The Disturbing True Story of the Snedeker Family Haunting (Full Paranormal Documentary)

[Music] I mean, we couldn't see it. How did we expect anyone else to believe us to her? I'll let her tell you about them if she can't. >> And and I would lie there for 5 or 10 minutes and listen to it. Along with the music, I could hear uh three or four voices. The landlord knew there was a problem with that house. >> No, the landlord knew the landlord. >> What about the covers coming off? What about the sodomization? What about the apparitions? My children, you're probably saying to yourself about now, "Well, this story

sounds crazy." But my guest today insists it's true. Philip stood at the window of the family's new kitchen. The early morning sun was beaming on his face as he glanced out at the place they now called home. He hated it. But he knew why they were there. Philip was sick, very Seriously sick. And his entire family had relocated to make sure they could get him the medical treatment he needed. He couldn't be the one to kick up a fuss. They had done this for him, but he had to wonder if the others were feeling the

same way he was. Did they also feel like they were being watched everywhere they went in this house? Philip walked out of the kitchen and along the staircase that led down the stairs to the landing below the entrance To the basement. The basement where his room was. As he did, he heard something. At first, he thought it was his mother calling him. But then he noticed the hiss of the shower coming from the bathroom. She was still in there. He heard it again. It certainly wasn't his mother. It was a voice coming from downstairs. A

deep man's voice, one he did not recognize. Philillip paused and looked over the banister. "Phillip," it called Out. It was hard to explain. The voice didn't feel loud as such, but it was clear now. It repeated, calling his name over and over again. Philillip froze. Someone was in their house. Phillip, come down here, the voice says in an impatient tone. He lent over the banister, and the voice repeated its instruction. Philillip was sure now the voice was coming from the basement. No one was in the basement. Then the voice's tone changed. It chuckled a low

laugh. "Phillip, you've got to come down here and see this," it said. The teenage boy glanced around in a panic, looking for help. He didn't know what to do. "Phillip, I've got something to show you," it repeated from down in the darkened doorway to the basement. Philip turned and ran into the living room. He turned the TV on as loud as he could and buried his head in a blanket. Despite all he Had been through, he was still very much a child. His mother found him there moments later. After coming rushing from the shower to

find out why the TV was so loud, Philillip told her about the voice, but she reassured him that no one was down there. Philip replied he knows there's no one down there. His mother looked at him confused, wondering what the problem was. Then Philillip responded. What was calling him? What wanted him to come to it? It wasn't a person. It was something else. Good evening. This is an episode I've had planned for a long time now, and one you guys have asked me to cover many times. This is actually going to be part of the

first ever loose two-parter that I've done on the show. But don't worry, the two parts are connected by a specific theme. We're going to still be delving into the entire story here Tonight and won't be splitting it into two. The case of the Snica family from the mid1 1980s. While not reaching the levels of fame of cases like the Amil Horror, is still likely one of the most infamous hauntings in American history. This was a case that saw debates on mainstream TV shows. It ultimately inspired documentaries, books, and even a successful feature film based on

the case. But the 2009 movie The Haunting in Connecticut doesn't really tell the Story as was originally reported. What they claim to experience may be one of the most disturbing paranormal cases ever reported. But can their story be believed? Well, that's a big conversation to have. I'm putting a serious content warning on this one. It gets into some very dark places, including some discussions of sexual assault. As always, I try not to be too graphic with this stuff, but it is there. Across the various years, Different pseudonyms have been used for members of the family,

which is obviously a little confusing. I have tried my best to get all the names correct, but apologies if I get anyone mixed up here. As always, we will be first telling the story as described by the family before discussing what really could have taken place here. And the second half of that conversation is likely to be a big one for this case because there is so much to unwrap. But Before we begin, I'd like to take a moment to welcome back our longtime sponsor, Mantis Sleep. To date, I have only accepted two different paid

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into it. I suspect this is going to be a long one, so get yourself A warm drink, dim the lights, and get comfortable. It's time to delve into the disturbing case of the Snedica family haunting. Welcome to the tape library. It was April 1986 when everything changed for the Snedica family. The family was made up of mother and father Carmon and Al Nedka and their four children, Philillip, Bradley, Alan Jr., and Jennifer. It all began with a cough. The 14-year-old Philillip had developed A nasty hacking cough that seemingly wouldn't go away. Then, Carmen discovered a

lump just under her son's jaw. Philillip was diagnosed with Hodkdins lymphoma, something that understandably turned the young family's life upside down. They had been living in Hurleyville, New York, but Philillip had been sent to specialists at a hospital in Connecticut. The boy spent 3 weeks there, but would have to return daily for cobalt treatments. This was6 Mi drive for the family, so very quickly they began looking for an apartment closer to the hospital. Medical bills were already piling up, so finding somewhere they could afford that was still big enough for the six of them proved

challenging. But while driving to view another property one day, Carmon passed a beautiful colonial style house with a forent sign outside. There were workmen all around renovating the house as she approached it and she asked Someone about viewing the house. The property was planned to be split into two apartments. The downstairs wasn't safe for her to walk around currently, but the person she spoke to let her into the upstairs to see what it was like. In Carmen's eyes, it was perfect, but she assumed it was way out of their price range. She called the owner

and was shocked to discover that the rent would actually be affordable for them. After hearing their story and discovering why Carmen was so desperate for a place to live, he offered her the downstairs apartment that was still being worked on. Carmon didn't hesitate. Even though she hadn't seen the downstairs, she thought it couldn't possibly be any smaller than the upstairs, and that was her main factor in looking for a property. She agreed to rent the place. Al would have to stay in New York for 6 weeks until his job could be transferred. But the entire

family were On board with the move and excited to start their new life. Shortly before the move, Carmen shot Bolt upright in bed. She'd had a nightmare. Her memory of it was hazy, but she could remember something. Caskets, rows of caskets, and a man standing there looking at her. The family arrived at the new home on a warm June afternoon. Owl actually had family in the area, so a number of them Made the trip over to help with the unpacking. When they arrived, Carmon and Al went in alone at first, wanting to see exactly what

they were moving into before bringing the children in. Carpenters were stood at work on the ground floor, so the couple made their way through towards the basement area that had been divided up into multiple rooms. The air felt musty, but there was plenty of room for the kids. But that was when They noticed something. At the end of the hall that stretched the length of the basement was another room. As they entered, they noticed each room in the property was adorned with a silver crucifix. They entered the room. It was full of strange tools that

they didn't recognize. Tubes, jars, and blades. Underneath one of the tables were boxes of blank metallic plates. Just off of this room was a door that led to a ramp that sloped up towards the back garden. It was a loading ramp down to the basement. Entering another room, they found a large rectangular platform that looked a little like a bed, but with chains attached to a large hoist. There was a large piece of plywood on the floor that Al lifted up to reveal what appeared to be a concrete pit. Its side stained with some sort

of dark substance. Another area saw them discover a table with a rusty sink nearby. It looked almost like a run-down Operating room. By the time the couple headed back outside, they were a little shaken by what they had discovered, but decided it was best not to tell the children. Standing in the front garden now was the owner of the property, Mr. Lawson. Carmon pulled him aside and flat out asked him, "Did this used to be a funeral home?" He admitted that yes, it was, but it hadn't been used for a couple of years. He'd recently

purchased it from the funeral home's former owner. He'd wanted to turn the place into an office building, but couldn't get permission, so decided with the hospital expanding nearby that it might work as a rental property. He asked that the Snedic leave the stuff in the basement alone, claiming that it made a good conversation starter. He then apparently apologized that the downstairs apartment still wasn't ready, and suggested they should stay with friends or in a motel while the final bits of work could be Completed. Why he hadn't pre-warned the family about this doesn't seem to be

mentioned in this Nitica story, but I get the feeling this guy was maybe not the best of landlords. Al headed back to New York for work and Carmen went to the motel with the children. But a motel room for all of them was far too cramped. And after just 2 days, she decided it would be better just to move into the unfinished apartment. The family pulled Mattresses out from the garage and set themselves up in the dining room. While the finishing touches were put on their new home, by the weekend, they were good to complete

their move. Philip and his brother would take the two rooms in the basement while everyone else slept on the ground floor, but Bradley was staying with family for the summer, meaning Philillip would be down there on his own for the first few weeks. Carmon Was washing up in the kitchen when Philillip came walking in. He was quiet. Carmon could feel the nervous energy radiating off of him. When she asked what was wrong, he said he didn't want to sleep in the basement. In fact, he thought they should leave the house altogether. She tried to calm

him down, telling him he was just worried about the change. But when she asked why he hated the place so much, he simply said it felt evil. Leaving obviously wasn't an option, and although his words made calm and uncomfortable, she tried to put it to the back of her mind. Philillip felt a combination of fear and guilt. In his eyes, it was his fault his family were there now, and he genuinely felt that something was wrong with this place. He would sleep upstairs in the living room, though, until his brother moved in. One morning, Philip

was awoken by what he thought was his mother Calling him, only to find her in the kitchen having breakfast, claiming that she hadn't. When she went to go and have a shower, that's when he heard it properly for the first time. A voice coming from deep down in the basement. A voice that wanted to show him something. When Carmen found him covered in a blanket with the TV turned up to full Volume, she tried to comfort him, but Philillip just kept repeating that the house was evil. Carmon decided to tell him the truth, that the

house had been a funeral home. But in her mind, that would set his mind at ease because no one had died there. They had died elsewhere, so the house couldn't be haunted, right? Carmon was just trying to help, but Philillip saw this as validation that he was right. There was something wrong with this house. In those early weeks, Al was away a lot. Philip soon made friends with a local boy and having someone else there gave him the courage to explore the basement, a detail that gave Carmon a sense of relief. He seemed to be

getting used to the place. One day, the landlord came to visit to see how the family was settling in. Carmon used this as an opportunity to ask him some questions about some of the objects in the basement. She learned that the rectangular object With chains was a body lift. The deceased would be hoisted up from there onto the ground floor directly into what was now common in an hour's bedroom. The stained concrete pits was where the blood from the bodies was drained away. It was all very morbid, but the landlord was polite enough. And Carmon

was happy to get some clarity on what all this stuff was, but as she led him out of the house, he noticed that one of the rooms in the basement was set Up for a bedroom. The landlord asked who was sleeping down here and then he asked if anyone had noticed anything strange. She said her son had been claiming to hear voices. The landlord paused for a moment before smirking and saying, "Kids." He then mentioned one final thing. He brought up the crosses above each doorway. He said he'd appreciate it if the family didn't remove

those, not even to clean them. One morning, Carmon was sitting looking through the letters that had just arrived when the peaceful silence was shattered by a loud scream. Carmon ran towards the source of it and was met by her young daughter, Jennifer, in the hall. She was hysterical, terrified. Jennifer, in her frantic, broken sentences, just kept telling her mother that there was a woman. a woman standing in her room with her arms stretched out wide looking directly at Her. Carmon inspected the room. Jennifer said she was standing over there by the dresser, but of course

there was no sign of anyone. Carmon was annoyed. She was sure that Philillip had been scaring his little sister, but Philillip denied it. And when he heard that Jennifer had seen someone, he looked equally terrified. When Al returned, he discussed the whole matter with Philillip. In Al's mind, his son was stressed and imagining things. He had been through a lot these last few months, and at 14, he was still very much a child. Al retreated to the living room, and Philip went to the bathroom. But as he reached out for the handle, he heard it

again. Clear as day, someone called his name and asked what he was doing. Philillip turned slowly and gazed down the stairs that led to the basement. Phillip, I think you should come down here, the voice repeated. Then he was sure he saw it. movement in the darkness. Just a slight gray blur moving followed by the sounds of footsteps. Philillip ran back to his family but didn't say a word. What was the point? No one believed him. Philillip continued to hear voices. Sometimes they sounded like a stranger. Sometimes he was sure it was his father even

when he wasn't home. Owl and Carmen were growing increasingly Worried about their son and began to talk about getting him some help. But this would be another expense they would have to face. Therapists were not cheap, so they held off initially. But Philillip wasn't alone. Jennifer began confiding in her brother that she was seeing things. Things that she called ghosts. Philip's treatments were really taking a toll on the boy. So, it was easy for his parents to blame everything on that. One night, Carmon came into the living room to find Philip asleep on the sofa,

but with all the lights turned on. When she asked him why he had switched them on, he said he had heard a voice coming from one of the darkened corners of the room. He had switched them on, but when he did, the voice didn't stop. even know there was no one there. These incidents continued with Jennifer also coming to Carmen complaining of similar things. It wasn't until one Afternoon that Carmon began to take it all a little more seriously. She was sitting in the sun room writing in her journal. Interestingly, she was writing about Philillip's

latest claim when she suddenly heard a man's voice shout, "Calm, you in here?" Excitedly, she jumped up. It must be Al. He must be home early. She called his name in response, but was met with silence. She called out again. Nothing. She went out to the hall into the living Room, and there was no one there. She tried to shrug it off. It was just the children's stories getting to her. But something in the back of her mind began to grow. One day, Carmen was standing in the kitchen mopping the floor when she noticed an

odd coppery smell that appeared to come out of nowhere. When she looked down at the bucket, she saw that the water had become a deep dark red. Then she realized it wasn't just a Bucket. Her feet were covered in this red substance, and so was the floor. She quickly cleaned it up with paper towels, telling herself that it was a problem with the lenolium. It just needed to be replaced. That was all. The voice continued tormenting Philillip, speaking to him when he was alone, always trying to call him down to the basement, telling him it

had things to tell him, telling him they had things to do. Philip had stopped talking to his Parents about the voices, but he was still talking to Jennifer about it. She hadn't heard them herself, but she had obviously seen the woman, and she told her brother that she often didn't feel like she was alone at any point in the home. Philillip had started seeing things, too. Not as vividly as his sister was, but he was sure he kept seeing a shadowy figure just out of the corner of his eye. It was small and gray and

seemed to be darting behind the Furniture, as though it were hiding from him. But when he finally plucked up the courage to get closer, there was nothing there. Carmon was continuing to note strange events, too. Although it seems every family member was experiencing something a little different. Carmen was on the phone to her friend while making lunch. But when she hung up the phone, she realized a stack of plates and the utensils that she had placed on the side had all vanished. Then she discovered them back in the cupboard. Someone had put them away for

some reason. That weekend, Philip's brother, Bradley, finally came to the home. Summer was ending, and it was soon time for the children to start in their new school. Philip had asked his mother not to tell Bradley why he wasn't sleeping downstairs, initially at least. He also said that now his brother was there, he was happy to try sleeping in the basement. Both boys would have their Own rooms separated by French doors, but Philillip was insistent that he still wanted to share one room with his brother. It was a small step, but still this was a

relief to Carmen. Philip's fears had been putting them all on edge, and maybe this was finally the opportunity to begin to fully settle in. But once the boys were alone, Philillip told his brother everything about how this place was a funeral home, about the strange items they found There, about what their sister saw. That night, Philillip refused to go to bed until Bradley did. When the pair finally did retreat to their room, Bradley left to go and brush his teeth, leaving Philillip alone in the basement for the first time. The lights were all still on,

leaving the only darkness just beyond the French doors where Philillip's room should have been. As he glanced over, that's when he noticed it. The doors were open, just a Crack, and in that crack was a face peering back at him. This was no case of peridolia, a shadow playing tricks on his eyes. He could see the face as clear as day. It was a man with a long pale face. So pale that he almost looked like a mannequin. His hair black and thin. His cheeks hollow with sunken eyes. His lips began to move as though

he were talking. But Philillip couldn't make out any words. He just stared as the pale face peered back at him totally emotionlessly. The one thing that truly made this person feel out of place, though, was that Philillip was sure he seemed to shimmer on occasion. The lips on the face moved faster. The bony hand that hung at its side began to slowly reach up to push the doors open. Philip jumped out of bed and ran as fast as he could. Forced to pass the figure to reach the stairs as he whipped past it. He could

Hear the faintest whisper, but couldn't understand its words. He collided with his brother at the top of the stairs. Philip couldn't speak, but Bradley knew something was wrong. He fetched their parents and got his brother a glass of water. Philip told them that he saw a man downstairs. Al immediately went to look for the intruder. Al returned sometime later, confirming that no one was down there. When Philillip started to say that he wanted to sleep in the living room again, Al, who had been drinking all night and whose temper had been growing in the past

few weeks, became incredibly angry with his son, telling him that he needed to grow up and to stop telling his brothers and sister all these ridiculous stories about ghosts and voices. It would only be a few nights later that Bradley would see them for the first time, too. Both boys had been Laying in their beds talking to one another. when they heard a sound from across the room. There on the dresser sat a toy robot. And standing around the dresser looking at the robot were three men. One was tall and wore a suit and a

fedora. The other two were shorter and wore all black. They seemed so dark that they almost blended into the darkened room, but they could still make them out clear enough. They muttered between themselves in harsh whispery sounds the Boys couldn't make out. Then the tallest one picked up the robot, turned and faced the two brothers. The two smaller men did the same. All three just stared at them. They continued to mutter between each other, gesturing at the boys as Philip and Bradley sat frozen in fear before the tall man suddenly hoisted the robot up and

smashed it onto the dresser. This snapped the boys out of their fearinduced trance. They suddenly felt the very real danger they Were in and ran upstairs screaming. Carmon came down to investigate, still a little nervous to do so, but there was no one there and no way anyone could have gotten into the house, but then she noticed it. The toy robot smashed into pieces. She quickly separated the boys and made them tell her what had happened. Both stories were the same. Both of her sons seemed genuinely terrified. Carmon went back downstairs alone to Search the

basement, making sure everything was all locked up. It was, but it was the strangest thing. At one point, she was sure she heard footsteps and then felt a sudden chill on her skin, as though someone had brushed past her. But she was alone. In the following days, Carmon kept noticing odd things happening. Her belongings would go missing. Taps would be found running. Her alarm clock would Turn off. Time and time again, she blamed Philillip for it, believing he was acting up and messing with her. But he denied it every time. Philillip began to retreat into

himself more and more. In fact, he only seemed to be himself when the neighbor's boy he made friends with would come over. Carmon kept catching the children whispering to one another. But when she asked them what they were talking about, they wouldn't tell her. It was around This time that Al had his first experiences. He had been laying in bed late on a Friday night when he was awoken by something. He wasn't sure what it was, but in his hazy state, he suddenly snapped into focus when he became convinced he could hear voices, then a

muffled, shuffling, bumping sound. He first thought it might be the children, but then he heard music. He could barely make it out at first, but After a moment his ears tuned to it, and he was sure it sounded like the scratchy sound of a record playing on an old gramophone. As he crept downstairs, the sounds became louder. It sounded like a party, the chattering voices audible over the top of the dusty old music. Al still assumed it was the kids. Specifically, it must be Philillip and that weird new friend he was hanging out with that

Al wasn't a fan of. But Al went into the basement and noticed all The lights were off. The boys were fast asleep, and the music had suddenly stopped. He stood in the boy's bedroom, and then turned, pulled open the French doors, and stepped into the darkened, unused bedroom. Instantly, he was hit with a wall of cold air. He thought a window must be open. had someone broken into the house. But then suddenly the cold vanished. The room immediately returned to its usual temperature. Nothing was out of place. No window was Open. The following night, he

was awoken again. But this time, his bed seemed to be gently vibrating, like energy moving through the floor to the bed frame. He sat up suddenly, and the vibrating stopped. It was weird, but he likely would have brushed it off and forgotten about it if it wasn't for the repeated claims his son was making. But then something truly terrifying began to Happen to the young Catholic couple. Their son Phillip was becoming a metal head. He was listening to Oussie Osborne records with his friend Jason from down the street. They were sitting in the bedroom looking

at pictures of Joan Jet and Madonna in a magazine when Jason suddenly went quiet. Philillip looked up at him and saw he was staring off behind Philillip. Towards the French doors behind him, Philillip turned to see what his friend was looking at. On the other Side of the doors, they could see an old man. His skin a pale white color, white stringy hair clinging to his scalp, his eye sockets filled with glassy white orbs. He stood and stared at the boys. Jason immediately ran with Philillip following quickly behind again. Carmen dismissed his claims, believing both

boys were now playing up to this story. Philip's attitude and behavior was quickly changing. He was Dressing differently. He was quiet, grumpy, at times mean to his siblings and parents. While all of this feels very much like the behavior of your average teenager. It was the speed of this transformation that worried Al and Carmen. Initially, they blamed his new friend. But deep down both worried that maybe it was the house. Al was changing, too. Every time he was home, he would have a beer in hand, and his drinking was Increasingly leading the man to become

angry and unpredictable. Philip and Owl really began to clash. And Al was quite angrily telling his son to drop all this ghost stuff, but Philillip was beginning to not just hear the voices still, but starting to interact with them. It wanted something from him. Philip wasn't sure what, but it kept hinting that it needed him to do something. In the following weeks, the more subtle sides of the activity continued. Carmon Would become convinced that she saw someone moving in the corner of her eye. She would feel the sudden cold surges in the house. She had

also been awoken by the vibrating feeling in the bed that Al had experienced, although neither of them told the other about it. Al was still hearing the music late at night, the vibrations of the bed. When a couple finally moved into the upstairs apartment, both Al and Carmon began to use it to dismiss some of what they were Experiencing. It was easier to ignore the bumps in the night or the odd sound of voices when there were other people around, even if they knew that wasn't the answer. One night, the couple were awoken by the

bed vibrating more violently this time. This was the first time that both had experienced something together. But Al just tried to calm his wife by claiming it must be the vibrations from The fridge in the upstairs apartment. Once the shaking stopped, Al got up. He was drawn to the window by the sound of barking. Out there in the dark was their neighbor's dog, barking incessantly, looking at their house as it did. This became a common occurrence on most nights when the family would experience something. Then the increasingly reserved Philillip suddenly decided he did want his

