THE REAL STORY OF THE AMMONS FAMILY HAUNTING WILL DELIVER YOU FROM THE DELIVERANCE!
DID YOU KNOW? The real story of the family that inspired the Netflix new horror movie, The Deliverance is way more terrifying than the film ITSLEF
The Deliverance, the new horror film on Netflix is inspired by some freaky events that began in November 2011, when Latoya Ammons, her mother, Rosa Campbell, and her three children then ages 7, 9 and 12 moved into an old house at 3860 Carolina Street in Gary, Indiana. Days after they moved in, Latoya claimed black flies swarmed the porch on a freezing cold December day and kept returning even after the family believed they killed them. But that’s just the tip of the fly covered iceberg for The Ammons family haunting. Also known as the “Gary, Indiana Demon House” case, it is now one of the most well-documented paranormal events in recent American history. Some of the most chilling facts known to the public are due to the investigative journalism of Marisa Kwiatowski of the IndyStar in 2014 entitled; The exorcisms of Latoya Ammons
Here is their tale as detailed by the IndyStar:
Headline from newspaper about Ammons family haunting
In the winter of 2011, Latoya Ammons was under incredible scrutiny for claiming that her house and family were possessed by several demonic entities and that their basement may indeed be a portal to hell. In a time when less and less of our society believes in Christianity and God and the Devil, demonic possession tales become harder and harder to accept even as a scare tactic in a horror movie. But despite skepticism, the Ammons family haunting remains one of the most bizarre and well-documented urban legends of modern times, with dozens of eyewitnesses and official reports backing up the claims.
Police Capt. Charles Austin, a 36-year veteran of the Gary, IN Police Department, believed initially that Indianapolis resident Latoya Ammons and her family were full of crap, concocting an unbelievable tale of terror as a way to make money and gain internet fame. However, after several visits to the Ammons family home and after multiple interactions and interviews with eyewitnesses, Austin now claims, "I am a believer."
The home no longer exists where the Ammons family lived but was commonly referred to as “the house of 200 demons” by many paranormal investigators and locals who feared its existence. The house had a history even prior to Latoya Ammons and her mother, Rosa Campbell, claiming that they were plagued by demonic entities, who tormented their Indiana family.
OVER 800 PAGES OF OFFICIAL DOCUMENTS AND REPORTS
A lot of investigative work was done by law enforcement, child services, and medical professionals, resulting in hundreds of pages of reports detailing various phenomena. From the family’s experiences to witnesses’ observations, it wasn’t a case that was or is easily explainable. The level of official documentation is highly unusual for paranormal cases and helps to deepen the credibility of the story while also drummin up many more questions with few logical answers.
800 pages of demonic documentation
In other documents and in multiple testimonies, Campbell reported hearing footsteps in the basement and doors creaking. She additionally alleged to have witnessed a "shadowy figure of a man pacing in the living room" and found a "boot print" shortly thereafter. Campbell claimed she was choked by an unknown force and witnessed many more horrific occurrences while living in the house. The children were equally taunted by malevolent forces even outside of the home according to the family, as Ammons' 12-year-old daughter was claimed to have levitated above her bed unconscious during a sleepover at a friend’s house. The family said they prayed until the girl returned to the bed, while Ammon's daughter had no memory of the incident. The oldest son was allegedly thrown across the room by an unknown force but the worst reports centered around Ammon’s youngest child.
Latoya Ammons, a demon and Rosa Campbell, the Demon House
YOUNGEST AMMONS CHILD, POSSESSED, CRAWLS UP A WALL BACKWARD
The younger son was reported to have had his eyes roll into the back of his head demonically and was growling saying "it's time to die," and "I will kill you". Yet that isn’t even the craziest report as one of the most terrifying and baffling details of the case was an event recorded in official child services records. A child services caseworker and a nurse, both claim to have witnessed one of the Ammons children creepily crawling backward up a hospital wall and then do a flip in a very non-human way.
UNEXPLAINED MEDICAL PHENOMENON:
The medical reports tell us the stories of how the Ammons children were taken to the hospital several times during the ordeal at the house. Doctors and nurses were perplexed by their symptoms, which included blackouts, strange behavior, and inexplicable injuries, with no clear medical explanation. Something was happening to them, but what?
