Well I've just finished watching TCM... good movie... and the only part that spooked me out was when I realised that the footage at the end of the police officers being attacked after leading the camera into the furnace room was actual footage...

Now this is a really bizarre story to me, and these folks were REALLY twisted. In fact I find the story so far fetched I'm wondering how much of it is actually true... any links to the real life story on the chainsaw massacre? I'd apreciate it.

None of it is true. The murders were loosely based on the killings by Ed Gein

Ed Gein

Is that the first film or the crappy recent remake?

The "based on a true story" was really just a selling point as mowo said Ed Gein was the very loose inspiriation behind it.

http://www.snopes.com/movies/films/chainsaw.asp

the whole "based on a true story thing" was simply marketing genius. just like with the movie "hidalgo."

I didn't see Texas Chainsaw Massacre, but after reading the link that Mowo provided, I think it is safe to say that you could make a movie directly based on this guy's life and have it be extremely twisted, disturbed and disgusting. Sometimes life truly is more unbelievable than fiction could ever be.

they would have us believe that TCM is based on Thomas Hewitt aka leatherface, my googling came up with no real facts, some say based on Ed Gein, other say four or more serial killers, guess we will never know

if it was thomas hewitt, he was never found, and do you think he would just stop killing if he was real

TCM is NOT based on anyone at all. SOME of the events are based on 4 or 5 US serial type killers habits. Just inspirations thats all. When it says on the film 'BASED ON TRUE STORY/EVENTS' this is to be taken with a pinch of salt because under federal US law you are entitled to say this even if the story is only set in the same state!

Tcm is losely based on Ed Gein, like every other slasher movie. The part about hung carcasses and the fridge full of human remains and even a body suit made of human skin are all true! When Ed gein was caught in the 1950's it sent shockwaves across america, cause no one could believe all that was said about him and the things he had done. Infact his fixation with his mother was also the Inspiration for the first slasher movie "Psycho" by one of the greatest directors of all time Alfred Hitchcock.
There was a movie made on the life of Ed Gein but it sucked big time, and you'll probably fall asleep before the movie ends.

I think it is probably like some of the other movies like this. It IS based on some fact, there WAS a chainsaw massacre, but the specific events that happened during it are unknown and were written about at a later time. Hidalgo was an awesome movie, and that WAS based on fact as well, there WAS a horse called Hidalgo, and his master and him probably did win that race, but the events during it (Romance, fighting, ETC) were written so people would see it. No one knows what happened to Hidalgo along the way, so they had to stab at it and make it into a good movie.