Halloween Horror Movie Fun Facts and Trivia

(Image credit: Buena Vista Pictures)

published 2 October 2015

1. Leonard DiCaprio was almost in 'Hocus Pocus.'

He was offered the role of Max, but he turned it down to star in What's Eating Gilbert Grape? Which was probably a good career move (sorry, Omri Katz), but can you IMAGINE Leo in Hocus Pocus?! Magic.

2. Tom Cruise was almost 'Edward Scissorhands.'

He turned it down because he wanted a happier ending. (Lolz.)

3. The murderer's robe in 'Scream' was originally going to be white.

Filmmakers changed it at the last minute because they thought it looked too much like a KKK robe.

4. The mask in 'Halloween' is actually a mask of William Shatner.

It was a stretched out Captain Kirk mask.

5. To film that premonition scene in 'Final Destination 3', the actors had to ride the roller coaster 26 times.

Good god.

6. The original title for 'The Texas Chainsaw Massacre' was 'Head Cheese.'

Yeah...

7. 'The Candyman' (AKA Tony Todd) had to put real bees into his mouth for the movie's pivotal moment.

He was stung 23 times. Noooooo....

8. Freddy Krueger was originally going to be a child molester.

They decided, smartly, that that might be *too* dark.

9. The skeletons in 'Poltergeist' are real human skeletons.

Coolcoolcoolcoolcool.

10. To make that creepy walk in 'The Ring', they filmed Samara walking backwards and then reversed the shot.

Bonus: 'E.T.' was originally conceived as a horror movie.

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Samantha Leal is the Deputy Editor at Well+Good, where she spends most of her day thinking of new ideas across platforms, bringing on new writers, overseeing the day-to-day of the website, and working with the awesome team to produce the best stories and packages. Before W+G, she was the Senior Web Editor for Marie Claire and the Deputy Editor for Latina.com, with bylines all over the internet. Graduating from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University with a minor in African history, she’s written everything from travel guides to political op-eds to wine explainers (currently enrolled in the WSET program) to celebrity profiles. Find her online pretty much everywhere @samanthajoleal.