own room after all. He finally moved into the other bedroom on The other side of the French doors. Both boys were now alone in rooms that once housed the funeral home's caskets. Increasingly worried about his behavior and changing fashion choices, Carmen decided to take Philillip to see a priest at the local church. Philip began seeing the priest often, giving the boy someone outside the house to talk about his issues with, but the priest simply thought it was the teenager rebelling against his parents and suggested the Idea of him seeing a therapist. Meanwhile, the family would

face another tragic turn when Carmon's father was murdered. He was found dead in his own trailer, shot by his own gun. But with minimal blood at the scene, it seemed to suggest that he had been murdered and then taken to the trailer and left there. Seemingly, the police weren't too interested in investigating the murder of an elderly alcoholic. And Carmon and Her brother were forced to bury their father without knowing what had happened to him. While she was gone, Al was alone with the sounds at night. The music, the voices, the vibrating bed, the barking

dog. When he found Philillip up walking around one night after hearing it all, he confronted his son and asked if he had snuck some friends into the house. Chillingly, Philillip replied, "Why would I do that? It's crowded Enough in here as it is. Just after Christmas, a sky-high electric bill dropped into the Snetica's mailbox. A furious owl blamed this on Philillip and his insistence on sleeping with all the lights on. Al went as far as to remove the bulbs from the lights in the basement. Later that night, Bradley came into Al and Carmon's room, complaining

that the lights were on. Al, confused, came down to investigate. Sure enough, the light was shining, but there was no bulb in the socket. Then the light suddenly went out. Al didn't know how to react. He just said to Bradley that he had woken him up for no reason, that there was no light. Al then retreated to the kitchen and began to drink. Well, after he pulled the bulbs out, one night I was laying in bed and my sister came down the stairs and she started flicking on the light Switch downstairs and I said, "Sis,

what are you doing? You're not supposed to be down here." And I got up and I chased her up the stairs and I chased her into the living room and my dad and mom were sitting there and they said, "What are you doing out of bed? You need to go downstairs and go to bed." And I said, "Well, where's my sister at? She just was downstairs turning the lights on and off." And they said, "No, she's in bed. go look and see for yourself. And I Walked in there and I looked. My sister was sleeping.

And I was walking by my dad. He said, "Well, quit messing around because you know I took those bulbs out anyways." Philillip had started saying that Al wasn't even his father. He was right in a way. Al was his stepfather, but they had always called him dad. That night, the voice praised him for this, agreeing that he wasn't their father, that Al didn't respect him, didn't believe in Him, that he will stand in Philip's way of what he could possibly become. The voice asked Philillip if he knew who it was. Philip said that the voice

was his father. The voice asked the question again. Philillip responded that the voice was God. The voice responded, "That's right, my son." Carmon was growing more and more concerned. She was arguing with the increasingly Angry owl. Bradley would spend as much time out of the house as he could. Philip's behavior was disturbing her. He was now walking around the house mumbling to himself. The look in his eyes scared both his parents. When she would mop, that strange brown reddish liquid would appear. What's more, she kept hearing the voices over and over herself. Always just whispers

on the wind, hard to make out and easy to dismiss, but it Was getting harder and harder to do so. Her only reprieve came from a friend that she had made with one of the neighbors, a woman named Tanya, who would come around and talk with her. Well, that was until one day when Tanya ran out without explaining. She wouldn't go near Carmon for several weeks until finally Carmon confronted her and asked why she was being so weird. Tanya told her that the Senica's house scared her, that it felt Claustrophobic and suffocating when she was

in there, but she was also convinced that she kept seeing things. Figures walking around in the prefer of her vision. The pair talked about what Carmen had been experiencing. Carmen felt helpless. She didn't know who to talk to, who could help her. That was when Tanya said she heard about a couple on the radio who dealt with issues like this. She dug around her house and found a magazine article about Them. She gave it to Carmen, who initially didn't put much stock into it. By this point, Philillip's cancer was in remission, a fact that he

felt was being helped by the voice. He went as far as telling his mother that it wouldn't come back, that his friends wouldn't allow it. This is where things start to get really dark. So, I just want to reiterate that warning from the start of the episode. Carmen got a phone call from her sister One day. She had fallen seriously ill and wanted to know if the Senkas could look after her daughter for a while, although some have said she was actually just going through a messy divorce. Al, still downplaying the activity, said it would

be fine. While this conversation was going on, Bradley came running out of his room, claiming to have seen a little boy running around the basement. Just a few days later, 17-year-old Tammy and 12-year-old Mary moved in. Philip Was in his room when they arrived. But he knew they were there. He knew because the voice told him. It spoke about them, his lovely cousins, as it described them. It spoke to Philillip about how young and smooth skinned they looked. It spoke about how good they would taste. It told him he should go and see them later

tonight. Increasingly, Philillip rarely defied what the voice told him. The following morning, the girls seemed tired. Carmen asked them if they didn't Sleep well, and they said they hadn't. They said it felt like they weren't alone in their room last night. This continued for weeks. Tammy especially spoke about feeling like she was never alone, like she was being watched at all times. She felt this even more anytime she showered or was getting dressed. On some occasions, she almost became convinced that she had felt someone brush past her in the halls, but there was never anyone

There. Mary was awoken late one night by her sister calling her name. Tammy asked her if she could hear it, the footsteps. It sounded like someone was walking around their room in the dark. But when Tammy spoke to Carmen about it, Carmon downplayed it, saying she was just picking up on the tension in the house, that Philillip really wasn't well, and it was causing the family a lot of stress. She especially told her not to Mention it to Al. So the girls kept most of their experiences to themselves, at least to begin with. One night,

the voice woke Philillip up. It told him it was time. This wasn't the first time he had gone to the girl's bedroom to watch them sleep, but this was the first time it told him to touch them. He gently stroked Tammy's skin carefully so as not to wake her up. Then the voice told Phillip she was bigger than him. She could defend Herself. Philillip turned and looked at Mary. 2 days later, Carmon returned home from a shopping trip to find the two girls sitting outside the house crying. Tammy told her what had happened. She had

caught Philillip attempting to molest Mary in his bedroom that afternoon. She had stopped him and the girls had rushed outside to wait for Carmon to return. Carmon rushed inside to confront Philillip who just sat on his bed Laughing. The police took Philillip away later that day. He admitted to trying to force Mary into sex, but that also he had been sneaking into their room at night and touching them. After being taken to a juvenile detention center, Philillip was diagnosed by a psychiatrist with schizophrenia. He would be taken to a psychiatric hospital for at least 60

days, but his stay would end up being much longer than that. When his parents finally visited him, he Didn't respond to any of their questions or pleading for him to talk to them. He only responded with one sentence to inform them that now he was gone. it was going to come after them. He was right. The family phoned Philillip regularly, but after a while, he started refusing to take their calls. Then he wouldn't see them when they visited. One of the doctors suggested it might be best the family stay away for a while, as he

was undergoing some pretty Intensive therapy. Mary understandably, didn't want to stay in the house anymore and was sent to Carmen's other sister's house. Tammy, however, decided to stay. Seemingly, she was one of the few who seemed to genuinely believe that something serious was happening here, and she wanted to stay to help her family. The activity kicked into a new gear with a bang. Literally, three loud explosion-like sounds were heard that rocked the entire house, but no one Could find the source of the noise. Just after their search concluded, the phone rang. It was Carmon's friend,

