If you’re like me (and many others) and enjoy a good Netflix documentary, the streaming platform’s creepy new offering “The Devil on Trial” will scratch the itch for a horrifying Halloween watch — especially since it tells the real-life story behind “The Conjuring 3: The Devil Made Me Do It.”
- If you’ve never watched “The Conjuring 3,” let’s get you up to speed. The official synopsis for the movie reads: “Paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren take on one of the most sensational cases of their careers after a cop stumbles upon a dazed and bloodied young man walking down the road. Accused of murder, the suspect claims demonic possession as his defense, forcing the Warrens into a supernatural inquiry unlike anything they’ve ever seen before.” It’s truly chilling and well worth watching!
- “The Devil on Trial” on Netflix explores the real elements behind this story. It looks into “the first — and only — time ‘demonic possession’ has officially been used as a defense in a US murder trial.” To make things more interesting, it includes “firsthand accounts of alleged devil possession and a shocking murder,” which make it incredibly absorbing and really freaky to boot.
- So what actually happened here? Well, back in 1981, Arne Cheyenne Jackson murdered his landlord, Alan Bono. However, he insisted during his trial that he couldn’t be held responsible since he’d been possessed by a demon at the time that made him commit the heinous act. His attorneys even got a ghost-hunting team together to try to prove their clients story — that’s where Ed and Lorraine Warren came in.
- The Warrens documented their interaction with Johnson from the minute they entered the case. “When the Warrens came along, they were told to start documenting it. They needed to provide proof and evidence to the diocese [to get approved for] an exorcism,” “The Devil on Trial” director Chris Holt said on the “You Can’t Make This Up” podcast. “[The documentary] is the first time that audio and those Polaroids have ever been shown — these have been laying in a drawer for 20 to 30 odd years.”
“The Devil on Trial” is now available on Netflix.
