Debunked: The ‘true story’ behind Netflix’s True Haunting has absolutely zero proof

Netflix have decided to scare us all some more this Halloween now we’ve wrapped it up with Monster: The Ed Gein Story. Whilst The Ed Gein Story terrifies us with the creative liberties Ryan Murphy and co took with bringing the true and harrowing tale of Ed Gein to screen they made a lot of it up (or embellished) for drama purposes. It’s now James Wan’s turn – creator of Saw and The Conjuring – with his new show True Haunting on Netflix. But just how true is the main haunting in True Haunting – because people on Reddit think they’ve got it debunked.

What is the story of True Haunting?

True Haunting on Netflix covered two “real” paranormal stories and both dramatises and interviews participants who were said to be there in the midst of the activity. The two hauntings are Eerie Hall and This House Murdered Me. Eerie Hall takes on the story of student athlete Chris Di Cesare who says he felt a haunting in his college dorm during the 1980s. This House Murdered Me in contrast is in Salt Like City and tells the story of unexplained activity in a Victorian home – which resulted in real life paranormal experts Ed and Lorraine Warren turning up.

What is the actual true story of Chris Di Cesare?

In True Haunting, Netflix features an interview with the real Chris Di Cesare, who recalls the chilling paranormal events he experienced as a student at SUNY Geneseo. Di Cesare enrolled at the university in 1985 on a track and field scholarship and was assigned to room C2D1 in Erie Hall, sharing it with his roommate, Paul.

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While at college, Di Cesare attended a lecture by renowned paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren. Aka, the icons from The Conjuring. After meeting them, Lorraine reportedly refused to shake his hand, saying, “I don’t want to know my future.” I’m not a believer but if Lorraine said that to me I’d probably drop out of college there and then.

Roughly 11 days later, Di Cesare claimed he began hearing a disembodied voice in his dorm room. The strange activity escalated over the next few days until it manifested as a full-body apparition, he told SUNY Geneseo’s student newspaper. At first, he thought he was losing his mind until his roommate started witnessing the same occurrences. Together, they concluded that something otherworldly had taken up residence in their room.

Via Netflix

On February 14, 1985, Di Cesare and his neighbor, Jeff Ungar, attempted to capture the apparition on camera. Ungar urged Di Cesare to “call out the ghost” and “invite the ghost in,” which allegedly caused the door to swing open, revealing a face. Di Cesare was so stunned he became momentarily paralyzed. When Ungar tried to photograph the figure, it vanished.

Di Cesare said the failed photo attempt seemed to anger the entity: “Afterward, he came right at me and went right through me… making me fall to the ground.” He then told Ungar to photograph the “dead thing hovering above my bed.” The resulting image reportedly showed a skeletal figure, detailed enough for Ungar to “label all of the bones.” This picture can be found online but personally … I’m not buying it.

The pair began documenting their experiences in journals, but the encounters only grew more disturbing. On March 13, 1985, Di Cesare said the spirit, whom they’d named “Tommy”, attacked him while he was in the shower, leaving deep claw marks on his back.

The sightings reportedly tapered off in mid-April 1985, after a priest performed a blessing and exorcism in the dorm. There isn’t any proof the situation actually happened beyond verbal stories from the guys involved however – and a lot of cases Ed and Lorraine have dabbled in have been mostly debunked.

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