The Alleged True Story ‘The Haunting in Connecticut’ Is Based On

The big picture

• The alleged haunting experienced by the Snedeker family was even worse than depicted in the film
  The Haunting in Connecticut
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• The family claims to have found sinister tools and a spirit with long black hair in their new home, prompting their son to be diagnosed with schizophrenia.
• The family enlisted the help of paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren, who conducted investigations, blessings and exorcisms in an attempt to rid the house of supernatural entities.

Home is where the heart is…unless the home is infested with demonic entities. Possessions and hauntings have been a favorite subject of horror for decades. Audiences tend to flock to demonic films, prepared for the horror but comforted by the knowledge that they will return to the safety of their homes after the credits roll. For the family he inspired The Haunting in Connecticuthowever, their supposed horror was worse than anything portrayed in the movies.

Loosely based on the alleged haunting of the Snedeker family, The Haunting in Connecticut tells the story of the Campbells. While carrying her son, Matt (Kyle Gallner), home of cancer treatments, Sara (Virginia Madsen) and her husband, Peter (a recovering alcoholic brought to the screen by Martin Donovan), find a house to rent closer to where Matt is receiving care. The family discovers that the house was an old funeral home where the undertaker, Ramsey Aickman, practiced necromancy to bind the spirits of the dead to the house. The film culminates in a battle against a possessed Matt. After Matt burns down the house, the spirits escape, Matt is saved and his cancer is cured. Although the film was successful enough to get a sequel, it has its share of critics, including the Snedekers themselves and two of the world's most famous and controversial paranormal investigators.

The real “Haunting in Connecticut” family claims their experience was worse than the movie

For the most part, The Haunting in Connecticut makes several details of the alleged experience of the Snedeker family correct. In accordance with people magazine, Carmen Snedekerand her husband, Allen, moved their family to a home on Meriden Avenue in Southington, Connecticut in 1986. to be closer to the hospital where his son, Felipe, was receiving cancer treatment. The controversial book In a dark placeco-written by Warren, Allen Snedeker and others, claims that Carmen woke up in the night shortly before her move after dreaming that her new home was an old funeral home.

The book alleges that when the Snedekers arrived, Carmen asked Allen if they could look around. When they entered, they encountered “Alien and sinister tools. Frightening and indescribable tools. Steel devices darkened with age.” They ventured down to the basement, where they claim to have found a platform “attached to chains that were attached to a large hoist”. The Snedekers confirmed that the house was once a funeral home. However, for the sake of Felipe's health, they decided to move there on the condition that they did not tell the children. However, Carmen says it didn't take them long to figure them out.

In accordance with peoplejust three hours after the family moved into their new home, Felipe walked up to Carmen and said, “Mom, this house is bad. We have to get out of here right away!” Carmen says she told her son, “Evil is in the heart of man. Not in a house.” She rejected the claim, but it is said that Philip soon began to see a spirit with long hair and a thin face. The spirit would allegedly say Philip's name and point at the teenager. Carmen stated, “My son started seeing this young man with long black hair down to his hips… He talked to my son every day. Sometimes he would threaten him, other times he would stand there and just say his nom. , which was enough to scare him.”

How similar “The Haunting in Connecticut” is to the real-life story of the Snedekers

Unlike the movie, it didn't take the destruction of the family home to rid Philip of cancer. Throughout his treatments, his cancer went into remission. Despite this, claims that he was haunted by the malevolent man led to a diagnosis of schizophrenia. Carmen says Felipe started pulling pranks on the family, including locking her brother in a trunk. Philip would say he didn't remember doing these things after they happened. Carmen and Allen sent Philip to live with relatives and told him that once he moved in, he immediately stopped seeing spirits and hearing voices.. The Snedekers claim that, with Philip out of the house, the spirit turned its attention to them.

Carmen's 18-year-old niece was living with the family at the time, and according to Carmen, she was disturbed by the spirit, whose hand was seen going up the girl's nightgown. “That's when I knew for sure I was dealing with something supernatural,” Carmen said people. Carmen and Allen contacted the clergy and several paranormal investigators. According to researcher John Zaffis, he saw a spirit that said to him “Do you know what they did to us?” Zaffis continued to explain people that all he wanted to do was “grab the car keys and get out of the house.” Both Carmen and Joan alleged that two priests visited the house and left in fright. Desperate to get rid of the force that pursues them, Carmen contacted demonologists and future characters of her own franchise “based on a true story” Ed and Lorraine Warren.

How Ed and Lorraine Warren were involved in “The Haunting in Connecticut”

Now known movie heroes thanks to conjuration franchise, Ed and Lorraine Warren were involved in many prolific alleged hauntings from the 1950s to the mid-2000s. His controversial work includes cases popular with paranormal fans, from the Annabelle doll to the Amityville Horror. The alleged haunting of the Snedeker house was one of his most publicized investigations.

Carmen contacted the Warrens and asked them to come investigate the house. According to her, the rosaries she was holding during her phone conversation were breaking. The Warrens arrived the next day with a priest who they say blessed the house, though they claim it had no effect. The Warrens investigated the house and allegedly found that when the house was used as a funeral home, one of the employees was convicted of necrophilia and performing satanic rituals. After conducting their initial research, the Warrens sought an exorcism. The bishop is said to have assigned two priests who led another blessing and said a mass at home.. During the Mass, Ed Warren claimed to be suffering from heart problems that resolved once the rite was completed.

About the film, Lorraine Warren commented that it was very exaggerated, telling NBC Connecticut, “The movie is very, very loosely based on actual research.” Noting his displeasure with the film, he added: “It's shameful. Do you know the time and effort we put into this case? Do you know how many meetings with the clergy we had to finally bring closure to the family?” The Snedekers moved out of their home after more than two years as residents. The paranormal activity in the house was assumed to stop after the exorcism, although Carmen recalled a priest warning her to live her life carefully. In the following years, no other residents are said to have reported any demonic activity.

The world may never know what really happened in the house on Meriden Avenue. Skeptics claim to have disproved it, while paranormal investigators and family who lived through it swear by what they saw. One thing is certain, however The Haunting in Connecticut and other horror classics that claim to be based on true stories will keep audiences entertained, not to mention up at night, for generations to come.

The Haunting in Connecticut is available to stream on Netflix in the United States

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