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E205: The Ammons Family Haunting/ The Demon House
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The Ammons family, including mother Latoya Ammons, her three children (two boys aged 7 and 9 and a girl, age 12– their names have never been released), and Latoya’s mother (Rosa Campbell) moved into a rental home located at 3860 Carolina Street in Gary, Indiana in November 2011. It seemed ideal for the family…but it wasn’t long after the Ammons moved in that bizarre things began happening. You see, this week’s case is one of a woman and her family who have publicly proclaimed that their home (if not themselves as well) was possessed by a demonic entity– or, in this case, upwards of 200 demons. Was this a true case of possession or was it all a hoax?
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Transcript
Introduction to Spooky Season and Dr. Gallagher
00:00:00
Speaker
This week, I am bringing you an episode in honor of spooky season while I continue to work on editing and conducting interviews for my next few cases. Those obviously need and deserve all of the time and attention that I can afford. So as I work on those, I am bringing you a case that just might literally give you nightmares or at least make you jump at shadows.
00:00:29
Speaker
Before I get into the tale, I wanted to tell you about a related story, the story of an Ivy League educated board certified psychiatrist named Dr. Richard Gallagher.
00:00:42
Speaker
Why am I bringing him up? Because he is the man the exorcist calls in order to evaluate the person in question to determine whether they are actually possessed or whether they are suffering from mental illness. And he has been a demonic consultant for more than 25 years.
Dr. Gallagher's Belief in Possessions
00:01:03
Speaker
In fact, CNN correspondent John Blake wrote an article about him called, When Exorcists Need Help, They Call Him, referring to a statement in the article from Reverend Gary Thomas, one of the United States most well-known exorcists. While some physicians question Gallagher, and although he is a man of science, he argues that while it is much rarer than we think,
00:01:32
Speaker
possessions are real. He knows because he's seen them. He's seen religious objects fly off of shelves. He's heard people speak perfect Latin who knew not a word before. He even, in a story told in detail in the article, met a woman who gave details of his own life that she couldn't possibly have known.
00:01:58
Speaker
everything from significant memories like how his mother died to small ones that his cats fought the night before one of their sessions. Creepiest of all, the article details an act that happened when Dr. Gallagher was speaking with a priest about the woman, whom he nicknamed Julia. The article says this, quote,
00:02:22
Speaker
He was talking on the phone with Julia's priest one night, he says, when both men heard one of the demonic voices that
Skepticism and Doubt: Dr. Novella and John Blake
00:02:29
Speaker
came from Julia during her transes, even though she was nowhere near a phone and thousands of miles away.
00:02:39
Speaker
Still others, like Gallagher Critic, Yale School of Medicine professor and neurologist Stephen Novella in that same article, argues the following, quote, The worst thing you can do to a patient who is delusional is to confirm their delusions, says Novella, who founded the New England Skeptical Society.
00:02:59
Speaker
Quote, the primary goal of therapy is to reorient them to reality, telling a patient who is struggling that maybe they're possessed by a demon is the worst thing you can do. It's only distracting them from addressing what the real problem is, end quote. You see, Novella wants proof, proof of levitation, proof of objects flying, et cetera. Without those, how do we know for sure? He questions.
00:03:26
Speaker
But Gallagher doesn't believe that lack of evidence for proof equates to proof that they don't happen. Instead, as John Blake writes of Gallagher, quote, he says, demons won't submit to lab studies or allow themselves to be easily recorded by video equipment. They want to sow doubt.
00:03:46
Speaker
not confirm their existence, he says, nor will the church compromise the privacy of a person suffering from possession just to provide film to skeptics." I bring up Dr.
The Ammons Family Case Begins
00:04:01
Speaker
Gallagher and his critic Novella because those are the same two sides of the case that I bring to you with the case I'm going to cover this week. It's the tale of a woman, her mother, and her children.
00:04:15
Speaker
who have publicly proclaimed that their home, if not themselves as well, was possessed by a demonic entity, or in this case, upwards of 200 demons. Was this a true case of possession? Or was it all a hoax? This is the case of the Ammons family haunting the Demon House.
00:05:14
Speaker
Welcome to Coffee and Cases where we like our coffee hot and our cases cold. My name is Allison Williams. And my name is Maggie Dameron.
