Is 99 Nights in the Forest based on a true story?

If you’ve seen the initial splash screen, you might’ve noticed that 99 Nights in the Forest claims to be “based on a true story.” That kind of statement always raises eyebrows; is it marketing, myth, or is it the actual truth?

Let’s try to decipher the question on everyone's minds: Is 99 Nights in the Forest based on a true story?

Part I: What do we know?

When launching the app, you're greeted with an interface that gives you a little bit of background. The narrative says that there is a haunted forest with strange creatures (like the Deer) stalking people, and mentions 4 missing children. 

On the 99 Nights in the Forest Fandom Wiki, for example, there’s a “True Story” section that gives us some possible theories too. The Wiki states that it draws inspiration from real events, and there is some supporting evidence for that. However, we'll discuss it later on.

So yes, I'd say it claims or implies that it’s grounded in reality, or at least parts of it are “inspired by” real elements.

Part II: Where the claims run into problems

The facts

When you compare the lore with actual events, things don’t line up EXACTLY. Indeed, there was an event back in June of 2023, where 4 young children were saved after spending 40 days in the Amazon rainforest. However, that's not all.

The 2024 movie, Operation Hope: The Children Lost in the Amazon, is essentially the same story, but adapted into a movie. 

The developers of 99 Nights in the Forest did not mention this particular event, but it's a dead giveaway that this is what they had in mind. 

The fiction

While I can only imagine how undeniably terrifying that experience must've been for the children, I do have my doubts regarding the Deer monster and cultists. The Deer monster is clearly something of an urban legend (likely inspired by the Wendigo myth), while the cultists are...well...cultists.

Since the Wendigo myth doesn't have its origins anywhere near the Amazon Rainforest, it's likely this is where the inspiration from real events stops.

Bottom line 

While elements are borrowed (or presumably borrowed) from survival myths, jungle crash stories, urban horror, and even real survival tales, the part where the survivors run into an actual monster is clearly fiction.

It’s common in horror games to take a kernel of plausibility and embellish it with myth and a little bit of background.

So, is 99 Nights in the Forest based on a true story?

My verdict is that it is, indeed - but it might not be in the same way you would expect. There were likely no monsters and cultists claiming the forests at night. Instead, the “based on a true story” claim here is the one with the 4 children who must've spent a truly horrifying 40 days in the rainforest. 

Who knows? I might derail the entire tale here, but who are we to say that this isn't actually the vision of one of those 4 missing children? It might as well be how they saw the events that unfolded - with the Deer monster being just a figment of their imagination, created out of pure terror at the thought of being left to fend for themselves. 

While you ponder the possibilities yourself, why not have a look at our guide on 99 Nights in the Forest endings and how to get bandages too?