Recently, we were able to talk with with a member of the Snedeker family, about whom the movie The Haunting in Connecticut is based on.
Actually, it was she who contacted us. She wasn’t too happy about some of our reporting on the validity of the story behind the movie, and in doing a little research, we realized it was obvious she wouldn’t be sending Ray Garton a birthday card anytime soon, either. Garton is the author of In a Dark Place, and he now claims that the book is a work of fiction.
Please welcome Nancy Boucher…..
DC: How are you related to the family who lived in the house and are you still in touch with them?
NB: Hi Steve. Allen Snedeker is my brother and yes, I am still in contact with him.
DC: Have you been inside the house, and if so, when was the last time?
NB: I did live in the house for a few months a long time ago when my kids were still small and I was homeless. My brother and his wife took me in. When I lived there, it was scary knowing it was funeral home. That is when things first started happening that couldn’t be explained.
DC: What were your impressions of Ed and Lorraine Warren?
NB: I never met the Warrens, I had moved out before all the heavy S@#T started happening and they wouldn’t allow anyone from the family to go to the house when they were there and the exorcism was going on.
DC: What was your Impression of the Ray Garton, and does the family feel betrayed by him?
NB: I’ve never met Ray Garton and don’t want to. The $hit he said about my brother and his family really pissed me off.
DC: Is everyone happy and healthy today?
NB: Everyone is happy and healthy, but I don’t think they’ll ever forget what happened to them. God is very close to them now.
DC: Is everyone excited by the release of the movie?
NB: My Family doesn’t want to see it, it scares them. A lot of the things that go on in the movie didn’t happen, so whats the point of the movie?
Thanks again, Nancy, for the interview.
Steve
Update: June 17th,
I just wanted to let everyone know we have two other more comprehensive interviews on the site regarding this story.
The First was with Ray Garton author of In A Dark Place.
And just recently we did one with the producer of “The Haunting in Connecticut” Daniel Farrands
108 comments
Any chance you guys could get an interview with Lorraine Warren. I’d be interested to hear her take on the entire situation.
Hey Justin,
I think we need to try to get an interview with her as well, and dicuss many different things. She is older now and from what we are hearing, her “people” are hard to deal with.
Steve
Hi Guys,
I just saw the movie and loved it…..but am really interested in the REAL story. I have felt forces for nearly 10 years. in our current home…(generally not very troubling)
Is there any information on the mortuary? Felt perhaps the movie was 80% fiction.
Charlene
hey guys i just saw the movie and i live in ct about a half an hour away from were it takes place and i beleive thatt more thatn 90% of he movie was acctually not true but hey you guys need to get an interview with the son who had started seeing things
Hello,
I just saw the movie, “Haunting in CT>” and honestly the movie stunk. IT was 1 1/2 hours, very short. It was mostly silly sci-fi ghost pranks to try and scare everyone in the audience. I think a lot of the story was untrue, or twisted around. I have read a ton of stuff on this subject, found many articles claiming it to be a hoax and the Warrens to be fake also, including Amytiville. I am not doubting their validity for I have seen ghosts, but, I find the true story more exciting then the movie. I would like to hear Ms. Warren’s story about all of this as well.
Hello:
I just saw the movie this past weekend and it leaves very little to believe. I have seen the Discovery Channel version of the story and it follows much closer to what actually took place. Once again, Hollywood over glamorized the event and took it way out of preportion. As a paranamoral investigator, I watch movies like this and TV series ghost hunters, ghost adventure, and etc. with a big grain of salt. I agree with the other posts, I would very much like to hear an interview with Lorraine Warren and John Zaffis; especially an interview with Stephen Snedeker.
Hi there. I lived in Southington for 27 years. I lived about 9 minutes from the house, which is located at 208 Meridan Ave. If you go through downtown Southington, follow towards Plantsville. When you come to a fork in the road (before the bend) bare left and follow up the hill. The old Grand Union/A & P food store used to be on that fork. The house does not look like the one in the movie. I think it might still have a red front door.
Hi, yah everyone should watch the discovery channel “haunting in ct” –that was what *supposedly* occured. I live about 1/2 mile from the house, the actual house appears on the discovery channel documentary. Personally, I lived in Southington my whole life and did in 1987 hear that the family was a bit “bonkers”…the son actually was on drugs and the dad a major alchie. According to the landlord at the time, the people never paid their rent on time etc etc…also, people lived upstairs at the time and never saw/heard anything (something the documentary inaccurate represents). I drive by the place daily on my way home—i see tons of people living there and they look happy as can be— The movie was a total laugh—i mean corpses coming out of the walls and a story about a boy and the house on fire–the priest crashin his mercedes all bs..
I personally think the town concil (Ricco and the like) should propose the town buy the house for a couple 100k convert it into a tourist trap and make some $ for Southington; i wouldnt mind payin 10bux to take a tour of the basement to see if i see some dood with no eyes.
Think ill trick or treat there this halloween that would be fun!!
why cant i find any photos of stephen snedeker? or videos?
I saw his mother in a CNN video this week, she is writing a book but using her maiden name. I Believe it was Reed, she doesnt want this story impacting her family. I imagine her son wants nothing to do with this story.
