're you at?"
Man: "I'm on Ocean Avenue.
Police Officer: "What number?"
Man: "I don't have a number here. There's no number on the phone. "
Police Officer: "What number on the house?"
Man: "I don't even know that."
Police Officer: "Where're you at? Ocean Avenue and what?"
Man: "In Amityville. Call up the Amityville Police and have someone come down here. They know the family."
Police Officer: "Amityville."
Man: "Yeah, Amityville."
Police Officer: "Okay. Now, tell me what's wrong."
Man: "I don't know. Guy come running in the bar. Guy come running in the bar and said there -- his mother and father are shot. We ran down to his house and everybody in the house is shot. I don't know how long, you know. So, uh . . ."
Police Officer: "Uh, what's the add ... what's the address of the house?"
Man: "Uh, hold on. Let me go look up the number. All right. Hold on. One-twelve Ocean Avenue, Amityville."
Police Officer: "Is that Amityville or North Amityville?"
Man: "Amityville. Right on ... south of Merrick Road."
Police Officer: "Is it right in the village limits?"
Man: "It's in the village limits, yeah."
Police Officer: "Eh, okay, what's your phone number?"
Man: "I don't even have one. There's no number on the phone. "
Police Officer: "All right, where're you calling from? Public phone?"
Man: "No, I'm calling right from the house, because I don't see a number on the phone."
Police Officer: "You're at the house itself?"
Man: "Yeah."
Police Officer: "How many bodies are there?"
Man: "I think, uh, I don't know -- uh, I think they said four."
Police Officer: "There's four?"
Man: "Yeah."
Police Officer: "All right, you stay right there at the house, and I'll call the Amityville Village P.D., and they'll come down."

Removing the bodies
(CORBIS)
By the end of the evening, police investigators would find an additional two bodies, bringing the Ocean Avenue death toll to six. Six of seven members of the Ronald DeFeo family had been methodically murdered as they slept in their beds, leaving Ronald DeFeo, Jr., as the sole survivor of the grisly suburban bloodbath.
Read the rest at Crime Library: Ronald Defeo, The Amityville Horror
The Amityville Horror discussion might be a bit long, I've found some more information I'll post in a few minutes.

 

[Dodge_Sniper]

The Amityville Horror Part 2

The Amityville Horror: Interview with George Lutz
30 years after the incident, most people are under the impression that the haunting that occurred in Amityville was a hoax... but was it?
Article By Tim Yancey

On October 24, 2003 I stepped off a 'red-eye' flight to State College Airport, and into a cold Pennsylvania night. Waiting to meet me was my good friend Lou Gentile, the host of a nationally syndicated radio program that deals with paranormal phenomenon known as 'The Lou Gentile Show'. At his side was John Zaffis - nephew of famed paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren, a man who has spent a lifetime wrapped deep in the Amityville haunting, as well as many other intriguing investigations into the paranormal realm. After collecting my luggage we headed out to the waiting van where George Lutz awaited the group. Apparently... he still doesn't deal with cold temperatures too well.
George Lutz is a friendly, stout former Ex-marine, who immediately offered his handshake as we all tumbled into the van and out of the cold night air. I had talked with George a few times on the phone, and remarked it was nice to meet him in person finally. "We'll see if you still feel that way later", he remarked, a sly grin on his face. I would soon learn that humor is a big part of Lutz's psyche. Lutz is gifted with a soft, almost self-deprecating sense of humor... he would later remark that "humor is one of the greatest things we have to defend ourselves against negative energy". George presents himself as a quiet, almost shy person who doesn't want to attract attention... during various conversations with convention goers, he was soft spoken and often turned the conversation away from Amityville.

The four of us had all gathered together at Penn State University as part of "Penn State UNIV-CON II", a paranormal convention hosted by the Penn State Paranormal Research Society. They had invited Lou Gentile to host a live three hour radio show during the convention, and he had asked George Lutz and John Zaffis to appear as his guests. I would fill the role of audio engineer, recording the show for later broadcast. The topic of course, would be the events that occurred to George Lutz and his family during their 28 day stay in the most famous haunted house of all time.

