Is Shelby Oaks Based On A True Story?

Contains spoilers for "Shelby Oaks"

2025 has been an exceptional year for horror so far, and there's a new film to add to that conversation with "Shelby Oaks." Written and directed by YouTuber Chris Stuckmann and drawing from some very personal elements, the film is about a group of YouTubers who run a paranormal investigation channel. Eventually they go missing and, years later, Mia (Camille Sullivan) sets out to figure out what actually happened to her sister Riley (Sarah Durn). The blending of found footage with a true crime documentary format lends the movie an air of veracity, so some out there may wonder if this is at all based on a true story. 

Fear not: "Shelby Oaks" is not true. For one thing, demons and hellhounds don't exist. However, that doesn't mean Stuckmann didn't pull from some real-life experiences. The film is partly inspired by his sister's disfellowship — an excommunication-like practice – from the Jehovah's Witnesses when he was 12 years old. Because of church doctrine, he wasn't able to see her until 10 years later, so it is easy to see how a character refusing to believe her sister is dead and gone for good would resonate for this budding filmmaker. 

Some horror movies are based on true stories (or at least someone's true-to-them tale). "Shelby Oaks" stemming from Stuckmann's familial past adds an extra layer of thematic resonance to the story. Even if the movie is fiction, it offers up some genuine emotion. 

"Shelby Oaks" is Chris Stuckmann's first feature-length film, and it acquired primary funding through a highly successful Kickstarter campaign. It was then picked up by Neon, and that infused the venture with even more money to polish it up. The film is a passion project for Stuckmann, and he used whatever resources were available to make it happen. For example, there are multiple scenes in the film that take place at an abandoned amusement park. These were shot in the ruins of Chippewa Lake Park in Ohio, a defunct fairground near where Stuckmann grew up. Shooting there helped give the entire project a creepier ambiance, plus it adds another layer of Stuckmann's personal touch. 

Of course, there's also the YouTube aspect to the whole affair. The YouTubers in the film go missing in 2008, and that's when the video platform was still in its infancy. The fact no one really knew what to make of YouTube at the time is vital to the film's narrative. I actually had the chance to speak with Stuckmann in the lead-up to "Shelby Oaks" about exactly that: "If there was any type of paranormal video on YouTube, there was often a lot of discussion about it because people weren't doing AI, and everybody wasn't a VFX expert. If you saw something strange on YouTube, there was the sensation of 'Is that real?'"

"Shelby Oaks" is part of a tradition of great found footage movies, from "Lake Mungo" to "The Blair Witch Project," that make audiences stop and wonder whether what they're seeing is based on any truth. "Shelby Oaks" isn't based on a true story, but Stuckmann put enough of himself within the narrative to give it that real-life touch.

"Shelby Oaks" is playing in theaters now.