Sorry I cant find the link right now, but do some searching on CNN.com
Steve
You can’t find info on him because Stephen isn’t his real name. Carmen has stated that he wants to someday speak to the public. As for those who wonder if he really had cancer or not, his spleen and some of his liver was removed because of it.
i just saw this movie
not even a half an hour ago. I could tell just by the fact that it was mostly a ploy. but i too looked all this up afterwards. why is this carmen taking all the attention. i thought this was about the boy and is any of this necromancying and this medium shit true? i want the real story from this stephen kid, even tho apparently thats not his real name. i have no problem believing this is real but i want the actual true story, not hollywood’s version of a true story. btw its a good movie see it. even if u know its a lot of b.s.
well…the fact that theres sooo many records of this incident and the snedeker family means that they do exisit, but there are some assholes on the internet claiming that the snedeker family never existed, b/c they lived in that house during the same time period.
i dont really know if its true or not but if there were more recordings of these incidents rather from the snedeker family, the paranormal in that house would actually be more validated. but i dont see how ANY family would make up stuff like that, which means something abnormal really DOES exist ???
IDK
“there are some assholes on the internet claiming that the snedeker family never existed”
Yeah, those brothers who claim they moved in after the Snedekers left are liars. In their posts, they say 1988 was the year they moved in, and Carmen provided false dates. Well, the Snedekers were shown still living in the home on an episode of A Current Affair from that same year. These guys were also wrong on the Snedekers living 2 1/2 years in the house after the exorcism. That’s how long they lived there in total.
has anyone found a website w/ newpaper articles, proof of the exorcism, etc.???
anyone in connecticut know if there were really bodies missing from the cemetary?
bodies in the house?
a fire?
thanks!
No bodies were stolen and stored in the walls. The Snedeker boy did not set fire to the house either. He was locked up at the time. Watch the video in the link. The footage includes newspaper headlines and pictures of the family and the home.
http://www.wfsb.com/news/18908138/detail.html
I believe the afflicted boy’s name is Philip Snedeker. It has been said that he had Hodgkins Disease and was being treated at Yale University. (But I’ve also seen reports stating he was treated at the University of Connecticut.)
I don’t believe Carmen switched to the name Reed to protect her family since the Snedeker name is already all over the Internet and has been in the limelight for years. I think it’s just a ploy to present this as a “new” story and disconnect from all the publicity attached to the Snedeker name. They’ve milked this story for publicity and money, changing various details along the way (which makes it a completely different story) and each time distancing themselves from criticism by claiming that “part” of it is true and part of it is embellished.
The author of In a Dark Place has mentioned that Carmen denies any involvement with the book and claims it to be inaccurate (which he doesn’t dispute either since he claims he was paid to make it up). A quick Google search shows that inadarkplace.com was long touted by many fans and followers of the story as Carmen Snedeker’s official website (and from what I gather she had an interview transcript visible on the website at one time). The website is now defunct. So it’s clear that Snedeker once supported the book.
The Discovery documentary interviews her, so she obviously supported that version of events as well. The latest movie is completely different from the documentary, and yet, apparently, she supports that version of events too. Then there’s the new book, which will likely have a different version of events (no doubt suggesting necrophilia as the cause for the haunting…without any supporting evidence, I’m sure). After the book is out we will likely hear from “Philip Snedeker” (or someone claiming to be him) with his own version of events in a book followed by a movie or vice versa.
Is it slightly concerning that none of the versions (book, documentary, movie) mention the resident who lived on the top floor, sharing the house with them at the time (I think her name was Sally), who saw and heard nothing supernatural?
I saw the movie last night and it was my 2nd time seeing it. I LOVED the movie, I do believe though that only about 70% of it is all true. Because seriously its Hollywood so they have to add some interesting twists and turns to make it believable to thier viewers. I want to find some more information about the family and maybe thier “real names”, I heard a rumor that they were living in Tennessee now and not sure how believable that is but like I said, its a rumor! I live 20 miles away from where the rumors say they are living now, if anyone knows, please email me at lildashley2003@yahoo.com. THanks!
The eldest son lives in Alabama. The rest reside in Tennessee. Kingsport I believe.
I just saw the movie and it was really unbelievable. I thot the Documentary said that the boys, not just ‘Matt’ had the basement for their bedroom. Alot of discrepancies, but it’s Hollywood after all. I don’t remember any bodies in the walls and whats with the names all over them and the eyelids??
If you want to write a story, then write it, but don’t go on about how ‘true’ it is.
The Documentary was much better and I would like to hear Mrs. Warren’s take on this also.
What a pointless interview. A bathroom attendant could’ve gotten more information while Nancy Boucher washed her hands in a crowded rest room. Get someone with a little more experience and talent to conduct the interviews next time.
I thought that the movie was amazing and creepy, but weird when you think of it to be real. I would like to hear an interview from Allen Snedeker and his family that lived there the whole time it happened, that is if the Allen and his wife are still alive..? I don’t think I would want to see that movie either if it was based on me and was that creepy!!!
i just watched the film the second time and i cried again i realy want to find out what happened in that house
people are saying there crazy! but if the boy realy had cancer then why would he make up sumfin crazy like this when he has more to think about than lies! i would realy like to talk to the family
More to the point is that the family were a bunch of losers who ran up hundreds of thousands if not more than a million in medical expenses. The father drank any money they did have away.
It was all a big scam to get money in to pay off all their debts.
I also live in the area and my grandfather worked at the funeral home in the summers.
Its all nonsense like all other paranormal events. You would think by now there would be definitive eveidence with all the paranormal stuff which is said to go on the world over but there is no evidence as its BS.
I can confirm though that the boy who’s name I won’t publish did have cancer and that he did undergo experimental treatments including drugs which in the end sent him over the edge and made him schizophrenic. There in lies the real story !!!!!!!!!
I just saw the movie and did a shitload of research. Stephen, Philip, or whatever his name is DID have experimental proceedures (for cancer) with drugs that could have made him see things. I think the family might have lied. From what ive read there was no fire and suposedly when Ray Garton, author of In a Dark Place (about the incident), interviewed the family about it they couldent keep their individual stories streight. He claims that he used what they told him and made the rest up.
