Lily Collins Claims Ted Bundy’s Victims Haunted Her During Filming to ‘Thank’ Her

Though the mom of one of Ted Bundy’s victims worried that the new Netflix film, Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile, would “glorify” the killer, lead actress Lily Collins says that’s not the case. In fact, in a new interview with The Guardian, she claims that the serial killer’s late victims were actually grateful that she had taken on the role in the movie. How did she know that? Well, because they were haunting her to thank her, of course. In the interview, she explained how she would wake up every night at 3:05 a.m. while she was preparing to film the movie.

“I would go downstairs and have a cup of tea, trying to figure out why I had woken up again,” she said. “I started being woken up by flashes of images, like the aftermath of a struggle. … I discovered that 3 a.m. is the time when the veil between the realms [of the living and the dead] is the thinnest and one can be visited.” According to her, Bundy’s victims came carrying a message. “I didn’t feel scared – I felt supported. I felt like people were saying, ‘We’re here listening. We’re here to support. Thank you for telling the story.'”

We can imagine that “support” from the spirits involved in the spirits would go along way in reassuring the cast and crew that they were doing the right thing by making the movie. In another recent appearance, Zac Efron, who played Bundy, and the film’s director, Joe Berlinger, also expressed that “glorifying” the killer was the last thing they wanted to do. “I really wasn’t interested in playing a serial killer,” Zac said. “I’m not in the business of glamorizing a horrendous person or his acts, but there is something unique about the way we went into the psyche of Ted.”

Joe agreed, continuing, “We see him as needy, and the terrible human being that he was. … We’re arming a new generation with new information that just because a person looks and acts a certain way, doesn’t mean they’re good.” We bet that’s a mission that the ghosts of Bundy’s victims could definitely get behind.