Welcome back to Reel Horror! Today, we’re looking at the case that inspired “The Strangers”: Charles Manson and the Tate-LaBianca Murders.

Charles Manson was born on November 12^th, 1934, in Cincinnati, Ohio, to Ada Kathleen Maddox, an unmarried 16-year-old. She later married William Eugene Manson, though the couple divorced in 1939. His early life was unstable: his mother was frequently absent or incarcerated, and Charles was shuffled between relatives and reform schools for much of his childhood. He spent the better part of his teens and twenties cycling in and out of prison. After the divorce, he took his stepfather’s surname due to Maddox’s neglect.

Continue reading “Because You Were Home”: The True Story Behind “The Strangers”