Craziest horror movie stunts – figure prompts 911 calls to fans collapsing in street

The world of horror movies is often a terrifying one – and the world of promoting them can be even more so.

While fans were passing out and vomiting in screenings of Terrifier 2, at least the horror was all safely contained on the big screen.

But when it comes to viral marketing campaigns to get the word out about new scary movies, the horror is all too real, and can involve actors leaping out at you, spooky websites going viral, and even glimpses of something not quite right hidden in mundane TV shows.

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From one poor onlooker who was “scared sh**less” when accosted in a coffee shop, to a slasher stunt prompting 911 calls, Daily Star takes a look at the scariest horror stunts ever.

Fans collapse in street

Just a few weeks ago, a mysterious red door appeared on Hollywood Boulevard in Los Angeles to promote the new Insidious film.

Fans were invited to knock on the door and reach inside, where they were met by a terrifying gloved hand reaching out to them – and often a terrifying figure running full-pelt towards them.

The hilarious result was a huge number of horror lovers collapsing to the ground in fear, dropping bags, phones and wallets in their wake.

One woman almost fell into the road as her friend begged: “Oh my God, are you okay?”

Another man swore as he fell on his butt after being scared by one of the actors, while another woman knowingly shook her head and refused to go anywhere near the door.

Frantic 911 calls

When it was time for the sixth instalment of the Scream franchise earlier in 2023, Paramount Studios appeared to hire actors to dress in the iconic hooded cloak and white mask to terrify the public.

Ghostface appeared in cities like Flagstaff, Arizona, and Cripple Creek in Colorado.

But some poor onlookers were so terrified it was a real life killer that they alerted the emergency services when figures appeared in Sonoma, California.

Sonoma cops received multiple 911 calls about an individual standing on a street corner in the costume – where the original movie was filmed.

Police released a statement which explained: “This individual has been contacted and was hired by a company through Paramount to promote the new Scream movie.”

Telekinesis is real

For the release of Stephen King’s Carrie in 2013, marketing agency Thinkmodo came up with a viral prank.

Innocent onlookers in the now defunct ‘Snice Coffee Shop in New York City were stunned as a woman seemed to unleash her telekinesis on a man she had been rowing with.

Using her powers, the man was thrown against the wall and levitated into the air, while tables in the joint began to fly around.

One onlooker was “scared sh**less” by the incident, explaining: “The tables flying wildly about really got to me. I was scared sh**less. Only when the crew applauded did I realise that I was the victim of a really elaborate prank.

“It took me a little while to get over the experience, but everyone was super friendly and it turned out to be fun.”

Scary smilers

For 2022 horror flick Smile, a much more subtle prank was played on viewers of the Mets vs. Athletics baseball game in September that year.

Sitting behind the home plate, one woman in a bright yellow t-shirt that read “SMILE” across smiled maniacally throughout the whole game – later standing up to grin at the players.

A man nearby in a blue shirt also couldn’t take the creepy smile off his face.

The moment quickly went viral online, with unsuspecting viewers begging officials to “eject” the pair from the game.

But director Parker Finn worried that nobody would notice the stunt, explaining: “I’ve got to say, Paramount marketing has been very clever with some of the tricks they’ve had up their sleeves for this film.

“This is something that had been discussed a little while back and we were all kind of like crossing our fingers that somebody might notice.”

Possessed dolls crash game

In early 2023, possessed dolls ran onto the scene at an LA Chargers game to promote Universal’s creepy flick M3GAN.

Eight matching Megans with creepy contact lenses and matching wigs all headed for a big night out, descending the escalators at the stadium in a terrifyingly neat row.

The creepy dolls also crashed the field for a spooky half-time dance number – just like the one in the flick.

Missing persons

The Blair Witch Project is a classic – and nobody was ever quite sure if it was a real documentary or not.

Helping the facade along was a viral marketing campaign back in the 90s – one of the first of its kind.

Missing posters of the three film stars – who used their real names in the film – were plastered all around college campuses in the US, while a website documenting the case was set up to convince fans the Blair Witch was real.

A mockumentary even aired on Syfy at the time, with actors posing as family members, friends and professors.

That’s one way to get word out.

TV shop scare

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Is there anything scarier than Samara, the creepy little girl from The Ring? Terrified shoppers in an electronics store didn’t think so back in 2017.

For the remake of the film, a salesperson in an appliance store took wary shoppers over to a wall full of TVs to showcase the “new 4K technology” – until Samara appeared, staring blankly ahead with her hair in her face.

And then Samara began to crawl right out of one of the fake televisions, leaving members of the public running for their lives, knocking over boxes as they went.

Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk