Surprising Ways Creators' Lives Shaped Fictional Universes

Turns out tons of famous fictional worlds are actually non-fiction.
Surprising Ways Creators' Lives Shaped Fictional Universes

“Where do you get your ideas?” is a question many artists of various types get throughout their career, whether they made a painting, a movie, a television show, a song, a book, or even just a joke. Writers, musicians, filmmakers, and other artists create amazing worlds that are straight out of their imaginations. As it turns out, though, sometimes they build imaginary worlds based on their own realities. As a result, iconic works of art are just filled with subtle (and not-so-subtle) references to their creators' own lives. After all, a common suggestion for creatives is “write what you know.”

Who would have thought that a bestselling horror novel was inspired by a school janitor seeing a tampon machine. Or that an imaginary friend of a director would spark a sci-fi classic? Or that a film franchise was born when a writer wondered if he'd be friends with his dad in high school?

Thanks to Cracked readers, especially Burritomouth, we can know learn about how some of your favorite creators were able to craft such worlds in their work.

In 1991, Will Wright, the creator of Sim City, survived an awful firestorm that razed his home. The process of rebuilding his home from scratch gave h
stephen King got the idea for Carrie when he saw tampon receptacles in a girls' locker room while working as a high school janitor. CRACKED.COM
Bob Gale came his father's across University City High and wondered yearbook his father if he and have been friends would had attended if they time. s
Christian Faber, co-creator of LEGO'S BIONICLE brand, suffered from a benign brain tumor. He imagined his medication carried warriors fighting the ill
The relationship between Ed Wood and Bela Lugosi CRAUI in Tim Burton's ENTNOD was a reflection of Burton's own relationship with Vincent Price.
Sir Ridley Scott once attended an art school near an industrial park, where he could watch the smokestacks and steel mills while walking home in the e
Surprising Ways Creators' Lives Shaped Fictional Universes
I met this sixyearold child with this blank, pale, emotionless face, and the blackest eyes; the devil's eyes..., Samuel Loomis, HALLOWEEN Almost eve
Goosebumps author R. L. Stine found inspiration for one of his most popular stories, The Haunted Mask, when his son's face got stuck inside his Hallow
CRACKEDGO E.T THE EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL At the time of his parents' divorce, Steven Spielberg had an imaginary friend which years later became the basis f
The devastation of Hiroshima and its resulting 'nothingness moved teenage Buddhist KENJI EKUAN to become a maker of things. As an industrial desig
Writerldirector Oren Peli drew inspiration for his film Paranormal Activity From the run-down condition Of his house. 1 :28:09 AM It creaked and rattl
COMIC ARTIST JACK KIRBY CREATED THE HULK AFTER WITNESSING A WOMAN LIFTING A CAR TO SAVE HER CHILD PLAYING UNDER IT.
4445 9995 2510 GAME DESIGNER DAVE THEURER FOUND THE INSPIRATION FOR MISSILE COMMAND IN THE PERVASIVE FEAR AND CONSTANT TENSION OF THE COLD WAR ERA M
Dan O'Bannon, screenwriter of ALIEN, based the chestburster on the pains he suffered from Crohn's disease.
Hiroshi Sakurazaka spent countless hours beating difficult levels IN video games when he was young. In video games, when your character died, it respa
EATING PIZZA INSPIRED CREATOR TORU IWATANI TO MAke THE GAmE PAC-MAN IWATANI SAYS He GOT THE IDEA WHILE STARING DOwN AT A PIZZA WITH TWO SLices missi
At age 40, James Grant was fired from the job he'd held for 18 years by insensitive new management eager to quash the labor union. INTRODUCING JACK RE
Seeing meteors made Steven Spielberg want to film a movie about good-guy aliens. CLOSE ENCOUNTERS THIRO KINO of THE When Spielberg was 6 or 7, his dad
Spider-Man was born because of a fly on Stan Lee's office wall. Lee was stuck on coming up with a superpower for a new character. Then he noticed a fl
C C 98800088880 DO 0000 000000 000000 000000 0000 80000000800008 00 Satoshi Tajiri's childhood hobby of bug collecting inspired him to create KeMoy. C
The Terminator came to James Cameron when he got a high fever while visiting Rome. CO He says that the fact that he was alone in a foreign city helped
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