Unsolved Mysteries Part 1: Cabin 28

I heard the movie “The Strangers” is based on this real event, does anyone know anything about that?

“Based on true events?” Filmmakers shouldn’t be allowed to exploit these unfortunates by creating etertainment and reap the benefits on some one elses tragedy. They should think of the victims along with their families only to be constantly reminded of this tragedy!!! Shame on you! I think that if one were to want to tell the “TRUE” story of what happened in Cabin 28 they should then write the “TRUE” story of what happened to these people!

I think the Strangers movie is really stupid. Along with all other horror flms, such as Prom Night which was really bad, I believe it lacks anything entertaining. How can scaring yourself be entertaining? Thanks, but I think I’ll just stick to my comedy movies and I will be able to sleep tonight without nightmares unlike the dumb people that watch horror films, or as I like to call them : mindless trash.

Ive read on Wikipedia that yes the Strangers movie is based on this, but to me, The Strangers has more of a Manson murder inspiration to it than this one. Just the image of the leader killer in The Strangers and the two girls similar to the Cult leading of the Manson gang, i just dont see the connection for inspiration from the Keddie murders, other than the friends/neighbors type theme. And it’s kinda creepy, cause i was born exactly one week after the murders of that same year.

In my opinion, “The Strangers” seems like an alright movie. I’m going to see it, just because it is a horror film. But like “#1″ what confuses me is how its linked to the Keddie murders. The only connection that I see is that since 2 women and 1 guy were found dead in the cabin, the writers are using them to be the killers, kinda to make it seem like the cabin is haunted by their spirits sort of thing? i dont know if my logic makes sense but thats another idea thrown out there for “#1″.

if you want to find out more details go to. feather river bulletin. i found some old news storys there.

Even if it was a very terrible crime, I don’t think they should of torn the Cabin down. I don’t know, I just think it’s kind of apart of history even if it is horrible and they just dropped it like it was nothing and are planning to build a park over it?!

Anyway, Everyone is right, I myself, don’t see ANY connection atall with the Strangers and the real events, but I am going to see the movie opening night. I’m so excited: )

I live 20 miles from Keddie, and yet havent heard of the Strangers movie.
Keddie still mystifys us.there was nothing for the pilice to go on for clues. Rumor aroumd here is that it was probably hobos on a passing train, as a train goes thru there. The police are still frustrated they never solved this case. To drive into the cabin town of Keddie is eerie. There are a few residents, but they dont like people looking around. its mostly desolate. you can “feel” something in the air there, that is certain.
now I am intrigued to wantch that movie

ShockTillYouDrop.com interviewed Bryan Bertino about the movie. Here’s what he said about the inspiration:

Shock: And what ultimately is this based on? I recall you saying at one time that you cobbled together various events, right?
Bertino: Yeah, that’s the thing. To me, what it ended up being is that I wanted to tell the story of the victims. When I was a kid, I read Helter Skelter. I went off to this small town to stay with my grandmother and my dad – I have no idea why – said, ‘Hey, do you want to read a book while you’re gone?’ And he gives me Helter Skelter which is definitely big boy reading. Even now, what grabs me, even now, is that it’s not the section about who Charles Manson or what was going on with the family. I was thinking about the Tate murders and realizing that these detailed descriptions had painted a story of what it was like in the house with the victims. But none of the victims knew about the Manson family or why it was happening to them. So, I got really fascinated with telling the victims’ tale. And not filling it in with an FBI profile and not filling it in with finding out that somebody’s grandmother beat them and now they want to kill everybody. You read obituaries every day where someone is killed for a random reason. Yes, we may eventually find out why, but sometimes they don’t. With 1801 Clark Road, people can look at that and say, ‘Where is that address?’ But the reality of it is, that’s the address I grew up in. I just picked that address because I wanted to ground the film in as much reality as possible. As a writer, there wasn’t anything I wanted James to do that I felt that I could do. There was no amount of bravery. I tried to do a gut check. When we made the movie, Scott tried to do a gut check. Just how brave would I be? I didn’t want this movie to be about what would you wish you would do as much as what would you do?”

This doesn’t mention anything about the Keddie murders, and honestly i can find no connection to it, so i’m guessing that they have nothing to do with it, or maybe something sort of like the main idea of the K.M. was incorporated. So like the unknown killers and the cabin idea.

This was a really good piece to read. It kept me thinking all the time about what may have happened. Might have to do some research. Thanks

in the police’s defense, it was 1981. they didn’t have the technology we have now, so they couldn’t perform the simple tasks we can in this day.

though i do find it all very strange, gruesome and not to mention absolutely terrifying that no one heard anything and that this all goes unsolved.

i do not in anyway plan on seeing this movie. it makes me sad and sick to think of what happened and i can’t imagine sitting through it and watching the events take place. that’s twisted and wrong to me.

sooo sad ;[
im soooo watching the strangers

its horrible what happen to them, though its quite strange why the other kid didnt get killed?

