{"id":8393,"date":"2026-09-01T16:52:18","date_gmt":"2026-09-01T15:52:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thetab.com\/filmshrine\/?p=8393"},"modified":"2026-09-01T16:52:18","modified_gmt":"2026-09-01T15:52:18","slug":"the-whisper-man-netflix-inspired-by-true-story-involving-the-writers-own-son","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thetab.com\/filmshrine\/2026\/09\/01\/the-whisper-man-netflix-inspired-by-true-story-involving-the-writers-own-son\/","title":{"rendered":"Help, The Whisper Man was inspired by an eerie true story involving the writer’s own son"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Whisper Man is a hit new Netflix movie about a horrifying serial killer case. Thankfully, the murders themselves are fictional, but one of the creepiest parts of the story is inspired by a real life event. <\/span><\/p>\n

Directed by James Ashcroft, the film follows author Tom Kennedy (Adam Scott) and his young son Jake (Acston Luca Porto), who move to the town of Garretton following the death of Tom\u2019s wife and Jake\u2019s mother Rebecca. <\/span><\/p>\n

Running alongside this is an investigation into a child abduction seemingly connected to an infamous serial killer known as the Whisper Man<\/a>. When Jake goes missing, Tom is sucked into the case, alongside his estranged father and former detective, Peter Willis (Robert De Niro).<\/span><\/p>\n

If you didn\u2019t already know, the Netflix<\/a> film is, in fact, based on the 2019 novel of the same name by Alex North. The killer, Frank Carter (Michael Keaton), and his horrific crimes are a figment of North’s imagination, but the same can\u2019t be said about one creepy detail. <\/span><\/p>\n

The creepy true story behind ‘the boy in the floor’<\/h2>\n
\"Jake
Credit: Netflix<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Upon the release of the novel, North spoke with Celadon Books<\/a> about the origins of the story, saying that when he moved into a new home with his then-four-year-old son, he inexplicably started speaking with “the boy in the floor”… *shudders*<\/span><\/p>\n

If you recall, in the film as in the book, Jake has an imaginary friend – the girl in the blue sweater<\/a> – but he also speaks with someone he refers to as the boy in the floor. <\/span><\/p>\n

It comes up around a third of the way through the book, when Jake grows frustrated with his dad after he says, “You were pretending to be with someone else.” After he storms off, Tom reassures him and mentions the girl, but Jake replies, “It wasn\u2019t her\u2026 it was the boy in the floor.”<\/span><\/p>\n

Later on, Tom finally realises what Jake meant when the remains of Tony Smith, the Whisper Man’s fifth victim, are discovered buried beneath the house.<\/span><\/p>\n

North never found a body in the basement, but his son did spark this part of the story. When asked about his initial idea for The Whisper Man<\/a>, the author replied, \u201cI wanted to write about fathers and sons. <\/span><\/p>\n

\"Peter,
Credit: Netflix<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

“Very specifically, I wanted to write about a widowed father struggling to connect with his grieving son. But I knew that I wanted it to be a crime novel with spooky elements, and I\u2019ve long been a fan of the forums and threads you find online where people list creepy things little kids have come out with. <\/span><\/p>\n

“Like saying ‘that’s where I used to live’ when the family is driving past a graveyard, or talking about the man with the long neck in the closet and then the parents discover someone hung themselves in the house years earlier.”<\/span><\/p>\n

North continued, “When we moved into our new house, there was a day when my son, who was about four at the time, talked about playing with ‘the boy in the floor.’<\/span><\/p>\n

“That stuck with me, and I eventually decided that Jake in the book would have imaginary friends and some of them would be quite frightening. The story developed from there.”<\/span><\/p>\n