In 1992 an award winning horror writer named Ray Garton, working with Ed and Lorraine Warren, wrote “In a Dark Place”. It was supposedly the true story of the unfortunate Snedeker family’s experiences when they moved into a converted funeral home in Connecticut. In the book the family eventually contacted the Warrens (through their nephew, Jon Zaffis) who did battle with a demonic entity in the home. The book was eventually filmed as “A Haunting in Connecticut” starring Virginia Madsen.
When Al and Carmen Snedeker moved into Hallahan House, their family included three sons 13, 11 and 3 (the two older boys from Carmen’s previous marriage) and a 6 year old daughter. Two nieces would move in with the Snedekers within months.
The initial point of contention is that the Snedekers say they were unaware that the house had previously been a funeral home, while neighbors and the owner of the house say otherwise.
Thirteen year old Phillip’s basement bedroom was adjacent to the room that housed much of the equipment that remained from the previous occupant (The Hallahan Funeral Home) and the atmosphere it created may have had somewhat of a suggestive effect. It was there the incidents began.
When Phillip began to see ghosts in his room his parents wrote it off as being caused by the treatments he was receiving for Hodgkin’s Disease until his personality began to change. He soon developed an interest in demonology and began wearing leather. He reportedly broke into a neighbor’s home, telling his mother he was hoping to steal a gun with which to kill his stepfather.
The next two years were allegedly filled with the usual gambit of paranormal phenomena, with a couple of more juicy elements thrown in for good measure…
A seventeen year old niece complained of repeatedly being fondled while she slept. These occurrences escalated to the point of physical attacks and demonic sexual assaults that included rape and sodomy on both Al and Carmen Snedeker.
Like so many of these stories there are usually many sides and many people willing to chime in about the authenticity of the case. Where this case strays from the norm is that the parties chiming in are all on one side of the debate…
Just prior to the release of In a Dark Place the Snedekers were served an eviction notice by their landlady for non-payment of rent. She apparently saw the up-front promotion by Ed & Lorraine Warren and told the local newspaper that she and her husband had owned the property for almost three years and had never experienced any unusual phenomena.
She told the local newspaper “Personally, my husband and I do not believe in ghosts and to us, the whole issue seems ridiculous. I find it ironic that after more than two years as tenants, suddenly we are told about these alleged ghosts and then read in the paper that the Warrens will be conducting a seminar and will be charging the public for it. If the ghosts really are there, then why did the Snedekers stay there over two years and why are they staying there now? Are they looking for publicity or profit, or what?”
Her husband was much more pointed “It’s a fraud. It’s a joke. It’s a hoax. It’s Halloween. It’s a scheme to make money is what it is.”
The Snedeker’s upstairs neighbor made similar statements. She called the Warrens “con artists,” she said: “I haven’t experienced anything. I certainly know nobody’s been raped up here.” She told reporters that the Warrens, who she was convinced were exploiting the situation for personal gain, “have caused a lot of problems here and they are not ghost problems”.
Although the haunting had been discussed on the Maury Povich Show in March of 1992, things didn’t really heat up until October of that year, when Al & Carmen Snedeker, the Warrens and skeptic Joe Nickell appeared together on the Sally Jesse Raphael Show.
On that occasion Ed Warren and Nickell nearly came to blows and this would not be the only occasion when that happened.
Since that time, other developments have surfaced that don’t help the Snedekers or Warrens case.
Philip Snedeker’s drug use, vandalism, and other misbehavior became somewhat common knowledge.
In the end this was the explanation for the sexual touching the Snedeker’s niece had felt “from an unseen hand” while she slept. The boy was actually caught fondling his nieces while they slept. “Steven” (as he is called in the book) “was taken away by the police that afternoon. He was questioned, at which time he confessed that he’d been fondling the girls while they slept at night, and that he’d attempted unsuccessfully to have sex with his twelve-year-old cousin.” He was later taken to the juvenile detention center, where a psychiatrist diagnosed him as schizophrenic.
The most crushing blow to the Haunting in Connecticut took place in a 2009 interview given Ray Garton to the website Damned Connecticut. In that interview, Garton said the following:
“I was offered the job, and because I used to read of Ed and Lorraine Warren's exploits in the National Enquirer when I was a kid, I took it. I went to Connecticut and spent time with the Warrens and the Snedekers. When I found that the Snedekers couldn't keep their individual stories straight, I went to Ed Warren and explained the problem. "They're crazy," he said. "All the people who 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? Well, make it up and make it scary. That's why we hired you."
