5 Hilarious Home Alone Facts You Probably Never Heard Before

It's been 33 years since Home Alone first hit the big screen. Since then, we have been rewatching this holiday classic every year and having a blast with every second of it. Yet, there are still some fun facts about the making and release of the movie that many viewers may not know or have forgotten.

Here are some interesting details to share with friends and family as you binge Home Alone and its spinoffs this year.

1. There are two Culkins in the movie

Remember Fuller, Kevin's funny, bed-wetting cousin that no one wanted to share a bed with? If you thought he looked kind of like Kevin, you're not wrong. The boy was played by Macaulay Culkin's own brother, Kieran, who grew up to be quite a Hollywood star. In recent years, Kieran Culkin has received a few Golden Globe nominations for his brilliant performance in Succession, where he played the reckless and immature Roman Roy.

2. There's a verb 'to be Home Aloned'

For many years, Home Alone was one of the top-grossing films in the USA. For weeks after it premiered, people chose to go see it over other movies that grossed less as a result. That's how the verb 'to be Home Aloned' was born, meaning that a movie's profits suffered because of the Christmas hit. Screenwriter William Goldman mentions this in his book Who Killed Hollywood?

3. Tarantula was real, scream was not

Probably one of the most memorable scenes in the movie is when Kevin puts his brother's tarantula on the face of one of the burglars, Marv. The giant spider in the scene was totally real and as scary as we saw it on screen, so Daniel Stern, who played Marv, demanded that the scene be shot in one take.

In order not to scare the tarantula, Stern had to play the scene silently and then add his iconic piercing scream in the voice-over.

2. Angels With Filthy Souls doesn't exist

The movie that Kevin watches when there are no adults around and then uses to play his tricks looks like a credible gangster noir flick. But don't try to find it on streaming or anywhere else. Both Angels With Filthy Souls and Angels With Even Filthier Souls in Home Alone 2 were created specifically for the Chris Columbus movies.

1. Old Man Marley was not initially part of Home Alone

The storyline of McCallister's elderly neighbor, 'Old Man' Marley, who is rumored by the kids to be a serial killer but turns out to be Kevin's savior, is one of the best in the movie. Without him, we wouldn't see Kevin's growth and feel the Christmas miracle vibe.

That's why it's so shocking to discover that Marley was not originally written into the script and it was Chris Columbus who added him in later versions, proving his status as a genius filmmaker.