Tanya. She asked Carmon if their upstairs neighbors were home. Carmen said no, they were away. But had Tanya heard the explosion. Tanya hadn't heard anything, but that wasn't what she wanted to talk about. From her place, Tanya could see the old funeral home. She was calling because through the upstairs windows, she could see a woman walking around. She looked Angry, but more concerningly, she was glowing. Al rushed outside, but by the time he got there, Tanya said the woman had gone. That night, as she lay in bed, Tammy claimed that she felt something touching her,

its hands moving between her legs. She jumped out of bed, pulling her covers off, but there was nothing there. She wasn't alone. That same night, Jennifer claimed to see a shapeless black shadow walking through her room. Bradley, now alone in the Basement, heard whispers, and the youngest boy, Alan Jr., who hadn't seemingly experienced anything yet, woke everyone else up when he began screaming from his room. He claimed that something had stung him in his bed. The following night, Tammy was attacked more viciously this time. She was in the bathroom alone. It began with feeling like

someone had pulled on her bra. Then she felt it again, fingers moving up her legs. She tried to push the bathroom Door open, but it wouldn't budge. She began to scream out for her aunt and uncle to help. As Al began trying to break the door down, the explosive sounds were heard again, rattling the house. The lights flickered as it did. Suddenly, Al fell to the floor, screaming in pain. He said it felt like he had been stabbed. Then everything stopped. There was silence. The bathroom door slowly swung open. Tammy was laying on the bathroom

counter, naked and crying. She said there were hands, hands all over her. The following day, Carmon called the priest who had helped with Philillip. He came to the house and blessed the place, but it was clear he didn't truly believe the family. As he left, he gently suggested to Carmen that they had all been through a lot and maybe should Consider talking to a therapist. After he had left, Carmen went to the kitchen to do the washing up. As she stood at the sink, she felt hands on her, touching her, moving up her legs, just

like Tammy had experienced. Carmen ran to her bedroom, slamming the door shut behind her. But this didn't help. The invisible hands threw her down onto the mattress, holding her down. That was when she felt something being pushed into her. She screamed out for Help. Tammy burst into the room and everything suddenly stopped. Carmen took herself to the shower, desperately trying to scrub herself clean. As she did, she was sure she heard it. A voice. A voice laughing and mocking, talking about all the things it wanted to do to Carmen, to Tammy. Then it attacked again.

That night, Carmon told what had happened. But instead of his usual angry reaction, he instead broke down in Tears. He finally confessed to Carmen that he had been hearing and seeing things too. Both of them were finally able to admit it. There was something seriously wrong with this house. It continued. The children saw figures. Bradley started sleeping in the living room. calm and felt her presence envelop her in the basement with such an intense feeling that she collapsed into the fetal position on the floor. Tammy was attacked in the night again, sexually Assaulted by an

invisible presence. The smell of feces appeared and disappeared, seemingly at random. Swarms of flies seemed to infest the house. Carmon looked for the magazine article that Tanya had given her and decided to get in touch with a couple that had been mentioned. This was Connecticut in the 1980s, so of course there was only one couple with the Snedle would be contacting. The phone rang at the home of Ed and Lorraine Warren. I mentioned at the start of the episode that this was the first of a long promised two-parter. The very first proper episode of the

tape library was the case of the Annabel doll, and since then we have spoken about a large number of cases that Ed and Lorraine Warren had been involved in. Some where they were key figures in the case, others where they had a tiny amount of involvement. For several decades, they were involved In countless major paranormal stories, so it becomes difficult to not talk about them. But over time, my personal opinion of the pair has shifted. It's been nearly a year since we last spoke about one of their cases at length, and I wanted to finally

bring an end to them as a topic on the tape library. So, I decided to tackle this in two parts. The first is what you are currently listening to, the Snedica case, which I think is a great example of one of the More controversial cases involving the Warren. Then in the next part, we will be doing a deep dive into them as a topic in their own right. The following morning, Ed and Lorraine Warren were on the Snetica's doorstep. For those that maybe aren't familiar, Ed and Lorraine Warren are arguably the world's most famous paranormal

investigators, especially at this time. Ed was a self-professed demonologist. Lorraine a clairvoyant. Together, they Investigated countless claims of paranormal activity and during that time gained as many fans as they did detractors. To some, they were heroes. To others, they were liars and scammers. Ed Warren began, as he often did, by interviewing the family at length. He asked if anyone in the family took drugs or if they had ever attended a seance, anything that could have kickstarted this activity or could point towards a more human Explanation. Meanwhile, Lorraine began walking around the house to see if

she could pick up on anything with her abilities. To begin with, she felt nothing, but that seemed to change as she entered the basement. She felt unwell, a dark feeling, a feeling of helplessness. But it wasn't here in the bedrooms the boys stayed in. She was just getting closer. It was coming from somewhere deeper. It Was at the back in the room where the bodies used to be embarmed that it really hit her. Dead bodies burned black as if they had died in some sort of explosion. Then she saw a man touching the bodies, then

laughing. Evil laughter as the man began to do things to the bodies, unspeakable things. This had been a place where necrophilia had been practiced. Ed and Lorraine told the family that whatever Was present in the home wasn't a ghost. It was evil. It was demonic. They explained that its goal was to break them down, to make them scared, to make them weak, and then when they were at their lowest, it would try to possess them. There was no point leaving the house. It would follow them wherever they went. The house wasn't haunted as such. Something

dark lurked there, and now it had latched on to theas. For the next several weeks, the Warren Along with other investigators on their team effectively moved in. The entire family were now sleeping in the living room. After the warrants told them it was more dangerous to be alone, the activity continued. In fact, it seemed to grow stranger and more angry due to the presence of the investigators in the home. One night, Owl awoke to see lights swirling around the living room. The lights all seemed to combine together as the man lay there speechless as it

Appeared to take on the form of Jesus. He was on the cross, his face distorted, eyes swollen and tongue protruding. He was dead, but speaking to Al, telling him he couldn't help his family, that there was no help for them. The figure fell on Al, screaming and bleeding, and then just vanished as he leapt up screaming himself. One day, Owl and Carmon were sat on the porch while the investigators were inside when suddenly Carmon fell off her Seat, her throat swelling, completely unconscious. Al called for help and everyone rushed outside. In Carmon's mind, she said

she was transported somewhere completely black with a red circle of light above her. In the air, two faces appeared. One man, one woman, their hair stringy and thin, skin pale with wide, decaying grins. They mocked calm and viciously mocked her faith. She bundled herself up on the floor, helplessly, And then the world shifted around her. The faces vanished, and Carmen was on a long road that she began to walk down. Meanwhile, Al was shouting for someone to call an ambulance, but the investigators said it wouldn't help that she was under attack from a demonic force.

