Are ‘Orphan’ and ‘Orphan: First Kill’ based on a true story? The real-life Esther, explained

Back in 2009, psychological horror film Orphan perplexed the minds of horror fans around the world upon its release. The film centers on a married couple who adopt a nine-year-old girl named Esther from an orphanage, after having suffered through a recent miscarriage. Unbeknownst to them, Esther is not at all what she appears to be. Behind her apparent charm, Esther’s true agenda is embedded with sinister intentions that threaten the entire family. The success of the first film eventually led to a follow-up prequel — titled Orphan: First Kill — which is set to release later this month.

The movie’s spine-tingling plot easily resonated with horror fans, and has become a memorable staple in horror over the years. And while the events that happen within the film are terrifying enough, the real-life inspiration behind the idea will make your skin crawl. Before the prequel officially arrives on Aug. 19, let’s take a concrete look at the origin story behind Esther.

Is Orphan based on a true story?

While horror movies like Tobe Hooper’s classic slasher The Texas Chain Saw Massacre and Bryan Bertino’s sleeper hit The Strangers were marketed as retelling “true events,” Orphan was truthfully based on an actual case. The inspiration behind the psychological horror was Barbora Skrlová — a 33-year-old Czech woman who spent years posing as a 13-year-old boy named Adam in Norway, where she was eventually discovered and arrested.

However, after Czech authorities and investigators spent months digging through Skrlová’s past, it was revealed that it was not the first time that the adult woman had conned her way into a family’s good graces. Years prior, Skrlová moved in with a family of two sisters, where she managed to manipulate one of the sisters’ two children and forced violent behavior and punishments on the children, such as locking them up alone in a basement.

Is Orphan: First Kill based on a true story?

Considering Skrlová had committed heinous crimes in the past — which includes acts of child abuse — it is highly likely that the prequel could focus on the years before she posed as Adam. Although, the follow-up movie could purely be fiction, and used as a sequel that simply drives the narrative along for audiences to return to watch the intriguing story.

On the other hand, several years after the release of Orphan, a similar case in Indiana was reported — where a couple, revealed as Kristine and Michael Barrett — adopted a six-year-old Ukrainian girl named Natalia Grace, who had a documented case of dwarfism. Over time, the couple reported that she wasn’t who she appeared to be at all, and that she had displayed signs of strange behavior and violent outbursts. However, Natalia later accused the couple of neglecting her, and that she was actually a child during the events. And while Michael claims the couple knew Natalia was actually a child, Kristine still claims that Natalia was simply posing as a child to commit devious behavior.

As a result, the case of Natalia Grace could very well be the newest inspiration behind the upcoming prequel. Or, the prequel could be a Hollywood-driven narrative that uses creativity and originality to continue the chilling story of Esther — all while proving her an intriguing origin story.

Disregarding the inspiration behind the prequel, Orphan is undoubtedly based on a real-life story that seems almost too bizarre to actually imagine. Nevertheless, we’ll see if Orphan: First Kill follows in truthful footsteps when the movie releases in select theaters and on Paramount Plus on Aug. 19.