When filming a supernatural movie, based on a terrifying true story, there are bound to be some spooky moments on set.
For Jeffrey Dean Morgan, a nonbeliever of sorts, shooting The Possession provided a few eerie, unscripted instances while the cameras were rolling.
Lionsgate’s horror pic, opening Aug. 31, draws on the true story of an eBay user who purchased a dybbuk (the Judaic version of a possessing spirit) box online and wound up facing “horrifying things,” says Morgan. “I’m very skeptical,” he tells The Hollywood Reporter, “but not only would I not want the box around and to tempt fate, but there were enough weird things going on around our set that I’ve never seen happen on sets before.”
For more on the true story, watch the video above.
Morgan recalls lights exploding midtake and feeling cold bursts of wind on a closed, not-drafty set. “It always happened in the middle of doing key scenes,” he recalls. “It didn’t happen in between takes or doing scenes that didn’t have a big story impact.”
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The creepiest incident, however, came after filming.
“We had all of our props a couple days after we finished wrapping — they put everything in storage for if you’re gonna do reshoots or anything,” says Morgan. “It burnt to the ground. It was investigated, and there were no signs of arson, no electrical fire.”
Among the key props destroyed in the fire: the imitation dybbuk box used during filming. (It’s also worth noting that one of the most frightening, crucial scenes in the film takes place outside what looks like a storage facility.)
Co-star Natasha Calis tells THR that the real-life owners of the box offered to allow its use during filming or to bring for an on-set visit, but the cast and crew politely declined.
Director Ole Bornedal did, however, opt for hundreds of authentic props in the form of live moths for one crucial scene. Watch the trailer at 1:35 below.
