The Amityville Horror Actually Happened

Scary stories terrify us and keep us up at night. The one solace is that they're just stories, right? Well, the truth is that many are based on actual events. Certain details can change over time, but these tales of terror impacted real people before becoming the stuff of legends. Here are 20 scary stories that are based on real-life.

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1. The Dyatlov Pass Incident

Who hasn't been told the story of a group of experienced hikers who died mysteriously in the Ural Mountains? Their tent was found slashed open from the inside, and some had fled barefoot through the snow. Soviet investigators referred to the perpetrator as an "unknown compelling force".

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2. The Amityville Horror 

After moving into a home where a grisly murder occured, George and Kathy Lutz claimed that they were haunted by malevolent demonic forces. Famous paranormal investigators, Ed and Lorraine Warren, supported their claims, Even skeptics couldn't stop this inexplicable event from becoming one of the most told scary stories in history.

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3. The Enfield Poltergeist

This scary story originated in London in the late '70s. The Hodgson family reported to hear knocking sounds and witness levitating children. Even the police claimed to have experienced this paranormal event. Eyewitness accounts defy easy explanation, and have fueled this campfire horror tale for decades.

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4. The Bell Witch

This is one of the original American scary stories, and it really happened to a family in the 19th century. The Bell family claimed to be tormented by a violent spirit, and even President Andrew Jackson fled after a particularly haunting visit. 

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5. The Dybbuk Box

This scary story was based on a real event in the early 2000s. A person who bought a small wine cabinet on eBay believed that it contained a malevolent Jewish spirit, or "dybbuk". Every owner reported nightmares and illness.

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6. The Myrtles Plantation

One of America's most haunted homes, the Myrtles Plantation is believed to house 12 or more spirits. It has been the setting for many ghost stories, and visitors report phantom footsteps.

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7. The Whaley House

Constructed on former gallows grounds, this house has long been the subject of ghost stories. Visitors claim to see Thomas Whaley, his wife Anna, and even the ghost of "Yankee Jim", who was hanged there before construction.

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8. The Brown Lady of Raynham Hall

The ghost of Lady Dorothy Walpole became the center of a truly scary story after being captured in the most famous paranormal photograph ever taken. Witnesses have seen her hollowed-eyed figure drifting down the grand staircase, just as it was seen in the 1936 photo.

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9. The Tower of London Ghosts

This tower's legendary bloody history has made it the perfect star of scary stories. Guards have reported seeing ghostly figures, including Anne Boleyn. 

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10. The Winchester Mystery House

Most people have been terrified by the scary story about heiress Sarah Winchester. Haunted by guilt over the lives lost to Winchester rifles, she obsessively built a mansion with staircases to nowhere and sealed doors to confused spirits. 

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11. The Ghosts of Flight 401

Don't tell anyone this scary story before they board a plane. After an Eastern Air Lines flight crashed in the Everglades, parts were reused to construct other planes. The crews of those planes reported seeing the ghosts of deceased pilots and full-bodied apparitions.

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12. The Queen Mary

This retired ocean liner is considered one of the most haunted ships ever, and people have been telling its scary stories for a long time. Visitors claim to hear children laughing and footsteps in empty corridors. 

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13. The Screaming Tunnel

Local legend tells how a young girl was burned alive in this tunnel. Today, people tell wild stories of this young girl and then venture inside the tunnel and light a match to hear her screams before the match is blown out by an unseen force.

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14. The Riddle House

This house was originally a funeral parlor and became a notorious ghost story after an employee's suicide. Witnesses claim to have seen flying objects and shadowy figures. 

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15. The Sallie House

This house in Kansas was once home to a doctor who botched a young patient's surgery. It's infamous for its violent hauntings as much as it is as a scary story to tell kids while camping.

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16. The Rolling Hills Asylum

The Rolling Hills Asylum has terrified attentive listeners since the 19th century. It was a poorhouse that was home to orphans and criminals. Thousands died within its walls, and curious visitors have reported touching cold invisible hands and hearing violent screams.

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17. The Crescent Hotel

Once a hospital run by a fraudulent doctor who claimed to have discovered a cure for cancer, this hotel is now famous for its spectral patients, and as the setting for various scary stories told throughout North America.

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18. The Edinburgh Vaults

Beneath Edinburgh is a maze of chambers that has lent itself to countless scary stories. What most don't know is it was a hiding place for body snatchers, criminals, and plague victims on the run. Paranormal investigators report sudden temperature drops and seeing figures that can only be described as spirits. 

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19. The Poveglia Island

This Italian island between Venice and Lido was used as a quarantine zone and then an asylum. Locals tell a host of different scary stories set in the island, while also refusing to go near it. 

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20. The Ghost of Kate Morgan

You've probably heard the scary story about Kate Morgan who checked into a hotel in 1892 and was found dead a few days later. Her spirit reportedly haunts her old room and will venture into the hallways from time to time. 

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