Sarah 
It’s not every day that a horror movie manages to truly rattle one of the greatest filmmakers of our time but that’s exactly what happened with Paranormal Activity and Steven Spielberg. Known for crafting some of the most iconic suspense and sci-fi films in cinematic history, Spielberg found himself unnerved by the 2007 micro-budget horror hit in an unexpected way.
A Scary Movie with a Scarier Experience
Paranormal Activity, directed by Oren Peli, was made for just $15,000 and relied on a minimalist approach to storytelling: no gore, no over-the-top effects just a couple, a camcorder, and a string of increasingly disturbing supernatural events inside their home.
When Spielberg was given a DVD copy of the film to screen at home, he was reportedly so unsettled by what followed that he refused to continue watching it in one sitting. According to multiple reports, after viewing part of the movie, Spielberg experienced something strange: his bedroom door mysteriously locked from the inside, leaving him momentarily trapped. Spooked by the coincidence, he returned the DVD in a trash bag, unwilling to keep the disc in his home.
While Spielberg never outright claimed the disc was haunted, the incident clearly left an impression. And oddly enough, that added a layer of mythos and fear around Paranormal Activity even before it became a global sensation.
From Trash Bag to Box Office Gold
Despite the eerie encounter, Spielberg recognized the film’s potential. Under his influence at DreamWorks and Paramount, the ending was reshot to heighten its impact, and Paranormal Activity was given a limited release — eventually expanding due to overwhelming demand. The film went on to gross nearly $200 million worldwide, making it one of the most profitable films in cinematic history.
A Legend Adds to the Legend
Spielberg’s experience added a surreal meta-layer to Paranormal Activity’s reputation. If the man behind Jaws, Poltergeist, and Close Encounters of the Third Kind could be freaked out by a found-footage horror flick, then it had to be something special.
What makes the story even better is that Spielberg, a master of suspense, didn’t just appreciate the film’s narrative — he experienced the fear firsthand, not in a theater, but in his own home.
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