Amy which other kid are you talking about? The other girl was staying the night at the neighbors and the 2 boys (well above toddler age, but no where near teenagers) were in a bedroom. I have *heard* that maybe they were locked in… or honestly, maybe they just thought the tv was up loud and slept thru it, to that, we may never know.

ummm… this is a horrible story i gunna have nightmares…i hope everyone that died that day rests in peace, and it said inspired by true events not based…

I saw this movie last night and despite what lots of critics and others seem to say it was a very good movie, kinda like the old movies. No sex very little cursing and shows the aftermath not the usuall slaughter of most horror films. It is a very suspensful thriller. The most frightening thing is that it is totally plausable, this could and has occured. Maybe not exactly the way it was portrayed but we all know what a horribly scary time we live in with lots of incredibly sick people. So I commend the people who made this movie for telling a story and not just trying to glorify the killers.

From what I understand the movie, The Strangers, is not really based on the Cabin 28 murders. These murders only inspired the story further. Apparently the movie has a base in the writer’s life event.

Inspired by true events. Meaning an event happend in the movie that was true and the writer just created a story to go around it. Example the girl knocking on the door 4 in the morning, asking for someone, then leaves. Comes back later asking for the same girl, then leaves. Theres is your event. Now the writer just created the girl as apart of a trio of killers terrorizing a couple for no reason. There is your story! Imagination can do wonders

The movie ”the stangers” is not inspired by Charles Manson killings..lol Manson was the Guru of a sect and gave phychedelics drugs to these girls and brain washed them with his ideas on how the end of the world is approaching because of black people. He asked his ”family” the girls to commit murders to make people believe that it was because of the black people and bla bla bla…like NOTHING to do with the movie…or the cabbin…the movie is a Story based on that #26 Rook comment thats it…lol people you are funny to believe all that stuff wow!!! Manson was a Guru psycho who was able to get gulable girls in his game that’s it. lol

I watched the movie last night and I have to say it had me sitting at the edge of my seat the whole time. The theatre was packed and we couldnt sit on the top row like usual due to the lack of available seats the only ones open were in the front of the theatre. I kept looking over my shoulder each time I felt the wind move behind me as people walked by. It was a creepy feeling I thought the movie was spine tingling.

I went to watch this movie with a bunch of friends last night and the thing that scared me the most was that two of the people that were with our group witness brutal murders neither realized what kind of movie they were about to watch as the movie unfolded I would glance over to check on them and their expressions told a horror story of its own. I think the fact that pychotic crimes are a reality and that something like this truly does happen is what makes the movie all too real and truly terrifying

I know that mystery intrigues alot of us both lets give credit where its due many differrent events inspired the people who made this movies MANY. Great job!!! It scared the crap out of me!!!

I agree. Great job in scaring the crap out of me too. The creepy music was certainly a factor in it all.

Is cabin 28 even real? I tried googleing it and couldn’t find anything much other than “cabin28.com” Seems fake to me! SO maybe that is how Strangers based it off that. They are both fiction? Not for sure though!

I think this is very good,I like the plot and them;I truly am a horror fan,the scarier the better;I even like the ones based on true events,I just wonder,are they going to take and analyze the evidents they collected with todays technology? I hope so the family needs closier.

Who cares if it was DIRECTLY influsncing the movie. The fact is, that what happened in the movie was entirely similar to the Keddie murders. Random, and unprovoked. END OF STORY.

i really hate when they over dramatize true stories . like FIRE IN THE SKY for instant.. according to travis walton the abducted person …they didnt hurt him at all …yet they have the aliens doing so much hidious things to him in the movie. why cant they stick to the facts.. they always do that….

Sorry, I corrected by post. I had a few errors.

I watched the movie this weekend and I thought it was awesome. I thougt that no movie could top “VACANCY” but this one but it was just as realistic and scary.
The movie said “inspired by true events” not based. I think the movie was a combination of murders that have occurred through out the years. Eitherway, I loved it and I am glad that it was made. People need to realize that this happens out there more then they think. Home invasion are at it’s highest in these last years and we need to educate ourselves and find ways to protect ourselves from things like this happening to us.

did they ever find the girl tina who was missing from the cabin???

First of all, I kind of want to know the music that skips in the trailer and is played in the movie. Second, this movie is based on a previous experience Bertino had along with the Manson murders, and \\\”inspired by true events\\\” can mean literally anything that happened (you going out to get cigarettes to someone terrorizing others), put together to make a movie. Anyone ever hear that Hoyt, the main character, is also the sheriff in Texas Chainsaw Massacre? Strange how fake this seems… this movie did do a good job of scaring me at moments and leaving that binding image of the guy\\\’s mask in my head in the dark, but other than that, there was no plot, and this is like all other horror movies – the people die, they make stupid moves, they end their own lives based on their dumb actions. Congrats to Bertino though on scaring the audience with solid effects.

based on a true events or not this is 6 o’clock news horror stuff. i heard a couple of people leavign the movie “the strangers” commenting that it was not that scary..well this was not intended to be a ghost scary..in fact a…”this could happen to you when you get home scary”. this is the worst of them all. REALITY!!! based on true events? absolutely..read the paper…watch the news..this evil crap happens every day and there need be no particular story to attach this to..just pick one..watch your back out there..lot’s of sickos!!