00:05:23
Speaker
We will be telling stories each week in the hopes that someone out there with any information concerning the cases will take those tips to law enforcement. So justice and closure can be brought to these families with each case. We encourage you to continue in the conversation on our Facebook page, coffee and cases podcast, because as we all know, conversation helps to keep the missing person in the public consciousness, helping keep their memories alive. So sit back, sip your coffee and listen to what's brewing this week.
Unexplained Events at the Ammons Home
00:05:52
Speaker
The Ammons family, including mother Latoya Ammons, her three children, two boys aged seven and nine and a girl aged 12. Their names have never been released. And Latoya's mother Rosa Campbell moved into a rental home located at 3860 Carolina Street in Gary, Indiana in November 2011. The home was a single story with a basement.
00:06:17
Speaker
It boasted white wood exterior with a large enclosed front porch that would be good for sitting on and relaxing during cool evenings. It had three bedrooms, a living room, one bathroom, and a kitchen, all with hardwood floors. For five people, it was a little bit cramped, but it was all they needed. In the kitchen was a door that led to a concrete slab basement.
00:06:42
Speaker
I'm unsure how many people had resided in the home prior to the Ammons family, but the home was purchased in 2004 by Charles Reed to rent out. But it wasn't long after the Ammons moved in that bizarre things began happening. First, it was the flies. Within days of moving into the home in early December, 2011, Latoya noticed large black horse flies swarming the enclosed front porch.
00:07:12
Speaker
Obviously flies, and especially this many, were odd for a December day since flies become inactive below 45 degrees. Even more odd was that every time Latoya would kill them and she would kill tons of them, they would come back with even more fury. Historically speaking, flies and the ability to command them are a sign of the devil.
00:07:38
Speaker
Specifically, one demon named Beelzebub, nicknamed Lord of the Flies. Whether you've read of the Amityville House in New York or of the Perron Manor in Rhode Island, you'll recall the flies. Of the flies in the Perron case, demonologists Ed and Lorraine Warren, made famous in many recent films, noted that flies usually swarm where there's a presence of spirits as a sign that things are about to happen.
00:08:05
Speaker
Concerning why the flies often seem invincible, the Warrens said, quote, you can't kill what's already dead, end quote. Although flies are a nuisance, and obviously they might make you feel a little bit icky, especially when you have to walk through a swarm of them to get into your home, they aren't necessarily scary. But oh, that was to come.
00:08:32
Speaker
You see, both La Toya and Rosa claimed that they began hearing footsteps, always around midnight. The steps themselves sounded like they were made by heavy boots and they echoed in a way that made it appear as though someone were walking up the basement stairs. When reaching the top, they would hear a loud boom on the door and then the creak of the door in the kitchen that led to the basement being opened.
00:09:02
Speaker
When they would go to investigate, no one was there and the door was closed. Okay, now I'll admit this would freak me out. So the two took to locking the door leading to the basement. The women tried to convince themselves obviously of the logical explanations that the house was settling or that there must be a drafty wind from the basement that would create the illusion of these sounds despite the lock.
00:09:31
Speaker
Still, they would hear the heavy clodding of boots, step by step, approaching the kitchen, followed by the familiar creak of the door. But it couldn't be. Who or what could be causing this? Whatever it was, a lock was obviously no match.
00:09:56
Speaker
Though not a clear answer, one night, grandmother Rosa claims that she awoke to find the shadowy figure of a man wearing large, wet boots who was pasting the living room floor. And sure enough, there on the floor, though the figure disappeared when the lights were turned on, were large, wet, muddy footprints.
00:10:20
Speaker
This wasn't the only time the shadowy man was seen. Rosa recalled other times when she would see him in her room or even coming out of her closet. But regardless of where he materialized, he would make his way to the living room where he would pace back and forth. Then the physical attacks, like Rosa feeling as though she were being choked by an unknown force and the attacks on the children began.
00:10:47
Speaker
One evening, many members of the Ammons family were at Latoya's home. A family member had just passed, and the family gathered there to mourn, as they did through the night. Around 2 a.m., Mom Latoya, Grandma Rosa, and other family members reportedly heard Latoya's 12-year-old daughter scream out, Mama, Mama! Latoya ran to the room and stopped dead in her tracks at what she saw.
00:11:16
Speaker
She saw her 12 year old daughter unconscious, clearly not in a state to call out just moments before and levitating above the bed. When other family arrived at the door of the room, they rushed in and could not get the daughter down. They tried waking her and failed to do that as well. Finally, someone suggested that they all stand around the bed holding hands and praying and it worked.
