Is ‘Devil in Ohio’ Based on a True Story?
The new Netflix series, Devil in Ohio, stars Emily Deschanel and Sam Jaeger and follows the story of a psychiatrist who attempts to help a young girl who recently escaped from a cult. With the onslaught of series like Hulu’s The Dropout and Pam and Tommy based on actual events, it’s no surprise audiences are wondering if Devil in Ohio is based on a true story. Technically, it’s a little bit of fiction and non-fiction mixed together.
What is ‘Devil in Ohio’ about?
Netflix categorizes Devil in Ohio as a mystery/thriller series, but it also includes some heavy supernatural aspects. Deschanel stars as Dr. Suzanne Mathis, a psychiatrist working in the local hospital. When Suzanne arrives to work one morning, a nurse introduces her to a young woman who was dropped off by the cops the previous night. A trucker found the girl on the side of the road, but no one could get her to talk, so she arrived at the hospital with no ID or wallet. Suzanne tries to get her to speak but to no avail.
Finally, just as doctors prepare to release her as a ward of the state, Suzanne manages to extract a name from her. The teen says her name is Mae. Suzanne decides to offer her house as a place for Mae to stay until the state finds a foster home for her. However, once in the Mathis home, strange things begin to happen that get increasingly worrisome. The Mathis family learns more about Mae’s past and the dangerous cult she escaped from, but Mae might have some skeletons in her closet herself.
The Netflix series is based on the book of the same name
Daria Polatin serves as the showrunner for Devil in Ohio, and with good reason. Polatin wrote the novel on which the series is based and published it in 2017. The author categorizes the book as a young adult suspense/thriller, but the series itself comes across as more mature with some gruesome scenes. Polatin is no stranger to the world of television, however. She wrote and produced two seasons of Amazon Prime Video’s Jack Ryan and served as a writer and producer on Hulu’s Castle Rock.
‘Devil in Ohio’ is inspired by true events
While the specific characters and cult are entirely fictional, the overarching plot of Devil in Ohio is inspired by true events. Polatin wrote a blog post in 2017 titled “My Top 5 Scariest Moments Researching Devil in Ohio.” The article talked about the parts of the story she drew her inspiration from.
Polatin wrote, “When I heard about the true events of a young woman who had escaped from a satanic cult and moved in with her psychiatrist’s family, I had to tell that story. This became the inspiration for Devil in Ohio, and the tale of Mae, Jules, and the Mathis family.”
Polatin added, “I will never reveal details about my source, but suffice it to say, it was quite horrifying to hear the details of how a young woman escaped from the satanic cult she’d grown up in. Since many of the perturbing aspects of the story in Devil in Ohio were based on true events, my stomach churned whenever I heard about the scarring rituals, planting of mind-control triggers, and perhaps the most disturbing, how it tore a formerly tight-knit family apart.”
Check out the spooky mini-series currently streaming only on Netflix.
