Buzz
A movie set is always a whirlwind of activity, with directors, actors, and crew members working tirelessly to bring the vision to life. But sometimes, an eerie force seems to take over—something that makes everyone stop, feeling a chill as the hairs on their necks stand up. This list highlights 10 films where the production crew experienced something strange and unexplainable. Some of the individuals involved are no longer with us to share their eerie encounters.
10. Waterworld
Waterworld was expected to be the Avatar of the 1990s. Initially starting with a modest budget under $5 million, the film ended up ballooning to an astonishing $200 million. Clearly, it was bound to be a massive hit, right? Not quite—Waterworld earned only $88 million at the box office in 1995.
The troubles began right from the outset. The original producer, Roger Corman, was accustomed to working on tight budgets. However, when he realized the movie would require floating sets, he decided to walk away. He couldn’t believe the film’s budget could exceed $5 million. In the end, that amount was spent solely on the primary set.
As if cursed, the Waterworld production seemed to attract misfortune. Cast and crew battled seasickness. One of the sets drifted away and became submerged. Strong winds halted filming multiple times. Kevin Costner’s stunt double came dangerously close to dying during a diving scene. Crew members were stung by jellyfish. To top it all off, the crew's unions demanded compensation for alleged labor violations. It’s nothing short of a miracle the film made it to theaters.
9. The Passion Of The Christ
They say lightning never strikes twice. Well, try telling that to Jan Michelini, the assistant director on the set of *The Passion of the Christ*, who was struck by lightning not once, but twice during filming.
The film’s lead actor, Jim Caviezel, faced his own set of challenges. During the “fake” whipping scene, a piece of his flesh was torn off, and he dislocated his shoulder while carrying the heavy wooden cross. To make matters worse, Caviezel was also struck by lightning—smoke even began coming out of his ears, leaving everyone on set stunned. Witnesses described his body as glowing with light.
But the misfortune didn’t stop there. Caviezel battled hypothermia, a lung infection, and severe pneumonia while filming. He also endured debilitating headaches and skin infections from the prolonged makeup sessions he had to endure.
8. The Possession
The Possession is a unique horror film featuring rabbis and a cursed Dybbuk box that attaches itself to a young girl. Jeffrey Dean Morgan, one of the film’s stars, is no stranger to supernatural roles, having gained fame as the father on *Supernatural*. After 25 years in acting, he had never experienced anything unusual while filming. That is, until he joined the cast of *The Possession*.
Morgan, who typically considers himself a skeptic, found himself rattled by some unsettling events on set. These included lights exploding for no apparent reason and cold gusts of wind blowing through sealed sets. Strangely, these occurrences seemed to coincide with the filming of key scenes.
The most chilling incident, however, occurred when the storage facility housing all the props caught fire and burned to the ground. An investigation determined that the fire couldn’t be attributed to arson or an electrical malfunction. Tragically, the Dybbuk box used in the film was destroyed in the blaze. There is, however, a real-life Dybbuk box, and its owners offered to bring it to the set. Understandably, the cast and crew vehemently refused to allow it near them.
7. The Matrix
The so-called 'Curse of The Matrix' reached a tragic climax when Keanu Reeves's girlfriend, Jennifer Syme, gave birth to a stillborn child. Overcome with grief, the couple split soon after. Not long following their breakup, Syme died in a car accident. The sadness didn’t end there—Aaliyah, who was 22 at the time and in the middle of filming her role as Zee in the movie, tragically lost her life in a plane crash. This devastating loss led to significant delays in production, causing filming to be postponed for several months.
The misfortune continued as another beloved cast member, Gloria Foster, who played The Oracle, passed away. Amidst all this, Reeves himself was hospitalized after a motorbike accident. He later returned to the hospital after injuring his foot on set. On top of this, his sister experienced a relapse in her battle with leukemia, and Reeves immediately rushed to be by her side.
As the production costs spiraled, Keanu Reeves made the drastic decision to forgo $24 million of his own salary in an effort to keep the movie from collapsing. Despite the series of unfortunate events, the film went on to achieve remarkable success at the box office.
6. The Ghost Of Goodnight Lane
This horror film draws its inspiration from a haunted movie set owned by Media World Company in Texas. The producer, Alin Bijan, was aware that the crew had reported eerie sightings of an unknown man on the set. Equipment would mysteriously move when no one was around, and one crew member even received an unexpected slap from an invisible hand. These unsettling occurrences had been happening for some time. Bijan and his team kept a detailed record of all the strange events. In 2010, paranormal experts confirmed the set was haunted through various tests and EVP recordings.
The producer was motivated by these chilling experiences and began crafting the script for The Ghost of Goodnight Lane. He also decided it would be fitting to use the same haunted location for the filming. Cast and crew members reported flickering lights on set and objects falling from the ceiling without any explanation. Perhaps the most disturbing of all were the disembodied voices calling out the names of the crew.
