Yet another haunted house tale “based on true events.”  Is this any closer to the truth than The Amityville Horror? What makes the true story behind this movie kind of cool is that the house was examined by Ed and Lorraine Warren, the ghosthunters whose story is told in the movie “The Conjuring.”

What is true:

• A family moved into a house in Connecticut in order to be closer to the hospital for their son’s cancer treatments.
• The house was formerly a funeral home.
• The morticians of said funeral home were reportedly involved in necromancy.
• The family reported smelling foul odors, like rotting flesh and excrement.
• Lorraine Warren reported hearing the sound of a chain rattling (in the space in the house where coffins were raised and lowered between floors).  Other members of the team also reported cold spots and visions.
• The family reported that their son’s demeanor changed from “preppy” to more Goth (wearing dark clothes, writing dark poetry, etc.).
• A priest was called in to “exorcise” the house.

What is not true:

• The house did not burn down.
• No corpses were found in the walls.
• The son was not possessed at any point.

The verdict?  The movie takes the true haunting and invents a Hollywood climax.  Unfortunately, it’s hard for a movie to relay the creepiness of an old house and cold spots.  While the son was not “possessed,” living in the house did seem to change him, although the changes could also be attributed to going through cancer treatments or just normal teenage behavior.

Side note: The “sequel,” The Haunting in Connecticut 2: Ghosts of Georgia, has literally nothing to do with this movie.  Although it might be fodder for another “based on a true story” post!