I had heard George Lutz talk about Amityville before - he had appeared on Gentile's show in the past, the first interviews he had done publically in over 20 years talking about the haunting that occurred to him and his family. But I looked forward to having the opportunity to see into his eyes as he related the story... to watch how he reacted as he talked about the incredible events that Lutz maintains are true to this day. I thought this would be my only chance to see if George Lutz was telling the truth.. to find out if his story rang true.

After all, there is no actual evidence that this haunting occurred... or so I thought. George Lutz did bring evidence, in fact Lutz has more evidence to prove the Amityville haunting occurred than other famous cases I had looked at, like the 'Bell Witch', or the Smurl haunting. More on that later.

Lutz's testimony of what happened during those 28 days are horrific to most... but actually quite common when compared to most haunting cases. Many other violent hauntings are actually more sensational in terms of the phenomenon occurring - during the 'Enfield Poltergeist' case, the spirit is credited with manifesting many voices which would talk out loud to investigators. Chairs and furniture would shift about in front of police officers and investigators.

At the height of the 'Bell Witch' haunting, the family was assaulted endlessly by rappings and poundings throughout the house. The family would be physically assaulted and accosted time and time again. Eventually, the 'Bell Witch' was credited with killing it's intended victim, John Bell.

During the Smurl haunting, black shadowy figures terrorized the family. Why did the Amityville haunting, which didn't appear as sensational... garner such attention and opposition, and cries of 'hoax'? The skeptics demanded 'proof'... but is there actual proof for anything paranormal in nature?

From the very beginning, it was obvious that many enthusiasts of the 'hoax' theory used the book and movie to garner information about the haunting. Most people realize in modern times that movies have a way of using literary license, and often over-dramatize or even create totally fictional scenes. It became such a problem that the phrase 'based on true events', is now standard opening monologue. When enthusiasts compared the book and movie versions to the Lutz's telling of the events... things didn't add up.
Funny part is - George Lutz will be the first person to tell you that some of the events portrayed in the book and movie aren't factual.

Strange and tragic events were happening in the Amityville Home long before the Lutz's moved in. Prior to the Lutz's purchase of the house, Ronald Defeo Jr. tragically murdered his entire family, while they slept peacefully in their beds on the night of November 13, 1974. Armed with a .35 Caliber Marlin rifle, Defeo Jr. moved from room to room... eight shots fired in all. Later, Defeo Jr. would make varying statements to officials; the mob did it. His sister did it. Then he said he did it in self-defense.

At one point, after confessing to the murders, he claimed to have heard voices telling him to commit the murders. He also claimed to have seen dark shadowy figures moving about he house, and talked about how a pair of dark, black hands handed him the rifle that night.

Police found all of the victims lying face down in their beds - it seems apparent that none of the family heard any of the gunshots. None of the neighbors around the home heard any of the shots either. Today, Ronald remains in prison at the Greehaven Correctional Facility, where he is serving six consecutive life term sentences for the crime.
The night that George Lutz was to appear in front of the Penn State crowd, he spoke softly as he related the events that occurred at 112 Ocean Avenue.

George and Kathy Lutz were married the previous July, both of them owning separate houses at the time. Now together as a family, The Lutz's began to look for a new home for the new marriage. The plan was to sell the two houses they already occupied, and use the funds garnered to purchase a dwelling large enough for George and Kathy, and her three children. They put their homes up on the market... Kathy's sold first, and her and the kids then moved into Georges home in Deer Park.

George and Kathy spent much of the Summer touring prospective new homes with no luck. They had already looked at over 50 potential houses, when the realtor told them about the home at 112 Ocean Avenue in Amityville.