5. The Omen
Most people would agree that the child actor who portrayed Damien in the 1975 version of The Omen gave off a genuinely unsettling vibe. The film itself is equally eerie, telling the story of an American ambassador who is struck with an unimaginable realization: his son, Damien, is no ordinary child. In fact, he is the Antichrist.
Sadly, the misfortunes didn’t stop at the plot of the movie; they also haunted the production itself. Tragedy struck when Gregory Peck’s son, who played the lead role, committed suicide just two months before filming was set to begin.
Once production got underway, disaster seemed to follow. A crew member was involved in a car accident, though fortunately, he survived. The screenwriter’s plane was hit by lightning, and just eight hours later, the plane carrying Gregory Peck and the movie’s executive producer was also struck.
In a tragic twist, the crew had planned to use a private plane for a few scenes. However, their flight was delayed to accommodate two businessmen. Shortly after takeoff, disaster struck as the plane crashed onto a road, colliding with a car that then crashed into another vehicle. Tragically, everyone involved in the accident lost their lives.
4. Batman
Over the years, numerous tragedies and accidents have been attributed to the so-called 'Batman curse.' One of the most infamous and recent events occurred during the Colorado cinema shooting, where 12 people tragically lost their lives. The incident took place during a midnight screening of The Dark Knight Rises, when a gunman, wearing a gas mask, rose from his seat, released tear gas, and began firing into the crowd.
Four years prior, the sudden passing of Heath Ledger left Hollywood and the world in shock. Ledger portrayed the Joker in The Dark Knight. Despite Jack Nicholson’s warnings about taking the role, Ledger learned firsthand how challenging the part truly was. He slept only two hours per night and battled deep depression. To prepare for his role, he kept a diary, and hauntingly, the last page contained the words “Bye Bye” beside a photo of himself in full Joker makeup.
On set, a technician tragically died in a truck accident while filming a stunt. A stunt double also lost her footing and collided with the filming equipment during a scene, but fortunately, she was unharmed.
The Batman curse continued its grip— in 2008, Morgan Freeman was involved in a serious car accident. To make matters worse, Freeman and his wife soon after separated and filed for divorce.
3. The Amityville Horror
The original Amityville movie was released in 1979, featuring James Brolin in the lead role. The film was inspired by a real-life event. Brolin wasn’t initially enthusiastic about taking part, but he agreed after an eerie incident occurred. While reading the script late at night, reaching a particularly terrifying section, Brolin's pants unexpectedly fell off a hanger, startling him so much that he jumped out of his chair in fear.
In 2005, the film was remade. Just before production began, a dead body was discovered washed ashore near the movie set. Ryan Reynolds took on the leading role in the remake and reported that cast and crew members frequently woke up at exactly 3:15 a.m. during filming, the same time the infamous murders were committed in the original case.
2. The Conjuring
This chilling film is based on the true story of the Perron family, who dealt with strange paranormal occurrences in their Rhode Island home during the 1970s. The real family members visited the set of the movie several times, but Carolyn Perron, the mother and wife of the family, refused to come anywhere near it, despite their attempts to convince her.
During the production of the movie, bizarre events kept unfolding. On one occasion, while the Perron family was on set, a powerful gust of wind seemed to envelop them. Crew members nearby observed that the trees just opposite them remained still. Meanwhile, Carolyn, who stayed behind in Atlanta, sensed an eerie and malevolent presence in her home. The next thing she knew, she collapsed and had to be rushed to the hospital.
Things took a darker turn soon after. A few days later, the hotel where the cast and crew were staying caught fire, and everyone had to be evacuated immediately.
James Wan, the film’s director, recalls working late one evening in his office when his dog suddenly began growling at something unseen. Despite checking the room for any cause of distress, Wan found nothing. However, the dog’s growling continued, seemingly directed at an invisible force across the room.
Vera Farmiga, who portrays a paranormal investigator in the film, refused to take the script home, as it made her feel uncomfortable. She was also unable to read it at night, as fear would paralyze her whenever she attempted. She vividly recalls opening her laptop one night and discovering three slashes marked across the screen, as if a creature had scratched it with its claws.
1. The Ghost Whisperer
Although The Ghost Whisperer is not a movie, it still uses a set for filming, and this set is rumored to be haunted. This claim was made by Jennifer Love Hewitt during an appearance on Ellen Degeneres’ show in 2007, and she even provided footage to support her story.
While shooting a scene for the TV series, Jennifer Love Hewitt and the crew noticed something unusual in the footage behind her. A shadowy figure seemed to be moving around just over her shoulder. They replayed the footage and to their astonishment, they saw what appeared to be a ghost turning around right behind her, all happening in a matter of seconds.
Other paranormal occurrences on set included crew members and actors feeling their clothes being tugged by an unseen force. Hewitt herself experienced something pulling at her dress. Some lights on set moved on their own, and one or two even exploded above the actors' heads. Objects mysteriously disappeared, only to reappear later. Jennifer confirmed that these strange events made many guest stars hesitate to appear on the show.