Another thing. Stephan said that he saw things but they went away when he was medicated. Carmen (the mom) “supposodly” ran an illegal interstate lottery scam, the dad was a drunk and the kids were young. My theory: They had problems and needed money. They had a kid on strong meds who saw things. The story spreads from there.
Last thing. The family claims they didnt no the house was a former funeral home until after they moved in. This is most likely because seemingly everyone in the neighborhood knew, it was no secret. I learned that the supernatural events didnt start until the landlord made moves to have them evicted after not getting months of pay. All of a sudden the house is infested with demons. This makes me sick that a family would sink so low as to create a nationwide pandemic of supernatural porpotions just for rent.
Dark,
Please check out our interview with Ray Garton
https://damnedct.kathrynfrank.com/dmndwp/damned-interview-ray-garton/
And Daniel Farrands- Producer of “The Haunting in Connecticut”
https://damnedct.kathrynfrank.com/dmndwp/damned-interview-daniel-farrands/
i watched the movie and it was great…..but i want to know the real story….im interested
I don’t know if this story is true or fake but too me i think its real and what to learn more but now after reading all the comments im thinking that its all a bunch of boloney
I to just watched the movie. It was so incredible,I loved it. I,like many,watched the movie because I believed the promo of being a true story. I found most of it to be very unbelievable. So I had to do some investigating of my own too. I also read many articiles and listened to the interviews. From all the stuff I found,the family wasn’t saying everything in the movie was true,only a few things. Hollywood took it from there and we all should know they are in for money. It worked! No,of course I do not know the family. But I do know what it must have been for them. Your child is sick and dying,you are broke,you have other children to care for and still trying to remain strong.To me I don’t what brought this about. Maybe living in a old funeral home did bring out some strange things. But I also believe alot of people will do whatever it takes to save their childs life. It isn’t really important how all of these things came about.The truth is,someone from Hollywood grabbed onto it and ran with it. So the Snedeker family gained some pubicity from it and I hope a nice profit from it. I think and I’m positive many others will agree, lots of entertainment. I also believe,from all the negative comments I have read,these people have never lived through any of these life jerking experiences. I am so happy that the boy survived and is healthy and hopefully happy now. To add a note for the Snedeker family, always keep the Lord in your hearts and good luck with the rest of your life. To whomever came up with the idea of the movie,THANK YOU.
Go watch The Fear is Real documentary on the Haunting DVD. It puts a whole new perspective on things…
Anyone notice in “The Fear is Real” they were using our interview with Ray Garton?
https://damnedct.kathrynfrank.com/dmndwp/damned-interview-ray-garton/
I completely, full heartedly agree with Anna Edwards. I watched the movie and i am online researching names to see how much of it is true. Someone very close to me once said that “Behind every lie is some amount of truth.” So be it the Snnedeker family, or the producers, someone pulled these events from somewhere. They may be made up by some Hollywood man but someone is just a little more sick than the rest of us to take a family’s frightening expirience and stretch it to a two and a half hour film. Congradulations to whoever kept their imagination from being turning up on the 11 o’clock news and turning it into a very well thought out horror film. THANK YOU.
I’d like to see an interview with Al Snedeker. He was featured alot in the book, and the stuff that happened to him freaked me out the most. I wonder if he spoke when the story was featured on Sally Jesse Raphael. Anybody know?
hey i havent found a single interview with Philip Snedeker (inspiration for matt campbell). could u get an interview with him?
Just saw the film, thought it was very good.
tbh i didn’t really expect it to be exactly like the family’s version of the events. The movie isn’t meant to be about the exact events, that why they say “based” on a true story
I was just wondering what the real names of everyone is its so confusing. Whats the boy in the movies real name i have heard many different ones.
i lived in southington from 1989 to 1993 and never so much as heard a word about this story. I’m sure it did happen but no where near to the degree ev1 has made it out to be.
ok for one thing if some freaky $hit happened to me like that and they were going to make a movie about it i would want to be at the shootings and all that crap because i would want the real world to know whats really out there and the truth behind it so theres no need to do further research. this family is just feeding the world bs so they can have money and have their 15 minutes of fame (which has lasted much to long). the only thing i would change is the names because i have a daughter and i wouldnt want people knowing who she is. sure i do believe in scary crap and ghosts n all that but really who in their right minds would live in a house for 2 1/2 years if all that $hit going on no one would because they would find it to dangerous for thier kids or them.
it was the same thing with the amityville horror i believe that storey more then i ever would this one. but that one is also hard to believe since they have made idk how many movies about it and then redid the first movie but none of them were the same story. i also had a teacher in high school that grew up in amityville and she have never heard the story up until the movie came out.
im sure in another 20 years they will remake this movie like they do with all the others.
o and for one more thing the family needs to get their story staight and really the kid that saw all the $hit come forward tell your story. and give up on the bs. everyone knows your reading this crap. your probably one of the people making comments under a secret name!
“Steve March 27th, 2009 9:16 am :
Hey Justin,
I think we need to try to get an interview with her as well, and dicuss many different things. She is older now and from what we are hearing, her “people” are hard to deal with.
Steve”
Uhh Steve, Ed and Lorraine Warren are very easy to deal with, and you don’t have to get a hold of “her people” hell, you can call them directly and they will get back to you. I’ve talked to both of them on the phone before and as long as you are not out looking for any bull sh&t they will talk to you.
and just for the record, the book was no where near what the real experiences were in that house. If they had made the movie exactly like what had happened, they probably would of scared themselves and not finished it
I’m not so sure that this “haunting” was legit. I mean, it all started with Stephen Snedeker and his sightings. Sure, that would be okay…except for the fact that he was Schizophrenic and the sightings disappeared after he was medicated. As for Carmen not knowing that it was a funeral home, interviews with the neighbor says otherwise. They were well informed about the house being a mortuary before they rented it. Also, they failed to make the payments on it and fell a few months behind and they needed money. And when the landlord was going to kick them out of the house for the lack of payments, that’s when Carmen started spreading the story. Not before. Also, Stephen’s stepfather was an alcoholic, so he wouldn’t know much about the haunting. The kids, they were easily intimidated and easily frightened. If you tell a kid that a place is haunted and tell them what to see, their imagination will eventually get the best of them.
