The REAL Story Behind Sinister (2012), And The 11 Scariest Pagan Gods That You Don’t Want To Bump Into
It’s damn near impossible to find a really good horror film.
No, I mean a really good horror film.
You know, where the plot is winding, and unravels oh so gently until it snaps us back into its web, leaving us tied up in the lair of a monster as it inches closer and closer towards us.
Most horror films simply don’t make the cut.
But in recent years, there is one that does just that, twisting together an incredible plot, a truly terrifying monster, and the subtleties of gore that have you promising yourself you will never purchase a lawn mower again:
Sinister (2012).
That being said, this story of an unforgiving Pagan god and the innocent families that stumble across his path shouldn’t be shaking you to your core - it’s the real, historic legends that inspired this film.
Bughuul/Bagul is based on 3 Pagan gods, bringing the events behind the camera outside of our TV screen. But the thing is, it turns out Moloch, Baal, and Tlaloc are far from the only holy entities you don’t want to cross paths with.
Bughuul might just be more real than you’d like to think.
What Happens In Sinister (2012) And Sinister 2 (2015)?
Before Bughuul was conjured up from the darkest corners of our nightmares, and before Ellison Oswalt - the main character in the film - even signed the lease on his new house, was an idea.
Sure, the real Pagan gods inspiring Bughuul might be enough to keep you awake at night, but C Robert Cargill, the writer of the film, was inspired by something else at first:
It was a nightmare after watching The Ring (2002).
From here the fundamental building block of the plot was set in place: a supernatural entity spreads itself via films that need to be created and then passed on. The thing is, this being doesn’t channel as much sympathy as we all harboured for Samara.
The starring role of the Super 8 movies in this flick is taken by a far more terrifying being that doesn’t stick to such a rigorous time scale.
Our story follows a true-crime writer attempting to uncover an unsolved murder case to propel himself back to his former fame. But his distant family and obvious alcoholism are about to be the least of his problems when he accidentally unleashes a Pagan god.
You can’t find a Citizens Advice leaflet on that.
The tale begins when the author, Ellison Oswalt, moves into a new home. The thing is, he has a nasty habit of picking houses nearby to the cases he researches - only this time, he’s shacked up in the house where a whole family was murdered in the backyard and the youngest child went missing.
Nothing creepy here, right?
Oh, there’s a box in the attic with a Super 8 film projector and reels of film which display the murder of several families in their own horrific way.
*Inhale*
*Exhale*
Our new favourite true crime writer decides to team up with a lovable police deputy who does some digging around the murders. He discovers these murders took place from the 1960s up to present day, and occurred across the entire US. But what connected these murders - aside from that creepy figure in the background of the clips and the symbols - is that a child from each family went missing after the murder.
One quick Skype call to an esteemed occult professor later, and hey presto he’s realised he’s encountered a Babylonian deity known as Bughuul. But you can call him the Eater of Children, a nickname that caught on when they discovered he likes to consume the souls of children.
In case you can’t do the maths, Bughuul likes to have families murdered, and spare a child as a light snack post-murder.
Throughout this process of unveiling the truth of Bughuul, the paranormal activity begins. The steady climb in the supernatural peaks however when he hears the projector running in the attic. He checks out the situation, and realises all of the missing kids are enjoying a movie night - think less Netflix, more bloodthirsty Pagan god - when Bughuul rocks up via an unnecessary jumpscare.
Oswalt then makes the executive decision to burn the film and projector, and then swap this murder house for his previous residency.
Three cheers for common sense!
The thing is, Oswalt didn’t do his reading on basic horror movie monsters - ghosts haunt places, demons haunt people.
(Rooky error.)
Unfortunately Oswalt learns this when he’s mid-unpack of his old house. The professor then gives him a ring and lets him know that it's images of Bughuul that serve as a gateway for the deity to enter our mortal world. But it’s when kids come into contact with the image that they can be possessed.
