When Life and Art Blur: 6 Freaky cases of Hollywood and real life events.

I`ve often been fascinated by Hollywood. Its the maker of dreams, a place where seemingly anything is possible. Yet there is a dark and ugly side once you peal back all the gilts and glamour. Presented is six strange and freaky cases of urban myth and real life cases that blur the lines of reality and fiction with deadly outcomes. Please note that this article contains graphic descriptions of real life murder if you are disturbed by this please no not read.

6: Shivers (akak They Came from Within) and the BTK Killer: 

I was watching a favorite of mine David Cronenberg`s classic "Shivers" and something hit me like a ton of bricks. Compare this picture of Dennis Radar to the character of the mad doctor Dr.Emil Hobbes.

Even freakier than the similarity in looks is that the Doctor kills his female victim by binding and strangling her to death.  BTK started in 1974 and Shivers was released in 1975- Which means it was most likely shooting in you guessed it 74. So i`m sure this is just pure happenstance but you have to admit its just chilling. You will never watch the film the same way again. 

5: Robert the Haunted Doll meet Chucky (Childs Play 1988)
Meet the real life Chucky. His name is Robert. Sure he sounds harmless yet even Chucky himself might think twice about messing with him. The story goes like this: It's 1898 and Thomas Otto and his family moved into a very nice mansion now known as the Artist House. Thomas and his wife had earned a reputation for being horrible to the servants. Unfortunately for them one such mistreated woman practiced black magic. The voodoo woman gave the doll (which resembled the boy) to Robert as a gift.  Things were great and Robert and his doll (named after himself) were best friends. Wherever the boy was his doll was never far from him. His parents were taken back by how attached he was to his new play thing and it got ever stranger when one day Robert insisted to his parents that he no longer wanted to be called Robert but rather by his middle name Gene. The reason, because Robert was the dolls name not his. They would often hear Gene having long talks with Robert and they heard what they assumed was the kids voice talking for Robert. It all seemed quiet harmless children s play until things took a very sinister turn. One night Gene woke up to find his pal Robert, but something was terribly wrong. He was sitting in his chair and glaring at him with a twisted smile. The parents were awoken by bone chilling screams and the sound of furniture being over turned.They could also hear demonic giggling echoing from within the boys bedroom. The door was locked and when it was forced open Gene was cowering in the corner and proclaimed "Robert did it!" After that night many things that went wrong were blamed on Robert. 

What makes Robert special is the number of credible witnesses that saw Roberts expression change and even walk on his own. A plumber once left the house and refused to go back claiming he heard Robert giggling. Gene Otto died in 1972 and people thought that Robert and his evil energy had died with him. However a new family moved in and a girl found him in the attic. Like Gene she became attached to the doll. However Robert did not like this girl and she claims to this day that the doll tortured her and towards the end tried to kill her. Robert was moved to a museum in Key West. He did not like it there so the staff placed a stuffed toy to keep him company. This seemed to settle him down but don't be fooled he is still very much active and lets his presents known to the staff. Guests still claim to see his expression change and move slightly.

Weird fact: Roberts the doll has real human hair, which is thought to belong to its owner Gene (Robert) Otto.

Weird fact: Robert is shy and you must ask before taking a photo. People who do not ask nicely have bad things happen to them or at the very least have the camera battery suddenly die (even fully charged)

4:The Child's Play 3 Murders UK : (As stated above the following contains very graphic disturbing material.) We now go from the doll that inspired the film "Childs Play" 1988 to a sequel that inspired a very gruesome murder.

James Bulger was the very picture of innocence. At only two years old he suffered a terrible fate. The two boys Jon Venable and Robert Thomson were spotted on CCT looking for victims and picking up James. When alone the two boys beat him to death and its also thought he was sexually violated.  It was found out that the two boys loved the Child's Play 3 and watched it before they did the deed. It was a huge case and it forever changed the way minors were charged and released in the UK.

the killers mug shot

Weird Fact: Both boys (now young men) are currently free and walking the streets.