The think the little kids did it

#62 by Lili, Jun 7, 2008

Aren\’t you all ashamed that a 14 year old girl can do better research than you?

Sweetie, Sweetie, read the posts. Nothing you said i9s new here. Good research, but read the board before you open your mouth.

Yes inspiration is different than the factual telling of a story. Sometimes a person will inspire a poet or a song writer. It just means that what happened in Keddie made the writers come up with “The Strangers” idea. It stuck in their minds and that real story gave them the idea for their movie. It is not a docu-drama that states that this is how the Keddie crimes happened, just what inspired the movie. Somehow people are confusing what inspiration means.

Here is a link for the definition of inspiration.

http://www.thefreedictionary.com/inspiration

After watching the strangers lastnight i came to work and started to google everything that i could find out about these true events that happened.

I came across the cabin 28 story and i was so interested in reading as much as i can. i started reading other forums and saw that people that new the people that were murdered that night were saying how they knew the mother and her son and son’s friend.

NOt sure what else to say but i really want to see that documentary “Cabin 28: The Keddie Murders”
Anyone seen it?

I find this story interesting in the criminal psych manner. I research unsolved crimes like this one.

Very sad for the town and family.

I don’t think the cabin should have been torn down. With forensics is today they may have been able to get more.

As for Strangers; well hollywood will do what they can to make a buck, even by adding that the movie is based on a true story. i think the movie is a little off the actual details.

look forward to more research from you on this.

I saw the strangers about a week ago and it was so scary. I’m going to go see again tomorrow.

the strangers was good, but, good bless the victims poor lost souls!

Well im kind of upset that it’s not based on a true story because i was so into the movie being real ya i went to see it last night and i loved it till now that its just a made up movie based on other true story about cabin 28 i feel for those people that died now i wish i could see a movie about that story i just love movies that r based on true stories. it just gets me going but n e ways its still a great movie…

I think “The Strangers” was not very good. It is your typical scary movie with characters doing stupid things to get themselves killed. When I got home I googled it to see if it was true because the 2 main characters did such stupid, cliche things like in all horror movies. I was very disappointed by the movie and I wish I would have saw “The Happening” instead. Has anyone seen it yet? Any comments?

The Strangers, despite being a terrible movie with a formulaic climax and ended with a terribly predictable scream by Liv Tyler, was in poor taste if it is, in fact, based on the Keddie murders. Not only was it a naive COUPLE who were harrassed (harrassed only for Hollywood’s money making value), but these were children and a defenseless woman who got killed in Keddie. I see no resemblance between Keddie and the terribly drab movie, The Strangers. Also, I read a blog of someone’s up there that said that The Strangers was also linked to the Manson family murders; how is THAT possible? The Manson family was a cult, and never was it mentioned in The Strangers that those murderers were from a cult. In addition, if you know ANYTHING about the Manson murders, you know that it wasn’t a couple in the middle of nowhere being harrassed for an hour and a half by people in masks. The victims in 1969 were near Hollywood, not out in the boonies!

Wow this article that you people are posting for is about the actual keddie murders…. not a movie… how in the heck did you people get so far off point?

I would have to say after reading this it horrifies me 2 think there r people out there who would make a movie out of something so horrific just to make a buck, it makes me sick

Good point elizabeth off season is right but one thing ok the mask’s they do know in the murders of cabin 28 and the mask used in the STRANGERS plus fingers prints left at both crime scene’s tire tracks of both truck and car this movie the strangers and the cabin 28 issues no remarkable tracks to the cabin 28 or manson murders they said liv said why are you doing this to use the blonde said cause you were home the blonde also asked in the start of the film was some one home knowing she didn’t live there thats how they gained a insight in to how they where in side in the movie the guy and liv left a freinds wedding party both dressed nice the guy in a suit and tech boot’s why was he wearing tech boots if you looked hard enough the guy in the mask also was wearing a suit and tech boot’s and as the guy was carring liv to the car before they left for good from the party a set a head lights appeared in the distence and didn’t move there was no through road there they where watching those to leave I think it was a guy from the party they knew cause at the end when each took off their mask soon as they saw the guy’s face they where like omg it can’t be remember in the first part of the movie they show the quy walking to liv as she is laughing then he looks pissed about something i think he had it out with the other guy at the party. every one keeps on talking about manson cabin 28 nothing is right about that the strangers is a home invation movie that got way out of hand and at the end of the movie they show to kids walking their bikes down the road and they stop and get out one little boy says are you a sinners the blonde say’s sometimes then the dark haired girl said it will be easyer next time so you know there will a part two to this movie ps JUDA

