One of America’s most documented cases of alleged demonic possession — that was the real-life 2011 experience in Gary, Indiana involving LaToya Ammons and her family, which served as inspiration for Netflix’s ‘The Deliverance’.
While director Lee Daniels does take some creative liberties in his version of the story, these events are based off of real life experiences and confirmed by credible sources.
The following details are all based on the true events that occurred to Ammons and her family.
In November 2011, Latoya Ammons, her mother Rosa Campbell and three children moved to Carolina Street in a rental house. After they moved in, strange things began to happen.
Ammons and Campbell experienced footsteps on the basement stairs, a shadowy figure in the living room. Very soon they become worse.
Ammons described her children levitating, being thrown by unseen forces, and speaking in demonic voices.
On April 19, 2012, the family visited Dr. Geoffrey Onyeukwu. He was disturbed by what he witnessed. His notes on the case, described things such as “delusions” and “hallucinations,” but he confessed that what was most terrifying to him were the children’s unnatural behaviour. During the visit, a staff member reported seeing one of the children lifted and thrown against the wall.
The Indiana Department of Child Services (DCS) soon learned of this case. Case manager Valerie Washington looked into the family and witnessed one of their most horrifying moments. In an interview, she said Ammons’ then-9-year-old son once was lifted and thrown into the kitchen by his head, after that, he walked backward up a wall to the ceiling. Walker corroborated her account but never actually witnessed either of those claims himself. That, along with other strange events prompted DCS to temporarily remove the kids.
Local priest Father Michael Maginot was called in to perform exorcisms. He conducted three major exorcisms on April 20, 2012. Police and medical staff there witnessed odd things happening in the home. Skeptic at first, Gary Police Capt. Charles Austin said shortly after the trial that he was now a believer after witnessing unexplained events during visits to the house.
In November 2012, Latoya Ammons got her children back and moved to Indianapolis, the paranormal activity stopped. Although some skeptics allege the causes are psychological or environmental, it remains an unsettling case with more than one reliable witnesses in support.
The house itself was later purchased by paranormal investigator Zak Bagans, who documented his experience in the 2018 film Demon House.