2. The Birds (1963)
Inspired by: 1961 event in Capitola, California
Alfred Hitchcock’s The Birds is an absolute classic of the horror genre, demonstrating exactly why the director was deserving of the nickname of “The Master”. While it’s famously based on the 1952 story of the name name by Daphne du Maurier, it’s not as well known Hitchcock’s film was also based on a real event that happened after du Maurier’s story was written.
In 1961, the seaside town of Capitola, California was plagued by hordes of seabirds. The birds were dive-bombing homes and buildings, crashing into cars, vomiting everywhere, and otherwise causing general havoc among the town’s community.
A similar incident three decades later led to the discovery that the behavior was caused by the birds ingesting toxic algae, but at the time, the event was mysterious and unexplained, inspiring Hitchcock in the making of his classic film.