Ever hear of WOLF CREEK some say in truth and honesty that the event’s that took place that weekend where real but other say it wasn’t real that the murders didn’t take place and the people where merley making it all up to prompt fear in all truth i have the movie wolf creek and it stink’s no plot no story board just goes and goes boring 5 thumbs down. i would rather watch stir of echos but that was stupid to who cares about premanetions like white noise oh im scared. we need to make a movie based on something else that will strike fear in our hearts making us never wanting to go out side ever again. no more vampire or ware wolf movies come on blood lust it’s so eight’s mine as well place prince and weird all song’s during it i want to see something desturbing like making a movie about a real seiral killer like ted bundy jefery dowmer ect now that would be sick but the truth about cabin 28 man i was 3 when that happened in new york i was told about it it should have never happened but there are some sick mother’s out there still doing this never know i never been there but heard the story’s about cabin 28 is the cabin still there or did they really tear it down??? ps JUDA

it is 8:11 am I just read a clipping about the suspects the clipping said and i quot one of the killers was found dead in his home four years ago. but the other one is still at large. 37 years has passed and no leads come on foot prints DNA peice together the clue’s finger prints on the weapons blood samples if there is any from the killers but it in the crime data base find a match and end this case cause now it’s a cold case file and will never end cause of them the vitumes will never rest in peace i have had family members murdered through out my life i could tell you something about dna and the flaw’s in the sytem cause they never found my sister or brothers killer he is still out there they think it was a serial killer it’s been two years and i havent lost hope i will help capture the killer i will not rest till he is captured and put behind bars for good. i feel then around me at all times making sure me and my soon to be wife are safe i have known my soon to be wife since I was 3 years old she knows i will not rest till this matter and case is settled i miss them so bad it happened in the back wood’s some time between 12 am and 4 am no noe heard the screams or cry’s ither all we know is there was a mask involed some kind of leather fit to your face mask white and red. if any have any lead’s on this case let me know please thank’s juda

yes go to http://www.keddiemurdersmovie.com for updates news

Juda,
Who was it that told you about the Keddie Murder’s? Who did you speak to said that they saw 2 females? This has never been brought up.

37 years ago this april the murders took place in keddie cali give respect to the ones that were killd in that forsaken cabin that night. the killers are still at large. they should not reopen the camp site or knock down cabin 28.

Juda,
I have never mentioned the strangers movie, so I hope you weren’t talking about me. This took place 27 years ago, not 37. I am hopeful that this crime will be solved soon. You posted earlier about two females being seen. Can you go into more detail?
The reason no one heard anything, is because many belive the neighbors/townspeople are in some way involed. That is why it hasn’t been solved.

MLS SUNSHINE 37 years ago not 27 to females the daughter and the friend no towns people are involed gezze well you need to get you facts straight 1981 it is now 2008 read the time lines 1981 to 2008 is if you can count that is 37 years to the date last april.. so sunshine dont care about a fake movie that never happend. this is reral but you aren’t. so dont get mad just get it rigt. alight.

You can find the documentary/video in its entirety as well as timeline,photos,forum etc. below. The Strangers is not based on The Keddie Murders but in fact is a remake of a french film THEM(2006) partly inspired by the story of an Austrian couple that was murdered by three teenagers in their vacation home in The Czech Republic.

http://keddiemurdersfilm.com/index.html

Edit typo above…2004 not 2006.

Juda…..LOL…LOL…
#99 by JUDA, Jul 16, 2008
MLS SUNSHINE 37 years ago not 27 to females the daughter and the friend no towns people are involed gezze well you need to get you facts straight 1981 it is now 2008 read the time lines 1981 to 2008 is if you can count that is 37 years to the date last april.. so sunshine dont care about a fake movie that never happend. this is reral but you aren’t. so dont get mad just get it rigt. alight.
OMG!!! How old are you??? Get a calculator before you start piping about how long ago the Keddie Murders were. 1981 is when the family yer talking about was murdered. Let’s see, it’s 2008…and it happened in 1981—-wait….wait….that’s 27 years ago. HAHAHAHAHAHHAHAH !!!!!

Juda,
Please read the post #22 by Too close to home. She lives in Quincy, and knew the victims. And, since I know her through various boards, I am pretty sure she can add. Are you for real?

So, since this is about the Keddie murders and not about the Strangers movie–is anyone interested in talking about what their take is as far as motive or suspects. THE BEST website is
http://www.keddiemurdersmovie.com which is a documentary on the case including very intersting interviews with one of the only survivers in the house that night. He was 12 at the time and went under hypnosis shortly after the murders as he was the person that gave the description that let to the sketch of the two suspects. Horribly sad about the family, very painful for the town of Keddie and brain-constricting of how the police in town couldn’t come up with a motive or suspects given the fact that two of the weapons were left bloody, up on a table. What’s very bizarre is that this is still a cold case now 27 (yes, I said it Juda later with all the DNA knowledge we have. There really isn’t a whole lot of information on evidence or whether or not the victims were gagged or had duct tape over their mouths that would prohibit them from making a lot of noise. I found websites that say the murderers made “slash marks” in the walls but police reports stated “marks that raised up on one side, like someone pulling it out of the wall” which makes me think that the knife was being thrown into the wall rather than stabbing at the wall. I am curious about what anyone has to say about the case after viewing the above website.

