Does Shelby Oaks take inspiration from real-world events? Here’s what we know

Shelby Oaks is the feature-length directorial debut of YouTuber Chris Stuckmann. The horror mystery film is written by Stuckmann and Samantha Elizabeth. It had its world premiere at the 28th Fantasia International Film Festival and was released theatrically by Neon on October 24, 2025. It was produced by Stuckmann, Cameron Burns, Ashleigh Snead, and Aaron B. Koontz. Here’s the official synopsis according to IMDb:

A woman's desperate search for her long-lost sister falls into obsession upon realizing that the imaginary demon from their childhood may have been real.

Let’s find out whether the film is based on a real incident or entirely a work of fiction.

Is Shelby Oaks based on a true incident?

No, Shelby Oaks is not based on a true story. But Chris Stuckmann has taken some inspiration from the excommunication of his own sister from the Jehovah's Witnesses. This resulted in him not being able to see her for a decade. Stuckmann was 12 when it happened, and that finds its way into the story of a character not being able to see her sister for a long time.

Stuckmann wrote the film with his wife and started its production through a Kickstarter campaign. After its premiere at the Fantasia Film Festival, Mike Flanagan joined the project as an executive producer. The film then went through several reshoots while the remaining portions were reedited. After the completion, Shelby Oaks was screened at the Fantastic Fest.

In an interview with Polygon, Stuckmann spoke about the film's inspiration. He said,

“We all experience things in our youth that stay with us. Some have legitimate childhood trauma. For others, maybe we saw something that kind of disturbed us, an image we’re never able to get out of our minds.”

Referring to a cracked window in one of the scenes,

“This crack in the window has always been there. The way I see that is: If something happens that creates a rift in us at a young age in our lives, if we never try to fix it, if we never try to look for help, if we never tell someone about it, it will grow and it will spiderweb, and it will shatter us. It will eventually eat us alive.”

The film stars Camille Sullivan, Brendan Sexton III, Robin Bartlett, Michael Beach and Keith David among others.

It was released theatrically on October 24, 2025.