A close up of one of the 800 documented reports from the real Ammons haunting files in 2011
CHILD SERVICES REPORTS
Due to concerns over the children’s well-being amid claims of possession and disturbing behavior, child protective services temporarily removed the Ammons children from their home. However, many of the workers involved in the case reported feeling a sense of unease or dread during their visits. Bad vibes sure did follow this family and the house.
PSYCHIATRIC CONUNDRUMS
As multiple psychiatrists evaluated Latoya Ammons and her children, none could not find any clear mental illness or psychological explanation for their experiences--other than environmental as well as addiction related struggles. Some of the professionals involved acknowledged that they could not explain what they had seen or heard during the case which leaves many unanswered questions still haunting those involved to this day.
UNEXPLAINED POLICE PHOTOS CAPTURE THE DEMONIC PHENOMENON
During an investigation at the Ammons home, police officers took photos that appeared to show strange shadowy figures and ghostly faces. One photo captured what looked like a figure in a window, despite the house being empty at the time.
Photo captured by police that allegedly claims a ghostly figure in the window
LATOYA AMMONS WAS NOT THE FIRST VICTIM OR WAS SHE?
Latoya Ammons and her family weren’t the first to experience strange occurrences in the house. Conflicting reports claimed that prior tenants reported unusual activity, although none reached the extreme levels claimed by the Ammons family. While other tenants deny any such happenings. Lore and Urban Legends swirl wildly around the area blurring fact and fiction even further.
DEMONS BEWARE OF FATHER MICHAEL MAGINOT
The family hired Father Michael Maginot, a Catholic priest, to perform an exorcism. He interviewed the family on April 22, 2012, and concluded they were being "tormented by demons" so he acted out of desperation to help them. He eventually performed three exorcisms, two in English and one in Latin. One exorcism was performed on Latoya Ammons. What’s less known is that he had no prior experience with exorcisms and gained emergency permission from the diocese to carry them out.
Demon House Documentary by Zak Bagans.
THE DEMON HOUSE DOCUMENTARY:
In 2014, the house was purchased by paranormal investigator Zak Bagans, the host of Ghost Adventures. With financial and investigative intentions Bagans went into the house looking to get to the bottom of the possession. But after documenting his own strange experiences in the home, Bagans and what the house allegedly did to others, he had it demolished in 2016, believing that the demonic presence lingered in the property and could not be gotten rid of. Bagans turned his findings into the Documentary:
While many think the film has value: Steve Barton Of Dread Central, called the film "one of the single most compelling documentaries on the existence of the supernatural that I've ever witnessed".
Others felt it was a hokey hoax of epic proportions: Noel Murray Of the Los Angeles Times, said the film was essentially an, “extended episode of Bagans' Travel Channel series Ghost Adventures.” He also said that the film,” might terrify some of Bagans' fans, but skeptics might be bored and confused.” Additionally, according to skeptical investigator Kenny Biddle, Bagans film has been characterized as a pseudo-documentary, "meaning it is filmed in a documentary style but doesn't portray real events".
After watching it myself, it is indeed hard to take Bagans seriously. He just comes across as trying too hard to be “deep” and his vibe seems very artificial which makes him an untrustworthy narrator who wears his sunglasses at night, IMHO. But…it is free to stream on Tubi so see for yourself: https://tubitv.com/movies/672240/demon-house?start=true&tracking=google-feed&utm_source=google-feed
WAS THIS A TRUE STORY OR SOME BULLSHIT?
Many believe the story was a coordinated effort to gain notoriety, money and additionally create an excuse for abusive behavior on the part of Latoya Ammons. The owner of the house, Landlord Charles Reed, stated he had never experienced any supernatural events at the house at all. His prior tenants also claimed to never have such experiences but some stories claimed they did so the truth is blurred between fact and fiction in Urbex lore. At the time of the incident, Ammons was behind on lease and used the claimed paranormal activities to avoid payments. The tenant who moved in after Ammons had not noticed any paranormal events, either. Reed believed the events were a hoax.
The children were also interviewed by many psychologists, and while some events were said to have been recorded several other professionals concluded "the children were acting deceptively and in accordance with their mother's beliefs". Tracy Wright, a psychologist who spent time with the youngest son, noted that he "acted possessed" whenever he was challenged or was asked "questions that he did not wish to answer."
