An American Haunting

An American Haunting (2005)

Possession Knows No Bounds

An invisible entity haunts a 19th century family, and family secrets soon begin to surface. Based on the true events of the only case in US History where a spirit caused the death of a man.

Date of release
2005-05-05
TMDB
5.5 / 10 (549)
Runtime
1h 23m
Genres
Horror, Thriller, Mystery, Drama
Director
Courtney Solomon

Casting

Interesting facts

  • Budget: $14M
  • Filmed in: Montreal

An American Haunting is a 2005 historical supernatural horror film written and directed by Courtney Solomon and starring Donald Sutherland, Sissy Spacek, James D'Arcy, and Rachel Hurd-Wood. It is based on the novel The Bell Witch: An American Haunting (1995) by Brent Monahan. The events in the novel are loosely based on the legend of the Bell Witch, who allegedly haunted the Bell family in rural 1810s Tennessee. The film documents the Bell family's supernatural experiences, which are paralleled with a contemporary 21st-century subplot involving a young girl plagued by similar events experienced by Betsy Bell.

Production

The screenplay for An American Haunting was adapted by director Courtney Solomon from Brent Monahan's novel The Bell Witch: An American Haunting (1995), which documents the alleged Bell Witch haunting experienced by the Bell family in rural 1810s Tennessee.

There are certain aspects of the screenplay that do follow the original legend itself, which I felt was important to try to stay true to, because it’s historically documented, and there are many people that take it seriously. As far as the ending and what happens to Betsy Bell, that was something that was unique to the book and the author of the book, Brent Monahan.

Donald Sutherland was cast in the film as the family patriarch, John Bell. Sutherland commented that he felt drawn to the material due to his own supernatural experiences in a home he resided in in Quebec. Sissy Spacek was cast in the role of John's wife Lucy.

Rachel Hurd-Wood was cast as the Bell's eldest daughter, Betsy. Commenting on starring in a horror film, Hurd-Wood said: "It’s more just the story that I found intriguing. And the character... I was really drawn to the whole project. It was really, really cool doing a horror movie as well."

James D'Arcy was cast in the role of Richard Powell, Lucy's schoolteacher who becomes invested in her alleged supernatural experiences.

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