I am from this area. It is pretty creepy driving through Keddie. A lot of the buildings have nailed boards over the windows. I did ask my Gf out on the train tracks over Keddie though.

I think the whole town has something to do with what happened to that family..

Everyone….. refer to post #56 by Dawn, it says it all.
Goodnight morons!

I think we all need to get lives and need to let these people rest. So what if the movie was linked to these horrific tradgedies? None of us are going to solve them, just as the police havn’t been able to for the last 27 years. The director has clearly said that many aspects of his chilhood and growing up influenced essential parts of the movie! So What??
Just because Snow white has 7 dwarves it doesn’t mean Disney are mocking small people!
The reality of it is that movies like this scare and unnerve people as they are so close to real life, each and every of of us know that this vould happen to any of us. Hence the reason that we all try to cover our fear up by linking it to example’s like to Keddie and Manson cases, just to allow ourselves to sleep a little easier at night!
And I admit after watching the movie I was as scared and unnerved as the rest of you, but thats all it is, Fear, and that was the purpose of the film, to ‘link’ it to real life, scare the living crap out of you, then have you researching and wasting valuable time thinking you can unmask some new truth about these supposed events. IT AIN EVER GONNA HAPPEN PEOPLE!!!
Films no matter whether they are ‘inspired,’ or, ‘based’ on real events, films, at the end of the day are CREATED, so they are never going to be like for like!
So we are all hear blogging away while Hollywood are cashing in on our curiosity and insecurities.
SHAME ON YOU ALL!!!!

i think the ghost hunters off of the scifi channle they call them taps think they should come to this town and and go down to keddie and check it out all the history and all the hunting down their and everything i have read and looked at down their i have come to beleve that maybe all the quistions that we all have well tell me what you think about i think it would be intersting to here what they have to say and what they have found and everything els please give me your voite or go to http://www.scifi.com/ghouthunt

yeah i live only about an hour away from the kettie resort and i do think that the movie strangers was based on this actual event my parents had told me about the keddie murders wen i was like 8 years old so i have always been interested in finding out as much information a bout it that i can

OMG,who care\’s people,if it\’s based on a real story,it\’s a MOVIE. And to you,JUDA.You better go back to first grade,you can\’t write and you sound like a complete Idiot.

On the cover of The Strangers, it states “inspired by true events.” The movie is actually INSPIRED by three true events. The person knocking on the door is based off of the director’s personal experience. When the director was young, someone knocked on the door of his home. He answered, saying the person they were looking for did not live there, and the person left. The next morning, all of the unoccupied houses in that area were broken into and robbed. Next come the Keddie Cabin Murders. This event was used used with the 911 call with the “blood everywhere” and the mysterious killers. The Keddie Cabin Murder was a terrible thing, but not what the entire movie is based off of. The next INSPIRED event was Charles Manson. The male stranger, although his face was covered, was supposed to resemble the face of Charles Manson. Hope this helps clear up some of the confusion about the basis of The Strangers that several people appear to have.

I just watched this movie last night, I am horror movie buff, I am rerely scared of films. Of course after the movie was over, I wanted to research the whereabouts and creative processces for the film, and discovered the backdrop of the Keddie Murders and Sharon Tate Murder (Manson Family). After looking into the Keddie Murders, discovered that there was someone who possibly witnessed what was happening in cabin 28. Justin Richardson was having a sleepover with two of the Sharp boys, and there are interviews available with Justin Richardson and Sue Sharp’s father and sister. I can’t remember the link, but I reccommend looking into it if you want more info. The Keddie Murder’s were tragic, along with the Manson Family Murders. I can see inferences from these real life tragedy’s into The Stranger’s. If you paid attention to the production tape available on the dvd extended edition, you would have heard the director discuss how he wanted to portray this film from the victims standpoint, and that the other tragedy’s were inspiration to communicate that feeling to the audience. Take it or leave it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yFTbcDRkG1o&feature=related

if you watch this, “the strangers” just seems like a rip off to this french film. ive been researching this for a while now and at first i thought the Keddie Murders where related to the strangers, its clear this movie is more like what happens in the strangers.
they claim to us its based on true events, but noone knows what happened to them poor people the Keddie..

the strangers is a great movie….true or not! it scared the crap out of me!!! i saw it at 2:00 p.m. in the afternoon and the fright flick still did its job. i was very curious to see if it was a true story or not and read many articles………..does it really matter? the message is……..if your in a secluded area, have plenty of phones, know where the local law enforcement is located, get to know your neighbors, know where the gun is and the ammunition, and most of all don’t go anywhere alone and finally…….don’t leave your chick alone dumb_ss!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

http://celebgalz.com/hoyt-family-murders-2005/

here is the link

I understand of what you guys think but you can’t be truely sure that the Strangers movie wasn’t based on true events I’m those kind of people who likes to learn more about a murder or tradgedy some of you guys don’t even know about the Lusitania, Sultana, or Britannic these 3 names are ships that became a big problem in life the Lusitania was torpedoed and started world war I for America. The Britannic was a hospital ship during World War I and was a sister ship to Titanic. The Sultana was a steamboat that butst to flames at the end of the Civil War. I might be getting off track but the Strangers could or could not be based on true events

I answered you and deleted both our posts.