00:11:44
Speaker
as the girl's body slowly descended back onto the bed. And shortly after she woke when she woke up, she was confused why everyone was gathered around her bed. She had no memory of what had happened. After this incident, it's reported that several members of the family would never visit the home again. The daughter, much like grandmother roses reports,
00:12:09
Speaker
felt at times that while she was in bed, that she was either being restrained or choked. She said that during this time, she also couldn't move and couldn't scream out for help. She could, on the other hand, hear. And she heard a disembodied voice say that she would, quote, never see her family again, end quote, and would be, quote, dead in 20 minutes, end quote.
00:12:40
Speaker
Latoya's daughter said that the voices would often taunt her. She would cover her ears and scream to try to block the sound of their voices, yelling things like, I can't take it anymore, make them stop and I can't look into their eyes. Once she felt an unknown force take her head and slam it into her headboard so hard that it caused a gash on her forehead for which she needed stitches.
00:13:08
Speaker
and the daughter wasn't the only one affected. The nine-year-old son was thrown across a room of the home by an unknown force. This happened just days before the youngest son, the seven-year-old son, came flying out of the bathroom as if he had been shoved out with extreme force. It got to the point that the entire family was scared of what would happen, especially at nightfall in the home.
00:13:36
Speaker
As if the physical attacks you don't know are coming aren't scary enough, there were also much more subtle attacks on the children's personalities. All three of them grew increasingly more violent, not only toward one another, but also against their grandmother as more days passed.
00:13:57
Speaker
Even their physical appearance began to change to something that didn't even seem to resemble the children they once were. Their eyes would bulge and look bloodshot. They spoke in much deeper voices than normal, and their lips would often curl into evil grins. The grins were something mentioned in nearly every source and by those close to the case, that before the deep voices emanated from their little bodies,
00:14:25
Speaker
that grin would curl the corners of their mouths, described at various times as both weird and unnatural. Latoya said that it was as though her children were different people.
00:14:40
Speaker
The boys, as well, especially her youngest, also became obsessed with discussing death. He would often spend long periods of time alone in a closet and quote-unquote speaking with a boy that no one else could see. At least that's who he said he was talking to when asked by his mother.
Seeking Help and Facing Skepticism
00:15:00
Speaker
Afterward, he would say that he knew what being killed felt like.
00:15:06
Speaker
Latoya reported that she could sometimes hear bits of the conversation, and part of it was a voice, deeper than that of a seven-year-old, saying things like, I've been here long enough. It's time to die. And I came to kill."
00:15:25
Speaker
The Ammons family didn't know what to do. They tried calling local churches to have a priest come to visit the home, but the churches they called didn't seem to take them seriously. Most simply told her to keep praying. The only advice Latoya got from one church was to cleanse the home with ammonia and bleach and to use oil to draw crosses on the windows and doors of the home. This was a ritual Latoya performed.
00:15:52
Speaker
followed by putting oil crosses on her children's foreheads and pouring oil on their hands and feet. Since it didn't seem as though the church wanted to help, Latoya reached out to two different psychics. One told Latoya that her house held more than 200 demons, was a portal to hell, essentially, and that she needed to move immediately.
00:16:16
Speaker
Latoya had contemplated moving to protect her family, but there was one problem. She couldn't afford to do so. The best she could do was to take what little extra funds she did have and have the family stay the night at a hotel when they could afford to do so. With all of the activity, no one in the family was getting sleep, and as a result, the Ammons' children missed a lot of school.
00:16:43
Speaker
The other clairvoyant told Latoya to do two things. First, to build an altar in the basement, something she did by draping a white sheet over a side table. On it she was to put candles, accompanied by statues of the Holy Family, Joseph, Mary, and Jesus.
00:17:01
Speaker
She was to leave a Bible on the altar, open to Psalm 91, which reads, quote, you will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the plague that destroys at midday, end quote. She also put rings of salt around the basement to try to keep the demons out.
00:17:25
Speaker
Second, she was to dress in white with a white scarf around her head and perform a cleansing ritual. Instead of bleach and ammonia, she was to light sage and walk from room to room of the house, even down into the basement, making the sign of the cross with the sage in each room and repeating Psalm 91. Afterward, for three days, the activity stopped. And then it grew even more frequent and violent than before.
