Third franchise installment The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It came along in 2021, and like the other films in the franchise it was inspired by a true story of true evil.

The film was based on the first person in the US to use “the devil made me do it” in a murder defense, and an upcoming Netflix documentary explores that true story this year.

Netflix has announced today that The Devil on Trial premieres on October 17, 2023.

“The Devil on Trial explores the first — and only — time “demonic possession” has officially been used as a defense in a US murder trial. Including firsthand accounts of alleged devil possession and a shocking murder, this extraordinary story forces reflection on our fear of the unknown.”

Here’s some more information about the case…

It was one of the most sensational murder trials of the 1980s. When Arne Cheyenne Johnson stabbed an acquaintance to death with a five-inch folding knife, Johnson presented one of the most shocking legal defenses in history: not guilty by virtue of demonic possession. As the press put it, “the Devil made me do it.”

Johnson’s shocking story began months earlier, when his girlfriend’s eleven-year-old brother, David, encountered a spectral figure looming at the foot of the bed and then started showing telltale signs of demonic possession. David suddenly spoke in Latin, levitated, and suffered beatings at the hands of an invisible demon. After a team of Catholic priests failed to drive the demon out, the case was taken up by Ed and Lorraine Warren. The Warrens had fought demons across the globe, but the Connecticut Devil would be one of their greatest challenges, and perhaps their most deadly.

The upcoming feature documentary was directed by Christopher Holt.