Authorities in Gary, Indiana were stunned by the demonic possession of a woman and her three children that saw a nine year-old boy walk backward up a wall and a little girl levitate above her bed.

According to IndyStar.com, whose report was gleaned from over 800 pages of official records, it all started when Indianapolis resident Latoya Ammons and her family moved into a rental home on Carolina Street in Gary in November, 2011. Not long after Latoya, her mother, Rosa Campbell, and her three children ages 6, 9 and 12 moved into the home, strange things started happening.

First, it was the flies, big and black and swarming all over their screened-in porch in the middle of December. No matter how many they killed, the bugs kept coming back.

Then came the occasional sound of footsteps climbing the basement stairs and coming into the kitchen, even though no one was ever there. One night, Rosa awoke in the middle of the night and saw a shadowy figure pacing in the living room. When she turned on the lights, no one was there, except for a set of large, wet boot prints.

In March, 2012, the strange occurrences escalated beyond that of an annoyance when Latoya came into her 12 year-old daughter’s bedroom in the middle of the night and saw the child levitating in the air above the bed. The girl was sound asleep.

At this point, Latoya and her mother realized they needed help, but the police and local churches refused to listen. At best, officials at one church visited the home and determined that it had spirits in it and recommended that they use bleach and ammonia to clean the house, then use oil to draw crosses on all the doors and windows.

That didn’t work, nor did the advice of two clairvoyants who said the home was filled with more than 200 demons and suggested the family move. Unfortunately, they couldn’t afford to do so.

Instead they took the clairvoyants’ advice and built an altar in the basement, which seemed to be the source of the problem, and place a candle and statues of Jesus, Mary and Joseph on it. They also burned sage and sulfur throughout the house, starting upstairs and working their way down. All the while, they read Psalm 91 aloud, “You shall not fear the terror of the night . . .”

That didn’t work either. In fact, things just got worse.

The demons began to possess both Latoya and the children but not Rosa, who claims she “and others like her” have protection from demons, although the Star does not state what kind of protection this is.

During the possession, the children’s eyes would bulge, evil smiles would cross their faces and their voices would deepen. Latoya claimed to feel weak, lightheaded and warm when she was possessed. Her body would shake and she’d feel out of control.

Rosa said the demons once threw her now seven year-old grandchild out of the bathroom and smacked her granddaughter in the head with a headboard so hard she required stitches. The girl would later tell mental health professionals that she sometimes felt as if something was holding her down and choking her.

Some nights were so bad the family slept at a hotel, the Star reports.

They finally reached out to their family doctor, Dr. Geoffrey Onyeukwu, on April 19, 2012. Dr. Onyeukwu found their story to be “bizarre” and wrote “delusions of ghost in home” and “hallucinations” in his medical notes.

But that wasn’t to be the final word on this story. Even while the family was still in his office, the Ammon boys began cursing the doctor in demonic voices. Medical staff said the youngest child was “lifted and thrown into the wall with nobody touching him.” Both boys abruptly passed out and could not be awakened.

Staff called 911 and more than a half dozen police showed up with multiple ambulances. The boys were taken to Methodist Hospital’s campus in Gary where they were revived. The older boy was okay, but the youngest was said to scream and thrash and required five grown men to hold him down.

Meanwhile, the Department of Child Services (DCS) was called to investigate the family for possible child abuse. The case was given to Valerie Washington who reported that while the family was being examined by medical staff, the seven year-old began growling and showing his teeth and his eyes began rolling back in his head. At one point, he put his hands around his brother’s throat and refused to let go until staff intervened.

Later that evening, Washington and a registered nurse named Willie Lee Walker brought the two boys into an examining room along with Rosa. The youngest began to growl at his brother again and threatened, “It’s time to die. I will kill you” in a deep, unnatural voice.

Suddenly, a weird grin crossed the older boy’s face and staff looked on in astonishment as he got up and began walking backward up the wall until he reached the ceiling where he flipped over and landed on his feet.

“He walked up the wall, flipped over her and stood there,” Walker told The Star. “There’s no way he could’ve done that.”

Terrified, Washington and Walker both ran out of the room.

The three children were taken into protective custody.

Finally, someone contacted the hospital chaplain who got in touch with Father Michael Maginot at St. Stephen, Martyr Parish, in Merrillville who asked him to perform an exorcism on the nine year-old boy.

Maginot agreed to interview Latoya and her mother and said even while he was doing so, strange things were happening, such as lights flickering on and off, Venetian blinds swinging without any sign of a breeze and wet footprints appearing on the living room rug. Latoya complained about a headache and started convulsing when Maginot put a crucifix on her head.

After a four-hour interview, Maginot came away convinced that the family was being tormented by demons and received permission from Bishop Dale Melczek to perform an exorcism on Latoya. Bishop Melczek said it was the first time in his 21 years as bishop of the Diocese of Gary that he had done so.

Two police officers and DCS case manager Samantha Ilic accompanied Maginot on the day he performed the first ritual. Ilic later said the whole time the prayers were being said, “we felt like someone was in the room . . . breathing down your neck.”

She experienced several medical problems after visiting the home and police officers said their radios wouldn’t work and one officer’s car seats began moving back and forth on their own.

Ultimately, it took three exorcisms to free Latoya from the demons who were possessing her and her family.

Latoya regained custody of her three children and they are now living in peace in a new home in Indianapolis.

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