00:17:56
Speaker
It was on April 19th, 2012 that Latoya reached out to Dr. Jeffrey Onyukwu, their family physician. Rather than believe that they were being tormented by demons, he believed Latoya and her family to instead be quote unquote delusional. In fact, he had someone from his office called the police who, when they arrived, took the children to the hospital for a full evaluation.
00:18:25
Speaker
On the way, Latoya Ammons youngest son, quote, screamed and thrashed, end quote. Here are portions of the intake reports completed by Northlake Methodist Hospital where the children were taken. Now, some of the information was blacked out, so there will be blanks. And I will tell you where those blanks were. Quote, source states the children were at their primary care physician's office.
00:18:54
Speaker
and he sent them to the ER. Source states the mother has reported that there are demons in the home and they are attacking the children. Source states the mother reported that the children fight one another and are abusing to one another and then they pass out. Source states, blank child,
00:19:17
Speaker
reported that there are ghosts in the home, thousands of them, and he can see them. Source states, blank child, reported that they don't talk to him, but after the mother tells that child that he can tell the medical professionals the truth, he later says yes. Source states, blank child, reported that one demon told him that he was going to hell and that he wasn't going to God.
00:19:46
Speaker
Source states they believe the mother may have mental health concerns. Source states they believe the children are performing for the mother and that she's encouraging the behavior, end quote. In other words, the source, very much like novella in our introduction, had a strong disbelief in the demonic and the source felt medical and mental health issues were the root cause.
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00:24:22
Speaker
In that same intake report, it states that at 8.45 p.m. on April 19, 2012, Family Case Manager, FCM, Valerie Washington conducted an assessment on the Ammons family with various other medical staff present.
Hospital and Priests: Deepening Mystery
00:24:41
Speaker
Here is, again, directly what is stated in those reports.
00:24:47
Speaker
Medical staff stated Miss Ammons reported various stories regarding demons and spirits. Medical staff reported Miss Ammons reported that her home has various demons and evil spirits due to someone dying in the home. Medical staff reported they observed the children and heard the seven year old making growling noises and his eyes rolled in the back of his head.
00:25:13
Speaker
Medical staff reported that while the children were at their primary doctor's office, the medical staff reported they observed blank child to be lifted and thrown into the wall with nobody touching him.
00:25:27
Speaker
Gary Police Department went to the home and the home has multiple religious shrines, Bibles throughout the home, plenty of food, and the home was clean. Medical staff reported blank reported ghosts attack him and his brother. Mother has stated she has taken the children to various temples and churches to remove the demons. Medical staff stated blank child had a physical outburst.
00:25:53
Speaker
hitting and kicking his brother and grandmother. Mother placed the child in a gentle therapeutic hold and the child became limp and was placed on the bed, but was difficult to arouse. Child stated he did not recall what happened.
00:26:09
Speaker
Social worker came into the room to evaluate Miss Ammons and a blank child's eyes rolled to the back of his head and his teeth were exposed and he began to growl." In another instance, when Latoya was speaking with a Department of Child Services representative, her seven-year-old would again growl from the room behind the curtain.
00:26:35
Speaker
but only when she would speak about the names of various churches she had called and visited while seeking help for the demonic spirits. The growling grew louder until her other son called for help. By the time the family services worker Washington and Latoya got there, the seven-year-old had the nine-year-old in a chokehold growling
00:27:01
Speaker
teeth bared, and it took several adult staff members to pry the seven year old's hands away. The report goes on to detail that the nine year old stated that ghosts are attacking him and his brother. The seven year old again began growling and his facial expression changed. The report states, quote, blank child began to have a weird smile on his face.
00:27:29
Speaker
and charged at the grandmother's stomach and headbutted her several times until she grabbed his hands and started praying. Blank child was speaking in a different deep voice saying, it's time to die and I will kill you and staring around the room.
00:27:47
Speaker
A blank child had the weird grin on his face and began to walk backwards while the grandmother was holding his hand. And he walked up the wall backwards while holding the grandmother's hand and never let go. He flipped over and landed on his feet in front of the grandmother and sat down in the chair. A few minutes later, he looked up as if he was back to himself.
00:28:15
Speaker
FCM Washington and the psychologists left the room immediately and went to the attending doctor, Dr. Richardson, and told him what was just witnessed in the Ammons family room. Dr. Richardson did not believe it, so he asked if the child could perform this act again. The psychologist stated, I doubt it seriously, the child was not himself when he did that.
