Ghosts & Hauntings

Guillermo del Toro had terrifying encounter while watching 'The Wire'

By T.K. Randall
December 1, 2024

Image: AI-generated (Midjourney) Having directed such classics as The Shape of Water, Pan's Labyrinth and The Devil's Backbone, it would be fair to say that Mexican director Guillermo del Toro isn't easily phased by paranormal phenomena, terrifying tales or stories of mythological creatures.

That said, there was one encounter in particular that left him understandably shaken.

The incident in question took place several years ago when del Toro had been in New Zealand to scout out filming locations for The Hobbit (a film that he would end up not directing).

"We came to... a place called Waitomo, and I had read that there was an old hotel which had a haunted room," he recalled.

Opting to stay the night, he decided to book the haunted room for himself to see what would happen.

He later came to regret this decision, however, when later that evening - while laying on his bed watching The Wire on DVD - he heard something that would chill him to the bone."[It was] a woman shrieking... horrible blood-curdling shrieks," he recalled.

"And then a man sobbing and sighing with great regret."

The sounds continued for over five minutes, allowing him the opportunity to figure out exactly where they were coming from.

"I was able to actually track the sounds to the bathroom," he said. "I tracked them to a vent above the toilet, which went down into the cellar."

"I was not in the middle of seance, and it wasn't a stormy night. It was completely inauspicious conditions for a ghost apparition."

Unsurprisingly, del Toro was unable to sleep at all for the rest of the night.

Source: Far Out Magazine

Tags: Guillermo del Toro, Ghost, Paranormal