The Lutz's were made aware of the tragic events that occurred to the previous owners... "The realtor eventually told us what had happened in the house... that six family members had been murdered there and asked us if that made a difference, if we were still interested in looking at the home. The kids didn't seem to have any reservations about whether to at least look at the house, and so we went through it. Afterwards, we had quite a discussion as a family a couple of different times, about whether or not we should still consider buying the house". The Lutz's concluded that the prior murders that had occurred in the home didn't appear to have an affect on their children, so they agreed to at least tour the property.

"As soon As Kathy had walked into the house, she had a smile on her face that just beamed. That hadn't happened in all the previous homes we looked at... I knew from the look on her face, that this was to be our dream home." George recalls.
The house was on the market for around $100,000. The home included 4,000 square feet of waterfront property, complete with a boathouse and garage. It also included a heated swimming pool in the back yard, and a full basement. "It was pretty much everything we were looking for in a home, and it was at a price that we could afford, if they were willing to take the offer that we were willing to make".

The Lutz's made an offer of $80,000... which was accepted. George had an excellent credit rating, the first bank they applied for a mortgage from accepted their application for $60,000 right away. So they put down the $20,000 cash down payment on their 'dream home', and made arrangements to start moving in.

The first impression that the Lutz's felt of the home can best be described as 'charming', it was well constructed, and everything about the house was exactly what they had hoped for, but unusual events began occurring almost from the moment they arrived.
Read the rest at The Amityville Horror Truth: Interview with George Lutz
Next story: The Exorcism of Emily Rose

 

[Dodge_Sniper]

Epileptic Fit

This one was a bit hard to research, I got many different sites, some saying the "attacks" happened at age 16 until she[The real victim] died at the age of 23, others saying she had the "attacks" at the age of 21 until she died. So bear with me here.

According to Wikipedia-

Anneliese Michel (September 21, 1952 – July 1, 1976) was a Catholic woman from Germany who believed she was possessed by six or more demons and subsequently underwent an exorcism. Two motion pictures, The Exorcism of Emily Rose and Requiem are based on her story.

Anneliese experienced what is recognized by medical professionals as severe psychiatric disturbances from the age of 16 to her death, at age 23, as a direct or indirect result of an exorcism ritual. Although the faith-based treatment was performed at her own request, hospitalization and intravenous feeding could have saved her life. Both the two priests who performed the exorcism and Anneliese's parents were convicted of manslaughter. The Catholic Church, which had authorized the exorcism, reversed its position and declared Anneliese Michel a case of mental illness. Many people, however, still believe she was genuinely possessed by demons, and her grave-site is a destination for pilgrims to this day.

Read the rest of this article at Wikipedia: Anneliese Michel

According to Movies Online-

From her birth on the 21st of September, 1952, Anneliese Michel enjoyed the life of a normal, religiously nurtured young girl. Without warning, her life changed on a day in 1968 when she began shaking and found she was unable to control her body. She could not call out for her parents, Josef and Anna, or any of her 3 sisters. A neurologist at the Psychiatric Clinic Wurzburg diagnosed her with "Grand Mal" epilepsy. Because of the strength of the epileptic fits, and the severity of the depression that followed, Anneliese was admitted for treatment at the hospital.

Soon after the attacks began, Anneliese started seeing devilish grimaces during her daily praying. It was the fall of 1970, and while the young people of the world were enjoying the liberal freedoms of the time, Anneliese was battling with the belief that she was possessed. It seemed there was no other explanation for the appearance of devilish visions during her prayers. Voices also began following her, saying Anneliese will "stew in hell". She mentioned the "demons" to the doctors only once, explaining that they have started to give her orders. The doctors seem unable to help, and Anneliese lost hope that medicine was going to be able to cure her.