They all prayed. Carmon started making noises and said she was in a dark place in broken words. Carmon finally came too, claiming that the last thing she saw was souls trapped in a black World. >> I knew what was no longer in my room. The entity opened up a hole and he started shouting obscinities at me. And when I began to pray the Our Father, he got worse. And he said, "There's no way you could possibly believe what you've been taught as a child." I went into this place. It was called, a desert road of

hot tears. And I was taken down this road. These represent souls, lost souls. I could actually feel the emotion, the Anger, the hurt, the desperation, the sadness. There were no positive emotions. They were all human negative emotions. >> 2 hours later, Carmen was in bed when it began again. They told him not to, but Al began to shout out for the demon to leave her alone and come into him. Instantly, the life drained from Al's face as he too collapsed down onto the bed. Al's trousers were pulled down by an Invisible force and it attacked

him just as it had to his wife and niece. Eventually, it was over. The couple were broken. They felt humiliated, terrified. During their time there, Ed, Lorraine, and the other investigators witnessed a whole host of activity, including seeing the apparitions that the family had seen and even experiencing attacks themselves during one of her psychic visions. Lorraine claimed to see the necriliac who had operated there. He told Lorraine He wanted her to watch what he did to the bodies. This act was what they believed had attracted the demonic energy to the place. The Warren felt they

now had enough information to get the church involved. A father George first visited the Sneders after talking to the Warren and understanding how serious a situation this was. Just on a visual level, he could see how much the family was suffering. They were all sleeping on mattresses in the living Room together. Everyone looked exhausted and depressed. First, he walked around the upstairs, blessing each room with holy water before he then began to descend into the basement. Much like Lorraine, he instantly felt a knot in his stomach. As he began to walk down the stairs while

down there performing his blessings, he was shocked to see some kind of dark black substance begin to leak out of one of the walls. Initially, he was just curious Until the dark mass seemed to move towards him. Father George returned to the family and the investigators and informed them he would need help. That night, he returned with her father, Gary, and they conducted mass in the home. During the mass, Carmon and Tammy would later claim they saw a dark cloud moving around the two priests. Then Tammy would feel hands pulling at her legs and whispering

obscene things to her. But it wasn't just her. Carmon Began to feel something similar. Then one of the investigators, a man named Chris, claimed he felt a hand groping around the zipper of his jeans before he then felt it touching him, grabbing him. He said it felt like a hard, cold grip, like the fingers of a corpse. Chris wanted to scream out, but all three just tried their best to focus on the ceremony until it was all over. The mass didn't work. For the next week, the activity was vicious and constant. At One point during

its attacks, Tammy was convinced she felt the cold blade of a knife being brushed over her body, even though there was nothing there. Then she felt it cut into her. She had been in bed and initially thought it was all a dream. That was until she realized she couldn't see. She sat up, desperately pleading for help as everyone around her began to wake up. She was saying in a croaked, barely audible voice, "It's cutting me. I'm blind." Then it all just stopped. Another evening, one of the researchers named John was awoken by the sound of

footsteps. The living room was icy cold. He tried to wake the others up, but no one stirred. This seemed to happen frequently. It happened early on with Al not hearing the children's screams in the middle of the night, and it was continuing with others. Now, when it wanted to, the entity seemed to be able to keep people In a deep sleep, leaving just its intended targets awake. Jon grabbed a torch and headed in the direction of the footsteps. As he did, he heard a voice quietly saying, "Do you know what they did?" That was when

his torch beam caught it. Standing in the hall was a naked woman. Her fleshy, flabby skin, blotted purple and white, hanging off of her body in an almost exaggerated fashion. Her toothless mouth spoke again and said, "Do you know what they did to us down there?" John began to invoke the name of Jesus Christ. And the woman simply smiled before telling him she loved it. They all loved it. Then it began to run towards him. As it did, its appearance seemed to change. John was convinced he saw wings, but it all happened so quickly. And

then he hit the floor unconscious. He awoke hours later, still on the floor. He couldn't believe what he had Witnessed. This sort of thing continued for weeks until the church finally agreed that an exorcism could be performed. The task was given to Father Sha Nolan. The children were all removed from the house and the priests attended in casual clothes so as not to draw attention from the neighbors. As Father Nolan began the mass, it all kicked off again. Carmen felt something touching her. Al heard voices taunting him. Lorraine was seeing white strobeike Flashes in her

eyes. Ed's chest was tightening. He had suffered a heart attack a couple of years prior. And suddenly he realized that familiar feeling was coming back. As soon as the mass ended, so did the activity. But then it was time to begin the exorcism. And it was like the switch was immediately flicked back on. The taunts, the proddding, touching, the pains in Ed's chest. Objects in the home began to Shake. The exorcism went on for hours and was a brutal experience for everyone involved. Around the 4-hour mark, the pain in Ed's chest became so bad that

Lorraine attempted to get him out of the house. As they did, it was like the entire house tilted to one side before falling back into place. Lorraine, knowing this was just an illusion, ignored it and helped her husband to safety. Smoke was beginning to rise from the Carpets. Voices filled the air. Voices shouting vile, disgusting things. Hands groped. A putrid smell filled the air. Then suddenly it all just stopped. Father Nolan, breathing heavy and drenched in sweat, went to check on Ed, who seemed to have recovered. The family all looked around at one another. They

could feel it. The entire house was different. It felt bright and warm for the first time in a long time. They hadn't Realized how dark it was until it was gone. In that moment, they knew. Their horror was over. Months later, Philillip was released from the hospital. Understandably, he didn't want to go back to the house, and plans were put in place for them to move out. After they did, they heard a story about the new tenants complaining about witnessing some odd things in the house. The new tenants didn't stay long, nor Did the ones

after that, or the ones after that. Or so the story goes. But what really happened? I always like to explore possible explanations after our stories. But in this case, I think this section is going to be much larger than usual. The story I have laid out for you here is the Snica's case as told in the book In a Dark Place apparently written by author Ray Garton, Carman Reed, formerly Snedica, Altica, and Ed and Lorraine Warren. This would not be the only version of this story to come out, though. It has been told in episodes

of paranormal documentary shows and even made into a feature film that loosely borrows from the Senica story called The Haunting in Connecticut. Each retelling appears a little different, which is understandable. This is other people taking the Senica story and telling it in their own way. Little details get added here and there, But by and large, the main points of the Senica story have stayed consistent. Nearly 40 years later, the family still stands by their story. So why is this case so controversial? Well, to begin with, if we take the story from in a dark place

at face value, this is on paper one of the most extraordinary and violent tales of a haunting ever reported. I have deliberately not gone too graphic with the details here, but what the Snedic Claimed happened to them in that house is horrifying. This alone will obviously make a lot of people skeptical. Most people's reports of the paranormal are seeing something odd or things moving on their own. This is on another level. Then you have the involvement of the Warren who even at this point in time a lot of people had strong doubts on. This is

one of those stories that has been the subject of serious public scrutiny mostly because it went so Public. While it never turned into a household name like the Amitville horror, the media jumped on its case. And thanks to the wonders of YouTube, we are able to revisit an episode of the talk show, the Sally Jesse Raphael Show, which brought on not just the Senkas, but aired Lorraine and a whole host of their neighbors for what ended up being quite a fiery piece of television. This interview took place in 1992, several years after the events, but

Around the time of the book's release. This wasn't the only televised expose that went into the case at the time, but I thought this was the more interesting one to dissect. In the interview, Carmon states that she didn't know the place was a funeral home until after they moved in. There was a sign on the wall outside, but this had apparently been covered up while the work was being done on her first visit. She said she didn't believe in ghosts, that she didn't take Her children seriously when they started talking about the house being evil.

