Steven Spielberg Acquires Rights to Reddit Horror Story

Steven Spielberg is taking the concept of a viral story to a whole new level with the acquisition of rights to a Reddit horror story.

Reported by Variety, Spielberg's Amblin Partners has picked up the movie rights to The Spire in the Woods, author Tony Lunedi's ghost story which first gained notice on the "No Sleep" subreddit. Amblin is teaming up with Vertigo Entertainment's Roy Lee and Jon Berg to adapt the story.

The story -- which has been renamed The Bells -- followed the story of a teen boy who is convinced that his friend's suicide is connected to local, supernatural legend. The story, which first appeared as a 10-part series on Reddit in 2013, was published by Lunedi as a book in 2017. The full story remains available on Reddit, where you can read it here.

This isn't the first time a story from "No Sleep" has gotten Hollywood's attention. In December, news broke that Deadpool star Ryan Reynolds will produce The Patient Who Nearly Drove Me Out of Medicine, a story by writer Jasper DeWitt that also appeared on the popular Reddit page. That story, which follows "an idealistic young doctor who tries to solve a mystery and heal its most difficult patient", will see Reynold's Maximum Effort production company also team up with Vertigo's Lee and Berg.

Lee, who founded Vertigo in 2002, has credits that include The Ring, The Grudge, It, and the Lego movies. Berg, who joined Vertigo in 2017, previously served as Warner Bros. co-president of production and oversaw DC films for the studio. His credits include Justice League, Wonder Woman, and Aquaman. As for Spielberg, he has two projects that he is executive producing due out this year, Men in Black International hitting theaters on June 14th and Cats, currently scheduled for release on December 20th.

What do you think about Reddit's The Spire in the Woods getting the Hollywood treatment? Let us know in the comments below.