Again…My article May 15th, their article late June…

How can I copy something I wrote before them????

Does anyone know anything yet?

As for the assailants in Cabin 28, it so happened that it was the three little kids “pretending” to be asleep in the other room. The main ringleader – Justin – walks free to this day unfortunately.

Your research and break-down of the facts was well done in this article, but you have to work on your articulation. Your sentences are all the same length, which makes the piece sound horribly artificial and clumsy. Try to put some feeling or expression into your writing, instead of repeating points and dull a, b, c narrative.

Sorry, that comment was for # 144

I watched “the strangers” with my friend and her cousin, and we all agreed that it was a terrifying movie, it had us all jumping the whole way throughout it, and a few days after i began to research “the strangers” to see if it really was based on true events, i was very dissapointed with the outcome as many people feel that “the strangers” had nothing to do with the “Cabin28 murders” and “The Charles Manson murders”. So i decided to investigate further reading hundreds of commments left on informative websites, and i know finnaly have my own oppinion, I believe that “the strangers” was inspired on both “Cabin28 murders” and “The Charles Manson murders”, there are connections! Although some of them are’nt blaintantly clear, there is something there. “The strangers” was a good movie but wasn’t based on the murders, but was inspired. “The strangers” had a bad ending though and i still don’t understand it but i do believe about it being inspired by true events!

Thank you for reading,

Charlotte…x =]

stop blogging about the strangers movie it was all a big story that was pieced together with fractions of truth from at least 2 real life murders

I just watched “The Strangers”, and afterwards immediately went online to check into the reality (unreality?!) of it all. WAY to many sites dedicated to this movie, to check out comprehensively. However, of everything I’ve read ’til now, the most intriguing thing I’ve run across, is #150 Gloria’s last sentence, just above this posting. Then again, it has the feel of vapor. To say that, “There is talk…”, to me, has the same sense to it, as does this movies hook-line, “INSPIRED by…..”. I don’t mean to be demeaning to anyone, but even cartoons are ‘inspired’ by real events. I’m going to place this site in my Bookmarks Menu, and check back, solely to see if/when #150 Gloria has new information regarding this “…warrant from the DA”. I do intend on checking back, until then, I am now done chasing after the wind. Help us out, Gloria.

in the movie the strangers it boils down to a home invasion. and james who by the way had a shot gun and why not just wait till they enter the room and shoot them one at a time.

#152, you are totally right !!

The strangers was just a movie, crap does happen all the time everywhere in the world.

the only thing in common with this movie and the manson killings is that people where murderd for know reason just for the pleasure of killing. sharon tate was 8 months along and abby folger was the dark haired woman found on the lawn. the killers also didnt have masks on. and the part where liv taylor was crawling to answer the phone( that part scared the hell out of me to be honest) some say it was to represent sharon tate. first sharon was a blond, with child and was wearing a tank top and panties and had a rope around her neck that led to jay sebring. so in my opinion this movie scared the hell out of me because it could happen any where but to say it was like the manson murders i didnt see it. and as for the keddie murders not even close

i just want to say one thing…i saw the movie and i think that there is nothing stupid about it!!! why??? well because,THINGS LIKE IN THE MOVIE REALLY HAPPENS IN THE REAL WORLD TOO!!! i watch investigation channel on regular basis,and let me tell you: there is a lot of sick people and freaks out there that actually are enjoying doing stuff like torturing,scaring and murdering everyday,innocent people!! sad and scary ,but TRUE!!

good job lili!! you awnsered my questions

I just don’t seem to understand how this murder case hasn’t been solved. I mean, it’s been so long since the incident took place in cabin 28 yet there seems to be no suspects or motives behind the murders. It’s just confusing as to why even after 20 years of looking into this case, that nothing has been discoverd. The sherriff’s department needs to dig deeper and look more into things. They need to carefully study the people who were at the camp during that time, and they need to talk with ALL the locals. Eveyone. Not too mention they need to look into the history of the family of the victoms. They may be able to find suspects that way. I just can’t understand that with all the technology we have, we still cant find the killer(s). Who knows, maybe the sherriff’s department is trying to cover something up. If that is the case, then the FBI NEEDS to get involved

I realize that I am covering a lot of ground that has already been trodden by the people on this blog. Many here have already pointed out that this movie was “inspired”, which leaves it open to a wide range of sources, both real and fictional. The concept of “home invasion” and multiple homicides by more than one killer is far from being limited to the Tate murders (Manson) and the Keddie Cabin Murders in Northern California. However, the notoriety of these cases are clearly an inspiration for the director/writer.

The Manson murders contributed much to this story, as the director was intrigued with telling the victims’ tale after reading Helter Skelter, according to an interview with him. In addition, the movie features an eclectic family of killers, a la Manson and his followers, which is all the more clear from their semi-ritualistic exchange of the butcher knife at the end, the motive “because you were home”, and the promise at the very end “next time will be easier”.