While there are many eye witnesses who saw things that were out of the ordinary, it is indeed a hard story to assume is true. Especially if you are in the crowd of people who do not believe in demons or the unquestioned existence and teachings of the Catholic Church/Christianity.
THE NERD HORROR HOT TAKE: THE NETFLIX MOVIE DOESN’T DO THE STORY JUSTICE
While the truth in the legend of the Ammons Family Haunting will always be questioned, there is no doubt it makes for a good horror story. The Netflix movie of the incident debuted to much fanfare but ultimately many fans felt like it missed the mark. It seems like “The Deliverance” would have worked much better if it stuck to the core of what Lee Daniels does best. He excels at creating powerful domestic dramas infused with the real-world issues like emotional despair and the painful realities of abuse, emotional immaturity, addiction, poverty and racism. While those elements were there they were either muddled by poor special effects, bad writing and pacing issues that ultimately doomed some scenes to forever be meme level cringe and cheese.
This Netflix film is a reunion for Daniels with two actresses he excelled with in the past, Andra Day and Mo’Nique, whom he previously directed in Billie Holiday and Precious. The cast also includes the immortal Glenn Close (who is terrifying at times), Caleb McLaughlin of Stranger Things, Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor and more. Director Lee Daniels knows the land of heart felt/real world drama very well as demonstrated by his Academy Award-winning 2009 film “Precious.” But even a stellar cast can’t save this film from sucking. This film was a drama that had some horror elements it didn’t know what to do with and clearly lacked the punch needed to take it to the promised land. It was on the cusp of being an incredible drama about an addict losing her grip on reality and then it felt like someone forced the exorcist into it and it was destroyed. It’s like he was trying to fit two different movies together, with uneven and disappointingly unconvincing results.
X CAME FOR DANIELS
It’s unfortunate too as I remember reading the original story that inspired it back in like 2015 and what I saw in my mind was much scarier than what Daniels delivered. The controversy due to the inclusion of white actress Glenn Close (as Alberta) replacing the real Rosa Campbell immediately caused Black Twitter to erupt.
While Day is truly exceptionally believable while leading the film especially in the first two acts, Glenn Close's stereotypical portrayal of a character is the most internet juicy actress to come out of The Deliverance. There's been some very strong reactions to her lines in the film, as a walking stereotype of a character--which is exactly what Daniels had in mind.
“Every Black person knows an Alberta. She’s part of the fabric of our community, but we’ve never seen her on screen before,” Daniels wrote. “Thank you, Glenn, for bringing her magnificently to life.”
Lee Daniels X post defending his character and casting Glenn Close
I don’t think anybody would have ever thought in 2024 they’d be seeing Glenn CLose looking like Danny DeVito’s Penguin or hearing Glenn Close say…”I can smell your nappy pussy.”
Yes, Glenn Close really said that LOL
Obviously this was taking liberty with the source material to another level. Another odd change In the Netflix version of the film from the real story was the Catholic priest is replaced by Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor as Reverend Bernice James. For her role, Ellis-Taylor trained under Apostle Louis Dickens for a few months to learn the nuances of deliverance ministry and the cleansing of demons. But she also was bogged down by lame religious lingo and cheesy lines.
With the film, still number one on Netflix at the time of the writing of this review, it’s safe to say Daniels new movie is indeed a hit. But we may not know if the success is due to seeing the spectacle of Glenn Close’s strong nose for “nappiness” or those that want to watch a train wreck over and over—-or if people really did enjoy, it in spite of its obvious flaws. Personally the ending was so boringly tortuous and nonsensical it was just hard to sit through so I feel like Glenn Close is the reason because this movie is truly a horror of a horror movie.
All in all I think you should watch The Deliverance if you have not seen it already. I am a firm believer that everyone should see everything at least once, If you do, then you can form your own opinion on it.
However either way the original story is terrifying to me in two ways specifically. 1) If this really happened to this family, then that leaves a lot of unanswered questions about what we know about reality. 2) If this was a coordinated hoax between a family, then that is horrific that any parents/grandparents would do this to children and makes you question what horrific life circumstances would push people to that level?