It didn’t take long after Netflix won the seven bidders war in a head-spinning auction battle over the story based on an actual case, to sign on a star-studded cast that includes several Oscar nominees and one winner. Directed by Lee Daniels, Demon House will star Andra Day (Oscar nominee for Best Actress for The United States vs. Billie Holiday), Glenn Close (eight-time Oscar nominee), Aunjanue Ellis (Oscar nominee for Best Supporting Actress King Richard), Mo'Nique (Best Supporting Actress winner for Precious), Caleb McLaughlin (Stranger Things), Rob Morgan (Stranger Things) and Why Did I Get Married? scene stealer Tasha Smith. Mo'Nique is reportedly replacing another Oscar winner, Octavia Spencer (The Help), who was also slated to star in the upcoming thriller.
Reportedly, the movie package closed upward of $65 million, covering the film’s budget and buyout and is fast-tracked to begin production by the middle of this year. Oscar nominee Andra Day will play the role of Ebony, the mother of an Indiana family whose children purportedly became demonically possessed. Smith will play the part of Ebony’s best friend, Asia. Filming will take place this summer in Pittsburgh.
Indiana Family Made Headlines With Accounts of Paranormal Activities in Their Home
In November 2011, Latoya Ammons, her mother and her three children moved into a rental house on Carolina Street in Gary, Indiana. By December, big black flies suddenly took over their screened-in porch, despite the winter chill. Soon afterward, other strange incidents followed. Ammons and her mother, Rosa Campbell, said they occasionally heard footsteps climbing the basement stairs. Campbell added that she awoke one night to find a shadowy figure of a man pacing the living room. Upon investigation, she found large, wet boot prints. One year later, the family’s unease turned to fear.
According to the family, things only grew worse with children levitating, becoming violent, speaking in growls and deep voices with no recollection afterward. Eventually, the Gary Police Department, Department of Child Services (DCS), a local church, and hospital all became involved. Doctors, officers, and social workers stated they witnessed many of the incidents, including one where the mother’s 9-year-old son walked backward up a wall.
Allegedly, there is also a report wherein one DCS case manager witnessed the youngest son growling with his teeth showing and eyes rolled back, locking his hands around his older brother’s throat with no memory of the incident. Initial psychological exams and exorcism attempts failed to a solution or explanation for the mysterious events. The family has since moved out of the house.