Promotional material for the movie claims that it is based on the "true story" of paranormal activities experienced by the Snedeker family in the 1980s. The Snedekers moved into a house in Southington, Connecticut, and would later claim that it was plagued by some manner of demonic presence. Carmen Snedeker described the demons: "One of the demons was very thin, with very high cheekbones, long black hair and pitch black eyes. Another had white hair and eyes, wore a pinstriped tuxedo, and his feet were constantly in motion. Also one had a very big smile that on each side touched his eyes, and he was very short." The house was examined by Ed and Lorraine Warren. The story follows that mortuary equipment was discovered in the basement, and Lorraine Warren would later state, "In the master bedroom, there was a trap door where the coffins were brought up, and during the night, you would hear that chain hoist, as if a coffin were being brought up. But when Ed went to check, there was nobody down there." Lorraine Warren has told the Associated Press that the house was cleared of any presence after a séance conducted in 1988. The story was also covered in an episode of the A Haunting TV-series, called "A Haunting in Connecticut". According to the film, the house was knocked down and re-constructed, and nothing else has happened since then.
Personal Accounts
Since its inception many statements have been leveled with the book (the basis for the movie's story) In a Dark Place. The book's author, Ray Garton, remarked on the statements of the family members:
As I gathered all the necessary information for the book, I found that the accounts of the individual Snedekers didn’t quite mesh. They just couldn’t keep their stories straight. I went to Ed [Warren] with this problem. "Oh, they’re crazy," he said. "Everybody who comes to us is crazy. Otherwise why would they come to us? You’ve got some of the story – just use what works and make the rest up. And make it scary. You write scary books, right? That’s why we hired you. So just make it up and make it scary." I didn’t like that one bit. But by then, I’d signed the contract and there was no going back. I did as Ed instructed – I used what I could, made up the rest, and tried to make it as scary as I could.
Skeptic Joe Nickell investigated the alleged haunting and reported that "the Snedeker's landlady found the whole story ridiculous. She noted that nobody before or since had experienced anything unusual in the house, and that the Snedeker family stayed in the house for more than two years before finally deciding to leave."
Ray Garton has said, "I never met the son, who was said to be ill, although I was allowed to talk to him on the phone once, supervised by Carmen [his mother]. When the boy began to talk about drugs and told me that he didn’t hear and see strange things in the house once he began taking medication, Carmen ended the conversation."
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