David Lynch's creepiest ever scene was inspired by a true story

David Lynch, the extraordinary filmmaker whose directing credits include The Elephant Man, Twin Peaks and Mulholland Drive, has died aged 78.

His family announced his death in a Facebook post on Thursday (January 16) which said: "There's a big hole in the world now that he's no longer with us. But, as he would say, 'keep your eye on the donut and not on the hole'."

Lynch usually dabbled with the themes of horror across his work and there's one scene in particular from Lost Highway that's absolutely terrifying.

And what's worse, it was inspired by a true story.

The synopsis for the 1997 film on Rotten Tomatoes said: "Lynch fashions two separate but intersecting stories, one about a jazz musician (Bill Pullman), tortured by the notion that his wife is having an affair, who suddenly finds himself accused of her murder.

"The other is a young mechanic (Balthazar Getty) drawn into a web of deceit by a temptress who is cheating on her gangster boyfriend. These two tales are linked by the fact that the women in both are played by the same actress (Patricia Arquette)."

The disturbing scene is played out by Fred (Pullman) and a character known as the Mystery Man (Robert Blake).

In the scene, the creepy Mystery Man approaches Fred at a party and says they've met before. Fred dismisses it but the Mystery Man insists they have, at Fred's house no less, with his creepy smile widening and eyes bulging. The Mystery Man then says he's there right now.

The Mystery Man then pulls out a phone and urges Fred to call his own landline. He does and, sure enough, the Mystery Man is somehow replying to him on the other end of the phone while being stood directly in front of him.

Both Mystery Men then laugh iconically menacingly in tandem with one another with the one standing in front of Fred collecting his phone and then leaving.

And these events were inspired by something that happened to Lynch in real life.

A viral Instagram post from @kinotwist_ said: "[Lynch] claims his intercom buzzed early one morning and when he answered it, a voice on the other end that he didn't recognise said 'Dick Laurant is dead'.

"However, by the time he got to the front of the house to look out the window, there was no one outside."

How creepy is that...

How to join the indy100's free WhatsApp channel

Sign up to our free indy100 weekly newsletter

Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.