As for the Keddie murders, one will note immediately that the movie does not conform to the details of the crime. Far too many elements of the crime are unknown (motive, number of assailants, etc.) or different (number of victims, cause of death, location, etc.) and it was by far more brutal than the movie. That said, the eerieness of the idea — cabin, multiple murder, unknown assailants — coupled with the natural fear of home invasion is understandably palatable for horror movie writers.

Add to this list, of course, the director’s own experience in his youth of a mysterious person knocking on his door looking for someone that did not live there and finding out later that they were searching for houses to rob.

I have seen some discussions online that allude to a possible internet “scrub” of any references to the Hoyt murders by the victim’s family to elude attention, since the director originally intended to document this crime in his movie. This is not at all impossible, particularly if there are certain elements that the investigative autorities would like to keep out of the spotlight while the continue working on the case.

However, I have attempted to search a number of major newspapers’ archives for any mention of a house invasion or murder taking place in February 2005 and 2005 in general. Nothing has popped up in my search that in any way matches the details of this movie.

This does not mean that the movie isn’t based on something specific and recent, as there are a few indications in the movie to suggest this, but the details have undoubtedly been changed. For example, the names Hoyt and McKay are probably fictional and the address is certainly fictional (it is the director’s childhood address). Still, there are a couple of elements of the movie that seem out of place for your traditional “terrorize”, “thrill kill”, “home invasion” horror movie:

The Wedding — Is there any significance for the plot to the characters attending a wedding reception that night. Most writers would have simply had the characters on a road trip or a romantic trip up to the family cottage to explain away the setting.
The Failed Proposal — Clearly this adds to the development of the characters, since by the end of the movie McKay has decided to accept the proposal. However, this is an odd topic for a couple’s falling out. Why not the traditional themes of infidelity, falling out of love, family crisis, etc. In particular, the setting for the proposal is unusual. Beside the car outside of the wedding reception with no typical “on one knee with a speech” scenario — seems more realistic, as does the rose petal decorated house.
Omnipotent Killers — The killers do not always know where McKay and Hoyt are. The have to search with flashlights and roam through the woods when the characters upset their sense of control. Most of the terrorizing is done by prompting the characters to go somewhere.
Masks — An odd point in the movie; the killers leave their masks behind. This is not an element of the Keddie or Manson murders, and an unusual detail for the director to emphasise.
The Kids — Would it not be just as effective an ending not to include the kids, but simply show the killers driving away. The request for the pamphlet and the admission of sin of course is the purpose for this, but this is certainly out of bounds for Manson inspiration, who taught that there is no such thing as sin. The concept of sin in this movie, if fictitious, could have been handled much more ironically if the killers tuned in to a religious station in the truck as they were leaving. Therefore, speaking to the kids must refer to an authentic detail of the crime.

Of course, for the “terrorizing” element of this movie, a crime scene investigation could show if the characters were terrorized in their home before the killers entered, but not always how, and certainly something of this nature could only take place in seclusion. Movies such as Saw and Hostel demonstrate the unlimited potential for torture and mindless thrill killing in the horror movie genre, while aspects such as “seclusion”, lack of motive, “terrorizing” and psychopathic killers (by the way, only a small percentage of psychopaths are actually homicidal) come through effectively in movies such as Vacancy and When a Stranger Calls.

A person’s creation, whether film or print, is a product of their life experience and is not always acknowledged. As such, we should take some of the director’s own comments with a grain of salt, as he will only empart what influences are conscious to him. In reality, The Strangers is likely a medley of countless examples of true crime stories, news reports, previous movies, fiction books with antagonists both natural and supernatural, and of course real life experiences and fears. Many people may not like the movie for a variety of reasons, but it has to be appreciated that the director has played upon real, modern fears (that is, one’s own safety zone being invaded) in a way that incorporates numerous realistic elements while also revamping of traditional horror themes.

just watchd the movie, and the three seperate events make sense w/ evrythin except the killers “playin” w/ the victims be4 the kill. Can any1 explain? im guessin its jst artistic freedom but explanations would be apreciatd!

This movie was inspired by several events, including the Manson murders, #28 Cabin murders, the directors own personal events of a stranger knocking on his door. INSPIRED! He took several stories and made his own. He was INSPIRED by these stories to write this script.

YOU CAN FIND PARTS OF ALL OF THESE EVENTS IN THE MOVIE!!!

Charles Manson’s scary is The Strangers base on the LaBianca murders ?

