Is Girl in the Basement based on a true story? Girl in the Basement is part of Lifetime’s “Ripped From the Headlines” collection of feature films, which also includes movies such as Dirty Little Secret, Suitcase Killer, and He’s Not Worth Dying For. While Girl in the Basement and these other movies are not true crime docuseries or documentaries, they are based on real criminals and actual events.
Girl in the Basement is about Sara, a teenager who gets imprisoned by her father Don in their home’s basement. In order to cover his tracks, Don concocts a story for his wife Irene about Sara running away. However, in reality, Don has been holding Sara captive, torturing her, and raping her, causing Sara to give birth to several children. Don fools Irene into thinking that Sara, having ran away, sent her youngest son to Don and Irene, convincing Irene to take care of the boy with Don. Later, Sara escapes to tell her story to the world, and Don and Irene are confronted with the reality of Sara’s situation.
Girl in the Basement is a loose adaptation of a true crime that happened in Austria. Like most movie or series adaptations of true crime stories, Girl in the Basement is actually a somewhat milder version of the real events on which it was based. Here’s everything viewers need to know about the true story behind Lifetime’s Girl in the Basement.
What Is Girl In The Basement Based On?
Girl in the Basement is 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. Elisabeth’s 24-year ordeal began when Josef lured her into the basement, used an ether-soaked rag to knock her unconscious, and then locked her up under their house. Josef even forced Elisabeth write a letter to her mother Rosemarie, claiming that Elisabeth not only ran away from their hometown, but that she also didn’t want to be found. Beginning in 1984, Josef sexually assaulted his daughter Elisabeth almost daily, and their first child was born in 1988. Generally speaking, the fictional basements in crime/horror stories are all loosely based on the actions of not just Josef but many other real-life criminals who successfully hid their crimes from the world using underground/soundproof spaces.
In fact, a ground floor tenant in the Fritzl home stayed there for 12 years without ever finding out that Elisabeth birthed a total of seven children. While three remained in captivity and were tortured by Josef alongside Elisabeth, one died shortly after being born. Josef disposed of the body using their incinerator. The three other kids were cared for by Josef and Rosemarie, as Josef fooled both Rosemarie and social workers into thinking that their three grandchildren were abandoned by Elisabeth. In 1994, Josef even forced Elisabeth and her three captive children to dig with their bare hands to expand their prison. Though Girl in the Basement offers a slightly milder version of this true story, the movie avoids the common true crime story problem of being sympathetic to the perpetrator, as Don is a fairly accurate portrayal of the twisted and manipulative Josef. When Elisabeth’s first child got sick, Josef agreed to send her to the hospital, ultimately resulting in Josef Fritzl’s arrest on April 26, 2008.
Where Is Elisabeth Fritzl Now?
Girl in the Basement‘s true story inspiration has a bittersweet ending, as Elisabeth and her six children now safely live in an undisclosed location while being guarded by Austrian authorities. After the trial for the case was concluded, Elisabeth was given a new name for privacy. Her kids, who are now adults, not only sleep in rooms with doors that are permanently open but also undergo therapy sessions to help them process the trauma of Josef’s actions. While Girl in the Basement accurately depicts Elisabeth and her children’s harrowing ordeal, knowing the real story behind the movie helps in painting a full picture for audiences, which is why true crime viewers should watch documentaries and docuseries as well. Though revisiting these horrible real events may cause undue trauma for certain audience members, it definitely helps in understanding why these crimes happen, how they can be prevented, and what can be done to help victims of extreme trauma.