00:28:41
Speaker
Dr. Richardson, FCM Washington, and the psychologist went back to the room to ask blank child if he could walk up the wall again. Blank child stated, I didn't walk up a wall. I can't walk up a wall. End quote. The report goes on to state the following quote blank child 12 years reported that at times
00:29:09
Speaker
She has weird thoughts and unnatural events take place in the home during the evening time. She also reported being thrown across the room and grabbed by dark shadows a few nights ago and has a greenish bruise to the underside of her wrist. Miss Ammons requested help for her children. Miss Ammons stated that she had to go to bed by 8pm because if they were awake at 11pm, the spirits would come out and keep them up all night
00:29:38
Speaker
throwing things, moving things in the home. The home turns cold and the spirits touch the children and herself while in the home. A psychological evaluation was completed with Miss Ammons and it was found that she was of sound mind. There were no concerns about her mental stability at this time by the hospital psychiatrist."
00:30:02
Speaker
Despite the clean bill of health, the children were removed from Latoya Ammons' care that day because, quote, all the children were experiencing spiritual and emotional distress, end quote. They were placed in either the care of others, the eldest two children, or in a facility for evaluation and care, the youngest son. Of all those living in the home, the only one seemingly not affected by the spirits was Rosa.
00:30:32
Speaker
She believes it's because she was born with a protector, like a guardian angel to protect her from possession. It didn't save her from the pain inflicted by the children though, nor from visions of the figures in the home. If one positive thing happened from the hospital visit, other than others now believing Latoya's version of events in the home, it was that the hospital chaplain contacted Reverend Michael Magno to come help.
00:31:01
Speaker
First, Magno wanted to rule out any potential medical causes of the behavior, so he went to the home. In total, he spent four hours in the home, and in that time witnessed several inexplicable things. The bathroom light continued to flicker on and off, even though the switch was turned off. Any time the priest would come close to the switch, the flickering would stop. When he would walk away, it would begin again.
00:31:30
Speaker
Additionally, Latoya pointed out some unknown substance on the blinds. The two couldn't determine where the substance was coming from. While examining the blinds, the blinds began to swing back and forth, despite the window not being open and there being no draft in the house.
00:31:49
Speaker
Father also saw wet footprints manifest on the floor of the home, just as Latoya and Rosa had said. He told them that he believed the house was possessed and that the two needed to leave. While examining the house, Latoya, who was there with him, grew sick with a headache. Father put his crucifix on her forehead and she began to convulse. He now began to wonder if the demons were truly focusing on Latoya.
00:32:19
Speaker
and not on the children as he had initially believed. Before leaving, he sprinkled holy water and again told Latoya and Rosa to leave. They went to stay with relatives. About a week passed before a DCS caseworker along with local police was sent to the home to evaluate it. On this visit, Latoya was adamant that she was not going to go inside.
00:32:47
Speaker
Officers, though, did go inside with Rosa and the caseworker to walk around the home. And while in the basement where they believe the strongest demonic presence existed, not only did law enforcement's recording equipment malfunction like the battery was dead, even though the battery had just been replaced that morning, but they took some pictures while inside the home.
00:33:11
Speaker
These images seemed to show a white figure in some frames that, when looked at closely, appeared to have a face. Others had a greenish figure that appeared to be a woman. Later, when the officers were listening back to what they were able to record, they heard a voice not quite human say, hey.
00:33:34
Speaker
Now, not only did the police also believe Latoya, but the original case worker was so creeped out by everything she'd already experienced that she refused to go back in the home. At the next evaluation visit, a new case worker went into the home with law enforcement. She also went with a cadaver dog and father.
00:33:58
Speaker
When the group went into the basement, the new caseworker pointed out some strange liquid dripping down the basement walls. She touched it and said it was cold, slippery and sticky all at the same time. The group then came back upstairs, but while walking around the other bedrooms, the caseworker's finger felt strange before it became so painful that it felt as though it was broken and it turned pale white as though the blood had been drained from it.
00:34:29
Speaker
The sensation grew so intense that she had a panic attack and had to remove herself from the home. Father Magno believed that the root of the demonic activity again had to be in an area in the basement under the stairs where there was no concrete. The only area in the basement was no concrete. He believed there must be something there. But after a dig, all they found in that dig was a pink press on nail
00:34:58
Speaker
a lid for a small pan, socks with the bottoms cut off of them, a pair of white women's underwear, candy wrappers, and something metal that was similar to the weight for a drapery cord. The cadaver dog didn't hit on anything of interest. Police also saw the oily substance on the blinds.