When a mortal being alone, let alone an entire family, begins to encounter unknown (paranormal) forces, you have to understand to room for error is needed. Confusion, fear, worry, anxiety and other strong emotions intermingle with the thought process on an uncertain level, attempting to clarify and bring logic to the events taking place. When no logic can be confirmed, then of course, with evidence and family testimony, paranormal researches could be called in. And from there, even the Catholic Church.
Let’s assume some employee of the funeral home did conduct illegal “Black Witchcraft” on the dead in the basement of the household and demonic encounters were the result–I would not say that would be impossible. And if demonic entities did enter into the household and began interacting with the family is a powerful manner, then how would you assume their personal testimonies would be bases off of their mental and emotional experiences?
The family alone already had death attempting to take their son away–and when paranormal stresses were added, then the menal and emotional mind can and will transform into a different level in order to adapt. I believe some people are glory ghost hunters, seeking horrible experiences such as this family went through. Let the dead rest and learn that a movie is a movie–and real life events are much more horrible.
Whatever this family truly did encounter, let’s all be grateful they made it out alive. Some don’t.
One last note of interest:
We can not and never will understand the unknown. Someday, we all will die, and then, whatever awaits us on the unknown side will be there in full contrast to let us full understand. I pray I return home to God and I will never see the darkness that drips into the mortal world from the unknown side. If you spend time trying to understand the dead, then precious time we have alive will never be treated in full respect. And if or when we do encounter in this mortal realm, all we can do is pray that God will deal with it, because we never will have the ability to do so.
The contradictions in this entire story (from the 80s to now) is absolutely astounding. It’s hard to take this haunting truthful when members from “the family” all contradict what another member is on record stating.
Where does the truth lie?
Watch the youtube documentary from the 80s. The family didn’t know the house was a funeral home. Watch the Discovery documentary, the mother Carmen said on video that she did know before moving in, but had no choice to move there because the price was reasonable. ~Paraphrased
During the CNN interview, Carmen says the movie is “very close”, “there is a time constraint [for the movie]” she said in regards to the 1hr and 30 minute movie “it would be too long to watch a movie that contained it all”. This Nancy Boucher interview says “NB: My Family doesn’t want to see it, it scares them. A lot of the things that go on in the movie didn’t happen, so whats the point of the movie?”.
Again, those are just a couple of examples of the inconsistencies in the story. You can find more by doing basic research. In my opinion, I believe the family knew the house was a funeral home (either before or after moving in) and like with human psychology–like for example, if you see bed bugs on TV, you may start subconsciously itching yourself–the idea got in their head and probably did think, to some degree, stange things were happening. As time went on, they (the mother Carmen) probably enjoyed the attention and started getting money from telling her “story”. The story probably needed more juice and that’s when she started ‘adding to it’ and changing things to the point that she was forgetting what she told other media outlets. – That’s just my opinion.
i just want to know if the story is real and if it is if the real people could come out… im fascinated of the story and i would love it if this would not be the last of it. if so can pictures be posted of the real family?
The real family did come out, China. Buy the special edition version of The Haunting In Connecticut, and watch the documentary in the special features. All the family members appear on it except the oldest son.
Unfair not to give Lorraine Warren or John Zaffis a chance to speak on this subject.
They did interview them on the DVD special for the movie.
well i believe 100% that it is real i have grown up all my life with ghosts as i am pyschic and a witch a lot of people dont want to berlieve because int ruth they are afraid of what they do not undrstand think about it the govwernment conceal so much from us
claire I find that hard to believe
i no that some this in the movie might be true, but this movie was to show viewers of what really happened but i think they should have showen more real things. it would help people alot more to understand what if they told people more about the real events that occured in that house.
i believe that it is true as well because i have been around ghosts a few times my self
I think u guys should try to get an interview with the kid that had the cancer
The oldest son I don’t think wants anything to do with the story. I have seen his site on myspace and he seems like a perfectly normal person that has children and a wife and probably wants nothing to do with it. In regards to ray garton the kid saw the ghosts only before the exorcism was done after that of course he wouldn’t see them as everyone is now in agreement they are no longer there. Once again the eldest son just seems like he wants to live a normal life with his family. Personally if that all happened to me I probably wouldn’t want to think about it too much. The poor guy went through alot and people should leave him alone
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It makes a lot of sense I suppose, but only if you believe that kind of thing.
I was dismayed by the way the film departed from the account in the A Haunting series docudrama. As an example, the documdrama had the mother using the mop and her and the real estate agent witnessed the blood. In the film, the mother sees no blood; the blood was seen only by the son and we are led to believe it may have been a hallucination induced by chemotherapy. In the docudrama, the mother puts the question of hallucinatory side effects to the oncologist who vehemently denies the chemotherapy agent could have been responsible. And if you’re that filmmaker, how could you remove the demon from the film. He’s probably real because he was even witnessed by paranormal investigator John Zaphus.
He was so creepy that my wife can’t even look at him without screaming. Lorraine Warren mentioned the exorcism which was portrayed in the docudrama but omitted entirely by the film. Maybe the producers of the docudrama series (New Dominion?) should be producing the films.