Read the rest at Movies Online: Anneliese Michel
Next story: Open Water

 

[Dodge_Sniper]

Open Water

A Watery Grave
Eileen and Tom Lonergan went out for a day of scuba diving, and never came back - The story behind the movie Open Water.
By Jason Daley

IT'S A DIVERS WORST NIGHTMARE: Miles from shore, you surface to find your charter boat nowhere in sight. You call for help, but there's no response. There are no outcroppings to hold on to. You hope that someone realizes their mistake before it's too late.

This is what presumably happened to Eileen and Tom Lonergan on January 25, 1998, at St. Crispin's Reef, a popular dive site on the Great Barrier Reef, 25 miles off the coast of Queensland, Australia. The Lonergans, diving veterans from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, had gone out with the Port Douglas, Queensland-based scuba boat Outer Edge. Stories vary, but at the end of the day, the crew did a head count and came up with only 24 of their 26 clients. Someone pointed out two young divers who had jumped in to swim off the bow, and the crew, assuming that they had missed them, adjusted the count to 26. With the swimmers on board, the Outer Edge headed back to port.

Two days later, Geoffrey Nairn, the boat's skipper, discovered Eileen and Tom's personal belongings in the Outer Edge's lost-property bin, including Tom's wallet, glasses, and clothes. Concerned, he called the owner of the Gone Walkabout Hostel, in Cairns, where the couple had been staying, to see if they had returned. They had not. A five-day search began, which turned up no trace of Eileen or Tom. After more than 48 hours in the ocean, the couple may have drowned, or been eaten by sharks. But as the chilling story broke, other theories emerged. One is that they committed suicide, or a murder-suicide took place. Journals in their hotel room hinted at personal troubles, but the couple were devout Catholics with good prospects. Tom, 33, and Eileen, 28, had just come off a three-year tour of duty with the Peace Corps in Tuvalu and Fiji and were en route to Hawaii, where they hoped to settle down.

Another scenario has the Lonergans using the dive boat as part of an elaborate hoax to fake their deaths. Jeanette Brenthall, owner of a bookshop in Port Douglas, believes the couple came into her store on January 27, two days after their dive trip. The pair was also reportedly sighted in a hotel in downtown Darwin. Reports of a boat less than a mile from St. Crispin's Reef seem to support theories that the couple was picked up. But the Lonergans' bank accounts were never touched, and no one ever collected on their insurance policies. A few weeks after they'd gone missing, some of their personal dive gear washed up on a beach 75 miles from the dive site. Six months later, a weathered dive slate—a device used to communicate underwater—with contact information for Eileen's father and the words PLEASE HELP US OR WE WILL DIE. JANUARY 26, 8:00 A.M., was found floating in the same vicinity as the gear.

In November 1999, Geoffrey Nairn was tried on manslaughter charges and acquitted; he believes the jury felt he shouldn't be blamed for a mistake made by the entire crew. His company, Outer Edge Dive, was tried by a civil court in Queensland, pled guilty to negligence, and was fined. Nairn, who closed down Outer Edge Dive shortly thereafter, believes that the Lonergans died on the reef. "It was a tragedy, and I'll never get over it," he told Outside. "The highest probability is that Tom and Eileen are dead."

Back in Baton Rouge, Eileen's father, John Hains, also believes that the couple drowned after being accidentally left behind. "The Australian dive industry wanted to prove that Tom and Eileen faked their deaths," he says of the disappearance theories. "But the survival rate of being in the ocean with no place to go is nil."

This article can be found at Eileen and Tom Lonergan: True Story Behind Open Water
Next story: Skinwalkers

 

[Dodge_Sniper]

Skinwalkers

The idea to reasearch this movie was inspired by a member of the House Of Jigsaw message boards.

