Most movie buffs know at least one or two tidbits of horror movie trivia. You can always find a lot of stuff on the internet of course but I thought that I write a post including some of that trivia and, some of those fascinating (or not so fascinating for some) facts that people may or may not be familiar with. Here are a couple of titles that have a slew of facts about them. And a bunch of random goodies for fun. 
Carrie (1976): I find it astounding that Stephen King has always said he considers Carrie his first published novel, to be one of his inferior novels. King has even been quoted saying that he believes director Brian De Palma did an incredible job with the film and that the film actually outshone the novel. To me, it’s a brilliant social commentary on the heartbreaking brutality of bullying. The film adaptation was superb and though there have been remakes, to me, the 1976 version is truly unsurpassable.
Poltergeist (1982): Because this film was believed to be cursed, there is an amplitude of fun facts available to dip into. Directed by Tobe Hooper and co-written and produced by Steven Spielberg, the film (to me) really blurred the lines between the horror genre and a Disney-style formulation. Personally, I always thought it was a little sugary in its representation of the subject matter, particularly when comparing it with Hooper’s most highly profiled showpiece The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1977). However, Poltergeist has definitely earned its place in the contemporary horror echelons and endowed trivia buffs with loads and loads of great stuff!
The Conjuring (2013): As one of the highest-ranking, highest-grossing horror films of all time, The Conjuring is truly an excellent movie. Naturally, with a film that is based on events and that just happen to be hauntings and paranormal activities, there are bound to be some kooky goings-on.
Randoms: Serial Killer Ed Gein’s crimes were the basis of inspiration for three films: Psycho (1960), The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) and The Silence of the Lambs (1991). A dead body washed up on the shore close to the set during the filming of the boathouse scene in The Amityville Horror (2005) remake. Paul Bateson a real-life x-ray technician played a radiologist assistant in The Exorcist (1973). Six years after he was charged with murdering film critic Addison Verrill. While in custody, Bateson confessed to murdering and dismembering other men, and dropping their ‘bagged’ remains in the Hudson River. Though he was never charged, the ‘trash-bag murders’ were the inspiration for the film Cruising (1980). Tony Todd had actual live bees in his mouth for that final scene in Candyman (1992). Although queen bee pheromones were used to appease the bees, the actor was still stung over twenty times. He used a dental dam to prevent them from crawling down his throat.Jason Voorhees the Friday the 13th (1980) villain was originally going to be named Josh. [Josh Voorhees sounds more like a party-loving frat boy than a hockey mask-wearing murderer!]Kevin Williamson penned Scream (1996) after watching a television special about real-life serial killer Danny Rolling aka The Gainsville Ripper. Chucky from Child’s Play (1988) was an inspired creation. That inspiration is none other than Robert the Doll which is housed at the East Martello Museum in Key West Florida. Robert is supposedly haunted and does not like having his picture taken without his permission. It is said that Stanley Kubrick himself, hand typed “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy” five hundred times for that scene in The Shining (1980). [Thats dedication to your art]
Carrie (1976): I find it astounding that Stephen King has always said he considers Carrie his first published novel, to be one of his inferior novels. King has even been quoted saying that he believes director Brian De Palma did an incredible job with the film and that the film actually outshone the novel. To me, it’s a brilliant social commentary on the heartbreaking brutality of bullying. The film adaptation was superb and though there have been remakes, to me, the 1976 version is truly unsurpassable. - Sissy Spacek slept in her bloodied clothes for three days during filming so that continuity would not be disrupted.
- Carrie White attends Bates High School, a nod to Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho. The slaughterhouse where the pig was killed for its blood was also named Bates Packing.
- The Prom scene took roughly two weeks and about thirty-five takes to capture.
- Spacek deliberately isolated herself from cast members while she was on set and stayed mostly within her tailor where she had plastered its walls with religious paraphernalia and imagery. That methodology must’ve worked because Spacek was nominated for a Best Actress Academy Award in 1977.
- When the character Norma is killed by the fire hose bursting, that reaction is extremely authentic. Actress PJ Soles was severely injured when the pressure of the hose caused her eardrums to pop and, De Palma decided to use the actual shot in the film.
