In November 2011, Latoya Ammons claimed sinister forces inhabited the rental home she shared with her mother, Rosa Campbell, and her three children at 3860 Carolina Street in Gary, Indiana.
What began as strange noises and movements in shadows soon erupted into terror too unsettling to dismiss and too implausible to comprehend. According to Ammons, her children soon began acting differently, speaking of voices and visions filled with grim purpose. It became clear their home was no longer their own.
Ammons’s story of possession and poltergeist activity in the one-story rental home she shared with her family would go on to amass widespread media attention all over the world. In this article, we are going to examine the events that allegedly happened to Latoya, her mother, and three children inside that unassuming house on Carolina Street.
The Ammons House Details
The house, located at 3860 Carolina Street in Gary, Indiana, was built in 1926 and was a simple one-story, 864 square-foot home with an enclosed porch. The house had two bedrooms, one bathroom, and an unfinished basement with concrete walls and floors.
The home’s original owners were a young married couple who allegedly had a young son that tragically died in the home.
It’s uncertain how many people would call this place home at one point in time since its construction, but what is known is that the home would later be purchased in 2004 by Charles Reed. After purchasing the home Reed began to rent it out to numerous families over the years, until in 2011 when Latoya Ammons and her family decided to move in.
Harbingers of Death
Latoya, her mother Rosa Campbell, her twelve-year-old daughter, her nine-year-old son, and her seven-year-old son moved into the home in November 2011. The house was not an ideal size for a family of five people, but it was all that Latoya could afford.
At the time, Latoya could never have guessed the terrible mistake she had just made or the lasting ramifications this house would have on her life and the lives of those closest to her. It didn’t take long after moving in for the family to start to realize that they had just unknowingly stepped into a “portal to Hell.”
In December of 2011, roughly a month after they had moved into the home, the family started to experience their first signs of trouble when swarms of large, black flies began to infest the screened-in porch of their home.
While the presence of flies would not be unusual in the middle of summer, it was the dead of winter at the time and the frigid Indiana weather was not generally a breeding ground for insects. Within a few days, it was supposedly impossible to go out onto the porch without being swarmed by the large, black insects.
What made these particular flies peculiar was the fact that there never seemed to be an end to the swarm; no matter how many flies the family killed, it seemed more would come to replace them. To the Ammons family at the time, it seemed like the flies just refused to stay dead.
Those familiar with the Perron family haunting will remember that their home was infested with a constant stream of flies and, like the Ammons experience, no matter how hard they tried, they could never get a handle on the situation; the flies would continue to come, no matter the season.
In the case of the Perrons, self-proclaimed demonologists Ed and Lorraine Warren warned the family that an infestation of flies often appears in homes where spirits are present, and the flies are “harbingers” of things to come.
According to the Warrens, the reason the flies always seem to return after seemingly being killed is that “you can’t kill what is already dead.”
It Came From The Basement
Shortly after the arrival of the swarms of flies, the Ammons family began to experience unexplained activity in their home.
According to Latoya and Rosa, each night when the clock struck midnight, they would hear loud footsteps emanating from the basement. Both women claimed it sounded like someone or something was climbing the old wooden staircase from the basement into the kitchen.
Then, both Latoya and Rosa claimed that they could hear what sounded like a “loud boom” on the door to the basement. Latoya then stated that the basement door would open on its own as if whatever had just ascended the stairs was making its way onto the main floor of the house where every member of the family slept.
At first, Rosa tried to convince her daughter that it was nothing more than the house shifting due to the cold temperatures outside. Latoya even locked the door to the basement at night, thinking that a cold draft was the culprit behind her troubles. But despite being locked, Latoya continued to hear the nightly bang of the basement door, followed by the unmistakable sound of the door creaking open during the night. It appeared that whatever was in the basement wanted out, and a locked door was not enough to keep it from getting what it wanted.
Ammons Receive a Nocturnal Visitor
Latoya’s mother, Rosa, would claim that, on numerous occasions, a shadowy figure that resembled a large man would appear in her bedroom at night. She claimed that the figure would appear to come out of her closet. It would then exit her room and enter the living room, where the figure would then continually pace back and forth across the room.