In fact, she said she didn't truly believe until her nieces moved in. Tammy, or Kelly, as she is called on the show, is also interviewed. But she nearly bursts into tears as soon as she begins to tell her story, causing Carmen to take over. She also described the vibrating beds that Al and Carmen had experienced, but Tammy referred to it in a much more chilling way, that it was almost like The bed was breathing. Al explains in the interview that he was also sexually assaulted by the entity. They apparently turned to their neighbors and even

the police before the warrants, but no one could help them. Carmon states that a visiting police officer saw a door open on its own and was so caught off guard that he nearly shot at the door. Although the police officer interviewed in a 2009 documentary claims there were no reports Of officers being called to the home, specifically due to a haunting. The sheet of the reported visits does make more than one reference to a landlord tenant dispute as well as trouble with a neighbor, which is an interesting detail, even if it doesn't confirm much. When

asked why they didn't just leave, Carmon said it would follow them, explaining that she also had experiences at work. They also couldn't afford to move straight away, so going to someone Else's home would just involve them in the horror. In this version of the story, it was actually someone at work who suggested that she should contact the Warren. The Warren and their researchers stayed for 9 weeks, and they did not receive any pay for their work there. But the Senica's neighbors, who also appeared on the show, were much more skeptical of their claims. One of

those interviewed was the man who moved in after them. He claims that despite What the book says, he never encountered anything strange. Although apparently the claims that the new residents had reported something came from a third party to Carmen. Al simply states that this just means the exorcism worked. But the neighbors go on to claim that no priest ever stepped foot in the house. Later in the episode, it's revealed by another local that someone else had moved in before the man on stage, and she suggests that this is the person who Had the encounters, leaving

a bit of mystery in the air of if any activity continued after the exorcism. Very quickly, the interactions with the neighbors devolved into a shouting match with one claiming that the Snedicas fell behind with their rent and that was suddenly when the stories began. But Owl and Carmon refute this. One of the neighbors claims that the woman who lived above them never experienced anything and ultimately moved out Because of the Snedica's continued claims and the attention it brought. But this time, it's Tammy who jumps in and says this is a lie, claiming that the upstairs

neighbor talked to her numerous times about witnessing strange activity herself. Although, it's worth pointing out that later it seems to be revealed that the woman who lived upstairs was a real estate agent who worked with the landlord. adding to the Snedica's claims that a lot of the backlash is the result Of their previous landlord trying to discredit them. But some of the other neighbors took it more seriously, claiming they did see priests visiting and that one neighbor who visited the house was so freaked out that she started making her children wear crucifixes. Interestingly, most of

the neighbors on the show that are most vocal and appear on stage seem to have moved into the area after the left. One was the Resident who took the downstairs apartment. The other moved in upstairs later. Most of their claims seem to come from things that other people have told them, which seems odd given how passionately they are denouncing the Senica story. Although there were other neighbors in the audience, including one woman who possibly had a little too much time on her hands and decided to keep detailed notes about the comingings and going at the

Snedica home and possible Explanations in the area. Although one of her main claims was that the haunting was caused by a truck with a bad muffler driving past one night. Then Ed and Lorraine appeared on the show which didn't help the Senkas. Ed refutes the claims that no priest visited the home although he does refuse to provide the actual name of the priest who performed the exorcism only referring to him as father A. A fact that Ed got rather irate about here. And in another show Where he was pressed to reveal the identity of the

priest. >> One name, >> father a name I give you. >> I don't have a name, a full name. >> Ed claimed that some of the people on stage were potentially being paid off by the landlord who wanted the negative reputation his property now had gone. Another person in the audience claimed that Philillip was also taking illegal drugs along with his medication. Both His treatment and if true, the drugs he was taking could have led to hallucinations. But others point out even if that could be used to explain what Philip was seeing, it wouldn't account

for any other part of the Snedica story. Apparently, the Snedelicas had no intention of writing a book. It was Ed Warren who had pushed for the book to be written, telling the family that it would be good so that other people out There who experienced something similar could know that help was available if they knew where to look. Then the show introduced longtime skeptical writer and investigator Joe Nicl, a man that Ed Warren clearly has had prior run-ins with, and instantly the pair engage in a pretty fiery back and forth. Everyone on the show on

both sides of the argument comes off as angry and defensive and just leaves the entire thing feeling like a bit of a mess. Joe Nickel points Out that the entire presentation of the book is like a horror novel. A point that he backs up by pointing out its lead writer, Ray Garton, was a horror fiction writer. And it would be Ray Garton who would likely go on to provide the most damning information on this story. Around 2009, during the release of the movie, Ray Garson became quite outspoken about his experiences of writing the book, Garson

said that he took the job because he remembered the Warren from reading about their stories as a kid. While he didn't believe in the paranormal himself, he took this assignment with the belief that the people involved genuinely believed it and he wanted to share their stories. But quickly he said there were issues. He said the Sneders couldn't keep their story straight. He said they were going through some pretty serious problems like drug addiction and alcoholism. Carmon was apparently running an illegal Lottery scam that he was told not to mention. He barely got to speak to

Philillip, but once he did have a phone call with him, the boy apparently claimed that his visions went away after he was medicated. Ed and Lorraine told Garton they had videotape of the activity that they could show him. But every time he asked to see it, a different excuse was used for why they couldn't show it to him right now. He never got to see inside the house Because the new residents wanted nothing to do with the story, which in hindsight now explains why I struggled so much to really understand the layout of the house

from Garton's book. When he finally approached Ed Warren with his concerns, he apparently said to Garton, "They're crazy. All the people that come to us are crazy. That's why they come to us. Just use what you can and make the rest up. You write scary books, right? We'll make it up and make it scary. That's why we hired you." Garton went on to question the legitimacy of the various priests that have worked with the Warren. He also claims that the activity only began when the landlord, frustrated he wasn't getting his rent, started plans to evict

the family. Although why the haunting claims could stop the landlord from evicting them, I'm unsure. One newspaper report though seems to suggest they just moved out before the eviction and the haunting Claims began after they had already been living there for 2 years. The timeline in the book is fairly vague, so I'm not sure how this matches up. Garton also points out that Carmon has capitalized on this story, now working as a spiritual adviser herself, trying to apparently help others in similar situations. What adds weight to Gart's claims is it seems true. Across various interviews

over the years, while the major details of the haunting match up, There's a lot of smaller inconsistencies that pop up. You could pass a lot of these off as people misspeaking, misremembering small details as time goes on, or even that the story has been told through so many different people over the years that it kind of makes the details of the real story tricky to pin down. But these inconsistencies are there and they do cast a lot of doubt on their story. Garton claims that he has been open about all of this since the Beginning.

