Aahana Swrup
‘The Deliverance,’ a true-story-inspired horror film directed by Lee Daniels, charts the story of a family’s haunting encounter with hellish spirits that reside in their house’s basement. The Jackson Family moves to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, looking for a new start. However, their lives spiral out of control once Ebony realizes that her kids, Andre, Nate, and Shante, seem to be under the control of some malevolent spirit whose presence can be felt throughout their rental home. Nonetheless, caught in a bad situation, the family has no choice but to weather the storm and fight against the devil with the help of an Apostle, Bernice James, and her unwavering faith.
In the film, one chilling scene finds Ebony and her kids at the Churchill Behavioral Health Center, where Andre showcases unbelievable signs of demonic possession, much to the surprise of several officials. Since the film is inspired by a real story, the health center must have caught the fans’ attention, compelling them to speculate about its connection to reality.
Indiana’s Methodist: The Real Hospital That Witnessed The Ammons Family’s Possession
Even though the on-screen hospital, Churchill Behavioral Health Center, is not a real establishment in Pennsylvania, its narrative role within ‘The Deliverance’ isn’t an entire work of fabrication. In real life, when Latoya Ammons and her family began experiencing paranormal activity around their house, the authorities brought her children to an actual hospital for evaluation in April 2012. During this time, Valerie Washington, the family’s Department of Child Services case manager, arrived at the hospital and interviewed Latoya’s sons. As per the Indy Star, the authorities took the boys to a Methodist hospital.
However, in the middle of the interview, Latoya’s sons began acting erratically, as if under possessions. In fact, the older of the two reportedly walked up a wall and to the ceiling, according to Washington and Willie Lee Walker, a registered nurse at the establishment. “He (Latoya’s 9-year-old son) walked up the wall, flipped over her (Rosa Campbell), and stood there,” Walker shared in a conversation with Indy Star. “There’s no way he could’ve done that.” Thus, the Jackson family’s trip to Churchill Behavioral Health Center is inspired by the Ammons Family’s real-life experience at Indiana’s Methodist Hospital.
Churchill Behavioral Health Center is Not a Real Hospital
Despite its roots in the Ammons Family’s haunted house story, ‘The Deliverance’ holds onto partial fictionalization for the sake of creative liberty. For the same reason, the Ammons family is turned into the Jackson family, and Indiana is swapped out for Pittsburgh. Likewise, Churchill Behavioral Health Center, a fictionalized hospital, takes center stage for the more menacing chapter of the story.
Thus, since Churchill Behavioral Health Center doesn’t exist in reality, it remains confined to a fictional world. In real life, the establishment’s interior—which takes up the bulk of the hospital’s screen time—was actually created specifically for the film. According to reports, the film’s production team built the on-screen hospital at 1310 Beulah Road in Churchill Crossings, where the old Westinghouse Churchill building once stood. Ultimately, although there is a real-life hospital with connections to Churchill Behavioral Health Center, the on-screen establishment itself isn’t a real place.
Read More: The Deliverance: Is St. Anthony’s Children’s Hospital a Real Hospital in Pennsylvania?