Other reports claim that Latoya also witnessed this figure of a man moving through the halls of her home.
What made this apparition more disturbing was that whenever Rosa would turn on the lights, the figure would completely disappear; whatever this thing was, it preferred to hide in the shadows.
But perhaps the most unnerving thing about this shadowy figure was that it would allegedly leave behind large, wet boot prints. Latoya and Rosa never found evidence to suggest that someone had been in the home, as the boots never appeared to lead in or out of the home. Whatever it was, it came from inside the house and never appeared to leave.
Then Came the Dogs
Along with hearing the loud footsteps emanating from the basement stairs, Rosa also claimed that she began to hear what sounded like dogs barking.
What made this so troubling was the fact that the barking seemed to be coming from inside the house, even though the Ammons didn’t own a dog. Neither did any of the family’s nearby neighbors.
Like the flies, were the dogs an omen of things to come – hounds of Hell that were sent to announce the arrival of an unnatural force targeting the Ammons family?
After the arrival of the dogs, came the true horrors.
The Power of Christ Compels You
On March 10, 2012, roughly five months since the Ammons’ had moved into the house, the family found that they were in for a rude awakening, for whatever was happening in the house was no longer content with just making noises in the night; now it decided to set it sights on the family.
At the time the family was coping with the recent loss of a loved one and everyone was in a state of mourning, which is a prime breeding ground for an entity.
Allegedly around 2 a.m., while Latoya mingled and grieved with her extended family in the living room, she was suddenly startled out of her conversation when she heard her daughter screaming for her from the other room.
Upon hearing the young girl’s blood-curdling cries, Latoya and every member of the Ammons family present in the house that night burst into the room. But nothing could have prepared them for the sight they encountered upon throwing open the door. There, levitating in mid-air above the bed, was the unconscious body of Latoya’s twelve-year-old daughter.
When the Ammons family members approached the young girl, they found that she appeared to be in a deep sleep, despite the fact that everyone swore that they had just heard the girl scream for her mother from the other room.
As the family tried desperately to wake the young girl, they found that every attempt proved to be in vain. Believing at that moment that the power of prayer would be enough to battle the unnatural force manipulating the young girl, Latoya, her mother, and every other member of the Ammons family present in the room formed a circle around the girl and began to pray.
Allegedly their prayers worked, as the girl slowly lowered back down onto the bed and then regained consciousness shortly after. But when she awoke, she had no idea why everyone was so worried, as she claimed to have no memory of the events that had just transpired.
Following the events of that night, a number of the Ammons family members who witnessed the event that night refused to return to the house ever again.
A House of Demons
It was now more apparent to Latoya than ever that something evil was attempting to take up residence in her home. So, being deeply religious and a devout Catholic, Latoya reached out to local churches in the area for help.
Unfortunately for Latoya, most of the people she contacted didn’t put much stake in her story, believing it either to be a hoax or a delusion. After all, that kind of stuff only happened in the movies.
She would be told repeatedly to keep praying, but unlike the success, she had with her daughter that one night, praying wasn’t enough and was proving ineffective at keeping whatever was in her house at bay.
One unnamed church official told Latoya to clean the house with “bleach and ammonia.” Then she was advised to use olive oil and to draw crosses on every door and window in the home. Finally, she was told to pour the oil on her three children’s hands and feet and then draw crosses on each child’s forehead.
Latoya took the church’s advice but, despite her best efforts, it did nothing to lessen the activity in the home. Wanting someone to step inside the house to witness what was happening, Latoya sought the help of two unnamed local clairvoyants who, after visiting the Ammons’ home, each claimed that the house was inhabited by a total of “200 demons.”
The psychics told Latoya to sage and sulfur the entire house. She was informed to dress all in white, wrap a white sheet around her head, and walk through the entire house, going from room to room with a burning stick of sage, while reading from Psalm 91 – “If you say, “The Lord is my refuge,” and you make the Most High your dwelling, no harm will overtake you” (Psalm 91:9-10 New International Version).
She was then told to construct an altar in her basement. She did this by covering a small table with a white sheet, and upon the table, she placed a white candle; statues of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph; and a bible opened to Psalm 91.
Surprisingly, the altar appeared to work. The activity in the house seemed to subside and the Ammons were given hope of the possibility that their lives could go on. Their tranquility did not last long. After only three days, whatever was in the house came back in, and it appeared to come back with a vengeance.
Children Shouldn’t Play With Dead Things
After the three days of peace, the entity allegedly began to target all three of Latoya’s children. What makes this unusual is that, in most reported demonic cases, the entity tends to target one member of the family, but in the case of the Ammons family, it went after all three of Latoya’s children.
Latoya would report that twisted smiles would appear on her children’s faces. Their eyes would become bloodshot and bulgy. When this happened, they would speak in low voices and, according to Latoya, it was as if they changed into other people.
After one of these reported instances, her nine-year-old son would describe to her that it felt like he was being choked and he described in detail what it felt like to be murdered.
Her seven-year-old son would sit in his closet having entire conversations with no one. During these conversations, his voice would become low and deep – a voice that didn’t belong to a seven-year-old boy. During the conversations, the boy would allegedly say things like, “I’ve been here long enough,” and “I came to kill.” Allegedly when asked by his mother who he was talking to, he would respond by stating that he talking to a young boy and that the boy would tell him in detail what it felt like to die. Could this young boy be the original owner’s young son who died in the house?
In one incident, one of the boys was thrown out of a room by an invisible force. He complained that he felt an unseen force pulling at his limbs.
Latoya’s daughter would allegedly hear voices that would taunt her. To attempt to block out the voices, she would cover her ears and yell things like, “I can’t take it anymore! Make them stop!” and, perhaps even more disturbing, “I can’t look into their eyes.”
During another incident, Latoya’s daughter’s head was smashed against her headboard by an unseen force. The force was strong enough that it caused a small gash in her forehead and she ended up requiring stitches for the wound.
Another time, she claimed that she was held down by another unseen force. She alleged that it felt like she was being choked. She also claimed that, during this time, she was unable to move or even speak. A voice would then speak to her, telling her that she would “never see her family again” as she would be “dead in twenty minutes.”
Latoya Ammons Seeks Medical Help
On April 19, 2012, fearing for their well-being, Latoya brought her children to see the family’s pediatrician, Geoffrey Onyeukwu.
In an interview Rosa Campbell gave with Mail Online she stated that after the two boys were brought into the office, her seven-year-old grandson’s head began “twisting” and his eyes started “rolling” in his head. At which point the young boy started speaking in “tongues”, and began to curse out the Doctor. She then claimed that whatever had taken hold of her seven-year-old grandson threw him completely across the room.
Campbell stated that this event was witnessed by Dr. Onyeukwu and a couple of nurses who were also present at the time, who Campbell reports started to back out of the room after the event.
After hitting the wall, the young boy passed out. This then caused the nine-year-old to inexplicably pass out, as well. This prompted Dr. Onyeukwu to contact the authorities and they responded by sending multiple ambulances and at least eight police officers.
The boys were then transported to the hospital and, after regaining consciousness in the hospital, the seven-year-old began acting erotically, reportedly screaming and thrashing around on the hospital bed. Due to this erotic behavior, the hospital staff was forced to restrain the child and, in the end, it took five men to finally subdue the young boy.
It was at this point that the Department of Child and Family Services became involved, a decision that would forever change the life of DCS worker Valerie Washington.
This is Where Things Get Strange
When Washington arrived at the hospital, she initially interviewed Latoya and her children. According to an official DCS Report, while discussing the events that led to her family coming to the hospital that night, Latoya’s seven-year-old son started making growling noises when she mentioned the different churches she had contacted for help. As Latoya spoke more about seeking out advice on how to “kill the spirits” her son continued to get louder and louder.
When Washington attempted to speak with the two boys, the seven-year-old boy became enraged during the meeting and started growling at her and bared his teeth, while his eyes rolled back into his head. The seven-year-old then lunged at his older brother and proceeded to wrap his hands around the boy’s throat, placing him in a chokehold. The young boy refused to loosen his grip and his hands needed to be physically pried off his brother’s throat by the adults present in the room.
Following the events of her initial interview, Washington decided to take a break and reconvene later. For her second interview, Washington brought the two boys into an examination room, along with the children’s grandmother, a registered nurse who worked at the hospital named Willie Lee Walker, and a hospital Psychologist.
During the conversation, the seven-year-old boy turned his attention toward his older brother and he once again began to growl.
A “weird smile” then began to form on the nine-year-old boy’s face, as he charged at his grandmother’s stomach, repeatedly head-butting her in the stomach over and over again. Rosa then grabbed her grandson’s hand and allegedly proclaimed, “You’re not my grandson.” She then began to pray while still holding the boy’s hand. According to the intake report, the nine-year-old stated that a “ghost” was attacking him and his brother.
At the same time this was going on the seven-year-old began speaking in a demonic voice stating its “time to die” and “I will kill you.”
The nine-year-old boy then started walking backward toward a wall. When he reached the wall, to everyone’s bewilderment, the young boy began to walk up the wall backward while his grandmother still clutched his hand. The boy continued to walk backward up the wall and right onto the ceiling. At which point, he flipped over Rosa and landed on his feet directly in front of Washington. Terrified by what she had just witnessed, Washington ran out of the room, followed by the other staff members who had been in the room with her.
The staff then proceeded to get the attending doctor, Dr. Richardson, who asked the boy to do it again. But, when questioned about it, the boy had no knowledge of ever performing the feat, stating “I did not walk up a wall. I cannot walk up a wall.”
Other reports have claimed that it was the seven-year-old boy that had walked up the wall, but the excerpts above from Washington’s report, appear to indicate that it was the nine-year-old who performed this task.
The Ammons Children Are Taken Into Care
The following day, the children were taken into CPS care due to the Department of Child and Family Services believing that the kids were simply performing for their mother.
They were also concerned about the amount of school the Ammons children had been missing up to this point, for this was not the first time that a notice had been filed against Latoya. In 2009, a complaint was also filed against her, detailing that her children had been missing school then, as well, long before they moved into the house on Carolina Street.
When asked why the kids had been missing so much school, Latoya stated that the “spirits” in the home would keep them up all night and that, as a result, her children were too tired to attend school the next day.
The two oldest children were sent to St. Joseph’s Carmelite Home in East Chicago, Indiana and her seven-year-old son was sent to Christian Haven in Wheatfield, Indiana for psychiatric evaluation.
While under evaluation, it was reported that the seven-year-old would act possessed when he was challenged and faced with questions he didn’t want to answer. The rest of the time, he acted normally, as long as the conversation didn’t involve demons or hauntings.
It was theorized that the young boy was being influenced by his mother’s paranormal superstitions and that his behavior was reinforced by her, as he would receive more attention whenever he claimed to be possessed by a demon.
The other two children received a similar diagnosis, as the psychiatrist assessing them believed that they were being affected by their mother’s extreme religious beliefs and that, thanks to their mother’s beliefs, they believed that demons were, in fact, the ones to blame for their recent misfortunes.
Father Maginot Attends the Ammons’ Residence
Following the events in the hospital, the hospital chaplain contacted Father Michael Maginot and he agreed to meet with Latoya inside the Ammons family home on Sunday, April 22, 2012.
Supposedly, while Father Maginot was in the home, Rosa pointed out a light in the bathroom that would continually flicker on and off. Allegedly, whenever Father Maginot would approach the light, the flickering would stop. After walking away, the light would allegedly begin to flicker again despite Father Maginot being convinced that the light was off. This apparently happened multiple times while he was at the home; each time the light would stop whenever he approached. Father Maginot would later speak to the Indianapolis Star about his experience and, in regard to the light turning off whenever he approached, he stated, “It must have been scared of me.”
While in the home at one point, Latoya pointed out to Father Maginot that an unknown, oily substance had started to form on one of the window blinds. When they went to inspect the blinds, they found themselves unable to determine where the liquid was coming from. While they were examining the blinds, the cord allegedly began to sway back and forth despite there being no open windows or notable drafts to explain the movement.
Father Maginot also saw wet boot prints on the floor – the same wet boot prints that Latoya and Rosa had seen countless times before.
During an interview Father Maginot later gave with Inside Edition, he spoke about attending the Ammons family home and how he originally believed that the children were the ones possessed. But after spending time in the home, he was now convinced that Latoya was the one the entities had attached themselves to. He noted that during his visit he placed a crucifix on Latoya’s head and she immediately began convulsing.
After meeting with Latoya and Rosa for a reported four hours, he was convinced that the Ammons family was being terrorized by ghosts and demons. Before leaving the Ammons’ house, he blessed each room with holy water while reading from the Bible.
An Inspection of the Ammons’ Home
One week after the frightening ordeal at the hospital, Latoya Ammons, Rosa Campbell, DCS Worker Valerie Washington, Chief Brian Miller, Lieutenant John Gruszka, and Captain Charles Austin all attended the Ammons residence to conduct an inspection of the alleged house of horrors.
When it came time to inspect the home, Latoya refused to set foot in her own home, too terrified of what malevolent forces awaited inside.
While the house initially seemed innocent enough, it wasn’t until the officers decided to descend into the basement that they found the evil in the house begin to emerge. Upon inspecting the basement, the officers noted that the basement floor was concrete except for the area underneath the stairs. For some unknown reason, the concrete floor had been torn up and removed under the staircase, leaving behind a cavity of loose dirt.
The officers also noted that the basement was covered in candles, many of which Latoya had burnt down to their wicks in another futile attempt to keep the evil at bay.
When questioned about the candles, Rosa stated that she believed whatever was affecting the home was coming from the basement, in particular the space under the stairs, noting that there appeared to be negative energy emanating from under the stairs.
Lieutenant John Gruszka had been tasked with documenting and recording the home inspection. But when he attempted to turn on his audio recording equipment, he found that the equipment was malfunctioning and completely unresponsive. Despite checking that the batteries had been fully charged upon entering the home, he discovered that they now appeared to be stone dead. A second recording device was brought in and lucky for Gruszka this second device appeared to be functioning properly, perhaps even a little too well. When the tape was later analyzed, amidst the hiss and static, the officers heard what they believed to be a raspy disembodied voice whispering the word “Hey.”
The officers wondered if whoever – or whatever – that raspy voice belonged to was the same sinister entity that had sabotaged the original recorder. Was this a warning, or a threat? Had they captured on tape one of the foul spirits that had been terrorizing the Ammons family?
Lieutenant Gruszka and Captain Austin also took photos during the investigation. But when they later reviewed one particular photo they had taken of the basement stairs, the officers noted what appeared to be a cloudy, white image in the upper right corner. When they enlarged the photo and examined the white image closely, they saw what appeared to be a man’s face.
A second, less distinctive, green imperfection was also noted on the left side of the photo, and when they zoomed in on it, it resembled a female figure.
While in the basement, Chief Brian Miller also noted that the door to one of the rooms appeared to move on its own, as if manipulated by unseen hands, shifting to a different position each time he looked at it.
Following the walk-through, Austin reported that when he stopped at a gas station about a mile from the Ammons residence to make a phone call, the radio in his car began to malfunction. In an interview Austin later gave to Inside Edition, he stated that, after leaving the house, he was on the phone when the radio in his car began to emit loud static and he heard what he believed to be a loud voice growling out of the speakers stating, “You, in there.” He noted during the interview that the person he was on the phone with also heard the voice.
Following this event, when he arrived home, he found that his garage door wouldn’t open. He also noted that the seat of his vehicle began to move back and forth on its own while he was driving not long after he visited the Ammons residence. When he took his vehicle in to be inspected, the mechanic noted that the seat motor had broken, but there was no discernable cause. The mechanic also told him that if this issue hadn’t been resolved, it could have potentially resulted in a serious accident.
Following these events, Captain Austin was convinced that whatever was in the Ammons’ home was now coming after him, as well.
A Second Inspection of the Ammons Home
On May 10, 2012, another group, consisting of Latoya, her mother Rosa, Father Maginot, two officers from the initial visit along with two additional officers, a police dog, and new DCS case manager Samantha Ilic, gathered to inspect the house.
The new DCS case manager was required because Valerie Washington refused to return to the Ammons’ home. Not long after, Washington would quit her job and move out of Gary, Indiana because of what she had witnessed during the Ammons case.
When the group entered the home, they didn’t initially notice anything on the main level of the house. So, they decided to head into the basement, as Father Maginot was convinced that whatever evil was inside the house was coming from the basement.
Around this same time, Latoya began complaining of a headache and not wanting to stay in the house any longer or go into the basement with the group, left the residence and decided to wait outside on the front yard while the remainder of the group headed into the basement.
When they opened the door and descended the stairs into the basement, Samantha saw what looked to be an oily substance dripping down the basement walls. Unable to determine the source of the liquid and curious to determine what it was, she reached out and touched the mysterious substance; which she later described as “slippery”, but also “sticky.”
While in the basement, Father Maginot began to proclaim that the officers needed to dig under the stairs. He was adamant that the source of evil inside the house was undoubtedly tied to whatever was buried under the stairs.
Eventually, persuaded by Father Maginot’s insistence, the officers began to start digging up the loose dirt under the stairs. After only digging a four-foot hole, the officers unearthed a variety of items buried in the loose dirt that consisted of a single pink press on nail, a white pair of women’s underwear, two child-sized socks with the bottoms cut off, a red lid to a pot, a couple of candy wrappers, a comb, and a heavy metal bar.
Unsure as to the items’ significance but convinced that they might have been used in some type of necromancy ritual, Father Maginot decided to sprinkle salt under the stairs and all around the basement walls for protection.
Determining that there was nothing more to be discovered in the basement, the group moved upstairs, and it was upstairs in the living room that Samantha began to feel excruciating pain in her pinky finger, the very finger she had used to touch the unknown substance on the basement walls. Samantha claimed that the pain was so intense that it felt as if her pinky had just been broken. When she inspected her finger, she noticed that it had begun to turn pale white, as if the blood had been drained from the appendage. Soon after, the pale complexion began to spread across half of her hand, and it was at this time that Samantha began to suffer a panic attack and decided it was in her best interest to leave the Ammons residence.
Unbeknownst to her at the time, similar to what happened with Captain Austin, whatever was in that house wasn’t just going to let Samantha go. Within thirty days of her visit to the Ammons residence, Samantha would break three ribs in a jet skiing accident, suffer third-degree burns from a motorcycle accident, break her hand hitting a table, and also break her ankle while out running.
While still in the house, Chief Miller discovered that a set of blinds in one of the bedrooms appeared to be dripping an oily substance – the same substance that Samantha had touched in the basement and that Father Maginot had seen on his initial visit to the Ammons residence.
Just like Father Maginot on that day, Chief Miller was unable to determine where the substance was coming from. He noted that the substance wasn’t dripping from the top, but rather appeared to be originating from the middle of the blinds.
Initially suspecting that someone might be attempting to tamper with their investigation, the officers decided to clean the blinds and seal the room. To make sure no one was tampering with their investigation the officers placed a Q-Tip in the door before closing it. When the officers returned roughly forty minutes later, they found the Q-Tip in the exact spot they had left it, indicating to them that no one had gone into or out of the room during those forty minutes. But when they entered the room, they found that the blinds were once again dripping with the same oily substance. They continued to try to determine the nature of the oily substance, but no matter how hard they tried, they found themselves unable to determine where it was coming from.
Around this time, the sun was beginning to set and, as it was nearing dark, Captain Austin proclaimed that he was leaving the house, declaring that he refused to be in the house when the sun went down, stating that nothing scared him more than this house.
Shortly after heading outside to check on Samantha and Latoya, Captain Austin spotted Father Maginot coming out of the house behind him and immediately stop dead in his tracks in the enclosed porch. As he continued to watch Father Maginot, he noted that Maginot appeared to be transfixed on a single spot in the porch and that he appeared to turn as “white as a sheet.”
When Captain Austin called out to Father Maginot, asking him what was wrong, Father Maginot replied, “The blinds are dripping.”
After this second investigation, Father Maginot believed he had all the proof he needed that a demonic entity had taken up residence in the Ammons’ home, and that it had affixed itself to Latoya Ammons. He knew that the only way to help her was to request an exorcism.
An Exorcism is Requested
After being convinced that an exorcism was needed to rid Latoya and her family of the evil that appeared to have attached itself to her and her children, Father Maginot requested approval from Bishop Melczek, the current Catholic Diocese of Gary, Indiana, to perform an exorcism.
His initial request was denied. Instead, he was advised to perform a “minor exorcism,” as this minor rite did not need permission from the church to be performed. Having no knowledge of how to perform this minor rite, Father Maginot allegedly had to learn how to perform this specific ritual by researching it on the internet.
Eventually, confident that he would be able to perform the ritual, which Father Maginot called an “intense blessing,” he returned to the Ammons home, along with two police officers and DCS case manager Samantha Ilic. The ritual reportedly lasted for two hours, during which time Father Maginot said prayers, recited scripture and attempted to cast out the demons he believed to be possessing Latoya.
Samantha Ilic stated that the whole thing gave her “chills.” She also stated that “We felt like someone was in the room with you breathing down your neck [the entire time].”
Following this minor exorcism, Father Maginot instructed Latoya to look up the names of the demons she believed were tormenting her, explaining that if he had the names of the specific demons plaguing her, he would be able to command more power over them. Following Father Maginot’s instructions, Latoya started researching the names of demons and attempted to match the names with the experiences she had been encountering. One name that Latoya finally settled on was Beelzebub, the Lord of the Flies.
According to Maginot, he spent months investigating Ammons’ claims of possession and torment by evil spirits, and, in 2012, he finally received approval from Bishop Melczek to perform an exorcism on Latoya Ammons based on a lack of natural explanations for her symptoms and the strange phenomena affecting her home and family.
In June of 2012, Maginot performed three official exorcism rites on Latoya Ammons at St. Stephen Martyr Catholic Church in Merrillville, where he served as a priest.
During the exorcisms, Maginot claimed that Ammons reacted violently, often convulsing as he recited scripture. Latoya herself claimed that, during the exorcisms, she would experience an “intense pain” coming from inside her, as if something was trying desperately to cling to her. She described the pain she felt during the exorcisms to be more painful than “childbirth.” She also noted that the pain would become too much at times and she would pass out.
Due to the physically demanding toll, the exorcisms took on Father Maginot and Latoya, the exorcisms had to be spread out, although it is unknown how much time passed between the first two.
Finally, near the end of June, Father Maginot prepared to deliver his third and final exorcism on Latoya. Where the first two exorcisms were performed in English, this third exorcism was performed entirely in Latin.
Similar to the previous two exorcisms, Latoya suffered as Father Maginot recited scripture and demanded in Latin that the demons leave her body. Unlike during the previous two exorcisms, however, the presence inside her seemed powerless to continue its stranglehold over her and, after a roughly four-hour process, Latoya passed out. However, this time when she awoke, Latoya Ammons claimed that the evil spirits inside her were finally gone and that she was now free.
A Happy Ending?
In between the three exorcisms, Latoya and Rosa had found a new residence in Indianapolis, Indiana. Having put the home on Carolina Street permanently in their rear-view mirror, they were determined never to step foot inside the house again as long as they lived.
Then, in November of 2012, Latoya was granted custody of her children and, roughly six months after the final exorcism, she and her three children were finally reunited.
But perhaps the best news of all was that, following the exorcism, the Ammons family finally appeared to be free from whatever had been plaguing their lives for so long. Latoya reported that nothing paranormal or demonic had followed them to their new residence. They were, in fact, truly free.
The Legacy Will Continue
Though Latoya Ammons and her family found freedom at last from the sinister forces that tormented them, the house on Carolina Street was not finished claiming victims.
Its dark legacy lived on when purchased by Zak Bagans, awakening new depths of evil that would spur future stories yet to be told. For that unassuming home still held darker secrets within its walls, and a more profound malevolence embedded in its foundations that had only just begun to reveal itself.
The house continued to stand as a silent sentinel, waiting patiently for its next inhabitants to descend into the depths of terror that had been the Ammons’ fate. This was a story that would unfold slowly, with many chapters yet to come.