00:35:24
Speaker
The priest said the substance was the manifestation of demons, but law enforcement wanted to do an experiment, so they cleaned it up and secured the room so no one could enter, even marking it with a Q-tip, so even the slightest disturbance would be known. When they returned, 25 minutes later, the Q-tip was undisturbed, but the substance was back.
00:35:51
Speaker
Father Magno wanted to do an exorcism, but that required approval from the local bishop, who refused at first to give that approval, and said that Father Magno should instead do a short makeshift version, for which he literally watched YouTube videos to learn how. Both the new caseworker and law enforcement were in the home at the time of that exorcism.
00:36:16
Speaker
The new caseworker, Samantha Illich, recalled later that she felt a presence in the room and that it felt like someone were standing right behind her, breathing down her neck. Just like the previous caseworker, Samantha grew more sure about the truthfulness of this possession. She was convinced because she suffered many, quote unquote, accidents after the exorcism ritual.
00:36:42
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accidents in which she suffered burns and broken bones. Within a month of her visit, she broke three ribs in a water skiing incident. She suffered third degree burns in a motorcycle accident and she broke an ankle while out running.
00:36:58
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and even broke her hand by hitting a table. She was convinced that it was the work of the demons and she wasn't the only one. The police chief began to believe even more when while the group was in the basement, a door down there was in a different position every time he looked at it. What really convinced him though was like the caseworker, what happened after he left the home.
00:37:28
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After leaving, the chief stopped at a gas station near the home about a mile away. He was on the phone and his car radio suddenly emitted loud static before a voice said through the radio, you in there. It was loud enough that the person he was speaking with on the phone heard it as well.
00:37:49
Speaker
While driving home, his car seat started moving back and forth on its own, nearly causing him to wreck the vehicle. When he finally arrived home, his garage door wouldn't open. He felt in his heart that the root cause of all these strange occurrences had to be something from the Amon's house. Father Magno wrote of other instances in the home that, to him, indicated demonic possession when he wrote an appeal letter
00:38:16
Speaker
seeking permission from the bishop for exorcism. In that report, he wrote the following, quote, one day the daughter tried to get into her bedroom and the door was closed and she couldn't open it as if someone was holding it shut. And after several tries, it flew open. One night Rosa was watching television and heard what sounded like a dog barking in the kitchen.
00:38:40
Speaker
When she went in to investigate, she didn't see anything, but she heard scratching on the door, but still didn't see anything when she finally opened it. The boys would see a young boy around their age and would talk and play with him, especially in the closet. But they were scared in seeing an elderly woman like walking death with red eyes, usually seen in the backyard.
00:39:05
Speaker
There seemed to be mechanical difficulties, the TV getting messed up, static on cell phones, interrupting calls, the engine light on their cars turning on and off, thermostat settings getting changed, things being hidden, and other such annoyances." Meanwhile, the clinical psychologists evaluating the children didn't believe in a possession at all.
00:39:28
Speaker
The one treating the youngest son noted that what first stood out was that it was only when asked questions that he didn't want to answer or when he was challenged that the youngest son would quote unquote act possessed. His story continually changed as well. So the psychologist's determination was that the child was not mentally ill, but had instead been quote, co-opted by his mother to enter into her delusions.
00:39:58
Speaker
about demons." What's more, the psychologist for the other two children believed the same. As for Latoya, after the first short exorcism, the priest told her to try to determine the names of the demons that had tormented her, since knowing their names would give power over them. As she attempted to look up those names, the internet would continually kick her off, and her computer would keep shutting itself down.
00:40:27
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Father Magno was finally granted permission to perform a real exorcism at his church. He eventually would perform three of them, two in English and one in Latin. Each time, as he would speak, La Toya would convulse. She later said it was extremely painful, as if the demons didn't want to let go. So painful, in fact, that she said it was worse than childbirth.
00:40:55
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and at the end of each, she would fall asleep, which Father Magno believed was the demons trying to minimize the power of the exorcism.
Resolution and Skepticism
00:41:04
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After the final exorcism in Latin, the very long name of one of the demons Latoya had identified was written on a piece of paper, sealed in an envelope, and had a barrier of salt placed around it. Latoya was told that if she were tormented again, to burn the paper. That night of the final exorcism,
00:41:25
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Latoya had terrifying nightmares, so she called father yet again. Together, they burned the paper. And it must have worked, because Father Magno pre-blessed a new home in Indianapolis, Indiana that Latoya moved into. Once she did, she no longer suffered from any of the torment she had gone through over the last several months. Six months after her children were taken from her, they were returned.
