F.W. Murnau is known to film nerds for his revolutionary films like The Last Laugh and Sunrise, and to the rest of you as the director of the classic silent vampire movie, Nosferatu. That movie alone was enough to cement an enduring impact on pop culture, and also make some really creepy person interested in stealing his head.
Granted, this comes from Bild, which is a German tabloid, and which has all the journalistic standards the words “German tabloid” would imply. Still, the story is plenty creepy; it appears that whoever stole the head broke into the Berlin cemetary, opened the three metal coffins containing Murnau and his brothers, and made off with the famous director’s head.
As for why somebody would steal a director’s head, Bild insists an “occult element cannot be ruled out,” which, no kidding. You think, guys? You don’t generally break into a graveyard and steal a skull for laughs. Unless some film nerd is getting unusually morbid with his collectibles, that is usually the province of people who think they’re evil wizards. One hopes the skull is returned soon to the family, and a swift kick applied to whoever stole it.
(via Bild)
