CHILLER'S "KILLER LEGENDS" PREMIERES SUNDAY, MARCH 16 @ 8 PM ET
Original Special Hosted And Directed By Josh Zeman ('Cropsey')Explores True Crime Stories Behind Popular Urban Legends
NEW YORK - February 11, 2014 - On Sunday, March 16 at 8 PM ET, Chiller will debut its newest special, Killer Legends. The hair-raising two-hour event focuses on four timeless urban legends that haunt the psyche of the American public. This horror documentary follows filmmakers Joshua Zeman and Rachel Mills as they investigate the true crimes that may have spawned these urban legends while exploring how these myths evolved and why we continue to believe.
The documentary probes the following legends:
The Candyman: The film takes viewers to Houston, Texas, to explore the legend of tainted candy that strikes fear in parents every Halloween. Though the legend is prolific, in actuality there is only one documented case of a child dying from tainted candy: 8-year-old Timothy O'Bryan. Timothy was poisoned on Halloween by a real-life miscreant who used the legend to hide his crime, earning him the nickname, The Candyman.
The Baby-Sitter and the Man Upstairs: As the legend goes, a babysitter tormented by a twisted caller, learns that the sadistic calls are coming from inside the house. While the babysitter has become the go-to victim in so many of our horror films, does the same hold true in real life? Tragically, the answer is yes... as our filmmakers discover in the unsolved case of Janett Christman, a babysitter who was slain in Columbia, MO, in 1950.
The Hookman: The filmmakers investigate the "Moonlight Murders" of Texarkana that some believe sparked "The Hook" urban legend of the 1950's and 60's. Based upon the legend of two teens lovers terrorized by a madman with a hook for a hand, we will investigate this real life case of a killer known as The Phantom, who in 1946 attacked five couples parked on lovers' lanes. This unsolved crime has created its own unique urban legend in Texarkana, perpetuated by a town that refuses to forget.
The Killer Clown: In Chicago, the filmmakers investigate the "phantom clown" scares that have been spontaneously occurring since the 1980s. In cities across the globe, clowns have been spotted in vans trying to snatch children. Is this just a case of hysteria, manifested by fears of coulrophobia (the fear of clowns), or is there something much more serious at work? As we explore Chicago's creepy clown past, from John Wayne Gacy to Bozo, we attempt to answer the question of how clowns became so evil, and why they continue to haunt our nightmares.
Killer Legends is directed by Joshua Zeman, whose previous film was the critically-acclaimed 2010 horror documentary Cropsey. Killer Legends is produced by Gulp Pictures and Storyville Entertainment (A&E's Paranormal State, Psychic Kids, Animal Planet's The Haunted) in association with Gigantic Pictures (The Great Invisible, SXSW 2014, Goodbye Solo).
About Joshua Zeman
Joshua Zeman has been creating independent films for over 10 years. His critically-acclaimed horror documentary Cropsey, a critic's pick with The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times and Roger Ebert, was called "one of the year's best documentaries" and "one of the scariest films of the year" in 2010.
Zeman recently directed the short, The Best Man for The Job, starring David Call (Two Gates of Sleep, Tiny Furniture). As a writer, his first screenplay, Fresh Kills, was optioned by Fine Line and Forensic Films. Most recently, Zeman received a 2012 MacDowell Colony Fellowship, and the 2013 San Francisco Film Society Screenwriting/Djerassi Residency Award for his screenplay, Collider. As a producer/co-producer, some of Zeman's past credits include The Station Agent, Mysterious Skin, The Hawk is Dying, Choking Man and Against The Current.
Chiller is an entertainment brand dedicated to delivering round-the-clock scares with its commitment to producing diverse and high-quality horror content. Chiller's eclectic slate of adrenaline-fueled, soul-stirring entertainment includes a broad offering of original movies and specials, genre films, documentary and reality shows (Fear Factor) and some of the most thought-provoking and suspenseful series ever on television (The River, Dead Like Me, Tales from the Darkside, Outer Limits). With its recently-created Chiller Films initiative, Chiller also produces feature films for select theaters and On-Demand. Chiller network is currently available in over 42 million homes. To learn more, visit: www.chillertv.com. Chiller. Scary Good.
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