'Haunted' Hollywood sets – eery 666 message, tragic deaths and ghostly phone calls

Horror films set out to give us major on-screen scares – but they’re never expected to terrify the cast and crew in real life too.

From The Omen to The Conjuring, and Poltergeist to The Inn Keepers, stories of supernatural activity while filming have led many to believe that the sets were actually haunted.

Whether it was a moving object, to terrifying scratches, horrific near-death experiences or phone calls from unseen forces, lots of unexplained occurrences have happened on the set of the world’s biggest horror films.

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As you prepare to delve into your popcorn this Halloween, Daily Star takes a look inside the stories from supposedly haunted films sets.

The Omen

The Omen is also said to be one of the most cursed films in Hollywood history, with terrifying incidents occurring both during and after its production – leading many to think that the set was haunted.

In one scary coincidence, lead actor Gregory Peck, executive producers Mace Neufeld and Harvey Bernhard and screenwriter David Seltzer were all travelling in aircraft that were struck by lightning during production.

However, all four luckily survived the terrifying ordeals.

On set, a stuntman standing in for Gregory Peck during the rabid dog scene was attacked by Rottweilers that bit through the protective gear that he was wearing.

One of the animal handlers from the film’s baboon scene was also killed by a tiger, just one day after completing work on the set.

That’s not all, as Director John Moore told The Telegraph that they lost two days worth of footage due to faulty equipment, and in a moment to give you chills, the faulty camera in question displayed the error message “Error 666”.

One of the most horrifying incidents is said to occurred though when special effects designer John Richardson was involved in a car crash while in Holland, following the film’s release – which also killed one of the passengers in a scene eerily similar to the film.

The crash is reported to have occurred on Friday 13th and when John escaped the wrecked car, the first thing he saw was a sign saying “Ommen, 66.6km” in another seemingly supernatural and coincidental moment.

Maximum Overdrive

Stephen King is one of the masters of horror stories, known for The Shining, I.T, Doctor Sleep and Salem’s Lot, to name a few.

However, things took a terrifying turn on the set of a feature film he wrote and directed in 1986 called Maximum Overdrive.

The set was believed to be “cursed” after a string of near-death experiences for cameramen and stuntmen on set.

A hurricane also descended on the set, putting the lives of the cast and crew in peril.

Speaking to The Independent about the film, actress Laura Harrington said: “You always felt like someone was going to die on this set.”

Camera assistant Silvia Giulietti was also reported to have said: “Every day, we had security because the movie was a very dangerous movie.”

Lisa Simpson star Yeardley Smith even spoke about filming dangerous stunts herself during the production too, in which she had to jump out the way of a car that ended up hurtling toward her at high speed.

Rather than have a stunt person stand in for her, she told Yahoo: “They said, ‘OK, Yeardley … you’re going to stand there and you cannot move until we say go, because we only have one shot at this. Don’t worry, because it’s going to look onscreen like it’s coming so fast, but it’ll be so slow.”

After the car came at her at high speed unexpectedly, Yeardley added: “That scream is so real!”

The Innkeepers

The 2011 film The Innkeepers may have featured paranormal activity on-screen, but the cast and crew experienced their fair share in real life too.

The hotel where the film was made – Yankee Peddler Inn in Connecticut – is reportedly a venue that is visited regularly by ghost hunters, and it’s easy to see why.

It is reported that the cast and crew experienced lights turning on and off on their own, as well as doors opening and closing without being moved by someone else.

That’s not all, as some cast members even said that they received phone calls on set, but when they picked up the phone, nobody was at the other end.

During an interview with Indie Wire, director Ti West confirmed that odd occurences did occur while filming, saying: “Yes. The thing is, one being a sceptic, I tend to not believe it as much.

“The other things is, when you’re making a movie the experience is so traumatic. I have enough things bothering me, so a ghost’s not going to be my problem.

“But, absolutely. The dreams came back the first day I walked in. The vibe was there.

“Sara Paxton would wake up in the middle of the night thinking someone was in the room with her. Everyone has stories, but I was too busy saying, ‘Let’s shoot this! We have 17 days!”

Poltergeist

The 1982 horror film Poltergeist is said to be one of Hollywood’s most cursed films, after a string of bizarre on-set incidents and heartbreaking deaths.

It is reported that real skeletons were used during one of the film’s scenes, and many of the cast and crew are reported to have attributed this as the reason why the film was cursed.

During production, a scary moment also involved an animatronic clown, which saw actor Oliver Robbins nearly strangled by the machine – but luckily, director Steven Spielberg managed to free him.

Following its release, a number of its stars also died tragically – including child star Heather O’ Rourke, who passed away from septic shock at the age of 12 years old.

Actress Dominique Dunn, who played Heather O’ Rourke’s older sister on screen, was also killed after being attacked by her ex-boyfriend, dying of her injuries at the age of just 22 years old.

Actor Richard Lawson, who played Ryan in the film, also survived a plane crash in 1992, after swapping seats with another passenger, in exchange for his autograph.

Over 27 passengers, including the person that Richard Lawson swapped seats with, died in the crash.

The Conjuring

The Conjuring is based on one of the most famous hauntings in American history, so it is no surprise that paranormal activity seemingly occurred on the set of the 2013 film too.

Instances of paranormal activity reportedly included director James Wan’s dog growing and “tracking” an unseen presence on set, as well as a “strange gust of wind” following the family who suffered the real-life haunting during their visit to the set.

Patrick Wilson, who played paranormal investigator Ed Warren in the film, explained to the Independent that Joey King, who played Christine, ended up covered in “strange bruises all over her body,” during the shoot, despite not having completed any stunts on set.

The curtains were said to move on their own while on set too, with director James Wan telling Star2: “At the end of the sound stage, there was these huge curtain drapes. They started swaying on their own. They just kept moving.

“None of the doors were opened, the air-conditioning was switched off. They just moved on their own.”

Vera Farmiga, who played paranormal investigator Lorraine Warren in the film, is reported to have found three unexplained slashes to her laptop screen while filming too – with three scratches often being associated with paranormal occurrences by ghost hunters.

The star also told Cinema Blend that one day after completing her work on The Conjuring, she also found three “claw mark bruises across her thigh.”

The re-creation of The Warren’s room full of haunted objects was reportedly a sight of paranormal activity too, with the statue of wooden pig found to have moved multiple times on its own during filming.

Grunge reported that producer Rob Cowan said: “It would be there and they’d come back and it would have moved over to there.”

Anabelle

The Anabelle doll is known as one of the world’s most notorious haunted objects.

House in real life in the Warren’s Occult Museum in America, it is known for having three fingers on one hand.

In a bizarre turn of events on the set of the 2013 film inspired by the doll, the director John R Leonetti told The Hollywood Reporter that he saw “three fingers drawn through dust” on multiple occasions during the film’s production.

He said: “It was a full moon, and there were three fingers drawn through the dust along the window, and our demon has three fingers and three talons. [The markings] were being backlit by the moon. I have a picture! It was sick.”

In another terrifying co-incidence that led many to think the film set was haunted, an actor playing a demon was walking down a hallway when a glass fixture fell down on his head.

In another strange and horrifying co-incidence, producer Peter Sarfran told Hollywood Reporter that the moment echoed one of the film’s scenes.

Peter said: “He walks out and walks around to the green room to where we’re holding the talent, and just as he walks under, the entire glass light fixture falls down on his head.

“And in the script, the demon kills the janitor in that hallway. It was totally freaky.”

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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk