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AMERICAN HAUNTINGS
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AMERICAN HAUNTINGS
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The True Stories behind Hollywood’s Scariest Movies—from The Exorcist to The Conjuring
ROBERT E. BARTHOLOMEW AND JOE NICKELL
Copyright © 2015 by Robert E. Bartholomew and Joe Nickell
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, except for the inclusion of brief quotations in a review, without prior permission in writing from the publisher.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Bartholomew, Robert E.
American hauntings : the true stories behind Hollywood’s scariest movies—from The exorcist to The conjuring / Robert E. Bartholomew and Joe Nickell.
pages cm
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-4408-3968-9 (print : alk. paper) — ISBN 978-1-4408-3969-6 (e-book)
1. Ghosts—United States. 2. Parapsychology—United States. 3. Occultism—United States. 4. Horror films—United States—History and criticism. 5. Motion pictures—Influence. I. Nickell, Joe. II. Title.
BF1472.U6B3738 2015
133.10973—dc23 2015003962
ISBN: 978-1-4408-3968-9
EISBN: 978-1-4408-3969-6
19 18 17 16 15 1 2 3 4 5
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Contents
Acknowledgments
Introduction
1An American Haunting: Terror and Torment in Tennessee
2The Exorcist: Diary of a Demonic Possession
3 Poltergeist: The Inspiration for the Film
4The Conjuring: What Possessed the Perron Family?
5 The Amityville Horror: Haunting or Hoax?
6Don Decker: The Man Who Could Make It Rain
7The Haunting in Connecticut: A Disturbing Truth
8Weighing the Evidence: Separating Fact from Fiction
Notes
Index
Acknowledgments
We are grateful to many people for their assistance, including the Center for Inquiry, its director of libraries, Timothy Binga, and the staff of its science magazine, Skeptical Inquirer. We also wish to thank Michael Shermer, Christina Tatu, Chris Mele, Jesse Glass, Jack Cook, and Fred Rolater. Special thanks to Jamilah and Paul Bartholomew.
Introduction
Those who do not study history are forced to get it from Hollywood.
—Alan Barra1
We will examine seven of the most compelling and thoroughly documented hauntings on record, baffling cases that have been affirmed by witnesses and hailed as genuine by researchers in the field of parapsychology. Each story has been promoted by Hollywood producers as having been “based on a true story.” We will scrutinize the evidence behind such films as The Exorcist, The Amityville Horror, The Conjuring, and The Haunting in Connecticut. The belief in ghosts is an integral part of American society, as reflected in opinion polls and the recent upsurge in paranormal investigation groups, which now number in the thousands.2 There is little doubt that Hollywood plays an influential role in promoting supernatural beliefs, but how factual are these productions and the stories they are based on?
Each case shares classic poltergeist elements. For centuries, people have reported encountering these invisible entities or forces. The word refers to a “noisy ghost” or “spirit” and is derived from the German poltern (to make noise) and Geist (ghost).3 While the earliest cases predate Christianity, it was not until 1848 that the word first entered the English lexicon with the publication of Catherine Crowe’s book, The Night-Side of Nature. The term was popularized during the 1920s in the works of British psychic investigator Harry Price (1881–1948).4 Poltergeist hauntings are a Hollywood staple, and over the past century they have featured prominently in a number of accounts that have been immortalized by producers, who have titillated audience interest by claiming they depict real-life events. We will carefully sift through the evidence and assess whether these stories are Hollywood hype or there is substance behind the claims.
It is important to distinguish between accounts that are “based on a true story” and documentaries. A documentary is a reenactment based entirely on factual information, although there may be differing perspectives as to exactly what occurred and a multitude of interpretations of the same event by different participants. A film or TV show that is “based on a true story” is known as a docudrama. While historical events form the basis of the narrative, a certain amount of literary license is taken to increase the story’s appeal. Hence, some events may be embellished or fabricated altogether. In short, documentaries are based on facts; docudramas are dramatized reenactments of supposedly real events and place a heavy emphasis on maintaining viewer interest by telling a good story. Despite the distinction, some viewers erroneously assume that “based on a true story” is synonymous with “factual.” During our investigations, we will ask two key questions: How faithful are media portrayals to the accounts given by the witnesses, and what evidence is there that these paranormal events took place at all?
Parapsychology is rife with controversy and conflicting claims. At one end of the spectrum are the true believers; at the other end are the dogmatic skeptics. The subject of poltergeists is typical. Read through any sampling of books and articles on the topic, and it is hard to know what to believe. Some investigators note that these strange occurrences often appear in the presence of angry or frustrated children or adolescents who are thought to have the temporary ability to control their environment by moving objects and projecting visions using only their minds. Others believe that instead of creating these effects, the accused is the victim of harassment by a restless spirit that represents proof of life after death. Skeptics observe that the principal figure is often suspected of feigning events, and they suggest that all poltergeist claims result from fraud and deception.
As we delve into these cases and evaluate the evidence, we will seek to answer questions that have long puzzled observers. Why do most cases revolve around one person? How likely is it that the central figure created the effects? An examination of the literature presents us with a conundrum: on the one hand, there are scores of reports from every part of the world, dating back centuries. British researchers Alan Gauld and Tony Cornell collected information on 500 poltergeist cases. Many contain eerily similar features, from reports of airborne pebbles and stones, to heavy objects being tossed about or destroyed. Despite the impressive accumulation of testimony, their evidence is overwhelmingly composed of eyewitness descriptions, which are notoriously unreliable.
During earlier times, poltergeists were commonly associated with spirits of the dead, witchcraft, and demons. The term even appears
in the writings of German theologian Martin Luther (1483–1546), who, like most of his contemporaries, attributed the presence of these “noisy ghosts” to Satan.5 Encounters have been recorded as early as the year 858, when a farm family at Bingen, in what is now southwestern Germany, reported flying stones and mysterious sounds.6 Their appearance typically begins with strange knocks and noises and slowly escalates to flying objects, broken furniture, levitating people, strange visions, and disembodied voices. While their conduct is usually confined to harmless antics and mischievous acts such as knocking over sugar bowls and pulling blankets from sleeping children, they occasionally turn sinister, setting fires and ripping doors off hinges. In rare instances, their appearance is accompanied by the demonic possession of occupants and frightful images in windows and mirrors. Sometimes an eerie, threatening voice will order people to leave their home. Other times, they seem to be playing a game of cat and mouse with bewildered family members. In modern times, electrical disturbances are common, such as flickering or exploding lightbulbs. Occasionally, victims report bruising, bleeding, and welts after allegedly being pinched, scratched, bitten, or struck by an unseen force, in addition to psychological trauma and exhaustion from the harassment. Eerie noises often accompany appearances, such as groaning, laughing, weeping, and talking.
Gauld and Cornell found the most common poltergeist activity to be the appearance of small objects such as pebbles or stones that fly through the air (64 percent). Occasionally they will pelt the exterior of a building. Large furniture was reported to have moved or been tossed about in 36 percent of cases, while nearly half of all episodes were associated with rapping sounds (48 percent). Poltergeists are most active at night, and their presence usually lasts from a few hours to several weeks or months. Occasionally they persist for years (24 percent).7 When the activity stops, it usually does so abruptly and coincides with the central figure leaving the household. The strange happenings may follow this person to their next residence. Sometimes those affected will look into a mirror or window and report seeing an evil or hideous face. Some outbreaks are accompanied by the mysterious appearance of water, which may seep through walls. Investigators may have difficulty in uncovering the source. These cases make up 5 percent of the survey.8 Since the 1970s, the appearance of a strange, gooey substance has been reported oozing from walls, ceilings, and keyholes.
Paranormal researchers often suggest that poltergeists target adolescents because they feed off energy generated from the rapid physical and psychological changes associated with puberty. They have long noted that most people who attract poltergeists are experiencing extreme anger, trauma, or distress, which is believed to generate “psychic energy” in sensitive people who can temporarily exhibit psychokinesis: the ability to move or alter the shape of objects, such as bending a spoon using mental power alone. The word is derived from the Greek psyche (mind or soul) and kinesis (movement).9 The trouble is that the ability to manipulate objects and create visions using pent-up mental energy has yet to be proven and is looked upon with suspicion by most scientists. Another explanation is that poltergeists are spirits of the dead who are drawn to distressed persons who are generating high amounts of psychic energy.
Most scientists would explain the presence of preexisting tension and anger in poltergeist households as resulting from the focus person engaging in deception by throwing and breaking objects and making mysterious noises. People hoax for many reasons: fame, fortune, revenge, jealousy. Some do it for the thrill and challenge of outwitting an opponent; others may feel important by being part of a mystery. The hoax explanation does not require hypothesizing about unproven psychic energy and supernatural forces that defy the known laws of physics. This would explain a curious observation through the centuries: subjects around which cases revolve are typically in distress, prior to—and not necessarily from—the poltergeist. After surveying the literature and investigating numerous cases firsthand, veteran parapsychologist Guy Playfair concludes that poltergeists “feed on fear, anxiety and tension.” There is usually so much conflict and distress swirling around the household that he recommends calling in a psychiatrist to figure out what is causing it within the family dynamic!10 However, the deception hypothesis can explain this pattern and why, to date, no scientist has been able to replicate poltergeist activities in a controlled setting where the target is under constant, rigorous scrutiny.
In Chapter 1, we investigate the supposed real-life events behind the 2006 film An American Haunting. Often touted as the most famous 19th-century haunting in U.S. history, the story of Tennessee farmer John Bell and his reported death by a female poltergeist has baffled researchers ever since it first came to light in 1886. The case is remarkable in that it is said to have persisted over several years and attracted people from hundreds of miles away to observe the strange goings-on, including a soon-to-be president of the United States, Andrew Jackson. Many paranormal researchers consider the case to be genuine. It is one of the most challenging and complex reports on record, and we will present new information that offers fresh clues to solving the mystery.
