Even if you hate horror movies, you have probably seen the classic film Scream. The movie first premiered in 1996 and has since developed into a legendary American horror franchise– with five additional spin-off films. One of the most recent ones, Scream VI, was released on March 10, 2023.
Now, if it has been a while since you watched the O.G. movie, let me refresh your memory about the iconic opening scene. The movie begins with the character Casey Becker, played by Drew Barrymore, sitting alone at home when her landline rings. Then, after picking up the phone, Casey is pretty convinced that she is dealing with a caller who dialed the wrong number.
But, as the conversation continues, it becomes clear that the caller had much more sinister intentions– trapping Casey into a terrifying game of cat-and-mouse until the young girl has to fight for her life.
The eerie landline ring and Casey’s all-too-realistic reaction have continued to haunt Americans for decades. This chilling opening scene may very well be the reason why Scream has persevered as one of the most popular horror films to this day.
Unlike most Halloween classics, though, this spine-tingling scene was not completely fiction. In fact, Scream writer Kevin Williamson actually learned about a very real true crime story that ultimately inspired him to create the infamous Ghostface.
It all began back during the early 1990s when Kevin was asked to housesit for a friend. At the same time, he just so happened to be brainstorming about how to break into the cut-throat Hollywood film industry.
Then, one night during his stint as a housesitter, he returned home to an unsettling sight. Kevin found a window left wide open that he had no recollection of ever opening.
At that moment, he immediately felt unsettled and decided to phone a friend for a comforting conversation. And after a bit of talking, the pair began discussing a recent news story that Kevin had seen in the press.
They reportedly just could not get over how the crime case seemed just like “something out of a horror movie.” And immediately, it was like a lightbulb went off in Kevin’s head. He hung up the phone, grabbed a pen, and ended up writing the first eighteen pages of Scream.
What possibly could have inspired Kevin to write about such an evil and sadistic murderer? Well, it was the terrifying true story of Danny Rolling, a serial killer who was known as the Gainesville Ripper.
Back in August of 1990, Rolling had thrust the tiny city of Gainesville, Florida, into a full-fledged panic. Within four days, he managed to gruesomely murder five college students.
Not just that, but Rolling committed the killings at an unprecedented pace– which is actually quite similar to the fast-paced nature of the Scream movies.
Plus, the serial killer found pleasure in teasing and taunting the Gainesville community while he was on the run– the same as Ghostface does in the movies.
On top of this terrifying true case that served as inspiration, the Scream movies are also terrifying for another real reason– killers can be anyone, even someone you know. During the seventies and eighties, some of the most popular slasher films featured unknown “shapes” that lurked in the shadows.
But Ghostface is undeniably human– a killer who is known to the fictional victims and repeatedly has a motive that is somehow linked to the victim(s) past.
So, in 1996, Scream‘s debut shook viewers to their core– showing people that anyone could be like Ghostface. “It’s always someone you know” has even been one of the franchise’s taglines.