If you want something interesting try looking up the legend of the Navajo Skinwalkers to go aloing with the new movie, which actually talks more about werewolves vs. the were- animals of skinwalkers. It's considered an evil side of religio and you have to kill a close friend or famly member to become one (something like that). It says that the Holy People, in Navajo legend gave tempoary powers to humans to carry out task. These powers allowed them to run faster than the fastest deer or fly farther than the strongest eagle but at the end of the task they needed to give these powers back, those who didn't became skinwalkers. They can take the form of whatever animal whose skin they are wearing and can kill someone by looking at them but if you know who the skinwalker is and tell them within a day the skinwalker will die instead. Skinwalkers supposedly have glowing red eyes, are very large and strong (reminds me of Shadow beings for everyone who knows what they are) It's very interesting and very superstitious. I can't remember any links but there's a lot of information on them. Hope that helps.

Not an easy topic for me to find, but I don't even know what a "Skinwalker" is, nor have I even seen the movie. But here's what I found.
"In NAVAJO tradition, a sorcerer who transforms into a werewolf, or a man who dresses as a wolf and is believed to practice WITCHCRAFT."
I find this far too simplistic an explanation of the term. The Navajo refuse even to say the word allowed for fear of retaliation from this much-feared creature. A Skinwalker is, in fact, a Navajo Witch and capable of causing much pain, suffering and even death.

Skinwalkers can transform into wolves, but, depending on the power they seek, other animal skins are used for other transformations. A coyote skin grants them speed, a bear skin strength, a cat, stealth and agility, etc.
Werewolves, as the white men know them, are capable of many things with their sharp claws and teeth and highly developed senses of sight, hearing and smell. The Skinwalkers have all these as well, but add a bag of with tricks to it, including the ability to practice mind control, spread disease and cause sickness and death. They also use a strange white powder that paralyzes the victim,

The Navajo call the Skinwalker Yenaldlooshi which translates into "He who trots along here and there on all fours." They are accused of terrible crimes that flaunt Navajo tradition, like appearing naked, having sex with the dead and even cannibalism.
The Yaqui have a similar creature they call Morea-kame. this is a person who practices witchcraft or what we might ball black magic. These creatures also change shape, appearing as animals or even as ghosts. They kill using their thoughts or the evil eye. They possess souls by entering the dreams of a sleeper and have even been accused of poisoning food.

Perhaps you are thanking your lucky stars that you are neither Navajo nor Yaqui. Don't become too complacent, my friend. These spirits, the Skinwalkers, Yenaldlooshi and Morea-kame make no distinction by race, color or creed. So be cautious of what words fall from your lips lest the Skinwalkers hear and come to harass your home, bring chaos and even death with them.
This article was found at: Suite101.com: Navajo Skinwalkers
Next story: Primeval

 

[Dodge_Sniper]

Primeval

Gustave is being feted in Burundi as possibly Africa's largest crocodile. Some are even saying he could be one of the world's biggest fresh water crocodiles.

Gustave is very dangerous when he gets out of the Ruzizi River to mate with females

Patrice Faye
The reptile, people are guessing could be as long as six metres and as heavy as a tonne, which, even allowing for exaggeration, would have him rivalling some of the largest saltwater crocodiles recorded.
He lives on a river island near Lake Tanganyika, in Burundi, and was given his name by Patrice Faye, a Frenchman who has lived in Burundi for about 20 years and has a keen interest in animals.
Mr Faye, who has been studying Gustave for several years, speaks about him with some fear.
Read the rest at BBC News: Burundi's not so gentle giant
Next Story: Zodiac

 

[Dodge_Sniper]

Zodiac

Riverside - The Zodiac Killer Story


On the night of Sunday, October 30, 1966, long before anyone was to hear of the Zodiac killer, an 18-year-old student named Cheri Jo Bates was brutally murdered near the parking lot of Riverside City College's library annex. Neither rape nor robbery seemed to have been a motive, as her clothes were undisturbed and her purse was present and intact.
After disabling her lime green Volkswagen by pulling out the distributor coil and the condenser, then disconnecting the middle wire of the distributor, the zodiac killer had apparently waited for Bates to return to her car and try to start it, whereupon he made a pretense of unsuccessfully tinkering with the engine. After this ruse, and probably with the offer of a ride, he lured her into a dark, unpaved driveway between two empty houses owned by the college, where they spent approximately an hour and a half. Exactly what they did during this time is uncertain, but eventually the man attacked her, slashing her three times in the chest area, once in the back, and seven times across the throat. 1 Police determined that the murder weapon was a small knife with a blade about 3 1/2" long by 1/2" wide, 2 but the wounds to Bates' throat were so deep and brutal as to nearly decapitate her, severing her larynx, jugular vein, and carotid artery. She had also been choked, beaten, and slashed about the face. Found about ten feet from Bates' body was a paint-spattered man's Timex watch with a broken 7" wristband, stopped at around 12:23 [see illustration], which one source claims was later traced to a military PX in England. The paint was analyzed, and was found to be common exterior house paint. 3 Also found at the scene were the heel-print from a shoe that appeared to be close to size 10, 4 as well as hair, blood, and skin tissue found in the victim's hands and beneath her fingernails. Greasy, unidentified palm- and fingerprints were also found in and on her car, about 200 feet away. Although the library closed at 9:00 p.m. (and books found in her car verify that she had been inside before then), two separate witnesses reported hearing an "awful scream" at around 10:30, followed by "a muted scream, and then a loud sound like an old car being started up" about two minutes later. This time matches an estimation given by the coroner, and is generally accepted as the time of her death.
Judging by these details, the murder of Cheri Jo Bates would appear to be nothing more mysterious than a particularly vicious crime of passion, committed perhaps by a spurned suitor, an ex-boyfriend, or a subject somehow linked to Miss Bates. Certainly, the simple fact that Bates spent over an hour in the dark with the man who murdered her suggests that she knew and trusted him enough to converse more than casually. It was not until almost exactly one month after the attack that the case approached a bizarre new level.
Read the rest at Riverside - The Zodiac Killer Story
Next Story: The Good Shepherd

 

[Dodge_Sniper]

The Good Shepherd

Screenwriter Meets Spy-catcher


The American traitor John Walker Jr. once said the best way to hide a lie is by wrapping it in layers of truth. It's a trick that not only serves spies, but also clever Hollywood scriptwriters. Such is the case with The Good Shepherd, a cloak-and-dagger thriller that purports to tell the story of the Central Intelligence Agency's early days as seen through the eyes and career of Edward Wilson, the movie's main character. Played by Matt Damon, Wilson is patterned after the legendary spy-catcher, James Jesus Angleton.
But how much of the movie is true and how much is Hollywood sizzle?
Few CIA spooks have received as much attention as Angleton. None has ever been as controversial. His critics claim his paranoid-fueled hunt for a Soviet KGB mole burrowed inside the CIA almost destroyed the agency when Angleton ran its counter-intelligence operations from 1948 until he was forced to resign in 1975. His admirers insist Angleton's unflinching eye kept the CIA from being penetrated by skilled KGB agents during the height of the Cold War.

A tall, stooped chain-smoker, who usually dressed in black and whose hobbies were writing poetry and growing orchids, Angleton was known by the codename "Mother" and has been the inspiration behind characters in numerous spy novels. His controversial career has been recounted in a half dozen nonfiction books too, so it is not surprising that veteran scriptwriter, Eric Roth, turned to Angleton's life story when penning The Good Shepherd.
Since winning an Oscar for writing Forrest Gump, Roth has become Hollywood's expert at spinning news-making events into blockbusters. His more recent endeavors include The Insider and Munich, which showcased his talent at blending facts with fiction. Contacted at his Los Angeles home, Roth agreed to talk about The Good Shepherd for this Crime Library article. He said his interest in espionage dated back to his childhood when he used to pluck "decoder rings out of boxes of cereal" in the 1950s. While in college, he was approached by a CIA recruiter. It was during the Vietnam era and Roth, who considered himself a political liberal, rejected the invitation but was surprised by how intrigued he had been by the offer. Deep down many men still harbor a small boy's fantasy about becoming a secret agent, he decided.
Read the rest at Crime Library: Screenwriter Meets Spy-catcher
Next Story: Black Dahlia