That’s right - it’s the kids that do the murdering, the filming, and then the pissing off with Bughuul.
Shortly after this bulb lights up, our lovable deputy also gets on the blower, and lets him know that each family that was murdered did the exact same thing:
They realised their new home was haunted by some presence, shacked up at a new location where there were no Super 8 movies included in the rent, and then were killed by their child.
Yep - our favourite true crime writer has only gone and set off the exact chain of events he attempted to investigate.
(Rooky error.)
Just as he realises he’s been played by the B-man, he passes out. He’s just been poisoned by his daughter. He wakes up moments before being slaughtered with an axe.
The film ends with the child being carried away by Bughuul and teleported into the film with him.
Sinister 2 picks up the plotline several years later, following around the lovable police officer as he takes matters into his own hands; he attempts to destroy the houses that continue Bughuul’s spread across America.
But in this film, we actually get a behind-the-scenes view of Bughuul’s process of encroaching on children. And it turns out the possession is actually peer pressure from the missing children - but instead of trying a cigarette outside the back of the local Lidl, you’re being forced to murder your family in your very own brutal way.
And if this exclusive preview into our favourite Pagan deity wasn’t enough, Bughuul also upskills and learns to utilise a radio to spread his message.
*Deletes BBC Sounds App*
So - Who Is Bughuul?
Found footage is a difficult genre to break into.
Bughuul, however crashes into it, reviving the boring clips that dragged The Blair Witch Project into horror movie infamy and sent the Paranormal Activity viewers to sleep.
Sinister plays with the horror genre in a whole new way, using silent, grainy Super 8 movies to leave the viewers convinced they might awaken a long dead spirit by listening to their favourite murder mystery podcast.
But the visual horror - whether of the gory deaths we witness or of Bughuul himself - confines the movie to the streaming platform you chose that evening.
It’s the unnervingly real concept of Bughuul which allows the events concerning Oswalt to haunt us on a whole new level.
In the film we are told that Bughuul is a Babylonian deity - a Pagan or early Christian demon, if you will - who can possess children, is transmitted through images, likes to murder entire families, and then make do with a child’s soul.
You know, the basic stuff.
Whilst the finer details of Bughuul is not mapped out in theology, the fundamental building block of the body horror in this movie - that of sacrifice in horrific ways - has been practiced throughout history and devoted to 3 specific Pagan gods that the writers drew inspiration from.
And the first is called Moloch.
This Canaanite god was associated with many things, including agriculture and fertility, and sacrifice and fire, all of which are firmly represented in the movie. Whether it's the films’ focus on children, or its the spontaneous combustion of the Super 8 movies and the victims that do not conduct his bidding, Baghuul directly mirrors this entity.
Well, maybe ‘mirrors’ isn’t the right word.
Baghuul has the lookbook of a modern horror monster, from the Slender Man inspired suit to the smokey eye only a 13 year old could pull off. Moloch, on the other hand, is often depicted as a Bronze statue of a humanoid bull sitting down.
And it’s his statue form which lets you in on his preferred method of worship:
The statue would be heated with fire, and victims thrown in as a form of fiery sacrifice.
In fact, in both the 1920s and later in 1962, it was discovered via excavations of the ancient Carthaginian civilisations that both young people and animals were often the most popular victims, forging a link between the youth we saw on our TV screens, and the ashes left in the urns that were found.
This link was even addressed by the writers of the second film, with the promotional poster claiming Bughuul was the brother of this brutal god - but this isn’t the first time Moloch has appeared on the big screen.
Remember that episode in Buffy, you know, the one about online safety cause you won’t run into a paedophile but a glorified demon that wants to become a physical beast and wreak havoc on the world and is going to use you as a source of power?
Yeah, that’s the one.
In fact, Buffy stuck to the same premise, claiming Moloch was unleashed when an ancient text was scanned into a library system.
Sinister had less broody vampires, though.
Our next contender for coulda-been-Bughuul is Baal, a demon which has actually featured in a few other horror flicks of his own, so far. The Rite featured this ancient god who focused his attention on fertility, just like Moloch.