See the entire interview here http://www.damnedct.com/damned-interview-ray-garton
So much for the book and movie being based on true events…
When Al and Carmen Snedeker moved into Hallahan House, their family included three sons 13, 11 and 3 (the two older boys from Carmen’s previous marriage) and a 6 year old daughter. Two nieces would move in with the Snedekers within months.
The initial point of contention is that the Snedekers say they were unaware that the house had previously been a funeral home, while neighbors and the owner of the house say otherwise.
Thirteen year old Phillip’s basement bedroom was adjacent to the room that housed much of the equipment that remained from the previous occupant (The Hallahan Funeral Home) and the atmosphere it created may have had somewhat of a suggestive effect. It was there the incidents began.
When Phillip began to see ghosts in his room his parents wrote it off as being caused by the treatments he was receiving for Hodgkin’s Disease until his personality began to change. He soon developed an interest in demonology and began wearing leather. He reportedly broke into a neighbor’s home, telling his mother he was hoping to steal a gun with which to kill his stepfather.
The next two years were allegedly filled with the usual gambit of paranormal phenomena, with a couple of more juicy elements thrown in for good measure…
A seventeen year old niece complained of repeatedly being fondled while she slept. These occurrences escalated to the point of physical attacks and demonic sexual assaults that included rape and sodomy on both Al and Carmen Snedeker.
Like so many of these stories there are usually many sides and many people willing to chime in about the authenticity of the case. Where this case strays from the norm is that the parties chiming in are all on one side of the debate…
Just prior to the release of In a Dark Place the Snedekers were served an eviction notice by their landlady for non-payment of rent. She apparently saw the up-front promotion by Ed & Lorraine Warren and told the local newspaper that she and her husband had owned the property for almost three years and had never experienced any unusual phenomena.
She told the local newspaper “Personally, my husband and I do not believe in ghosts and to us, the whole issue seems ridiculous. I find it ironic that after more than two years as tenants, suddenly we are told about these alleged ghosts and then read in the paper that the Warrens will be conducting a seminar and will be charging the public for it. If the ghosts really are there, then why did the Snedekers stay there over two years and why are they staying there now? Are they looking for publicity or profit, or what?”
Her husband was much more pointed “It’s a fraud. It’s a joke. It’s a hoax. It’s Halloween. It’s a scheme to make money is what it is.”
The Snedeker’s upstairs neighbor made similar statements. She called the Warrens “con artists,” she said: “I haven’t experienced anything. I certainly know nobody’s been raped up here.” She told reporters that the Warrens, who she was convinced were exploiting the situation for personal gain, “have caused a lot of problems here and they are not ghost problems”.
Although the haunting had been discussed on the Maury Povich Show in March of 1992, things didn’t really heat up until October of that year, when Al & Carmen Snedeker, the Warrens and skeptic Joe Nickell appeared together on the Sally Jesse Raphael Show.
On that occasion Ed Warren and Nickell nearly came to blows and this would not be the only occasion when that happened.
Since that time, other developments have surfaced that don’t help the Snedekers or Warrens case.
Philip Snedeker’s drug use, vandalism, and other misbehavior became somewhat common knowledge.
In the end this was the explanation for the sexual touching the Snedeker’s niece had felt “from an unseen hand” while she slept. The boy was actually caught fondling his nieces while they slept. “Steven” (as he is called in the book) “was taken away by the police that afternoon. He was questioned, at which time he confessed that he’d been fondling the girls while they slept at night, and that he’d attempted unsuccessfully to have sex with his twelve-year-old cousin.” He was later taken to the juvenile detention center, where a psychiatrist diagnosed him as schizophrenic.
The most crushing blow to the Haunting in Connecticut took place in a 2009 interview given Ray Garton to the website Damned Connecticut. In that interview, Garton said the following:
“I was offered the job, and because I used to read of Ed and Lorraine Warren's exploits in the National Enquirer when I was a kid, I took it. I went to Connecticut and spent time with the Warrens and the Snedekers. When I found that the Snedekers couldn't keep their individual stories straight, I went to Ed Warren and explained the problem. "They're crazy," he said. "All the people who 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? Well, make it up and make it scary. That's why we hired you."
See the entire interview here http://www.damnedct.com/damned-interview-ray-garton
So much for the book and movie being based on true events…