Netflix’s The Deliverance is based on a terrifying true story, and there’s a documentary

If you’ve watched The Deliverance on Netflix, you’re probably wondering what happened in real life… because, amazingly, the horror movie isn’t too far from its true story.

If you like horror movies on your streaming services, Netflix has dropped an absolute banger ready to close out the summer. The Deliverance follows a family who are haunted by a demonic presence in their property, leading to social services getting involved for the wrong reasons.

Starring Andra Day, Glenn Close, and Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor, the movie takes faith-based horror to the next level… but not everything is completely fictitious.

Much like many of our favorite scary stories, there’s more than an element of truth to The Deliverance – so much so there’s a separate documentary that you can watch right now.

The Deliverance is a true story based on the Latoya Ammons case

The Latoya Ammons case, also known as the Ammons Hauntings, served as the true story inspiration for The Deliverance – which you’ll see just before the credits.

If you wait until the ending of The Deliverance, you’ll notice a woman called Latoya Ammons pop up before the credits. The new movie explains that Ammons’ real-life horror served as the basis for the story, which occurred in Gary, Indiana in 2011.

Much like Ebony and Berta, Ammons lived with her mother Rosa and three children, who were seven, nine, and 12 at the time. A few days after they moved into the property, they claimed black flies swarmed the porch, returning even after they’d been killed.

Rosa frequently said she heard footsteps and banging coming from the basement, alongside its door creaking routinely. Shadowy figures and unknown footprints were also reported, with Campbell also alleging she was choked by an unknown force.

The children also reported strange instances including levitation, but shortly after had no recollection of any such events happening. While the eldest son claimed to have been thrown across rooms, the youngest had reportedly been heard saying, “It’s time to die” and, “I will kill you.”

The family’s physician – and later the Department of Child Services – got involved, noting “delusional” behavior in the children that led to hospitalizations. Much like what Cynthia experienced with Andre, one child was allegedly “walking up the wall backward” during supervised stays.

Eventually, the family enlisted the help of Father Michael Maginot, who performed three exorcisms in the house, including one on Ammons herself. When the family moved in 2012, the strange activity completely stopped. However, physician Geoffrey Onyeukwu chalked much of what happened up to “delusions” and “hallucinations,” while outside investigators claimed police were already biased toward supernatural beliefs.

The above broke in 2014 in the Indy Star, receiving national and international attention.

Demon House documentary explained

In 2018, Zak Bagans led a paranormal investigation into the house where the Ammons Hauntings occurred, resulting in a documentary called Demon House.

Freestyle releasing

Four years after Ammons’ story emerged, Bagans, Billy Tolley, and Jay Wasley took it upon themselves to launch their own paranormal investigation on the same property. Bagans, who had been the host of Ghost Adventures, purchased the property over the phone.

Bagans originally wanted to tackle the “mass hysteria” that surrounded the case at the time, and it wasn’t long before the crew themselves became fearful.

In the documentary, Bagans and his team automatically felt anxious, later taking a former tenant down to the basement. While there, he claimed something hit her leg, causing part of the crew to quit production a few days later.

He explained to Daily Dead that same year, “It’s like the house was a disease, a contagious disease. We all got exposed to it. Some people cleared it up longer, some people cured it, some people didn’t.

“It caused some of these professional people to move out of the state after they experienced what they experienced. I’m still dealing with this affliction of my eyes, which have permanent double vision and crossing. I’m wearing prism glasses still.

“I refused surgery in both my eyes. They’ve ruled out neurological conditions. They can’t explain why this happened right after I spent time in the house. They can’t explain why Dr. Taff had organs shut down. When you start seeing this and actually being a part of it and feeling it, then you become a little submissive to it.”

Their experiences at the house also dissuaded Bagans from making a sequel or new TV shows on it, claiming he “destroyed” the property so nobody else could set foot in it.

The house has been left completely vacant since 2016, with neighbors still reporting strange occurrences in its surroundings.

How to watch

While The Deliverance is on Netflix, you can watch Demon House on Amazon Prime Video or Apple TV+.

While The Deliverance has been described as a horror movie with “originality” and “verve,” Demon House was applauded for being both entertaining and completely uncensored.

The Deliverance is available to stream on Netflix now. For more scares, check out the best serial killer documentaries of all time, the best horror movies on Prime Video, and the best scary films from Neon. You can also find more new movies streaming this month.