Lee Daniels’ horror film, The Redemption, is now streaming on Netflix, starring Andra Day, Glenn Close, Caleb McLaughlin, Omar Epps, Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor and Glenn Close.

The long-awaited film, originally titled Demon Househas been in development for years and originally had Octavia Spencer cast for the role now played by Mo’Nique. It is actually based on a true story.

Who is The Redemption based on?

The story is based on Latoya Ammons of Gary, Indiana, who claimed in 2011 that her children were possessed by demons.

Relativity Media initially acquired the rights to Ammons’ story, but after the company went bankrupt, they were reacquired by producer Tucker Tooley.

Ammons, a mother of three, reported witnessing frightening events, including her children walking into walls, levitating and speaking in strange voices.

What happened in the real house of The Redemption?

She claimed that her seven-year-old son was found in a closet talking to an invisible boy, and that an “evil spirit” threw him out of a bathroom. When she asked her son what he and the invisible boy were talking about, Ammons claimed he told her the invisible presence was describing what it felt like to be killed. Her twelve-year-old daughter also needed stitches after an attack.

Two psychics later told Ammons that more than 200 demons were inhabiting the home. A 2012 report on paranormal activity supported some of Ammons’ claims, with psychologists saying they saw her nine-year-old daughter talking in “different voices” and “walking backwards up the wall.”

After visiting the home and interviewing Ammons, the local police chief admitted he had become a “believer,” the Indianapolis Star reported. Documents filed with the Indianapolis Star by the Department of Children Services detailed further strange occurrences at the home, which were said to have been witnessed by medical experts and people outside the family.

As you might expect in these kinds of situations, there were of course also sceptics.

Is the house of The Redemption still standing?

Just like in the movie, the family eventually moved out of the house and the home was demolished.

In 2014, Zak Bagans of Travel Channel’s Ghost Adventures filmed an episode at the so-called “Demon House” in Gary. He was the one who had the house destroyed.

“There was something in that house that could do things that I had never seen before — things that no one else with the highest degree of credibility could explain,” he told the Indianapolis Star. “There was something that was very dark, yet very intelligent and powerful.”