The Lee Daniels-directed, Glenn Close and Andra Day-starring Netflix movie “The Deliverance” is getting a lot of attention for that scene (more on this later), but there’s also something else to take note of about the film: much like many a demonic possession movie that’s come before it, this one is “inspired by true events.” But what are those true events? And how much is “The Deliverance” a true story?
The movie is an imagining of what Latoya Ammons, her three kids, and her mother Rosa Campbell said they experienced at their home in Indiana in 2011, as detailed in a 2014 piece published by the Indianapolis Star.
Ammons and her children all claimed they were possessed by demons, and were so convincing that the late Gary police Capt. Charles Austin eventually conceded that after many home visits and interviews, “I am a believer.”
The outlet obtained over 800 pages of official records and also interviewed “police, DCS personnel, psychologists, family members and a Catholic priest” about the details of Ammons’ story.
Things began in 2011, when the family moved into a rental home in Gary, Indiana. Their porch was suddenly swarmed with black flies in December, unusual for that time of the year. Despite their best efforts to get rid of the flies, they returned over and over again — and that wasn’t the only thing about the home that felt off.
Both Ammons and Campbell said they would sometimes hear footsteps in the basement or creaky doors opening, despite no one being in either location. Things entered the realm of terrifying in March 2012, when Ammons said her then-12-year-old levitated above a bed. When she woke up, the girl couldn’t remember anything that happened.
The pair began to reach out to community members, hoping for help or anything that could help them understand what might be happening in their home. Eventually, the paper wrote, officials at a church told them the house had been known to “have spirits in it.” They reached out to two psychics who said the home contained more than 200 spirits. Ammons “poured olive oil on her three children’s hands and feet, then smeared oil in the shape of crosses on their foreheads” to protect them.
Ammons and Campbell saged the home and burned sulfur; they made an altar and wore all white. For three days the family had peace, but then demons allegedly possessed Ammons and all three children. Campbell, she said, was spared “because she was born with protection from evil.”
The family consulted their doctor, Dr. Geoffrey Onyeukwu, and eventually a report was written up by the Department of Children’s Services. In one section of the report, staff of Methodist Hospital said that Ammon’s youngest son was “lifted and thrown into the wall with nobody touching him.”
DCS family case manager Valerie Washington investigated the claims and evaluated Ammons and her children, all of whom were found to be safe and without any evidence of physical abuse on their bodies; Ammons was found to be of sound mind. Instead of finding fault with Ammons, Washington witnessed the youngest boy growl like an animal and attempt to choke his brother.
She and nurse Willie Lee Walker brought the two boys into a separate room, where the youngest told the older, “It’s time to die. I will kill you.”
Then, according to Washington’s report and backed up by Walker, the older brother “walked backward up a wall to the ceiling,” flipped over Campbell, and landed — all while holding his grandmother’s hand. In the police report, Washington said the 9-year-old “glided backward on the floor, wall and ceiling.”
Ammons’ children were removed from her care and placed in DCS custody.
In 2012, the family enlisted the help of Rev. Michael Maginot. After a four hour conversation with the family, Maginot was a believer. The family left the home for a week, only to return so that DCS — accompanied by two police officers out of “professional curiosity” — could investigate. One of the officers was Austin.
Both officers reported issues with their audio recorders and radios in their vehicles. Austin also said his garage door at home wouldn’t open, and his car seat moved of its own accord.
Throughout 2012, Ammons petitioned to have her children returned to her custody. Clinical psychologist Stacy Wright, who evaluated her youngest, concluded that, “This appears to be an unfortunate and sad case of a child who has been induced into a delusional system perpetuated by his mother and potentially reinforced.”
Clinical psychologist Joel Schwartz, who evaluated the older two children, also concluded, “There also appears to be a need to assess the extent to which (Ammons’ daughter) may have been unduly influenced by her mother’s concerns that the family was exposed to paranormal experiences.”
As the DCS case against Ammons built, her home was still being investigated by authorities. Church officials conducted “an intense blessing” on the home; those who were part of the investigation began to experience health problems. Maginot performed three exorcisms on Ammons, the last of which took place in June 2012.
Ammons’ landlord, Charles Reed, told the Indianapolis Star that no other tenants had reported problems before or after her tenure in the house. Ammons was awarded custody of her children in November 2012, and the family left the home (which was demolished in 2016) for good.
Oh, and as for that scene mentioned above? It truly has to be seen to be believed, and Daniels clearly has absolutely zero regrets.
Leave a Reply