00:41:54
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to Latoya's care. Latoya refused to ever go back to that house or even to associate with anyone who had been in the home since, though no tenants after her suffered as the Ammons family had, nor experienced any strange nor demonic phenomena. Those who want to argue that the Ammons demon house is fake point out that the Ammons children had a history of irregular school attendance as far back as 2009.
00:42:24
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well before the evil activity. The landlord of the home stated that no one before nor after the Ammons family experienced any activity. He pointed out that Latoya was already behind on rent and that he believed she was using the claims as a means to not have to pay rent further. The psychologist who evaluated the children also didn't believe in a haunting.
00:42:52
Speaker
The others who believed in the demonic possession, the DCS worker and the police chief who had unexplainable events after, are also explained away by skeptics. They say that the chief was an adamant believer in the supernatural, so it wasn't out of the question that he would make the connection to the home for any inexplicable activity. And the caseworker, well, the accidents were on skis and while running in flip-flops.
00:43:22
Speaker
both activities with elements of risk. Despite our logical minds wanting us to believe that there must be a scientific explanation for the events this family suffered, we're still left questioning. In 2014, paranormal investigator Zach Baggins bought the home for $35,000 with the intent to film a documentary about the Eamon's family, which he did, a film called Demon House.
Media Coverage and Continued Debate
00:43:52
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which was released in 2018. The following is from an interview Baggins did with Indianapolis Monthly about the purchase of the house and the film. Indianapolis Monthly.
00:44:07
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I read you about the house the day you heard about the exorcism, Baggins. It was hard to get through to anybody at first. All these reporters were calling and Hollywood was trying to secure the movie rights. The chances of me buying the house over the phone that day, Indianapolis monthly. You thought that was part of the demons plan? Baggins, I do.
00:44:28
Speaker
Before this story hit the media, the Indianapolis star broke the news, I had a dream about a 12 foot tall goat man creature. Smoke comes out of his mouth and into mine. I wake up and I can feel his smoke in my lungs. Once I buy this house, I get a text from the psychic who has sensed a lot about me in the past. He has these visions of this demon with horns turned backward and with centaurian feet.
00:44:58
Speaker
Creep the hell out of me. Indianapolis Monthly. What happened during filming? Baggins. A camera operator begins vomiting during a shoot. At the hotel, he vomits blood and is screaming at the top of his lungs trying to fight a goat man in the elevator. Indianapolis Monthly. Why is there a goat man demon in Gary, Indiana? Baggins. Demons like to make their nests where there's lots of violence and people are vulnerable.
00:45:27
Speaker
You know how many abandoned churches there are in Gary? You can't find a better breeding ground for demonic possession. Indianapolis Monthly. What will you do with the house? Baggins. I don't know yet. It won't be open to the public and I don't want anyone else to live there. I fear for my own safety in that house. The problem is that once I get in there, I start feeling like I don't want to leave."
00:45:55
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Baggins did go on to demolish the home because he said it was too scary to risk anyone else inhabiting it. Confusing the matter even more for whether this is true or fake, though, was the fact that during the filming, Baggins had the home inspected and uncovered black mold and likely carbon monoxide leakage from the older furnace and water heater.
00:46:24
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Exposure to mold, especially to those sensitive to it, can cause headaches, shortness of breath, delusions, confusion, and loss of consciousness. But is that explanation enough for you to discount the elements not explained by this potential theory? Could the children have been trapped in their mother's delusions or was it something else?
Latoya's Stance and Final Thoughts
00:46:52
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Latoya Ammons wants to ensure that no one believes that claim that she was delusional, even coming forward with her story in 2014, despite any flack she may get as a result, just so everyone can know what they went through. She told the Indianapolis Star, quote, when you hear something like this, don't assume it's not real because I've lived it. I know it's real, end quote.
00:47:20
Speaker
For us, it may be hard to tell. But remember what Father Gallagher, the exorcist's consultant from our opening told us. Spirits can be tricky. They want you to doubt, to sow dissent, because doubt creates fear. And that is what evil spirits need in order to feast.
00:47:48
Speaker
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00:48:18
Speaker
Stay together. Stay safe. We'll see you next week.
00:48:42
Speaker
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Speaker
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