 

[Dodge_Sniper]

Black Dahlia

Introduction - The Black Dahlia Story


Elizabeth Short has been portrayed many ways in the six decades since her body was dumped in two pieces on an empty lot in Los Angeles: Manipulative playgirl. Aspiring starlet. Naïve cock tease. Troubled soul.
Above all, time has immortalized Elizabeth Short as the pin-up girl of Los Angeles Noir. The Black Dahlia. Fascination with her life, and especially her death — her gruesome, violent, unsolved murder — continues to this day.
The story of the unemployed 22-year-old waitress has inspired dozens of books, Web sites, a video game and even an Australian swing band. The quest to pinpoint her killer has become a hobby for generations of armchair detectives. And this fall, Hollywood will recast her tragic plight in a star-studded Black Dahlia movie.
The Los Angeles Police Department has all but given up hope of ever closing the Dahlia case; the department has more urgent crimes to investigate, and the killer has likely been dead for years. Yet, it is precisely the unsolved status of Elizabeth Short's murder that gives it such an enduring allure.
We need to emphasize here that the case is so cold, the information so musty and bungled, that it's difficult to get a lucid picture of Elizabeth Short's brief life, much less her grisly death. The Crime Library will not attempt to solve the Black Dahlia murder in these pages, but to simply relate Short's story based on the most unbiased, accepted facts available, including historical newspaper articles and law enforcement records, as well as contemporary literature.
Read the rest at Crime Library: The Black Dahlia Story
Next Story: Psycho

 

[Sarah2613]

Interesting o.0

 

[Dodge_Sniper]

I know I'm a horror junkie. But whatever, not your lifestyle, that''s your choice. I'm just elaborating on the lies created by Hollywood, naming movies and saying they are "Based on true events", so blah!

 

[Dodge_Sniper]

Reviving this, seems we're getting a lot more "Based on true events" movies this year.

CATACOMBS(2008)

The story of a young woman on her first visit abroad. She goes to a party in the Catacombs, a 200-mile labyrinth of ancient limestone tunnels under Paris lined with the remains of 7 million people. When separated from her friends, she becomes convinced that someone or something is chasing her.

Story behind the story

The original catacombs[1] are a network of underground burial galleries near San Sebastiano fuori le mura, in Rome. The word now refers to any network of caves, grottos, or subterranean place that is used for the burial of the dead, or it can refer to a specific underground burial place. Famous examples are:

Catacombs of Rome in Italy
Catacombs of Paris in France
Catacombs of Kom el Shuqafa (or Kom al Sukkfa) in Alexandria, Egypt
Catacombs of Malta on the Mediterranean island of Malta
Catacombs of Sacromonte in Granada, Spain.
Capuchin catacombs of Palermo, Italy.
Catacombs of Lima in Peru.
Catacombs under St. Stephen's cathedral in Vienna.

There are also catacomb-like burial chambers in Anatolia, Turkey; in Susa, North Africa; in Naples, Italy; in Syracuse, Italy; Trier, Germany; Kiev, Ukraine. Capuchin catacombs of Palermo, Sicily were used as late as 1920s.

In Ukraine and Russia, catacomb (used in the local languages' plural katakomby) also refers to the network of abandoned caves and tunnels earlier used to mine stone, especially limestone. Such catacombs are situated in Crimea and the Black Sea coast of these two countries. The most famous are catacombs beneath Odessa and Ajimushkay, Crimea, Ukraine. In the early days of Christianity, believers conducted secret worship services in these burial caves for safety and reverence for the dead. Later, they served as bases for Soviet World War II guerrillas (see also Great Patriotic War). Ajimushkay catacombs hosted about 10.000 fighters and refugees. Many of them died and were buried there, and memorials and museums were later established (it is now a territory of Kerch city).