Strangely enough, the docudrama is far creepier and hits you in your soul, whereas the film relies on cheap startle tactics. I always assumed A Haunting was a more faithful account. Now to hear a member of the family deny that the events portrayed in the film even happened …
The film did a great deal of damage to the story. Usually when a story is exaggerated or amplified to include fabrications, it makes the story more entertaining, but in this case the New Dominion documentary (Discovery Channel) remains the only interesting account of the events.
As a PhD research psychologist who researches dreaming and who has published a work of fiction, I am fairly good at discriminating the real from the imagined from the contrived. Some of the events as reported in the documentary do have that unimaginable, stranger-than-fiction quality that lends the story credibility (e.g., the daughter “Connie” flipping the lightswitch and generating light from a fixture with no light bulb). I would be surprised if the Snedeker woman had what it took to make up these events. Some highly imaginative authors have fabricated paranormal events for their works of fiction, and they have that made-up, this-worldly quality about them — that product-of-a-conscious-mind quality.
The film itself was execrable — one of the most heinous abominations in cinema. Not only did it confuse people the filmmakers must have known were hungry for more truth about this interesting story, but it also failed to entertain. The filmmakers claim characters and sub-plots were invented in an effort to explain the sources of the haunting, but no one knows for sure what these sources were. The casting was terrible. I found the documentary cast attractive and relatable, but I thought the actors in the film bordered on gross. Only Virginia Madsen passed muster and I still preferred the actress in the documentary. Unfortunately, the filmmakers (Gold Circle Films) are set to destroy two other hauntings documented by New Dominion: A Haunting in Georgia and The Diabolical, which will be re-titled A Haunting in New York. The film also relied too heavily on tickling our startle reflex, but failed to punch us in the soul the way the documentary did. The demon in the documentary kept the hairs on the back of my neck raised long after he first appeared. (My wife can’t even bare to look at him. She has to close her eyes when he appears). The same can be said of the home’s interior. The documentary producers attention-to-detail is commendable, right down to the shape of the windows and the arrangement of the curtains. The shower curtain scene was also more creepy in the documentary. The musical accompaniment (soundtrack) was also creepier in the documentary.
Yes, there is not as much convergent evidence to make me feel 100% that the story is real, as compared to say The Haunting in Florida, where it seems no one is able to live in that Deltona, FL home for more than a few months before selling it for less than what they paid for. The same can be said for The Haunting of Summerwind, where numerous people have visited the ruins and produced photos of double exposure and other anomalies that are highly improbable (including an apparition). Also, so many people have experienced events at that Wisconsin mansion that the whole town is afraid of it. Nevertheless, I am inclined at first glance to believe that what happened in Connecticut is for the most part real. And the Catholic Church, which is extremely skeptical and rarely performs exorcisms, did grant an exorcism of the home (which would also explain why no one has experienced anything since the Snedekers moved out). There may also be other factors to explain why the events in the home were not so universally experienced by all people. Some people act as conduits for the paranormal — or at least bring the paranormal into the perceptible world — for example, children, emotionally disturbed persons, and people close to death and “Paul” Snedeker would have qualified on all three counts. Based on the documentary, it would seem only he and John Zaffis actually witnessed the demon. There are plenty of cases of hauntings in which one or two family members witness or report experiences of ghosts and other family members who share the same home and even the same bed see nothing.
Anyway, the value of this and some of the other documentaries is in broadening people’s appreciation for the experiences and helping us to frame the questions we need to answer to develop a better science of the paranormal, which is currently uninspired. Hauntings are complex phenomena and unlike a science of plankton or geodes, would also have to account for the human factor. In other words, it would have to include psychology as well as physics and neurology. The perception of ghosts involves a human mind doing the perceiving and at the other end, a possible post-humous intelligence that was once a living human being which had, and may still have, motives and personalities.
spare the interview, that was a wee chat more then an interview
There are too many problems with the Snedeker family’s story for me to believe it. The Dis covery Channel documentary is creepy enough, but I think Heidi Wyrick has more credibility than Carmen Reed or any member of the Snedeker family does.
* The Landlord says they knew the home was a funeral parlor ahead of time. Carmen says they didn’t. The documentary shows they knew only after they’d paid to move and all their money was wrapped up.
* The documentary shows only the family living in the home. In reality, it was divided into two residences. There were other people living there at the time who claim they experienced no paranormal activity, including CT Representative Chris Murphy.
http://www.politico.com/blogs/anneschroeder/0309/A_Connecticut_horror_movie_.html
* Though Carmen and her family were cast in shadows for the documentary, there’s been little effort to hide their identities over the last couple of decades. Her website http://www.carmenreed.com casts her as being a spiritual sensitive, too, on top of everything else.
* Ray Garton, the author of “In a Dark Place”, of course, is well known for his criticism of the Snedeker family, the Warrens and the story behind the alleged haunting. He claims the young man was on drugs that caused his hallucinations and admitted the sightings stopped after he ceased taking the drugs (something that the Discovery special stated was not the problem), that there were inconsistent stories among the famiy members and that Carmen herself was running some type of lottery scam around the same time. He claims Ed Warren admitted the family was crazy and told him to make something up for the book.
* The Warrens are also attached to that well-known hoax The Amityville Horror. One should be wary of anything they get involved with. John Zaffis is their nephew. Only he and “Stephen” saw the demon. If only the drug-addled boy and the paranormal investigator who has a vested interest in seeing that this story is deemed credible are the ones to see the demon, I’d think twice.
* The Catholic Church declined to be interviewed for the Discovery documentary. If they did perform an exorcism, my guess is that they realized post-ritual that they’d been scammed and don’t want to comment on it now.
