The Horrifying True Story Behind Netflix’s ‘The Deliverance’—What Happened To Latoya Ammons?
Monica Mercuri
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Monica is an entertainment reporter covering TV, film, and music.
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Aug 31, 2024,10:48am EDT
Updated Aug 31, 2024, 11:13am EDT
The Deliverance. (L to R) Andra Day as Ebony and Anthony B. Jenkins as Andre in The Deliverance.
AARON RICKETTS/NETFLIX © 2024
If you’re a fan of
The Exorcist films, Netflix’s new horror movie
The Deliverance should be on your watchlist. It may be hard to believe, but the project is
based on real events that a family experienced over a decade ago. Read on to uncover the true story behind
The Deliverance and learn what happened to Latoya Ammons.
The Deliverance, which debuted on Netflix on August 30, is directed by Academy Award nominee Lee Daniels (known for
Precious). This film marks a reunion for Daniels with actresses Andra Day and Mo’Nique, whom he previously directed in
Billie Holiday and
Precious, respectively. The cast also includes Glenn Close, Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor, Caleb McLaughlin, and more.
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PROMOTED
Daniels told
The Hollywood Reporter that he hadn’t heard about Ammons’ story until after he made
Precious. Once he did, he “steered away” from the movie for several reasons.
“One, I felt that I didn’t want to do another story about abuse. This woman was abusing her kids — or what defines as abuse, because she was hitting the kids,” he revealed. “And two, I know how I work. I’m an open portal. And I know what I demand. And I know the spirit works through me. So what kind of spirits do I want on me? So I was just like, “No, I’m not [going to do it].”
Daniels admitted that the story “sat with him forever.” He continued, “We had never seen this story, through this lens of this African American woman, onscreen, and I just felt we’re in such dark times, and I don’t think people really know how dark of times we are in. And I felt like I needed to get reconnected to my higher power.”
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Explore the real-life story of Latoya Ammons and her account of what she and her family experienced below.
Is The Deliverance Based On A True Story?
The Deliverance. (L to R) Mo'Nique as Cynthia Henry, Glenn Close as Alberta and Andra Day as Ebony ... [+]
AARON RICKETTS/NETFLIX © 2023
Yes,
The Deliverance is inspired by the true story of Latoya Ammons. In November 2011, Ammons, her mother, and three children moved into a rental house on a quiet street of small, one-story homes in Gary, Indiana.
Ammons and her mother, Rosa Campbell, reported hearing footsteps going up the basement stairs after midnight and the creak of the door opening between the basement and the kitchen. One night, Campbell recounted waking up to see a shadowy figure of a man pacing in her living room. When she got up to investigate, she discovered large, wet boot prints on the floor.
“This is not normal,” Campbell recalled to
The Indianapolis Star in 2014. “We killed them and killed them and killed them, but they kept coming back.”
But that wasn’t the only strange thing happening in the house. Over the next few months, the incidents grew worse. Ammons described witnessing her children levitating above their beds, being physically “thrown” out of the bathroom, getting injured by flying objects and speaking in unnatural, deep voices.
Campbell recalled telling her daughter, “We need help. We need to talk to someone who knows how to deal with it.” Ammons and Campbell contacted local churches, but most refused to listen. According to the
Indy Star, one church official told the family their house had “spirits” in it and suggested they clean the home with bleach and ammonia, then use oil to draw crosses on every door and window.
Ammons also followed a clairvoyant’s advice and set up an altar in her basement. She draped a white sheet over an end table, placed a white candle and a Mary, Joseph, and Jesus statue on it, and opened a Bible to Psalm 91. She told the site that she and another person wore white T-shirts and white scarves around their heads while burning sage and sulfur throughout the house.
Ammons said nothing happened for three days, but then things took a frightening turn. The family reported that demons possessed Ammons and her children. The children’s eyes bulged, evil smiles appeared on their faces, and their voices deepened during these episodes. (Campbell told the
Indy Star that the demons did not affect her because she was born with protection from evil.)
What Happened At The Family’s Doctor Office?
The Deliverance. (L to R) Caleb McGlaughlin as Nate and Andra Day as Ebony in The Deliverance. Cr. ... [+]
AARON RICKETTS/NETFLIX © 2024
On April 19, 2012, the family visited their family physician, Dr. Geoffrey Onyeukwu. Ammons explained to the doctor the terrifying events they were experiencing. Onyeukwu told
The Indy Star that the situation was “bizarre,” adding, “Twenty years, and I’ve never heard anything like that in my life. I was scared myself when I walked into the room.”
In his medical notes, Onyeukwu wrote the words “delusions of ghost in home, “hallucinations,” “history of ghost at home,” and “delusional.” During the visit, Campbell said that Ammons’ sons cursed Onyeukwu in demonic voices. Medical staff said the youngest boy was “lifted and thrown into the wall with nobody touching him,” a DCS report reads.
