Sumith Prasad
Directed by Lee Daniels, ‘The Deliverance’ is a Netflix horror film featuring Alberta who helps her daughter, Ebony Jackson, deal with several demonic occurrences that unfold in their rental home in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Even though the mother and daughter don’t cherish a warm relationship, they try their best to look after each other and their loved ones. After her youngest grandchild, Andre, is possessed by a demonic spirit, Alberta’s life gets threatened. The supernatural entity targets the religious woman and kills her when her daughter and grandchildren are away. The character’s roots can be traced to a woman who lived in an allegedly haunted house in Gary, Indiana. SPOILERS AHEAD.
Alberta is Based on Latoya Ammons’ Mother, Rosa Campbell
David Coggeshall and Elijah Bynum wrote ‘The Deliverance’ based on the true story of Latoya Ammons, who claimed that she was possessed while she was living in a house on Carolina Street in Gary, Indiana. She moved into the house with her mother, Rosa Campbell, the real-life counterpart to Alberta, in November 2011. While Glenn Close’s character is a white woman, Campbell is black, which is one of the fundamental differences between them. In the supernatural thriller film, Alberta learns about the demonic presence in her house long after Ebony encounters the same. In reality, that wasn’t the case.
Campbell came across big black flies and listened to footsteps and the creak of the door that opened to the basement along with Ammons. According to her interview with The Indianapolis Star, she even saw a man’s apparent shadowy figure and wet bootprints in her living room. In March 2012, Campbell allegedly witnessed her 12-year-old granddaughter levitating above her bed. “I thought, ‘What’s going on? Why is this happening?’” she told The Indianapolis Star in January 2014. The grandmother in the family then urged her daughter to seek help to deal with the supposed paranormal presence in their house. While they were trying to mitigate their issues, the children’s conditions worsened.
Rosa Campbell Witnessed Her Loved Ones Suffer Due to Alleged Demonic Possession
While Latoya Ammons and her children believed that they were possessed, Rosa Campbell was under the impression that the demons didn’t target her because she was born with “protection from evil,” thanks to her “guardian.” But she had to witness her daughter and grandchildren suffer. She saw her two grandsons cursing Dr. Geoffrey Onyeukwu, the family physician, in allegedly demonic voices in April 2012. After the Department of Child Services intervened through the case manager, Valerie Washington, the two boys were interviewed in the presence of their grandmother. During the interview, the elder grandson reportedly head-butted her, only for her to grab his hands and pray.
According to the witnesses, a chilling development unfolded as the interview of the two boys progressed. The elder brother walked back to the wall to the ceiling without letting go of Campbell’s hand. “He walked up the wall, flipped over her [Campbell], and stood there. There’s no way he could’ve done that,” Willie Lee Walker, a registered nurse who said she saw the incident, told The Indianapolis Star. After this strange occurrence, she took the two older grandchildren to a relative’s house in Gary. When the DCS separated Ammons from her kids by taking custody of the trio, Campbell supported her daughter in dealing with the temporary absence of their loved ones.
Soon, Reverand Michael Maginot became involved in the supposed paranormal affair. He interviewed Campbell and Ammons to learn more about their concerns. The priest concluded that a series of exorcisms was necessary to separate the young mother from the alleged demons. One of the real-life happenings ‘The Deliverance’ does not depict is the intervention of the local police. When the officers from the Gary and Hammond Police Departments visited the allegedly haunted house, Campbell guided them. She told them that the family believed the demons emerged from under the stairs.
Supposed Demonic Entities Never Threatened Rosa Campbell’s Life
In ‘The Deliverance,’ Alberta is targeted by the demonic spirit that lives in her house when she is alone. The entity appears before her in the form of her grandson, Andre, and kills her. In real life, such an incident did not happen. Campbell was not killed by someone or something resembling her grandson, and she is a survivor of the supposed paranormal activity that unfolded in her house. In 2012, she joined Ammons to move from her home in Gary to a house in Indianapolis, Indiana. She was interviewed by The Indianapolis Star, Daily Mail, and Syndication’s ‘Inside Edition’ about her experiences. Alberta’s death can be seen as a fictional development conceived by the screenwriters David Coggeshall and Elijah Bynum to portray the strength of the demonic spirit that possesses Andre, Shante, and Nate in the horror film.
Through the character’s demise, the narrative establishes that the supernatural entity can kill its targets, which increases the stakes for Ebony. The young mother becomes alone and the sole guardian of her children, making her the only person who can save her kids. This predicament increases the tension in the narrative, enhancing viewers’ experience. However, the death has nothing to do with Alberta’s real-life counterpart. Another fictional detail concerning Alberta is Andre assuming her form during the deliverance. In reality, Campbell’s youngest grandson did not undergo a ritual since he was under the DCS’ custody.
Instead, a series of exorcisms was performed on Ammons. No reports state that she had her mother’s appearance during the rituals. Campbell accompanied her daughter to St. Stephen, Martyr Parish in Merrillville, Indiana, for the exorcisms and took her back to their new house after the rituals concluded. The grandmother reunited with her grandchildren when the DCS released them in November 2012. In 2014, Campbell recollected how it felt watching Ammons and her grandchildren suffer. “My daughter was on the edge of losing her mind. It was hard to watch. It was awful to watch,” she told Daily Mail. Unlike Alberta, Rosa Campbell was beside her daughter throughout the ordeal to fight what they believed was supernatural and satanic.
Read More: The Deliverance: Is St. Anthony’s Children’s Hospital a Real Hospital in Pennsylvania?