Anyway, these are my reasons for doubting the veracity of the Connecticut funeral parlor haunting. As for the interview above, we didn’t learn much beyond the fact that Al’s sister would rather enable an apparent alcohol problem rather than admit that there wasn’t anything wrong with the house.
“* The Catholic Church declined to be interviewed for the Discovery documentary. If they did perform an exorcism, my guess is that they realized post-ritual that they’d been scammed and don’t want to comment on it now.”
Doubt it. The investigation protocol requires significant evidence beyond the family’s testimony.
“John Zaffis is their nephew. Only he and “Stephen” saw the demon. If only the drug-addled boy and the paranormal investigator who has a vested interest in seeing that this story is deemed credible are the ones to see the demon, I’d think twice.”
I am familiar enough with Zaffis’s story to know that he is driven by a genuine sense of calling rooted in an adolescent personal experience. While I am sure that Zaffis, like everyone else in this world, is capable of deception, I doubt this is what happened here. The urge to advance and defend the truth is too great in work tied to one’s calling. He would have felt the act of lying about the demon would taint his entire body of work.
Movie scared the hell out of me ! :S
I understand – from a good source – that Phillip Snedeker recently passed away.
Grant him Eternal Rest Oh Lord!
Phillip Snedeker comitted suicide this past week.
In other news, Carmen Reed’s website http://www.carmenreed.com no longer seems to be active.
Is there a link to information about Philip Snedeker’s death?
Regardless if the book and or movie was Fact or Fiction, Truth or Lies, a Mother has lost a son. Please PRAY for the family. I do not know what I would do if I lost mine.
Doubtless the family is indeed affected by Philip’s death. Here is his obituary by the way.
https://www.asimas.com/ASIMAS/hertetrick/obituaryDescription.jsp?domain_id=285&deceased_id=251768
It says only that he died in his home. While suicide could certainly be the cause, do we have any information that is authoritative in its assertion that Philip killed himself?
Do any of you know if Philip himself was ever interviewed on camera for the television shows his family did? I know he was not in the documentary “A Haunting in Connecticut”, but did he ever appear on the Sally Jessy Raphael segment or the episode of “A Current Affair”? Or was it just his mom and a few family members who did it all?
Phillip Wayne Snedeker (Matt in the film) lost his battle with cancer a little over a week ago. Per Carmen Reed’s Facebook page.
https://www.facebook.com/carmen.reed1
Thanks, Paige. As much as I doubt the haunting story is real, I had really hoped that Philip didn’t commit suicide.
I don’t believe it was real either. I just wonder how he was towards the end. He was living in Gadsden, Alabama at one point. I was raised in Mobile and later lived in Tuscaloosa, when the movie camee out. That’s when first heard it was supposed to be real and people were buzzing about him living in Alabama. I.read somewhere he tried to distance himself from his mother and the publicity of this.
I can’t say as I blame him. I’ve never seen or heard of an interview with him, just members of his family.
Phillip was never featured in interviews. Carmen and Allen appeared on SJR, and it was only her and Tammy, the eldest niece, on A Current Affair. As a matter of fact, the latter program made no mention of him. Phillip was a shy person who liked his privacy, and felt tortured by everyone bringing up his behavior as a kid. It was clear he grew out of his dark phase, and enjoyed hunting and spending time with his sons. The Snedekers are extremely saddened by his death.
I have wondered for a long time if he ever appeared on screen at all. It makes me angry that studios and publishing companies, not to mention his family, profited off of what, in my opinion, was a mentally-disturbed teenage boy. I wonder how much money ever drifted down to him? I’m sorry to hear that Phillip had to live with the stigma of being the Kid Who Lived in the Haunted Funeral Home.
Phillip did not die from cancer he killed him self. & If he enjoyed spending time with his boys? then why din’t he spend time with them & pay child support? he had not seen his kids in a long time. & I think his family drove him to kill him self. By making up this BS & using him as a child who did have cancer to make MONEY.. Sounds to me like his Mother & Family did the talking for Phillip. Cause he never interviewed with NO ONE. & If he finally went off the deep end I say who could blame the poor guy. I feel sorry for his 4 boys. They lost their father. & they had not seen him in a very long time. & he DID NOT try to see them or pay child support. I think Carmen should be ashamed of her self for pushing this BS on her son, PHILLIP RIP… If your so called family will allow that for you. Cause sounds to me like your Mother is still talking about ghost. & now you are the GHOST instead of you were the one seeing GHOST as a child. Let it rest people just let this man be.
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As of 2009 Philip Snedeker had not received a penny from the movie or any of the books. I was told this by Philip himself. I didn’t know Philip that well. I know what Philip told me that Allen Snedeker wasn’t his real dad. He said that as far as the book and the movie he didn’t really want to talk about either, he didn’t want any part of the movie. Was Philip tortured because of the publicity from the books and movie? He blamed the Snedeckers for his problems. Being a teenager is hard enough, can you imagine having to go through cancer treatments, and being forced to live in a basement, with the light bulb took out of the socket, he and his brother were in total darkness. My question is why didn’t parents take the basement? Why would they move other family members in when they didn’t have room for their children?
You can go to Carmen Reed’s fb page read from the beginning of his death some of her she contradicts herself. She states that Philip cancer had returned, the same post she states that he wouldn’t go to the Dr. It really doesn’t matter what caused his death. What matters now is that everyone will let him rest in peace. I hope that Carmen doesn’t try to make any more money off of him.
As for Philip’s spirit ,
The bible says 2 Corinthians 5:8 (King James Version)
8We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.
This is my belief when you pass from this world your spirit is no longer here. I believe in demonic spirits. However I believe that when you are covered in the blood of Jesus nothing can come between you and that blood. Mark 5: 1- 20 When Jesus cast the demons out of the demon possessed man at the tombs, never again did it mention that he became demon possessed again.
