40+ Spooky Horror Movie Behind-the-Scenes Secrets

Whether you’re a total horror movie nut or new to the genre, nothing beats the adrenaline rush that comes from watching a terrifying flick. From tense and thrilling to campy and comic—there’s no doubt you’ll find one to sink your teeth into.

Screenshot from "House Of 1000 Corpses"; Screenshot from "Hellraiser"

Whatever type of horror you like, we've got some spooky behind-the-scenes secrets from your favorite films. So grab some popcorn and get ready to be on the edge of your seat!

Babysitters didn't sleep the same after this movie series hit our screens. Creepy knife-wielding Michael Myers gave the Halloween series legendary status, but he wasn’t the movie’s only iconic character.

Screenshot from "Halloween"

The movie’s creator John Carpenter only had one name in mind for the leading role of Laurie Strode. He wanted to pay homage to one of the greats in horror movie history—Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho. Casting the real-life daughter of Marion Crane allowed Jamie Lee Curtis to follow in her mom’s footsteps, and she went on to do just that!

There were a bunch of spooky things associated with The Exorcist, so much so that a real-life priest was asked to bless the set. One set burned down and there were nine deaths connected to the film.

Screenshot from "The Exorcist"

Whilst it's of course only a movie, it’s always fun to see actors’ real reactions. Jason Miller had an unfortunate filming mishap and his shock at being hit in the face with projectile vomit was totally real. It was never supposed to hit him!

When you hear that the story of murderous cannibals is based on real events, it makes a horror movie even more terrifying. Fear not, for it turns out that most of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre's plot was fictional. But that opening scene had audiences biting their nails from the get-go, thanks to its chilling narration.

Screenshot from "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre"

This was narrator John Laroquette’s first-ever role and you could say that his payment was less-than-adequate for providing his iconic voice to the opening credits.

The Descent is certainly not for the claustrophobic amongst us. If being buried underground wasn’t tense enough, the horrifying humanoids lurking beneath were a terrifying surprise we didn’t see coming.

Screenshot from "The Descent"

The supernatural crawlers were kept a secret from audiences because they were left out of the trailer, but it turns out they were even hidden from the actors until they were filming the scene where they first encounter them. The cast was genuinely scared so we got to see their genuine reactions being chased by the killer creatures.

Horror and science fiction joined forces for this Antarctic alien classic. The Thing film flopped at the box office, but this didn’t stop creator John Carpenter from calling the movie his personal favorite.

Screenshot from "The Thing"

Ravishing hero R.J. MacReady headed up the research team and his handsome look makes his character easily recognizable all these years later. However becoming MacReady was no easy feat for Kurt Russell, as his beard and long hair were not as easy to achieve as you might expect. He definitely pulled it off, so it was time well spent.

Even if you haven’t watched The Ring, you’ll probably recognize the long-haired scary girl named Samara. She became an icon of the horror genre. But did you know that the 2002 movie we know and love is actually adapted from a Japanese horror movie? And many people think it’s way scarier than this version.

Screenshot from "The Ring"

The creators adapted the story to suit American audiences, and there’s obviously something even scarier about evil children, so changing the character to be a little girl definitely made the movie creepier.