You know people on here talking about movies really miss the point. I get it. I understand that people are intrigued by this horrible crime. Like I said in my other post I never heard of this crime growing up and only read about it after I started my career in law enforcement. I feel some how an injustice was done when no on in the world knows of such a crime. At first I thought it was in internet hoax but was deeply saddened to learn it was all to real. I know we assume two killers in this case but I see no reason why one ruthless killer could not do the job. Look at Joseph Duncan in Idaho. Once folks are tied up through fear or intimidation one guy is plenty. But it equally could be two or more. I also don’t know why some people scream drugs when no evidence of such existed. Even if it did no one deserves to have their whole family killed. No to me this sounds just like a type of crime where the motive will not make no sense to the sane people of society. Joseph Duncan in Idaho killed an entire family to kidnap the two youngest. To me it seems like the killers wanted Tina as she was the only one taken from the house. As for the kids left untouched in the back room either the killer did not know for some reason that they were their or the kids were deemed as no threat because they were to young and sleeping. But in reality many things in this case I find hard to explain. It takes time to kill with such horror such ferosity yet they failed to wake the children. Also what kind of fear makes one allow some one to tie up the whole family. You had two teenage boys in that house. Although it could easily be one person I do see why the police might lean toward it being two killers. Again I digress and leave the investigation to the police familiar to the case. I find it very disturbing that no one outside of California heard of this crime at the time it was committed. Just the ramblings of some one who wished that the crimes never took place. Look at the victims. They were mostly children or young adults. My daughter is 12 and it is a horrible crime. In closing my hopes are the killers are identified some day and we find that they had a horrible, painful life. For the surviving victims and the low life killers remember law enforcement never forgets. If this crime can be solved it will be and justice will be done. God bless all the victims of violent crimes. Good Day.

I agree with many of Matt.r’s comments. As Matt says Sociopaths live among us as seemingly normal folks. The biggest mystery of the cabin 28 murders is why leave anyone alive and why take Tina Sharp away from the cabin. Yes the identity of the killer or killers is a mystery we all would love solved but we already know what kind of person or persons the killer or killers were. They were Sociopaths who have no remorse or guilt. The killer or killers are brutal, un-repentant, and totally evil. Which makes the fact that anyone was left alive even more of a mystery. In addition 3 of the four victims were under age 18 which means this killer had nor problem killing children. So why were the toddlers in back left alive? I just don’t know. It makes no sense. Perhaps the killers did not know they were there. Perhaps the killer or killers simply wanted to hurry and kill the ones who could Identify them, Take Tina Sharp, and do who knows what, and leave. Maybe the killers intended to come back and finish the kids off but after they were done they decided it was to risky to go back and the kids were no threat to identify them. No one knows the real answers. But again the true mystery in the cabin 28 murders is not so much of who the killer or killer was but has to do with the fact that anyone was left alive and why take Tina Sharp out of the cabin at all. I agree with Matt. Tina Sharp is what the sick killer or killers were after. Just like Joseph Edward Duncan killed the family in Idaho to molest those children the killer of those in Cabin 28 were after the same thing in Tina Sharp. In closing I must express I mean no disrespect to any of the surviving family in my speculation as to what might have happened. If anyone reads this please know this. Those beutiful people who suffered at the hands of evil that deserve our respect. But those in Plumas county need to know that the killer or killers were no boogie man. They are or were real people. Your town is not haunted. Perhaps the killer or killers lived among you or in a nearby community or perhaps the killer or killers were strangers but regardless they are real and can be indentified and brought to justice if they are still alive. I hope the cabin 28 murders teach us all a valuable lesson. When some invades your home while your still in it then your in mortal danger. Don’t go out quietly. Don’t allow yourselfs to be tied up. Fight like you never fought before. If it is my time to go I am going out kicking, screaming, biting, clubing, knifing, shooting, or what ever else it takes to inflict as much pain on those trying to harm me as I can. Don’t believe the lies of the killers. Once your tied up your done for. My prayers to the surviving family members and my hope is some day you have your answers.

Sincerely,

Joe.

It might have been Devil worshipers, the young girl could have been a virgin which they sacrificed.

the movie is great the ending leaves one empty it is just a scary movie folks not a lot of answers, other made to order scare us to death they at least have better ending. never seen a movie so scary and end just nothing what a bummer

Im not a Pro or a Psychic at Findinq out thinqs about Anythinq that Nobody knows . I have Read many many MANY stories on both Cases The Strangers && Cabin 28 . All of the stories i havr read had said that The Strangers were based on Cabin 28 . I have read all the Comments on this Paqe , im not qoinq to continue this Horror movies are great && all this Crap people are repeatinq . I have REASON to believe that The Strangers is NOT based on Cabin 28 !
For O1 – The cabin 28 murders did NOT look like they were tortured before they killed them . It infact looked as if they went in && Delibretly killed them when they first got in . While The strangers were tortured && terrorised before the Masked killers even touched them .
O2 – in the strangers they had a friend killed so did cabin 28 BUT … ANY WERE YOU READ THEY SAY THEY PUT THAT IN TO MAKE THE MOVIE LONGER !
I have alot more Reasons to believe they are both DIFFERENT cases && if you dont believe me with this then dont , but all the cases i have read without the endinq , before i read the ending i have been right as what had happend .

P.s i believe the Cabin 28 Killer(s) was a Friend that might have come over bcause if nobody heard screaminq then they must have not been scared of the killers ! I beliece they gave some type of drug in a drink or food the people ate / drank that made them pass out && durinq that they killed those people , the Kids i still dont know Why they left them there to witness that . But this is how i feel && what i think Happened !

There is a lot of information coming out about the case at http://www.keddiemurdersfilm.com/forum.