Is The Deliverance A True Story? How Latoya Ammons' Horrifying Real Life Inspired The Movie

5 September 2024, 14:38 | Updated: 6 September 2024, 20:03

Is The Deliverance A True Story? Here's What Happened To Latoya Ammons And Her Haunted House. Picture: Netflix

By Sam Prance

Is The Deliverance a true story? Where is the house? Here's what happened to Latoya Ammons and her haunted home.

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The Deliverance on Netflix isn't just a supernatural drama. It's based on a true story that's even more terrifying than the film.

Ever since Lee Daniels' The Deliverance was released on Netflix in August, people haven't been able to stop talking about it. The movie follows Ebony Jackson, a mother of three, who unknowingly moves into a haunted house and it's got plenty of jump scares and shocking scenes. In fact, one Glenn Close line is so wild that Lee's taken to X/Twitter to defend it.

If that weren't enough, the entire film is inspired by real life events that happened to Latoya Ammons and her family. So how much of the film is true? What really happened and where is Latoya Ammons now? We're here to break it all down for you.

What happened to Latoya Ammons?

Watch The Deliverance trailer

In November 2011, Latoya Ammons started renting a new home with her family on Carolina Street in Gary, Indiana where the entire family fell victim to strange and paranormal experiences. Soon after moving, their porch was infested by a swarm of flies in the middle of winter. Later, Latoya and her kids began hearing eerie footsteps climbing their basement stairs.

Things quickly escalated. Latoya’s mother, Rosa Campbell, claimed she saw a shadowy man pacing around their living room and on March 10th 2012, Latoya said she found her 12-year-old daughter levitating above a bed. Latoya asked their local church for help and they told her to clean the home with bleach and draw crosses with oil on the doors/windows.

Latoya also consulted clairvoyants, who told her that the home was controlled by more than 200 demons and spirits. They encouraged Latoya to move but they couldn't afford to do it so Latoya set up an altar in her basement in the hopes of banishing the spirits. Just three days later, Latoya said she and her three children were all possessed.

In April 2012, Latoya sought the help of her physician Dr. Geoffrey Onyeukwu. According to the IndyStar, Latoya’s children cursed Onyeukwu in "demonic voices". Family case manager Valerie Washington has also said on record that she saw Latoya's son Andrew walking backwards up a wall and onto the ceiling.

After the appointment with Dr. Geoffrey Onyeukwu, Latoya’s three children were then taken into custody by Indiana's Department of Child Services. They investigated Latoya for child abuse and neglect.

Where is Latoya Ammons now?

When she was no longer able to see her children, Latoya moved out of their home in Indiana and had their priest Reverend Michael Maginot perform three exorcisms on her. She moved to Indianapolis and was eventually reunited with her kids in November 2012. Speaking to IndyStar, Latoya said: "I hadn't been that happy in God knows how long."

Outside of the odd interview, Latoya has chosen to keep her life private since leaving the Carolina Street house. However, Lee Daniels told The Hollywood Reporter that he did speak with her on the phone while making The Deliverance saying: "She’s lovely. She was at peace."

Latoya's children have also remained out of the limelight but her son Armani reportedly died when he was 17 in 2021.

Where is the house in The Deliverance?

As for the real Carolina Street house that inspired the home in The Deliverance, it no longer exists. Ghost Adventures host Zak Bagans bought the place for just $35,000 in 2014 and decided to demolish it just two years later.

Speaking to IndyStar, Zak said: "Something was inside that house that had the ability to do things that I have never seen before — things that others carrying the highest forms of credibility couldn't explain either."

He ended by saying: "There was something there that was very dark yet highly intelligent and powerful."