Is Devil in Ohio based on a true story? Inspiration of Netflix thriller explored

Netflix has become the home of gripping thrillers in recent years with new entries in the genre always being added to the streaming service’s library.

The newest arrival to Netflix’s thriller collection is Devil in Ohio, a series which tells the story of a young woman who escapes from a satanic cult and is taken in by a psychiatrist.

Devil in Ohio shares many aspects with real-world cults which has left viewers asking whether or not the chilling series is based on a true story.

Devil in Ohio release date and plot preview

Devil in Ohio crawled onto Netflix on Friday, September 2, 2022.

Starring Emily Deschanel and Madeleine Arthur, the series tells the story of psychiatrist Dr Suzanne Mathis who meets a young woman named Mae who arrived at the hospital with a gnarly wound on her back.

After failing to find a foster home for Mae, Suzanne agrees to look after the girl herself, but all is not as it seems with Mae and it quickly becomes clear that she was once part of a satanic cult.

Suzanne’s decision to welcome Mae into her home not only threatens to turn her family’s lives upside down but also puts them in potentially grave danger.

Is Devil in Ohio based on a true story?

Yes, Devil in Ohio is inspired by a true story – although the events of the series have been created as a work of fiction.

The eight-episode series is based on the novel of the same name by Daria Polatin, who also serves as showrunner on the series.

Speaking to the Columbus Dispatch, Polatin explained how she got the inspiration to write the novel in the first place.

When my producer Rachel Miller heard this true story, which took place in Ohio, she told it to me,” the writer said. “I knew I had to tell it. I decided to start with a book.”

Polatin then went on to explain: “The bones of the story are true and happened, and I wanted to take that as a jumping-off point.

“It’s inspired by true events, but it’s not a documentary. That’s just a different kind of storytelling.

“For this, I felt that the best outlet would be to free it up creatively and fictionalize the details and let it take on a life of its own.”

However, due to the sensitive nature of the topic, Polatin did not go into detail about the events or people involved in the original true tale.

The production went into great detail to create the fictional cult

In order to help give Devil in Ohio as much authenticity as possible, the creative team behind the show went to great depths to create the fictional cult, the Morningstar.

According to Netflix Tudum, the show’s writers’ room spent months building the lore of the cult, even writing their own bible – the Book of Covenants – and creating several hymns which were turned into reality by the series’ composer Will Bates.

Showrunner Daria Polatin even explained some of the cult’s deeper backstory, saying: “They came from Ireland, they were farmers, they lived in West Virginia, their crops failed, [forcing them to move to Ohio].”

Devil in Ohio is available to stream now on Netflix after premiering on September 2, 2022.

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