The horror genre has a big fan base since it is able to encompass many different types of movies. Horror has been around for hundreds of years in the form of literature, but Georges Méliès’ Le Manoir du Diable is often considered the first-ever horror movie.
Over the decades, horror movies have gotten more intense and gorier (especially after the slashers of the ‘80s), but many people have always liked horror because of the adrenaline rush the films can provide. Horror movies can be scary for several different reasons, but sometimes fan theories can make them even scarier. Here are 10 Fan Theories That Will Forever Change Your Favorite Horror Movies.
Sam Loomis From Psycho And Halloween Are The Same Person
Psycho is not only one of Alfred Hitchcock’s most notable works, but it is also one of the most famous horror movies from the ‘60s. Likewise, John Carpenter’s Halloween is one of the most recognized horror films in existence thanks to the iconic Michael Myers. Carpenter pays homage to Psycho in Halloween by naming one of its characters Sam Loomis, but what if it is actually the same character from Psycho?
Loomis from Psycho could have dedicated his life to studying psychology after what happened to Marion, which could have led him to Smith’s Grove Sanatorium in Haddonfield. Michael Myers could have reminded him of Norman Bates, which is why Loomis was so involved with Michael’s treatment and eventually was willing to do whatever he could to stop another serial killer.
Freddy Is Nancy’s Dad
Freddy Krueger murdered a lot of children throughout the Nightmare on Elm Street series, but Nancy Thompson was always his favorite. Nancy’s mother and father were part of the mob that hunted and burned Krueger alive, but what if Freddy was actually Nancy’s father?
This would explain why Freddy always seems to be tormenting Nancy in the first film, while he quickly kills his other victims. Nancy’s house on Elm Street is also heavily featured in the first film and the sequels, but what if that's because Freddy used to live there? Marge lied to her daughter about Freddy to spare her the traumatic details of her childhood, but maybe she still isn’t telling the whole truth.
Army Of Darkness Is All In Ash’s Head
While the original Evil Dead from 1981 is a straight-forward horror film, the sequel infused a lot more comedy. Ash went through more trauma in a single night than most people go through in their entire life, so it’s not hard to believe that Ash’s mind simply snapped at some point in the series.
Ash seemed to be spiraling into madness during scenes in Evil Dead II, but what if Army of Darkness is all in his head? This would explain why Army of Darkness was a lot more of a cartoonish entry to the series.
Jigsaw Is A Grown Up Kevin McCallister
Most horror buffs are familiar with the Saw franchise, especially since there has been a total of eight films in the series. The Jigsaw Killer named John Kramer was a former engineer who, after surviving a suicide attempt, tested people’s will to live by forcing them to escape brutal traps. Kevin McCallister on the other hand was a young boy who was accidentally left home alone and forced to defend his house from burglars using booby traps.
The films are from completely different genres, but some fan theories claim Kevin grew up to be Jigsaw. Kevin often had violent outbursts and a lot of his traps seriously injured Marv and Harry. Kevin could have improved his skills as he got older and eventually turned into Jigsaw after years of torment from his family.
Freddy, Jason, And Ash Are All In The Same Universe
Freddy Krueger, Jason Voorhees, and Ash Williams are three of the most recognizable characters in the horror genre, but what if they are all part of the same universe? Freddy and Jason have of course shared a movie together, but their other films also have connections to Evil Dead. Freddy’s glove can be spotted in Evil Dead II, and the Necronomicon itself even appears in Jason Goes to Hell.
It’s possible that the Necronomicon could be the source of both Jason and Freddy’s powers and Jason Goes to Hell director Adam Marcus even once said that Jason is actually a deadite. There is a lot of evidence to support that these three horror icons are all part of a giant shared universe, so hopefully one day fans will finally see Freddy vs. Jason vs. Ash.
All Of The Stephen King Movies Are Connected
Stephen King is one of the most successful horror authors out there, which is why several of his books and short stories have been adapted for movies and TV shows. Many people believe that all of the horrifying creatures come from either The Macroverse (introduced in IT) or The Todash Space (introduced in The Dark Tower).
Others believe that Carrie White had the Shining or that Pennywise is haunting characters from other Stephen King movies. The show Castle Rock seems to support this theory as well, with the show having numerous references and easter eggs to his other works.
The Paranormal Activity Films Are Real
The Paranormal Activity franchise is a group of fictional found-footage movies…or are they? There is a popular fan theory that the Paranormal Activity movies are actually real encounters with demons and that director Oren Peli made a deal with a demon himself.
Essentially the theory goes that Peli agreed to help the demon become more powerful in return for a career in Hollywood and a massively successful film franchise. This means that the more people who see the demon and are scared of it, the stronger it becomes. The Paranormal Activity movies have been seen by millions of people around the world so if this fan theory is true, then there is one powerful demon out there somewhere.
Childs Was The Thing
John Carpenter’s The Thing (which was actually a remake of the 1951 film The Thing From Another World) was released in 1982 and has become one of Carpenter’s many memorable films. The film revolves around a research team who encounter a shape-shifting alien on Antarctica. The creature can take the form of its victims, which causes chaos since the men can’t know for sure if the alien is hiding among them.
The film ends ambiguously with no clear explanation as to whether MacReady or Childs is the alien in disguise. Some people believe that the whiskey Childs drinks at the end of the film isn’t actually whiskey, but gasoline from a Molotov cocktail. This would also mean that MacReady was chuckling at the end of the film because he now had the upper hand since he knew Childs was the alien.
Leatherface’s Family Were Actually Police Officers
Leatherface is no doubt the main killer in Tobe Hooper’s The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, but he also lives with cannibalistic psychopaths who he calls family. Some people believe that Leatherface’s family members aren’t actually related to him, but are police officers who went insane.
It’s possible that officers who investigated the farmhouse were so traumatized by what they saw that they eventually gave in to the madness and simply joined Leatherface. Marcus Nispel’s 2003 remake seems to even support this since the Sheriff in the movie ends up being a bad guy that helps the cannibals.
There Were Two Monsters In Cloverfield
The giant creature in the found footage film Cloverfield absolutely demolished New York, but what if it wasn’t acting alone? Some people believe that there wasn’t just one monster, but two. People pointed this out after seeing differences in the monster’s skin and size throughout the movie.
It’s widely believed that Clover was awoken after part of a satellite fell into the Atlantic Ocean, and creature designer Neville Page even confirmed that Clover was just a scared baby looking for his mother. It’s possible that Clover and his mother were both seen throughout the movie, just not together. This could also explain why the monster that emerges from the clouds at the end of The Cloverfield Paradox seems to be so much bigger than the one from the first film.