The Exorcist is one of the most recognizable and successful horror films in cinematic history and was nominated for ten Academy Awards. The extraordinary claims behind the movie are the focus of Chapter 2. The film’s release in 1973 left audiences gasping as they watched the adaptation of William Peter Blatty’s bestselling book by the same name. The events were inspired by the real-life diary of Father Frank Bishop, who documented the exorcism of a boy known as “Robbie” in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1949. The “true story” subtitle has helped to stoke the anxieties of those watching the film version of events, to the point where several viewers have experienced psychotic episodes requiring hospitalization.11 How accurate are reports that the boy was demonically possessed; that words would mysteriously appear on his body in the form of deep, bloody scratches; and that he had the ability to send crockery and books whizzing through the air?
Popper the Poltergeist is the subject of Chapter 3. In 1958, journalists from across the United States descended on 1648 Redwood Path in Seaford, Long Island, hoping to glimpse the mysterious happenings that seemed to follow little Jimmy Herrmann. The inspiration for Steven Spielberg’s Poltergeist, the case marks the first scientific investigation of such an outbreak, as researchers from the Duke University Parapsychology Lab stayed with the family. More mischievous than malevolent, more naughty than nefarious, Popper was named for its penchant for popping bottle tops. The affair was chronicled by the New York Times and featured in Life magazine. Popper attained such notoriety that the Nassau County Police Department even assigned one of its detectives to investigate the mysterious goings-on full-time. Popper is one of the most meticulously investigated cases on record, and when we examine the wealth of evidence more closely, a clear pattern emerges. Is this the first instance where scientists have proven the existence of a poltergeist, or is there another explanation?
The events that gave rise to the supernatural thriller The Conjuring are examined in Chapter 4. The 2013 film tells the story of paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren, who attempt to exorcise an array of spirits from the Rhode Island farmhouse of Roger and Carolyn Perron. After the family moved into its new home in 1971, strange happenings were recorded by Mrs. Perron and her five daughters. Over the next decade, they reported hundreds of mysterious occurrences, from levitating beds to terrifying visions and ghostly presences. On several occasions a broom was reported to sweep by itself; a “haunted” fridge would routinely expel food onto the kitchen floor; a mysterious cloud-like force was said to routinely attack family members. Hollywood producers claim that the saga of the Perron family is a true story—but is it?
The Amityville Horror, which frightened a generation of filmgoers during the 1970s, is examined in Chapter 5. Based on the bestselling book by Jay Anson, it tells the story of George and Kathy Lutz, who reported a series of chilling and bizarre encounters after moving into their “dream home” at 112
Ocean Avenue in Amityville, Long Island, a home they bought at a bargain-basement price after it was the scene of a gruesome mass murder thirteen months earlier. Soon family members reported personality changes and visions of demonic figures. An unseen force was said to have attacked the Lutzes, causing lacerations, welts, and bruises. On one occasion, Kathy reportedly floated two feet into the air. We are told that cloven footprints were found in the snow outside the house; a 250-pound door was ripped from its hinges; tempered locks were inexplicably bent; a green slime oozed from keyholes and walls. When a Catholic priest was asked to bless the house, a chilling voice ordered him to get out. What evidence is there that these events took place? Were the Lutzes, as some suggest, master manipulators who fabricated the affair to get rich, or were they victims of a malevolent force that was determined to expel them from the house?
Don Decker, the young Pennsylvania man who reportedly levitated and made it rain, is the subject of Chapter 6. At first glance, these claims seem beyond belief, yet his abilities were observed by two couples, a restaurant owner, four police officers, a prison warden, and two guards. It is arguably the most credible case of paranormal activity ever recorded. Featured on the TV show Paranormal Witness, the segment was presented as a series of interviews with eyewitnesses who all swear that the events took place. Producers of another respected TV program, Unsolved Mysteries, also interviewed many of those who observed the events firsthand. When we probe deeper by examining the circumstances of these remarkable claims and compare the various testimonies of those present, a remarkable pattern emerges. Does this case prove the existence of the paranormal, or is there a more mundane explanation?
In Chapter 7, we explore the truth behind the 2009 film The Haunting in Connecticut, which was based on the claims of the Snedeker family after moving into a former funeral home in the town of Southington in 1986. In addition to seeing ghosts and levitating objects, Mr. and Mrs. Snedeker claimed to have been sexually violated by a mysterious paralyzing force while lying in bed. Their niece reported being groped in the night by an unseen hand. Most of the strange events centered on the Snedekers’ thirteen-year-old son Philip, who was angry and frustrated while undergoing an experimental treatment for blood cancer. How close does the film reflect the family’s claims, and what evidence is there that the events took place?
American Hauntings: The True Stories behind Hollywood's Scariest Movies—from The Exorcist to The Conjuring: The True Stories behind Hollywood’s Scariest Movies—from The Exorcist to The Conjuring Page 1