Horror films from the late ’80s and early ’90s were predominantly focused on the more realistic aspects of the horror genre, which can be even more horrifying than the imaginary. People realized just how frightening it was that humans themselves were capable of such dastardly deeds. In fact, some of the most gruesome films were inspired by real life murderers. Here are three of those films, and the individuals who each horrifically served as muse:

Rob Zombie’s 2003 film House of 1000 Corpses is a cult classic of mass proportions, dealing with everything from necrophilia to incest to cannibalism. Revolving around a redneck family of mass murderers, stumbled upon by a group of teenagers, the film is gory to the nth degree. As far-fetched as it is to imagine these events ever taking place, this film did indeed draw from reality in some aspects – notably, the necrophilia of Jeffrey Dahmer.

Born in West Allis, Wisconsin, Dahmer was known to bring home animals and dissect them for fun. Repeatedly arrested for indecent exposure, he began to molest young boys and soon graduated to murder. By the time 1991 rolled around, his average rate was one person per week! At this point he was sodomizing, killing, and then eating his victims one by one, sometimes saving body parts in the fridge. Dahmer began to change his method of killing, drilling holes into their skulls, into which he poured hydrochloric acid in an attempt to “reanimate” his victims. At the end of his life, he had killed over 15 people. He was eventually caught in 1992, and was killed in prison by a fellow inmate two years later. Perhaps to his dismay, Dahmer was not eaten afterwards…

1991’s Silence of the Lambs is quite famous for its portrayal of Ed Gein, another Wisconsinite who demonstrated a taste for human flesh – if only in terms of fashion sense. The film revolves around a fictional serial killer named Hannibal Lector, who helps an FBI agent catch a murderer loosely based on Ed Gein himself. The character in question, nicknamed “Buffalo Bill,” cut the skin from women he had killed, then fashioned – and wore – clothing out of this gruesome, but innovative, material.

Ed Gein, the inspiration for Buffalo Bill’s character, had a definite fascination with the female anatomy. Born in Plainfield, Wisconsin, Gein was known to visit graveyards to quench his thirst for female flesh – he allegedly defiled the bodies, violating them and cutting off body parts and sewing the skin into clothing or furniture. Interestingly enough, he was found guilty of murdering only two people in his lifetime, despite the vast quantities of human flesh he possessed in his house. Gein, one of the most notorious and terrifying murderers in the history of the American Midwest, had only two victims under his belt! With that said, the belt in question was most likely made out of human flesh.

The film IT, based on a book written by Stephen King, dealt with a clown that could change shape and terrorize children. Pennywise the clown played off of people’s fears, kidnapping and eventually devouring his victims. Not unlike Pennywise, real life serial killer John Wayne Gacy dressed up as a clown to lure young children into his clutches. However, while Pennywise was a figment of Stephen King’s imagination (one can hope), Gacy was part of the real world – a reality that includes serial killers.

With a total body count of 33 people, John Wayne Gacy was arguably the worst of all three. Born in 1942, he had an overprotective mother and an alcoholic father. Gacy made an attempt to give back to society by volunteering as Pogo the clown at parties and other events. Despite this attempt at normalcy, Gacy could not suppress certain urges. He began to kidnap young teens – drugging, sodomizing, and killing them. In 1978, he lured a 27 year old into his house to “smoke pot,” but instead raped and drugged him, eventually leaving him in a park. The victim went to the police, but was unable to remember events clearly enough to prosecute. In 1978, a young boy disappeared after meeting with Gacy, and the police got suspicious and searched the place, finding 28 victims total. He admitted to having killed five more, and was executed in May of 1994. Even to Gacy, who enjoyed a good laugh, this fate was not a laughing matter.

Whichever film you choose to watch as you continue the season of fright and terror, make sure you remember just how much is imagined…and just how much is real!