I would like to see these questions answered:
( 1) Why was the boys made to sleep in the basement area? When The Snedeker’s could have took the basement as their room.
( 2 ) Why was other family members being allowed to move in the house and live upstairs?
( while the boys was having to sleep in the basement.)
( 3 ) How did Allen Snedeker treat his step son?
( 4) Did Philip and his children ever receive any money from the movie?
It is my understanding that the home was a two-family home and the basement was just the best place to put the boys. Most families would probably put the kids in a basement room. I had a basement room and so did my sisters. The only difference is, of course, here they claim the basement was haunted. Otherwise, nothing really wrong with sleeping in the basement.
I am sorry to hear that Phillip was not monetarily compensated for his story being dramatized again and again. I’ve always gotten the idea that this whole thing was Mom’s way of promoting herself, regardless of what was best for her kids.
My problem wasn’t with the boys living in the basement. As a child I had a friend that had a basement bedroom we loved it. My problem is they kept moving family members in and out when she didn’t have enough room for her own children upstairs. Why didn’t they family members get the basement? Taking the light bulb out at night, knowing how scared those boys were to me that is mental child abuse. As for the hallucinations, when you are on meds for cancer especially high doses of chemo could cause hallucinations. I read where the Garton man that wrote the first book stated that he talked with Philip, that all of the symptoms stopped when placed on medication.
What if when you turned your T.V. on , the documentary is on. Philip Never could get away from the pain of the story. You tell someone how bad they are, they start believing, and acting out. This followed Philip all his adult life, from a previous post I read how he treated his family. He could have sought treatment, maybe he felt it was to late.
I read in the obituary that Philip had four sons. I hope that they don’t have to go through life with people reminding them of the story of A Haunting in Connecticut. i hope that Carmen will let it go, that she will quit making her speeches and doing interviews.I hope she cares more for her Grandchildren than the money. It she would stop promoting the books and movie eventually it will die down.
Everything is a matter of public record. Maybe what Philip put his family through was because of the abuse he suffered as a child. Everything that you read or see on T.V. about how bad someone treated their family usually goes back to their childhood.
I think Mom needs to drop it, too, elizabeth marie. I’ve wondered for years just how far she was willing to go to use her son’s troubled past to get attention for herself.
Does anyone out there personally know Allen Snedeker? About 2 years ago, he went into remission from throat cancer. Shortly after, his live-in girlfriend shot and killed herself in front of him. I’m just wondering how he’s doing now.
how about we leave the poor people alone? regardless of whether what happened in the movie was exaggerated or didn’t happen those poor people went through that experience and i’m sure they’d rather not have their family’s horror on display for everyone to see. let them get on with their lives, quit prying for goodness sake! it’s human nature to want to know about the paranormal, okay but you’ve got your movie so leave the family alone. everyone’s got their demons, i mean this literally and figuratively. you wouldn’t want yours out in the open for prying eyes so what makes you think that someone who has been through something so terrible would actually want to comment on it any further for public consumption. i’ll tell you what, next time you want to interview someone from that family share with them every horrible thing that you’ve done, or has been done to you in your life and don’t hold back the gory details. see how it feels. i hate people.
I would ordinarily agree with you, Amber, but it’s Mom (Carmen) who didn’t seem to be able to leave it alone. The book deal, the movies, the television appearances. A lot of those happened with Carmen’s blessing. If she wants her family left alone with no questions being asked about their experience, she should have stopped hawking it everywhere she could.
she’s despicable. i cannot agree with pimping out your son. from what i’ve heard he doesn’t want to talk about it so why should he have to? ultimately it’s his pain, not hers (obviously she wasn’t traumatized if she can’t shut up about it)
we should make public stoning legal for people like this. you just don’t pimp out your children’s pain.
In response to Tweety Birds statement: Shame on you. You claim to want him to Rest In Peace, yet you’re blasting him for his parenting and claiming he killed himself. You sound like a useless gossip, so hush.
It’s obvious that nobody will ever know the truth behind it all. Was it Matt’s hallucinations or schizophrenia? Was it the parent’s way of trying to scam the landlord? All we know now is that what could have been just a small hallucination in the eyes of a sick young man has been churned into millions of Hollywood dollars in the form of a disgusting and frightening movie.
The haunting was real or the Catholic Church’s investigation would have never sanctioned an exorcism. The Church is a skeptical institution which hopes to conclude a haunting has a neurological, psychiatric, or other alternative explanation. This one did not.
I don’t think there was an exorcism, I think the Warrens Priest is in some offshoot group of priest. Not associated with the church. Remember a priest is a priest for life in the CC. Its like a marriage, so while he could be a catholic priest it doesnt mean he is sanctioned etc.
Well, we get to finally hear from Phillip tomorrow night on Paranormal Witness. He was interviewed for the program before he died.
a few weeks before he died*
Phillip Snedeker was cancer free for 24yrs. He died from it in January 2012
To answer all questions from elizabeth. Due to the fact of him having cancer, phillip threw up alot and the restroom was very close to the room so it was convenient. And as far as allen, from the show i watched. When they moved to connecticut allen went back to newyork to move. But last question..i have noo idea. All i do know is after 24 years of being cancer free. It returned and he passed away in JAN 2012. 38 years old. My condolences to you phillip, for having to go through all that. But yer at peace now and thats wat matters. Btw, most of the movie was fake. Go watching paranormal witness, it explains everyythiing
Allen went back to newyork to **work
Hey Ray Garton is a former Seven Day Adventist turn Atheist. That can be found on his website and other interviews from him. So of course he would say it is fake. Because saying that there is a evil Entity possible demon attack. Forces him to admit there is a God.So I wouldn’t take his word for any thing. I have had things happen so I believe! That is just my opinion on it.
