The Entity: A True Story About a Woman Who Is Attacked by Invisible, Paranormal Forces

Barbara Hershey Stars in The Entity, a Movie Based on One of the Most Famous Cases of Haunting and Psychic Attacks

The Entity movie is gripping portrayal of one woman's struggle against the paranormal.

Carla (Carlotta) Moran is a single mother whose life is forever changed when she is assaulted by unseen forces.

The popular movie, The Entity, was based on a book, written by Frank Defelitta and published in 1978. Defelitta's book detailed the purported experiences of Doris Bither in Culver City, California, USA. Bither was battered and raped repeatedly by unseen forces, ghosts or demons intent on harassing and abusing her.

Is The Entity a true portrayal of events? Paranormal investigators witnessed first hand strange phenomena that convinced them that something was going on.

This case was and is persuasive and has fired speculation as to the possibility and potential of contact with the other side.

Events Preceding the Investigation

Doris Bither, a single mother raising four children and the real person behind the movie portrayal of "Carlotta Moran," moved from Santa Monica into a ramshackle house at 11547 Braddock Dr. The move would prove to have repercussions she had never anticipated.

Soon after, an elderly Mexican woman knocked at her door and warned Doris that the house she'd moved into was evil. According to journals kept by Javier Ortega, the woman told Doris: "You need to get out! I used to live here in this old house, back when it was just a farm and I was a little girl. There is something very evil here. This place is haunted and you need to get out!”

These words would soon prove chillingly accurate.

Did Doris Unknowingly Invite Something in via the Ouija Board?

Dabbling in the Dark Side

Doris' son, Brian Harris, has related that his mother started experimenting with a Ouija Board and held séances in her early years and would later mix this activity with drugs and alcohol. It is apparent she was battling personal demons and may have been not only self-medicating but searching for answers from the spirit world.

What transpired did little to relieve Doris' emotional and mental turmoil and would push her to the very limits of sanity.

Her dabbling may have provoked a response. Doris was purportedly attacked and raped by a violent entity. Her children (one daughter and three sons) were also present to the events in their home. She was beaten, thrown around and sexually assaulted, sometimes in full view of her children, who could see the entities who were inflicting their violence upon Doris.

Harris has related that living in the home at Braddock was hell and that all family members were attacked. They were pushed, bitten and scratched. He believed there were four entities in the home but that they concentrated mostly on Doris because of the fear she felt.

The apparitions were described as appearing humanoid but foggy. While their shapes could be seen, their facial features where not always clear.

While testimony from both Doris and her children might have been convincing, events, as witnessed by researchers, were far more compelling and harder to dismiss. Along with Dr. Barry Taft, Kerry Gaynor and Dr. Thelma Moss were involved with this case.

According the Dr. Barry Taft (and her sons), Doris had experienced paranormal phenomena prior to moving into the rundown house on Braddock Drive, but events escalated, which, in turn, sparked investigations that rocked parapsychologists who witnessed compelling phenomena in her home.

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The Entity Case: One of the Most Compelling

August of 1974 saw the start of an investigation at 11547 Braddock Drive in Culver City, California, that would shake the paranormal world and parapsychologists, Kerry Gaynor and Dr. Barry Taff.

The two UCLA researchers encountered a woman in a bookstore who overheard them talking and mentioned that her house was haunted. While skeptical, the two agreed to investigate.

As events unfolded, it became clear that this case was unusual. Bither was not alone in witnessing and experiencing paranormal activity. Her children and others had experienced phenomena.

Over two and a half months, investigators saw lights and poltergeist activity, and at one point, a green mist appeared and took form as a large male, causing one investigator to faint.

Bither's story is considered one of the most compelling in the history of paranormal research and sparked what some feel is one of the best paranormal movies.

The Real Story Behind the Entity

Possible Explanations for the Paranormal Activity Around Doris

As Dr. Taff postulates, it may be possible that a person’s subconscious mind generates enough energy on some level to produce luminous anomalies and apparitions. He feels this is far more probable than discarnate intelligence.

Recent theories about psychokinetic powers and poltergeist-type activity support the contention that a person's subconscious mind may play a part in what appears to be paranormal activity.

This would explain why Doris continued to experience similar activity in spite of moving repeatedly.

Made Into a Movie

This case was so noteworthy, it was made into a movie. The Entity is gripping and will leave audiences with a new respect for the paranormal. This is one of my favorite movies based on what is considered a verifiable case and portrayed in a believable retelling.

What I found intriguing were the interviews with investigators who were involved in the case and their eyewitness accounts as to what transpired in the house. It's sure to get viewers thinking about entities and ghosts, spirits and incubus, and the potential for contact with them in everyday life.

Movie Synopsis

The Entity opens with Carla who has just come home from work. She is slapped on the cheek, then thrown on the bed and sexually assaulted by an invisible assailant. A pillow is held against her face to prevent her from crying out for help. Her son convinces her it must have been a nightmare.

But the nightmare is just beginning...

Soon after, Carla's room starts shaking. Terrified, she flees the house with her children and runs to a friend's home. Carla confides in her friend and her friend suggests that Carla see a psychiatrist.

A terrifying incident in her car convinces Carla to seek help. She sees Dr. Sneiderman and is somewhat reassured by plausible sounding explanations for her experiences. She returns home, determined to recover, and is assaulted while in the bathroom. This time the entity has two helpers who hold her down while she is raped.

Carla's body bears witness to the violence she has suffered by means of the unseen entities while Dr. Sneiderman becomes increasingly concerned for her mental well-being. Carla refuses to go into the hospital, opting to stay near her children.

What Makes The Entity Movie So Compelling?

When it comes to the paranormal, movies that portray real people and real events are always far more compelling. It is much creepier when, instead of a fictional movie, paranormal occurances have played out in everyday people's lives. For paranormal buffs, this is an excellent movie for the home library.