Poltergeist (1982): Because this film was believed to be cursed, there is an amplitude of fun facts available to dip into. Directed by Tobe Hooper and co-written and produced by Steven Spielberg, the film (to me) really blurred the lines between the horror genre and a Disney-style formulation. Personally, I always thought it was a little sugary in its representation of the subject matter, particularly when comparing it with Hooper’s most highly profiled showpiece The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1977). However, Poltergeist has definitely earned its place in the contemporary horror echelons and endowed trivia buffs with loads and loads of great stuff! - The skeletons in the pool scene were real skeletons and not fake props. An insight that JoBeth Williams, who played Diane Freeling, was not privy to until after the five days of filming that scene had concluded.
- The use of the skeletons is what is believed to be what generated the film’s curse. Heather O’Rourke (Carol Anne Freeling) died at age 12, prior to the release of Poltergeist III, of cardiac arrest due to an undiagnosed intestinal illness.
- Keeping within the tragedy elements; Dominique Dunne who played Carol Anne’s sister Dana was killed by her ex-boyfriend 5 months after the movie was released. And two other cast members died after the sequel was filmed.
- Steven Spielberg originally asked Stephen King to co-write the screenplay, but King couldn’t because of prior commitments. [Imagine what could have been!!]
- An actual Indian burial ground was unearthed in Agoura Hills California during the construction of a supermarket in 1969. Poltergeist was later filmed in this exact suburb in 1981.
- In the most infamous scene in which Carol Anne faces the static television screen, the clock on the display reads 2:37 am. It is said to be Hooper’s nod to room 237 from Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining.
- And lastly, a scene was deleted in which the clown doll came to life at Robbie Freeling’s birthday party and bit him while nobody was looking. Personally, I think they should have left that scene in the film. [Amirite??]
The Conjuring (2013): As one of the highest-ranking, highest-grossing horror films of all time, The Conjuring is truly an excellent movie. Naturally, with a film that is based on events and that just happen to be hauntings and paranormal activities, there are bound to be some kooky goings-on. - The original script had the narrative told from the Perron family’s point of view, and not from Ed and Lorraine Warren’s.
- The real Lorraine Warren has a cameo in the classroom scene. [It’s very, very, very brief!]
- The film screenings in The Philippines were blessed by Catholic priests so that cinema goers would not fear possessions. [Makes sense though, right?!]
- The production was also afflicted by paranormal occurrences. Cast and crew reported weird phone interferences like static, odd sounds, and complete cutouts of calls. Vera Farmiga who plays Lorraine Warren had claw marks appear on her laptop screen several times and, there were even a few ‘accidents’ on set.
- The homeowners at the time, sued the film’s producers because when the film hit cinemas, their home became the target of vandalism and a few robberies.
- The film was actually shot in chronological order.
- The Perron family were not aware of the home’s history prior to purchasing it because the state of Rhode Island does not require home sellers to disclose documented records of any criminal or other activities that have occurred there.
Randoms: Serial Killer Ed Gein’s crimes were the basis of inspiration for three films: Psycho (1960), The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) and The Silence of the Lambs (1991). A dead body washed up on the shore close to the set during the filming of the boathouse scene in The Amityville Horror (2005) remake. Paul Bateson a real-life x-ray technician played a radiologist assistant in The Exorcist (1973). Six years after he was charged with murdering film critic Addison Verrill. While in custody, Bateson confessed to murdering and dismembering other men, and dropping their ‘bagged’ remains in the Hudson River. Though he was never charged, the ‘trash-bag murders’ were the inspiration for the film Cruising (1980). Tony Todd had actual live bees in his mouth for that final scene in Candyman (1992). Although queen bee pheromones were used to appease the bees, the actor was still stung over twenty times. He used a dental dam to prevent them from crawling down his throat.Jason Voorhees the Friday the 13th (1980) villain was originally going to be named Josh. [Josh Voorhees sounds more like a party-loving frat boy than a hockey mask-wearing murderer!]Kevin Williamson penned Scream (1996) after watching a television special about real-life serial killer Danny Rolling aka The Gainsville Ripper. Chucky from Child’s Play (1988) was an inspired creation. That inspiration is none other than Robert the Doll which is housed at the East Martello Museum in Key West Florida. Robert is supposedly haunted and does not like having his picture taken without his permission. It is said that Stanley Kubrick himself, hand typed “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy” five hundred times for that scene in The Shining (1980). [Thats dedication to your art]
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