Ray Garton uses his imagination to make money. His debunking of the haunting is such crap if you are really familiar with the case. Ed Warren, the demonologist who told Ray to “make up it” for the book, was known to become enraged if someone questioned the paranormal events of his cases. So why would he reveal to an author that he was a fraud? Ray also claims the Snedekers didn’t seem to know what type of cancer Phillip had. The newspaper clips in 1988 stated he had Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. Basically, he was trying to convince people that HE made up the type of cancer for his book. As for stories not meshing, I came across a messageboard frequented by Ray Garton, and he admitted to not remembering what was confusing about the family’s testamonies. I think he was angry with the family because his book didn’t set off a franchise like The Amityville Horror. Plus, his version of the story was never made into a movie. Besides, he loves telling his story about working on “In A Dark Place” because the interviewers always ask about his latest books. It’s a way of gaining publicity for himself and letting people know about his upcoming projects.
Hey Ben
I agree with you 100 percent. Well said!
Phillip did not die of cancer. He killed himself. He lived in Gadsden, AL at the end. He was still tormented by demons. His demonic refusal to help his own soul by keeping rosaries and crosses his mom sent him…it just finally took him over. He had 4 kids whom he tried to give satanic names…a couple did like Damon or Damien or something. He threatened to kill his wife who finally got smart enough to leave him. His kids live with their mom. She endured a lot and experienced some of the evil herself. Really sad but most of Phil’s story is true about the haunted house…his possession and all. I think his mom just went kind of crazy and she’s just so screwed up now that she can’t help herself living in the past. I remain annonymous because I was sort of a friend of Phil’s. Pray for his kids, and his family ….and please leave them alone. Just pray for them whenever you hear of or think of them or their story.
Wrong, joemoe. About half a year before he died, Phillip’s mother wrote a note on Facebook asking for her friends to report people like you. Phil was growing extremely tired of being slandered on the net. He only wanted to move on with his life. He died from cancer. In November of 2011, he was rushed to the hospital with heart problems brought on by the illness. He didn’t want to go through the pain of the treatments again. Also, he was living in Tennessee, and Brad found him dead in his truck. He was constantly reminded of the bad things he did as a boy with the story being told over and over. It was so sad how Carmen said on “Paranormal Witness” how he asked her if he was evil a week before he died. Phillip didn’t get to live in peace. Why can’t we just let him rest in peace?
It’s so funny how many people have said to just leave him alone, let the story drop, if no one talks about it, the story will die down. What are you doing looking it up? How is that letting the story die? As for how Phillip died, all those that keep saying suicide, where did you get that from? Were you there? Did you find him? And for the mom telling the story and keeping it alive, the bills that family had must have been outragous, I wouldn’t be surprised if she still owed on them. How about a little less judgment and a little more understanding? Even if the whole thing is made up, so what? It’s entertaining.
An interview with Lorraine Warren would be the biggest farce of all. She is, without doubt, a gifted story teller with captivating imagery and drama. In fact, some of what she relates to people regarding hauntings is based on truth….but not much.
I was an investigator, first hand, working with Ed and Lorraine for years. I have had, and continue to have, a strong interest in Demonology and, so-called, paranormal activity. Unequivocally, I can truthfully state that, what the majority of the Warrens report as fact is pure fiction. First hand, I have watched either of them tell trusting, good natured people that their home is infiltrated with the most heinous of spirits and then leave to have dinner at a restaurant and go home. When there is, in fact, nothing actually being observed or even “sensed”, Plan B is concocted. If the house is on a dead end road; thats good fodder for story telling. If the house is old: that is good story telling fodder. If it was a windy evening during their visit, and the list goes on and on. If there is no opportunity for marketing of a lecture, dinner engagement, TV interview, local public television or radio then there is no case. If it’s been a while since a “good case” came in then one is invented. Believe me, Ed and Lorraine are captivating. They hooked me for a while. It didn’t take long to put the pieces together and see what they were doing. Its sad really because there were, I am certain, legitimate hauntings, particularly in the beginning of their careers. I believe that they were committed to assisting those in need of help with very unusual problems. However, sincerity and thruthfulness went by the wayside over a period of years and fame and self promotion became the directive. I wish I could say otherwise but this is what I saw, on a number of occasions, firsthand.
Carmen can’t have it both ways. She either wants her family to be left alone or she doesn’t. She can’t complain about how people keep the story of her son’s suffering going when she continually goes on TV shows and allows adaptations of the so-called Haunting to keep being made. That “Paranormal Witness” episode isn’t a rerun from years and years ago, after all.
Now that Philip is gone, maybe she’ll stop milking his troubled teen years for all the fame and money she can get out of it.
I think anyone who has been in that kind of situation can relate and to be honest if I were, i would’nt want anyone to make such accusations its just kind of unexplainable when something not as bad happens bt it hurts even harder when its something of the same evil. Sometimes people claim to have something evil with them and if that was so they would’nt be happy to know it they would be pretty frighted I know for sure I would’ve been!!! For real though theres no way to tell whats real in a world of anger and hate these days. May god forever stay with the families who have scared over memories of something so frightening!
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Here is his obit and a brief history.
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=97463700
Hopefully everyone can let it go and let him finally test.
This is my first time pay a uick visit at here and i am actually happy to read all at one place.
November 18, 2013. I parked my car on the next street over and walked along the house at 208 Meriden Avenue in Southington. The vibrations were ghastly, cold, and frightening. The people who live behind that haunted house have a huge, life sized statue of St. Jude facing that house to protect them. You can tell it was a mortuary. Horrible, I don’t blame Carmen Schednecker one bit for leaving.
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