And, just like Moloch, archaeological evidence of sacrifices was discovered, but in a region of Egypt from which he was worshipped.
Amongst the sacrificed infants found was a collection of animals and prostitutes. Even the ancient texts detailing their powers and premise suggests a sibling-like link: Baal Hammon was worshipped by the Carthage people as a supreme god, just like the former entity, and instead of bearing the body of a bull, he appears as a ram.
Yet despite sharing both a ritualistic and physical approach with Moloch, it’s Baal’s backstory that brings us even closer to Baghuul.
Too close.
Legend has it Baal was considered more powerful than his father, suggesting children overpowering their own family is a vital premise of this god.
Our final contender for Baghuul-but-without-the-eyeliner is Tlaloc. And, once again, this entity is just like the previous gods, but belongs on the other side of the globe.
This Aztec god is the god of rain, water and fertility, and despite his rather more peaceful and popular worship today, historically things have been a little, uh, sacrificey.
The remains of war captives have been found near his statues, but this only hints towards his association with death; it is said that he was essentially the destination in the afterlife for those that died from a variety of ailments.
And one of these ailments was child sacrifices.
Think back to the Sinister movies for a second.
In the short Super 8 films we see Bughuul make cameo appearances (like Stan Lee in Marvel films, only he’s a wholesome old man and isn't going to gobble up Hugh Jackman’s soul when the credits roll). This suggests that Baghuul not only enjoys a hobby of snacking on innocent children, but also takes pleasure from the sacrifices of the other family members, and appears at their time of death.
Unfortunately, according to historic worship, Tlaloc prefers his sacrifices a little more niche than just dead parents. Typically he likes his sacrifices to have their hearts extracted from the corpses, and collected in a bowl by the temple.
If you thought Sinister was grotesque, be thankful you didn’t witness a 7 year old stabbing their mother in the chest with a cheese knife.
The 11 Other Terrifying Gods You Don’t Want To Encounter In Your Attic
Paganism is an incredible thing.
It’s a religion that puts the believer at the centre of a huge selection of gods, demons, and deities to choose from. Even modern paganism doesn’t follow any rules.
Simply choose an entity, and get worshippin’!
But there is a downside.
We already know that three Pagan gods are enough to have you avoiding your 5 year old nephew at the next family dinner. But unfortunately, Moloch, Baal, and Tlaloc are far from the only deities that will make you left eye twitch when you see so much as a polaroid camera for fear Bughuul might have taken a #vintage selfie.
There’s 11 more terrifying deities that you don’t want to know about but I’m going to tell you about anyway!
(Yay.)
#1 Chinnamasta
Self-sacrifice and sexual restraint sounds like values we should all practice, but when a Hindu goddess tells you to do it - and she has no head - you might be more reluctant to listen to her wise words.
The legend claims that a group of Hindu gods and demons churned the ocean in order to extract an elixir of immortality. Chinnamasta took a sip, swallowed the entire share for the demons, and chopped her own head off to prevent them from reclaiming it.
An alternative version tells a different story: Chinnasmasta and her crew were bathing too long and realised they were hungry. So, she satiated their hunger by decapitating her own head and allowing her attendants to drink the blood spurting from her neck.
And so, her image is immortalised by three fountains of blood coming out of her neck, and her attendants gulping back the liquid.
Casual.
#2 Pan
As well as being one of the most famous gods to date, this Greek deity is also one of the oldest. And whilst he he is the god of nice, wholesome things like cosy forests and flocks of cute animals, he would be deemed a sex offender today.
Pan would try and have sex with anything - yes, anything - that moved. And when one of these things tried to run away, such as the nymph Syrinx, he chased her down, and then turned her into a pan flute.
And when another nymph also turned him down, he had her murdered by his minions.
Fact is, you can choose which gods you can believe in, but the real horror in the world - sexual predators - will always exist.
