With the staggering success of The Conjuring series, public interest in real-life ghost tales has skyrocketed. The interest has certainly been there for centuries, but in recent years the exploits of the Warrens have had moviegoers pursuing all of the accounts of ghost stories and paranormal happenings that they can get their hands on. After doing so, many fans find it strange how some of the more terrifying true-life supernatural stories have yet to be adapted to the big screen.
Some of the more famous stories may have inspired other various ghost movies, but many have yet to receive an authentic adaptation. With the renaissance the horror genre has enjoyed over the last decade, now seems like the perfect time to give audiences the joy of seeing these stories in a new light.
The Villisca House
In the early hours of June 10th, 1912, eight people were mortally wounded as they slept in Villisca, Iowa. The Moore family and two guests were found later in the day in the Moore's house and thus began one of Iowa's most notorious cold cases. The only suspect who was ever tried was a man by the name of George Kelly. Kelly was a Reverand, and he correctly predicted the events several hours after the attack and before the bodies were discovered. This raised suspicion and Kelly was arrested and later confessed to at least one of the victims, stating that a voice told him to do it. Rev. Kelly was later acquitted, and the case remains unsolved. What adds to the mystery, is that every mirror in the house was covered by a blanket. There was one movie made in 2016, but that revolved around the legend of the haunted house as opposed to the events themselves.
Hotel Monte Vista
Since its inception in 1927, The Hotel Monte Vista in Flagstaff, Arizona has been known as one of the most haunted spots in America. The hotel has been the temporary home of many famous faces, and the building itself has even been featured in several films such as Casablanca. Over the years, countless ghost stories have emerged from various guests.
One such story came from legendary film star John Wayne. According to Wayne, he heard a knock on the door exclaiming room service. Upon opening the door, nobody was there, leading Wayne to believe it was the ghost of a bellboy. While there are more than a few films revolving around a haunted hotel, arguably one of the most famous has yet to be adapted.
St. Albans Sanatorium
St. Albans Asylum makes Batman's Arkham Asylum look tame in comparison. Located in Radford, Virginia, the building was originally a highly controversial boy's school, one that encouraged its students to bully those they viewed as lesser than them. After being shut down, the building was reopened as a Sanatorium in 1916. The hospital was severely understaffed and the inmates were forced to undergo torturous experiments, receiving lobotomies and being dunked in ice-cold water for days on end. The grim atmosphere created by the doctors still lingers today, and a place known as the most haunted on the east coast is more than deserving of a terrifying film adaptation.
Lui Family Mansion
Often times the most tragic ghost stories are attached to the most beautiful of places. The Lui Family Mansion in Taiwan has a story that seems ripe for adaptation. According to legend, the trouble started when the patriarch of the family fell in love with one of the many maids.
Jealous with rage, his wife would torment and torture the maid until she met her fate at the bottom of a large well. The vengeful spirit then haunted the family until they were forced to move. Today, many say they feel uneasy and swear they can see her spirit roaming the grounds. The well is also rumored to be riddled with bad luck, with the visitors suffering grim fates themselves.
Major Graham Mansion
Even before tycoon icon Squire David Graham purchased some land in Wythe County, Virginia, and begun construction of the mansion seen today, the land was already cursed with deadly events. Years prior, a man was mortally attacked by two of his servants, and his spirit has been said to lurk on the grounds ever since. After the mansion was built, Graham's wife slowly went insane, and she was then kept captive, as her quarters became a cell. The house was also a safe haven for many Confederate soldiers, many of whom succumbed to their wounds and supposedly stuck around the mansion. Nowdays, Major Grahams is a famous haunted attraction but whether this story is fact or fiction, the mansion deserves to have its spotlight on film.
Roanoke Colony
Stories of failed settlements in early America are not scarce. Whether succumbing to illness or attack, it was rare that a settlement would become prosperous. Even rarer, however, is when an entire settlement vanishes from existence with only one word left behind. Anyone familiar with American history has certainly heard of the lost colony of Roanoke. The settlement of well over one hundred seemed to vanish without a trace, with the word CROATOAN being etched onto a tree. While there are speculations, to this day no one knows for sure what happened. There have been films about the legend of the event, but none based in reality, and while American Horror Story gave their own version of these events in season 6, a film adaptation could be more authentic.
Jean Harlow House
In the golden age of Hollywood, no celebrity ghost story was better known than the life of early bombshell, Jean Harlow. Harlow's husband died in their house under mysterious circumstances shortly after their divorce, soon followed by his common-law wife. Harlow herself passed away of a sudden illness as well, and many believed that it was tied to the house.
Sharon Tate later stayed in the house and gave reports of seeing two spirits that scared her out. Many speculate the spirits came to Tate as a warning, as she was later one of Charles Manson's famous victims. The house seemed to be haunted from the very beginning, yet there is no film made about the mysterious building.
Eastern State Penitentiary
There are countless films about prisons, haunted or otherwise. However, a very real prison with a fascinating backstory and reported real hauntings has yet to see a film. Eastern State Penitentiary is located in Philadelphia, and it is one of the most famous - and most haunted - prisons of all time. Life inside the prison was tame compared to many other ghost stories, but that doesn't mean morale was exactly high. Among the inmates imprisoned there over the years was Al Capone, who famously had a very cozy cell. The prison holds a haunted house every Halloween season, and there are countless reports of paranormal activity. Some have even claimed to see Capone himself, although he died in Flordia.
Surrency Ghosts
In a tale that seems to come straight from a Conjuring movie, the Surrency family of Georgia suffered serious paranormal attacks. It started tame enough with doors opening and closing on their own, things flying off the shelves - typical ghost fare. Unfortunately, over time, these ghosts become angrier, and reports have been given claiming that they physically assaulted the Surrency's young daughter. They eventually fled their home, which became a tourist attraction for ghost enthusiasts until it mysteriously burned down in 1925. Many believe this tale to be a hoax, but many more think it's true. This haunting has yet to be adapted, which is a shame, as it seems like the perfect ghost film.
Sloss Furnace
The haunting of Sloss Furnace begins with James Wormwood, who was the foreman of the furnace's graveyard shift. Wormwood was infamous for having little care for his workers and only wanted there to be high numbers. High numbers he did receive, in both productivity and body count. Under Wormwood, no less than 40 workers lost their lives due to the factory's unsafe working conditions. Eventually, Wormwood himself fell into boiling iron ore and lost his life instantly, although he was not ready to leave. Over the years, countless workers have claimed to have encountered a burnt spirit straight out of a Wes Craven movie demanding they get to work and physically assaulting them if they didn't.