Real Crime/Paranormal/Conspiracy Theories Book III

Demon House: The Ammons' Family Haunting

The Ammons haunting case, alsoknown as the 200 Demons House or Demon House, is analleged haunting and demonic possession which occurred in Gary,Indiana, in the United States in 2011. Latoya Ammons, her mother,Rosa Campbell, and her three children claimed paranormal activityoccurred in the residence. The story was publicized in January 2014and received national attention.

Background

In November 2011, Latoya Ammons, hermother, Rosa Campbell, and her three children then ages 7, 9 and 12moved into a house located at 3860 Carolina Street in Gary,Indiana.Days after the family moved in, they claimed black flies swarmed theporch in December and kept returning even after the family believedthey were killed.

Campbell initially heard footsteps inthe basement and doors creaking. Later, she alleged to have witnesseda "shadowy figure of a man pacing in the living room"and found a "boot print". Campbell claimed she waschoked by an unknown force. Ammons' 12-year-old daughter was claimedto have levitated above her bed unconscious during a sleepover with afriend. They were said to have prayed until the girl returned to thebed. The daughter had no memory of the incident. The older son wasallegedly thrown across the room by an unknown force. The younger sonallegedly had his eyes roll into the back of his head and wasgrowling saying "it's time to die," and "Iwill kill you".

The family reached out to theirphysician, Geoffrey Onyeukwu, on April 19, 2012. When he visited thehouse during the supposed haunting, he noted their behavior was"delusional". Someone from his office contactedpolice, after the police arrived, the children were taken to thehospital. The older boy was described as acting rationally, while theyounger boy "screamed and thrashed".

In 2012, the Department of ChildServices (DCS) was alerted to the family. The DCS believed that thechildren were performing for their mother. Sensational storiespublished in outlets such as the New York Daily News reported thatDCS personnel had allegedly witnessed the youngest boy "walkingup the wall backwards". 37-year police captain, CharlesAustin, believed paranormal activity occurred in the house. A photopublished by the Indianapolis Star claimed to show a "shadowyfigure" when no one was home.

The family hired Father Michael Maginotto perform an exorcism. He interviewed the family on April 22, 2012and concluded they were being "tormented by demons".He eventually performed three exorcisms, two in English and one inLatin. One exorcism was performed on Latoya Ammons.

The Ammons family moved to Indianapolisin 2012 after which the events were said to have stopped.

Skeptical analysis

Physician Geoffrey Onyeukwu had beenskeptical of the entire incident and failed to witness any paranormalincidents. In his medical notes he wrote, "delusions of ghostin home" and "hallucinations". Ammons'children had a history of "irregular school attendance"with a complaint filed against Ammons in 2009. In 2012, sheblamed her children's continued irregular attendance on the purporteddemonic activities.

According to skeptical investigator JoeNickell, police chief Charles Austin was "an admittedbeliever in the supernatural, including ghosts". Nickellreported that the photo published by the Indianapolis Star andcaptioned "Photo by Hammond Police" was, according to theHammond police chief, not an official photo and was not taken byHammond police authorities. Nickell also interviewed a number ofwitnesses and concluded that there were a number of non-supernaturalexplanations for the claimed supernatural events.

Charles Reed, the landlord, stated hehad never experienced any supernatural events at the house. His priortenants also claimed to never have such experiences. At the time,Ammons was behind on lease and used the claimed paranormal activitiesto avoid payments. The tenant who moved in after Ammons had notnoticed any paranormal events, either. Reed believed the events werea hoax.

The children were interviewed bypsychologists, and several professionals concluded "thechildren were acting deceptively and in accordance with theirmother's beliefs". Tracy Wright, a psychologist, notedthat the youngest son "acted possessed" whenever hewas challenged or was asked "questions that he did not wishto answer".

Documentary film

In 2014, Zak Bagans purchased the housefor $35,000 and demolished it in January 2016 after filming adocumentary in it, titled Demon House that was released on March 16,2018. Dread Central's Steve Barton called it "one of thesingle most compelling documentaries on the existence of thesupernatural that I've ever witnessed.". Los AngelesTimes reviewer Noel Murray called the film "hooey". According to skeptical investigator Kenny Biddle, the film has beencharacterized as a pseudo-documentary, "meaning it is filmedin a documentary style but doesn't portray real events".