#3 - Ishtar
Most gods are known for their brutal acts, whether in the name of justice, or for selfish purposes. The thing is, this goddess has a thing for gore.
And rightly so.
Having been raped by a gardener as she slept underneath the shade of his tree, she got her vengeance by punishing the Earth. She made the rivers flow with blood, she tormented the planet with storms, and she cast disease over our lands.
And similar to the gods already mentioned, she too has a habit of sacrifice. But she doesn’t want people to be sacrificed to her - she prefers to do her own sacrificing of her own lovers.
#4 - Cronus
Next up is the leader of the Titans. But his attempt to eat his own children to prevent them from completing a prophecy and overthrowing him doesn’t get a mention here - it’s what he did to his father.
He scythed off his genitals.
And if that wasn’t enough, he then chucked ‘em into the sea, spawning the goddess Aphrodite.
#5 - Teutates, Esus, and Taranis
Christianity’s got Jesus, God, and the Holy Spirit. Paganism on the other hand has its own trio. But these guys rely on routine human sacrifice. But what really sets them apart is that each individual god has their own preferred murder method.
Teutates likes to drown his victims headfirst in ale, Esus likes to have his sacrifices stabbed, hung from trees, and left to bleed out, and Taranis likes wickerwork figures that are set alight to contain his victims in a fiery death a la Nicholas Cage.
Squad goals?
#6 - Tezcatlipoca
The second Aztec god to feature in this post continues the trend of these deities preferring bodily organs. But this deity sets itself apart by craving a far slower ritual that culminates in a sacrifice.
A priest would select a prisoner who was to impersonate the god. Luxurious shenanigans would ensue, including 4 maidens dedicated to his every need. Unfortunately, his needs wouldn’t last too long.
He would have a year of this god-like life, walk up the steps of a temple, and have his heart ripped out.
#7 - Huehueteotl
He was the god of death, hot, and cold. And he liked his sacrifices to have experienced all three at the same time, apparently.
The process of sacrifice would include drugging the victim, roasting them alive, ripping out their heart, and then burning the remains again.
According to other accounts, the victim could simply be drugged, and then dragged with hooks to platforms for the ritual. And then the heart would be cut out and tossed into the fire. And then the rest of the bodies would follow.
Your choice, I guess.
#8 - Toci
Life must’ve been hard back then.
You know, the constant fear that you - yes, you - might be the next victim to be tossed to the flames of fiery sacrifice, or an organ of your deity’s choice was to be placed into what can only be described as a ritualistic olive bowl.
But at least you’d have an inkling of what’s to come. The worshippers of Toci weren’t quite so lucky.
Toci was the goddess of healing and a patron of midwives and healers. But rather than wanting to celebrate life in all of its glory, she actually preferred dead people as gifts.
And so, women were dressed as the goddess, told they were going to see the local ruler, climb the temple, and be met with a priest with a knife. The unlucky woman would be beheaded, her heart removed, and skin flayed.
The priest would complete the ritual - yep, it doesn’t end there - by wearing the skin of the victim.
#9 - Chac
When we discuss sacrifice in the name of a god, it is often assumed that the act took place many years ago, and that the traces of the murders have long since decayed and disappeared from our world. But it turns out that you can actually visit the location of 2 wells in Chichen Itza where sacrifices took place in the name of Chac, the Mayan god of rain, water, and lightning.
But aside from casting storms over his worshippers, he encouraged human sacrifice.
And so, his worshippers obliged by tossing their young children into their wells; they believed Chac resided at the bottom of sinkholes, and wanted their human sacrifices to be as close as possible to him to ensure safe delivery.
According to the film’s lore, Baghuul lives inside of the images, and uses the pictures, the films, and any other form of media as a gateway to our realm.
In that case, God only knows what this article may have unleashed.
Traumatised? Afraid to turn the light out and turn in for fear of hearing Bughuul filming his YouTube outro in your attic? The you might as well check out my other articles in the mean time…
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