Is the Grabber from The Black Phone based on a real serial killer?

After seeing The Black Phone, a lot of people want to know if the movie is based on a true story. But what I think people are more specifically wondering is whether the Grabber is based on a real serial killer. Or was that just me? Either way, let’s see what we can figure out.

The Black Phone Storyline

Here’s the movie’s synopsis from Universal Pictures:

Finney Shaw, a shy but clever 13-year-old boy, is abducted by a sadistic killer and trapped in a soundproof basement where screaming is of little use. When a disconnected phone on the wall begins to ring, Finney discovers that he can hear the voices of the killer’s previous victims. And they are dead set on making sure that what happened to them doesn’t happen to Finney.

The Adaptation

The movie isn’t based on a true story. Writers Scott Derrickson and C. Robert Cargill adapted it from a short story of the same name by Joe Hill from his collection 20th Century Ghosts.

However, HITC reported that when Bloody Disgusting interviewed Joe Hill and asked whether a true story inspired “The Black Phone” short story, Hill said no. But he explained there was a “real” component added to the movie. It was an element Derrickson provided:

“There’s this very autobiographical story about growing up in the violent 1970s out in the Midwest. It’s a story that reflects on Scott’s childhood memories, and it moves with a kind of pinpoint emotional precision. It uncovers the time with forensic accuracy.”

Hill also said it wasn’t Derrickson’s intent to create a period piece.

“Scott wasn’t interested in a nostalgia trip. That’s not really what he does with The Black Phone.”

He may not have wanted to invoke nostalgia, but he did. The way he channeled the late 70s was one of the things I liked best about the movie, in fact.

And as for the violence, I even commented on that to my husband as we walked out of the movies. Specifically, I said, “God, I miss the days when people fought with their fists like that.”

Because I definitely remember bullies and schoolyard fights and fists flying back in the day. (And occasionally knives too.) No, it wasn’t good. Violence in any form never is. But it was personal and visceral and raw.

Was it scary? Hell yes! Who wants a bully threatening to bash their brains in? But at least you saw it coming and had a chance to brace for it and defend yourself. Unlike today when you never know when the next coward will whip out a military-style assault weapon and annihilate a bunch of people all at once.

Another thing it’s nearly impossible to anticipate or thwart are abductions like the ones the Grabber does in The Black Phone. And even though the movie isn’t based on a true story, the Grabber sure resembles some real-life serial killers, one in particular.

The Grabber’s Influences

In the movie, when Finney first meets the Grabber, he seems like a harmless, albeit somewhat clutzy and very awkward man. Yet, that’s part of his disarming charm.

He introduces himself as a magician, even though he also has a semi-scary clown thing going on. Especially with the black balloons, which Finney knows is the Grabber’s calling card.

But before Finn makes that connection, the magician asks for Finney’s help picking up the groceries he’s dropped. Then he asks Finn if he wants to see a trick.

The dropping the groceries and feigning help had a somewhat Ted Bundy vibe. Faking an injury was how he lured some of his victims into his car. Not that Bundy abducted boys. He focused solely on girls.

But John Wayne Gacy murdered boys. He was also a clown. Well, specifically he had two clown personas, Pogo the Clown and Patches the Clown. Not that he used either to lure victims to their doom though. It’s just a creepy part of his story that he did charity work at children’s hospitals and charity events dressed as a clown.

He did bury the bodies under his house though. That’s another trait he shares in common with the Grabber.

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Does the Grabber remind you of any serial killer(s)?