There is an actual story behind The Girl in the Basement, and it’s far scarier than the film. The Girl in the Basement can be found in Lifetime’s “Ripped From the Headlines” series of movies. While not a true crime documentary or series, the events and criminals in Girl in the Basement are based on real life.
Sara, a teenage girl, is the protagonist of Girl in the Basement. Her father, Don, locks her in the basement of the family home. Don tells his wife Irene that their daughter Sara ran away to avoid confrontation.
In actuality, however, Don has held Sara captive, tortured and raped her, and caused her to conceive and deliver multiple children. Like many film and TV adaptations of actual crime stories, Girl in the Basement tones down the brutality of the original story.
In the film, Don tricks Irene into thinking that Sara abandoned her youngest kid with them and sent him to live with them. Later, Don and Irene learn the truth after Sara has escaped to tell the world her story.
The genuine criminal story from Austria serves as inspiration for Girl in the Basement. Here’s the scoop on the real-life inspiration for Girl in the Basement on Lifetime. Now let’s find out girl in the basement real story.
What Is Girl In The Basement Based On?
Based on the true story of Elisabeth Fritzl, who was tortured and held captive by her father, Josef, in the basement of their home in Amstetten, Austria, from 1984 to 2008, Girl in the Basement was directed by Elizabeth Rohm of Angel.
Elisabeth’s horror began when Josef took her down to the basement, knocked her out with an ether-soaked rag, and locked her up. Joseph made Elisabeth compose a letter to her mom, Rosemarie, in which she claimed she had run away and didn’t want to be discovered.
From 1984 through 1988, Josef had a daily sex cycle with his daughter Elisabeth. Many real-life criminals, not just Josef, were able to conceal their activities by hiding in underground or soundproof areas, which inspired many crime and horror stories set in basements.
In fact, a tenant who lived on the first floor of the Fritzl house for 12 years had no idea that Elisabeth had given birth to seven kids. One died immediately after birth, while the other three stayed in captivity and were tortured by Josef alongside Elisabeth. Josef burned the body in their furnace.
How Elisabeth Fritzl Land in the Basement
In 1984, Josef Fritzl asked Elisabeth for help with a door installation in the basement of their Austrian home. Elisabeth rushed down the stairs to aid her father, not knowing what he was planning or how her life would change as a result of this incident. She was going to leave when someone placed a little piece of cloth drenched with ether over her mouth and nose.
Elisabeth was completely oblivious to the fact that she was assisting her own father in his plot to imprison her as a sex slave. For a long time before the late 1970s, Josef Fritzl had been preparing to construct an underground prison cell and had even gotten official approval from the municipal authorities.
Josef was able to easily acquire the necessary permits because nuclear bunkers in the basement of homes were the standard during the cold war. In fact, Josef received a grant from the city council in the amount of 2,000 pounds to help with the construction expenses. To get to the cellar where he planned to hold Elisabeth hostage, he had to open a number of doors.
24 Years of Life in the Basement
The agony that was unleashed upon Elisabeth was endless, and she was forced to endure it for the next 24 years. Sometimes she had to resort to using her bare hands to catch the rats.
According to her writings, summer was the hardest season for her because the constant perspiration was unbearable. While the world around Elisabeth was constantly changing, she was stuck in a rut.
Her father had initially chained her up so tightly that she could barely move more than a half a meter to either side of the bed. He then untied the chain from her ankles, allowing her greater mobility.
After a few months of the chain being an issue during sex, he decided to take it off. Josef subjected her to years of sexual abuse, including many rapes per day, before she was finally freed in April of 2008.
Over the course of 25 years, he raped her at least 3000 times, resulting in seven offspring. Elisabeth’s maltreatment of them only got worse as they got older. She had three children with her in the basement, and the other three miraculously materialized outside the door of Josef Fritzl and his wife, Rosemarie, as Josef Fritzl had planned.
Conclusion
In 2008, Elisabeth Fritzl came forward to tell Austrian police that her father, Josef Fritzl, had held her captive for 24 years. This brought the Fritzl case to the forefront of the media. When Josef had her locked in a hidden room in the basement of their home, he would beat her, sexually abuse her, and even rape her on multiple occasions.
As a result, Elisabeth gave birth to seven children, three of whom stayed hostage with her while being raised by Fritzl and his wife, Rosemarie, and one of whom died just days after delivery due to prematurity. girl in the basement real story.