3: Scream.. for real: 1996 saw the massive hit "Scream" a film that was hailed for its smart post modern self aware style. In the film the two murderers use horror films as the blue print for there own killing spree in the fictional town of Woodsboro. However after the cameras stopped rolling a very real series of killings were inspired by the movie  

In January 1998 Mario Padilla (16) and his 14 year old cousin Samuel Ramirez brutally murdered Marios Mother Gina, stabbing her 45 times. It was later learned that the motive for the senseless crime was money which they needed to fuel there killing spree. The deadly duo purchased Ghostface costumes and voice changers. They tried to make a case that the film was directly blamed for the savage attack. However wisely the judge barred against the film being used as a defense.

January 17th 1999 13 year old Ashley Murray lie bleeding having suffered multiple stab wounds to the head and back. As luck would have it an elderly man spotted the teen while walking his dog. He survived and in a shocking twist it turned out to be two friends of his Danial Gill (14) and Robert Fuller(15). The pair had watched "Scream" shortly before the attacks and drawings of the Ghostface mask was found among there possessions.  

2: Murder in the Matrix: Unlike Child s Play 3 and Scream the Matrix was not a horror film. Yet a series of murderers were said to be the inspiration for a series of murders, which even spawned its own defense (The Matrix Defense)  The Matrix is a film a sci-fi action film about a Neo a man who finds he is living in a artificial dream world known as "the matrix"

Josh Cooke (19) had saw "The Matrix" and was forever changed. He went out and bought a trench coat and hung a poster of his hero "Neo" on his bedroom wall. After that he bought a gun like the one in the movie and shot both his parents in cold blood in their basement. After the slaying he calmly called the police to tell them what happened. Why did he do it? Because he thought he was living in The Matrix.

Tonda Lynn Ansley (37) shot and killed a professor whom she rented a house from. She claims to have weird dreams which turned out to be not dreams at all. It was said she also was obsessed with the film and its "message"

San Francisco 2000. Vadim Mieseges (27) shot and killed his land lady Ella Wong. He pleaded not guilty saying that "he was sucked into the matrix"

1: The Curse of Atuk: The curse of Atuk is a Hollywood urban legend which I find really interesting which is why I wanted to share this with you guys. We have all heard of scripts so bad they are there are virtually un make able but in the case of Atuk it is said to have a deadly curse on it.

Based on the novel "The Incomparable Atuk" 1963 the plot tells the story of a mighty Inuit Eskimo (Atuk meaning grandfather) who tries to live in New York city. The screenplay was written by Lampoons writer Tod Carroll. It seems that all the actors who was offered the role had tragically died. There is a list of Six actors who died all tied to the film.

1: John Belushi. Animal house and SNL legend was the first attached to the projected. He died of an overdose in 1982. He was only 33 years old.

2: Sam Kinison: The stand up legend was the second person to try and take over the role. Its said somewhere scenes exist of him in the film. It was reported that he freaked out and wouldn't leave his trailer. Tragically though he died in a auto crash in 1992. He was only 38 years old. Even creepier is he died ten years after John.

3: John Candy: After Kinison died the part was offered to Candy whose comedy chops were unmatched. In 1994 while reading the script he died of a heart attack. It happened March 4th only a day before the 12th anniversary of the death of Belushi.

4: Michael O' Donoghue: Both a writer and a comedian. He was a friend of Belushi and Kinison and read the script. He died the same year as Candy.

5: Chris Farley: In 1997 the script again was dusted off and offered to Farley who like the previous people on the list was a super star in comedy films. Before he could accept the role he died. He was 33 years old- the same age Belushi was when he died. FREAKY!

6: Phil Hartman: Hartman was offered a supporting role but also died tragically by the hands of his wife.

Not only is it strange they were all connected with the doomed film but it seems they are all connected to the first victim of the supposed curse John Belushi.

Hope you enjoyed this break for the standard reviews.