Scams, Money, & Murder: Twisted Tales – The Dark Hollywood History Behind Longlegs

Podcast: Scams, Money, & Murder (Crime House Original)
Episode: The Dark Hollywood History Behind Longlegs | Twisted Tales
Host: Heidi Wong
Release Date: March 8, 2026

Episode Overview

In this episode of Twisted Tales, host Heidi Wong delves into the chilling real-life inspirations behind Osgood Perkins’ 2024 horror film Long Legs. The discussion weaves through Hollywood history, family secrets, and infamous unsolved crimes, mapping out how Perkins’ personal and family history—particularly that of his famous father Anthony Perkins—plus real-world tragedies like the JonBenét Ramsey murder, shaped the darkness and emotional complexity at the heart of the movie. The episode asks hard questions about parental protection, secrecy, and the thin line separating love from harm, both on and off the screen.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Long Legs: Fiction Rooted in Reality

• The movie Long Legs follows FBI agent Lee Harker (Maika Monroe) as she investigates ritualistic, supernatural-tinged family murders tied to an elusive killer (Nicolas Cage).
• [02:30]: Heidi explains that Osgood Perkins mined his own family's haunted history and infamous American crimes to craft the narrative.
• Perkins is the son of Anthony Perkins (Norman Bates in Psycho), and much of the film’s emotional heartbeat comes from grappling with inherited secrecy and hidden trauma.

2. Anthony Perkins: Public Persona vs. Private Reality

• [03:50]: Anthony Perkins, Hollywood leading man and the original Norman Bates, lived a complex life, carefully managing a dual identity due to the social climate around sexuality in the mid-20th century.

• Maintained a platonic partnership with Helen Merrill for over a decade, later marrying model-actress Berry Berenson, and fathering two sons, including Osgood.

• Anthony's struggle with his sexuality, his hidden illness (HIV/AIDS), and the secrecy that shrouded his family life deeply affected Osgood.

  “Anthony Perkins was the picture of mid-century masculinity... But he also secretly liked men. And in the 1960s that was a problem, especially for a leading man like himself... He lived a kind of double life.” – Heidi Wong [06:20]

3. Family Tragedy and Secrets

• [10:40]: Anthony’s AIDS diagnosis was leaked by hospital staff to tabloids before he was ready to share it—even with family.

• Osgood and his brother were mostly kept in the dark—out of love and fear of stigma—but these buried truths created questions that haunted Osgood as he grew.

• The family experienced deep loss: Anthony died in 1992; Berry, Osgood's mother, was killed aboard Flight 11 during the 9/11 attacks. Osgood was left to unravel the family's legacy alone.

  “Osgood was just 18 at the time… he never confronted them about it. So the truth remained in the shadows, hidden just out of sight.” – Heidi Wong [12:21]

4. The JonBenét Ramsey Case and the “Doll Detail”

• [14:25]: The murder of six-year-old JonBenét Ramsey impacted Osgood, especially the eerie, real-life detail of a “My Twin” doll, custom-made to look like JonBenét, which was hidden in the basement just feet from where her body was later found.

• This “sympathetic magic” — the concept that effigies or rituals can affect reality — became a central metaphor in Long Legs, blending true crime with folklore and horror symbolism.

  “The idea that a replica of a little girl had almost predicted her fate… It made him think of voodoo dolls.” – Heidi Wong [16:41]

  “…It was one of the creepiest, most haunting things he'd ever read.” – Heidi Wong [16:20]

5. Sympathetic Magic, Family Lore, and The Creative Process

• Osgood’s fascination with the “voodoo doll” idea deepens after reading The Golden Bough by James Frazer, focused on sympathetic magic (the idea that affecting an object resembling a person can affect the person).
• Layered into this is his maternal family’s reputation for psychic abilities, which is mirrored in the psychic sensitivities of Long Legs protagonist Lee Harker.

6. Artistic Catharsis and Thematic Core

• Osgood’s filmmaking career (from The Blackcoat’s Daughter to Long Legs) explores themes of secrecy, memory, parental protection, and the pain of not fully knowing those closest to us.

• [23:20]: With Long Legs, Perkins finally had control over both script and direction, using the story to interrogate how parents (like his own mother) make impossible choices to protect their children—sometimes with damaging consequences.

  “He wanted to make a movie about how a mother could lie to her child and still believe that she was doing the right thing.” – Heidi Wong [24:10]

7. Long Legs' Story Revealed (Spoilers)

• In the film’s climax, Lee Harker discovers her mother has protected her by secretly becoming the killer’s accomplice, delivering the ritualistic dolls that “give him power” over doomed families—a direct parallel to the real-life secrets kept by Perkins’ own parents.

  "She agreed to be Long Leg's accomplice in order to keep him away from her daughter... She convinced herself she did what any mother would do." – Heidi Wong [26:30]

• The movie, like Osgood’s life, ends with more questions than answers: Did those secrets truly protect or simply inflict another kind of harm?

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “Horror ran in the Perkins family.” – Heidi Wong [03:20]
• “The sense of familiarity turning horrifying would stay with him for years.” – Heidi Wong, on Osgood acting in Psycho 2 with his father [09:20]
• “For something to actually reach him, it had to cut deep. But there was one crime that did.” – Heidi Wong, on the JonBenét case’s effect on Osgood [14:03]
• “Had his mother done the right thing by keeping those secrets? Should she have told her sons everything? If he was in her shoes, what would he have done? Those questions would haunt him for years... when he wrote and directed Long Legs.” – Heidi Wong [13:02]
• “It was about how we want to know who our parents are, and sometimes we don’t get the desire until they’re gone. It can be impossible to learn who someone is when they’re not around anymore.” – Heidi Wong, quoting Osgood Perkins [23:51]

Timestamps for Important Segments

• [01:02] Announcement and setup for episode’s theme: Long Legs and real-life horror origins
• [02:30] Introduction of Osgood Perkins and connections to real-life family secrets
• [03:50] Anthony Perkins: early life, career, and hidden private life
• [10:40] Anthony Perkins’ illness, AIDS diagnosis, and secrecy
• [12:21] After Anthony’s death: family fallout and Osgood’s unresolved questions
• [14:25] JonBenét Ramsey case and the “My Twin” doll inspiration
• [16:41] Discussion of voodoo dolls and sympathetic magic
• [21:24] Second family tragedy: Berry killed on 9/11
• [22:42] Osgood’s grieving process fuels his films
• [23:51] Osgood’s thematic mission statement in filmmaking
• [26:30] Plot reveal: Long Legs maternal betrayal and protection
• [28:40] Host’s final reflective questions to the audience

Episode Takeaways

• Long Legs is both a terrifying horror film and a poignant exploration of family secrets, love, and complicated parental protection, rooted in the real traumas and legacies that shaped Osgood Perkins’ life.
• The film blurs boundaries between fiction and reality, drawing from personal loss, unsolved crimes, folklore, and painful questions about when “protection” becomes harmful.
• Heidi leaves listeners with an open-ended question: when it comes to hiding the truth from family, is there ever a right choice?

Host’s Final Reflection:

“I’d love to hear from you. What did you think about today’s stories?... I’ll be back next week with another unbelievable true story. Until then, stay curious and remember, there’s no reason to fear the dark unless you try to hide from it.” – Heidi Wong [28:56]