But the most often referred to example of these claims seems to come from a 2009 interview, leading some to speculate that he was just angry that he hadn't received any money from the movie being made. But he denies that this is the reason. John Zafis, one of the investigators on the case and the nephew of the warrants, asks why Garton did not have his name taken off the book or even refused to write it if he thought it was all a scam. Gartson's response to this Was that he couldn't afford the legal fees to back

out of the contract he had signed before knowing what he was really getting into. As is so often the case in these big paranormal stories, money is a constant factor in both the debunkings and the more wild claims of activity. Some have pointed to a lot of the more extreme attacks mirroring scenes from the movie The Entity and that Carmen and Tammy may have just lifted the idea from there. Although the believers could Easily say that of of course the entity was also based on the real life case of Doris Biffer. If anything, maybe there

being a prior example of a paranormal case featuring similar activity adds weight to their claims. Another big sticking point for the skeptical claims is whether Karma knew that the house was a funeral home. The landlord and other neighbors claimed that it was made very clear to her before moving in, but the Snedic deny this. Personally, I'm not Sure why this is such a big point of debate. In the book, the Snedicas learned that it was a funeral home really quickly before fully moving in. I guess having prior knowledge could point towards them planning this whole

hoax before moving in, but I don't know. It doesn't alter the story drastically for me. The other prevailing theory that could explain all this isn't a nice one, but makes a lot of sense for at least parts of the story. This was a family who were genuinely going through a very dark period in their life. They had uprooted their entire family because their child had been diagnosed with cancer. Carmon's father was murdered. Her sister was having such serious issues that Carmon was forced to take care of her nieces. Her husband was developing a pretty serious

drinking problem. Philillip had been faced with his own mortality at such a young age and at the same time Moved into a funeral home. If you believe demons were the cause or not, it's pretty clear his mental health was taking a dark tumble into the abyss. He was writing threatening dark messages in his journals. He was drawing pictures of his stepfather dead. If you believe the neighbor boy, he was also taking illegal drugs. Ultimately, he was diagnosed with schizophrenia. But before that, he was apparently caught attempting to molest His 12-year-old cousin and then admitted to

touching both her and her sister while they slept. In the story, the very sexualized attack seemed to begin shortly after this revelation. Maybe this wasn't a case of a family trying to create a haunted house story to try and make some money. Maybe this is instead an example of a family dealing with some very real world trauma and somehow transmuting that trauma into their home being evil and haunted. A Fact that maybe they truly believed even if it wasn't true. But of course, if you are a believer, you could say this is simply the sort

of environment that demons would happily feed upon and make worse. Then of course, you have the Warren's involvement. It's hard not to notice that even in the book, the activity ramps up considerably once Dorans get involved. This wasn't just a factor in this case, but in the careers of Ed and Lorraine as a whole. To begin with, their claims about hauntings were a lot more grounded. Sure, there were some really out there claims, but they were a little more sparse in their occurrences within their cases. By the 80s, however, these reported cases were becoming dramatic

events that seemed to mirror the changes in paranormal horror movies of the time. One thing that jumped out to me was the aggressive sexual violence present in the story. Something that also stood out To me in the Smur family haunting that took place around the same time. Many have suggested that the Warren stories becoming increasingly provocative was their attempt at creating a story that would finally eclipse the Amitville horror. A story that obviously made a lot of money for the people involved, but crucially not for the warrants. However, if they were exaggerating a lot of

the details in these later cases, you could also look At Ed's claim on the talk show. if you believe him that this is all about getting the message out there, that these things happen and people need to know they are not alone. In a world of increasingly outlandish horror stories in movies and books, maybe a more simple, grounded haunting wouldn't make a dent in the public's perception. Instead, it needed to be terrifying, dark, disturbing. People needed to know that they should turn to The Catholic Church to be safe from this sort of thing. Or if

that didn't work out, maybe you needed to turn towards Ed and Lorraine Warren. Of course, the Snedic were not happy with Garson's claims, nor the claims of their neighbors. Carmon, Tammy, and Bradley are all interviewed in a 2009 documentary where they deny most of his claims. And Lorraine says she has no idea how her and Ed got mixed up with a man like Garton. But prior to looking into this, my impression of this story was that it was very much the Snedicas and the Warren on one side and Garton and the landlords on the other.

But seemingly Carmon at the very least has become quite outspoken on the Warren as well, feeling they took advantage of her family. Once the Warren got involved, it seemed they began to control the narrative, telling the family what to say and coaching them through any media interactions. She stated that the book was not an accurate representation of what they went through, although I'm unsure which detail specifically she is referring to. There also seems to be conflicting thoughts on if she is actually upset about the details or if she just wasn't happy about the book as

a whole, particularly the details about her son and her nieces. If she is suggesting that maybe the story about what Philip did to his Cousins is inaccurate seems unclear. But either way, it appears Philillip was genuinely quite an unwell boy. And in subsequent interviews about the case, he and the two younger children are shielded from the public eye. In a later interview, she said they refused to remove anything she wanted removed from the book, saying that her story wasn't her story anymore. They had taken it away from her. Carmon also interestingly states that the Snedicas

never wanted to Go public with his story. that the idea of going public was heavily pushed on them by Ed Warren. His reasoning for that was apparently to pressure the church into performing the exorcism. Although Carmon now believes it was actually for the Warren's own gain, neither Carmon or Al said they truly understood the level of attention going public would bring to their family. She didn't think they cared about them, nor their reputations, or what all this Would do to their children's lives. She grew so angry that the family completely disconnected from the warrants and

everyone else involved in the case and moved to Tennessee. You can say anything you want to about me. It's going to affect me. I choose to move on and try and understand what did happen to me. Raise my children and live the best life I can. >> But Carmon and the rest of the Senkas have surely gained a decent amount from This story. There was the original book, the featurelength movie that the family were heavily involved in the promotion for episodes of Paranormal Witness and other shows, as well as a long promised book that Carmen

is apparently writing herself, although it seems this is still not out yet. One of the more vicious claims that skeptics on this case make is that even Philillip's cancer was not real. a claim that Garton himself doesn't explicitly make, but he does Allude to those rumors and states that not only did he see no evidence of his cancer treatments, that also the family didn't seem to know a lot about the boy's illness, which felt odd to him. It feels like every single element of the story was called a lie by someone. In 2012, Philillip, now

a father of four himself, would die at the age of 38. after his cancer returned. That's all for this entry into the tape library. I'm not going to lie, as I'm Writing this, my head hurts. It really is the fallout from this case that I think makes it so interesting. But it also just devolves into a whole lot of people screaming and shouting that the other people are lying. It reminds me of Amitville a lot in that regard. People seem to pick the narrative they want to believe in both these cases and just turn a

blind eye to anything that might contradict that story. Before I give my thoughts on this one, I want to hear Yours. So, drop me a comment below with what you think. Is this an example of the Warren taking a family story and twisting it into something more dramatic? Did the Snedic plan this all along to try and make money from a hoax? Is this a manifestation of the genuine trauma the family went through? Or was it all real? Did the Sneders really uncover something evil in that house? Or is the truth somewhere in the middle?

Me? I have no idea at this point. The Story is so extreme and so over the top that combined with my previous dips into the Warren's cases leaves me with a lot of doubts about how true any of this is. But at the same time, the people arguing against them don't really convince me either. The TV appearances with all the various neighbors just feels like people wanting to argue because they wanted to be on a talk show and get attention rather than because they had serious thoughts on what's happened to the Family. Gart's statements are

pretty damning and do echo some of the things that another writer, Gerald Brittle, would later speak about in regards to the Warren. Although both these stories seem to come out around the time that big money was being thrown about for movie deals and both were being left out which kind of leaves a slight sour taste in my mouth. I just feel like I don't believe anyone in this story the skeptics or the claimants which just Leaves me feeling frustrated and painfully curious. I believe something could have happened in that house in Connecticut. But if that

something was paranormal or simply the dark sides of human behavior, I couldn't say. So that leads us nicely into part two where we will finally be getting into the Warren as a topic in their own right. I'll hopefully bring you guys some updates on the release of that episode soon. So if you don't want to miss out, please do Click subscribe. And if you enjoyed this episode, either leaving me a rating on your podcast platform of choice or a like on YouTube is a really easy way to help me out. If you want to support

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