Someone from the doctor’s office called 911, prompting the arrival of seven or eight police officers and several ambulances, according to Onyeukwu. “Everybody was... they couldn’t figure out exactly what was happening,” he recalled to The Indy Star.
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What Happened At The Methodist Hospital?
The Deliverance. Mo'Nique as Cynthia Henry in The Deliverance. cr.
AARON RICKETTS/NETFLIX © 2024
As police and emergency personnel took her sons to the Methodist Hospital campus in Gary, someone contacted the Indiana Department of Child Services (DCS) to investigate Ammons for possible child abuse or neglect. The unidentified caller suggested that Ammons might have a mental illness and that the children were performing for their mother.
The case was assigned to DCS family case manager Valerie Washington, who conducted the initial investigation. In her intake officer’s report, she noted that the hospital examined Ammons and her children and found them healthy, while a hospital psychiatrist concluded that Ammons was of “sound mind.”
When Washington spoke with Ammons, the 7-year-old boy began growling with his teeth, and his eyes rolled back in his head. He then locked his hands around his older brother’s throat and refused to release him until the adults pried his hands open.
Later that evening, the 7-year-old reportedly said, “It’s time to die,” in a deep voice to his older brother. “I will kill you.” In a eerie turn of events,
Washington’s original DCS report recounts that the 9-year-old had a “weird grin” and walked backward up a wall to the ceiling. He flipped over Campbell, landing on his feet, never letting go of his grandmother’s hand. Walker, the nurse at the time, corroborated this account.
“He walked up the wall, flipped over her, and stood there,” Walker told The Indy Star. “There’s no way he could’ve done that.”
When police later asked Washington if the boy had run up the wall as if performing an acrobatic trick, she answered no. According to a police report, Washington stated that the boy “glided backward on the floor, wall, and ceiling.” DCS eventually took emergency custody of the Ammons’ three children without a court order.
Was There Actually An Exorcism?
The Deliverance. Athony B Jenkins as Andre in The Deliverance.
AARON RICKETTS/NETFLIX © 2024
On April 20, 2012, a hospital chaplain contacted Rev. Michael Maginot, the priest at St. Stephen Martyr Parish in Merrillville, Ind., to perform an exorcism on Ammons’ 9-year-old son. Maginot performed three major exorcisms on Ammons at his church and blessed her new home in Indianapolis.
Afterward, Maginot stated that he was convinced demons were tormenting the family and that there were ghosts in the house. Campbell and Ammons returned to Carolina Street to allow Washington to inspect the home’s condition, accompanied by three police officers.
According to police records, one of the officers’ audio recorders malfunctioned. The power light flashed to indicate the batteries were dying despite the officer inserting fresh batteries earlier that day. When another officer recorded audio and played it back later, he heard an unknown voice whisper “Hey,” according to Lake County police records. One photo taken at the house appeared to have a cloudy white image resembling a face, while a second photo, in green, seemed to depict a female figure.
What Happened to Latoya Ammons and Her Children?
The Deliverance. (L to R) Anthony B. Jenkins as Andre, Demi Singleton as Shante and Andra Day as ... [+]
AARON RICKETTS/NETFLIX © 2024
Ammons regained custody of her children in November 2012 after moving to a new house and successfully meeting the objectives of the
DCS case plan for her family, according to the
Indy Star. In
request for dismissal of wardship filed by the DCS in January 2013, it was noted that Ammons and her children had “made progress” and participated in home-based therapy.
The report also said that the family “have not experienced any issues with demonic presences or spirits in their home … in Indianapolis,” and they are “moving on” from that point in their lives. “The family continues to attend church regularly on Sunday, but the family is no longer fixated solely on religion to explain or cope with the children’s behavior issues.”
Their haunted home was eventually purchased for $35,000, the
Courier-Journal reported. The article said that the current tenant called the police to complain when reporters and photographers showed up, and she declined offers of money and interview requests.
Where Is Latoya Ammons Now?
It’s unknown what Latoya Ammons and her children are doing now, but
The Deliverance director told
THR he spoke with her while making the Netflix movie. Daniels said that he talked to Ammons “once or twice” at the beginning of the process.
“It’s my interpretation of her life story. I purposely didn’t want to meet her because I was nervous,” he said. “But I spoke to her... And she’s lovely. She was at peace.”
The director also discussed some of his major changes from Ammons' story to the big screen. “What I’ve changed a little bit is I made her mother white because I have so many mixed-race friends and [I wanted to talk about] what it’s like to have a white mother and live in a Black girl’s body,” he explained.
“And the deliverance person was actually a guy and not a girl. But there are so many women that do this work too, that don’t get recognized, so I changed that a little bit, and of course their names and such. I really wanted to separate as much as I could so I could make it my own story.”
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