6 SFF Horror Stories Ripped from the Headlines

Gideon, by Alex Gordon
Despite Gideon‘s intensely supernatural plot—in which a woman becomes entangled not only in her dead father’s double life, but in the ramifications of a two-century-old witch-burning—its first scene is chillingly connected to real life. As 19th-century Midwesterners prepare to burn a malevolent spellcaster, they are suddenly engulfed in a “witchstorm” that freezes them to death in moments, along with the entire countryside. Though almost certainly not caused by arcane forces, records claim the region did experience a bizarre cold snap on December 20th, 1836, during which humans and livestock alike were frozen in their tracks.

The Shining, by Stephen King
An undisputed master of the form, horror legend King’s most enduring work may be The Shining, in which a family is beset upon by strange visions and madness while living in an isolated Colorado hotel. King drew upon his family’s experience at the Stanley Hotel in Boulder when planning the book: not only did the Kings stay in a real-life Room 217 (which was rumored to be haunted), but they were the only ones in the barren building. During the night, King dreamt that his son was being chased around the Stanley by a fire hose. Jolted awake by the experience, he immediately formulated the plot of one of the best-selling books of his career.

“Shem el-Nessim,” by Chris Bell
Appearing in The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror, “Shem el-Nessim” tells the tale of one Stan Tooprig, who falls helplessly in love with a woman’s scent and follows her to Cairo, becoming a husk of his former self along the way. Bell drew inspiration from a vintage perfume advertisement for a scent of the same name, produced by Grossmith Ltd. in 1906. A descendant of the Grossmith family contacted Bell and asked if he knew anyone else in the family, due to his uncanny descriptions of Tooprig. 

The Amityville Horror, by Jay Anson
Although most people today are more familiar with its film adaptations, Anson’s Amityville Horror was a hit with readers and critics upon its publication in 1977; a critic for the Los Angeles Times called it “the scariest true story I have read in years.” Anson’s macabre, Exorcist-like novel chronicled the experiences of George and Kathleen Lutz, who, after moving into a house on Long Island, reported visitations by demonic pigs, levitation, seemingly sentient slime, and other phenomena. The real-life Lutzes did live in a house much like the one described, and documented some wild claims, but in the nearly 30 years since the novel’s publication, most of them have been debunked or otherwise dismissed.

Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley
Almost every horror fan alive knows the legend of what sparked the creation of Mary Shelley’s classic cautionary tale—a trip to Lord Byron’s estate, during which Byron challenged his guests to each write a ghost story. But Shelley was perhaps inspired even before this catalyst by the hideous experiments of one Giovanni Aldini, who administered electric shocks to severed heads in order to temporarily reanimate their muscles. It was common practice to hold experiments such as these in front of a live audience, and as a lady of some standing at the time, Shelley may well have incorporated these experiments, and those of other bioelectrical pioneers, into her incomparable work.

From Hell, by Alan Moore and Eddie Campbell (illustrator)
Distinctly less supernatural than the other novels on this list, From Hell is no less fear-inducing. Indeed, it may be more so, since its historical inspiration—Jack the Ripper—remains history’s most infamous (and mysterious) serial killer. Writer Moore and artist Campbell focus on a mostly-disproven conspiracy theory and Moore’s own fanciful imagination, but the bulk of the story adheres to the Ripper’s gory rampage through the streets of London, reminding readers that the most horrifying deeds of all are the ones we ourselves commit.
What’s the scariest true-life horror story you’ve ever read?