The terrifying true story that inspired the movie ‘Scream’

Since the premiere of the first movie of ‘Scream‘In 1996, when it was a resounding success at the box office, the villain’ Ghostface ‘became one of the mythical figures of horror cinema and one of those beings we never want to run into.

The film was directed by Wes Craven and starred Neve Campbell, David Arquette, Drew Barrymore, Courteney Cox, and several well-known actors who began their careers in the film.

The script was called by critics as acid due to its black humor and the criticisms and references to other films of the genre, but without leaving aside the terror. The success of the film resulted in four sequels and a three-season series.

And just as reality is stranger than fiction, it is said that screenwriter Kevin Williamson was based on a case of life real to build the profile and actions of the psychopath ‘Ghostface’.

The source of his inspiration would be the serial killer Danny Rolling, also know as “The Gainsville Ripper “, who killed five Florida students in 1990.

The man who turns into a monster

Danny Harold Rolling was born in May 1954 in Shreveport, Louisiana (USA). His father, James Rolling, was a war veteran with post-traumatic stress disorder. The man physically and psychologically abused his wife and children, according to information from “Clarín”.

The abuses of which he was a victim Rolling resulted in the young man developing “antisocial disorder, a borderline personality disorder, in addition to sexual paraphilias and voyeurism”.

He also had addiction problems with alcohol and drugs, attempted suicide on one occasion, and was expelled from the United States Air Force in 1972 for drug use.

She tried to lead a “normal” life by attending church and marrying O’Mather Halko, with whom she had a daughter.

Clarín assures that Rolling, after being divorced, began with his criminal career: from petty thefts to bigger and more violent robberies that landed you in jail.

He also came to spy on women in public places and, even, the data indicate that he raped a woman who “he looked like his ex-wife”, Although no charges were brought against him for this.

He began as a murderer in 1989 when he entered a house in Shreveport and attacked the family that inhabited it: the father, 55, his daughter, 24, and the grandson, eight.

The woman, identified as Julie Grissom, had been stabbed. She was found in a “strange position” and had tape and vinegar residues on her body, according to the Argentine television channel América 24.

His father also reported him for attempted murder. It was at this point that he decided to flee to Gainesville.

A serial killer brought to the big screen

But the killings didn’t stop there. Rather, it was just the beginning of more death, violence, and fear.

In August 1990, Christina Powell and Sonja LarsonUniversity of Florida students rented an apartment at Williamsburg Apartments, off campus.

In the morning hours of the 24th of that month, the young women, aged 17 and 18 respectively, suffered a gruesome death at the hands of the murderer.

Powell was reportedly found on the first floor of the apartment. She had been raped, stabbed and mutilated.

The body of Larson, his partner, was found on the second floor with cuts on his arms and torso. She was lying on the bed, with her feet on the floor and her hair “combed like a fan on the bed”, As reported by A24.

Moments later a new victim was found: raped, stabbed, mutilated and beheaded. The corpse was seated with its feet on the ground and its torso bent forward. He had a cut from the sternum to the pubic bone.

The woman was identified as Christa Hoyt, an aspiring police officer and employee in the Alachua County Sheriff’s Office.

The last two victims were Tracey Paules and Manuel Taboada. They both shared an apartment and began their studies, she in law and he in architecture.

Clarín indicates that Paules was found, like previous victims, with remnants of tape on his wrists and mouth, signs of rape, and soap on his body.

All the women were placed in strange positions. According to the authorities, the murderer accommodated his victims in “provocative sexual positions”.

Capturing the serial killer

The authorities quickly linked the killings to Gainesville with those previously committed in Shreveport due to the circumstances in which the victims had been found.

They also identified the criminal’s modus operandi. He entered the homes of the victims at dawn, played loud music, stole the underwear of his victims, parts of their bodies and took a shower before running away. The man had a knife of about four or six inches, according to A24.

The same media indicates that, although there were several suspects, the police found Danny Harold Rolling when they found a recording in the forest in which the man mentioned his own name and said “having taken the wrong path”. The blood samples matched.

Confessions of a murderer

After being charged with five counts of first degree murder, he was convicted of robbery. In the state prison of Florida He told details of his crimes to another of his companions.

Later, in an interrogation in which he asked that his fellow prisoner, Bobby Lewis, also attend, he confessed to the authorities the same details.

He claimed that he returned to the Christa Hoyt crime scene because “forgot his wallet”, And decided to behead her.

He also commented that Tracy Paules had locked himself in a room while he was fighting and murdering his partner. Then, he knocked down the door, abused her and killed her.

He also declared having “various personalities”, Including a good one he called ‘Ynnad’, and another called ‘Gemini’ who, according to him, perpetrated the murders. The authorities did not believe him.

The Gainsville Ripper was executed by lethal injection on October 25, 2006, after being sentenced to death penalty for their crimes.

Who will be more ruthless? ‘Ghostface’ or the ‘Gainsville Ripper’?

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