Is ‘True Haunting’ Real? The Chilling Story Of Chris Di Cesare And The Erie Hall Ghost

True Haunting. Cr. Courtesy of Netflix © 2025

Courtesy of Netflix

If you thought True Haunting couldn’t get any creepier, just wait until you hear the real story behind “The Ghost Boy of Erie Hall.” The first few episodes of the Netflix series follow student Chris Di Cesare during his first year of college, when he reported witnessing full-bodied apparitions, disembodied voices, moving objects, physical attacks, eerie photographs and more.

Directed by horror filmmaker James Wan (Saw), True Haunting is both a docuseries and a scripted horror series that weaves dramatized accounts of paranormal encounters with interviews featuring the real-life people who lived through these terrifying experiences.

The first three episodes, titled Eerie Hall, take place at SUNY Geneseo’s Erie Hall in dorm room C2D1. Shortly after student-athlete Chris Di Cesare moves in, he begins to hear a voice calling his name. At first, he thinks someone is playing a cruel prank, but his roommate soon notices that objects in their room are moving on their own. According to Chris, the ghost of a teenage boy appeared and pleaded, “Please help me, help me, please!”

Chris’ roommate fled after the ghost allegedly said, “Leave Chris alone,” prompting a priest later to perform an exorcism. The, after the ghost reportedly wounded him in the shower, the disturbances lowered in intensity and eventually stopped. Still, students at SUNY Geneseo believe Erie Hall remains haunted to this day. A boy named Tommy — who allegedly hanged himself on the Geneseo campus — is rumored to be the spirit that haunted Chris.

Keep reading to uncover the frightening real-life story that inspired the first part of the horror series.

Is True Haunting Based On A True Story?

Yes, True Haunting is based on two true stories, according to Netflix’s Tudum. The first real-life account follows student athlete Chris Di Cesare, who senses a paranormal presence on his college campus in the 1980s.

The second story centers on April Miller, her husband, and their son, who move into a Victorian house plagued by strange activity. The couple ultimately calls on real-life paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren for help.

What Happened To Chris Di Cesare?

In True Haunting, the real Chris Di Cesare is interviewed by the Netflix series and recounts his paranormal experience as a student at SUNY Geneseo. Di Cesare enrolled at SUNY Geneseo in 1985 after receiving a track and field scholarship.

He was placed in room C2D1 of Erie Hall, along with his roommate, Paul. While in college, he attended a lecture by famous paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren. After their meet and greet, Lorraine allegedly refused to shake his hand, saying, “I don’t want to know my future.”

About 11 days later, Chris said he heard a disembodied voice in his dorm room. This continued for several days before materializing into a full-body apparition, Chris recalled in an interview with SUNY Geneseo’s student-run newspaper, The Lamron. Chris thought he was going crazy, but that changed when his roommate began witnessing the same paranormal activity. Together, they concluded that there was something dead in the room with them.

On Feb. 14, 1985, Chris and his next-door neighbor, Jeff Ungar, attempted to photograph the apparition. Jeff encouraged Chris to “call out the ghost” and “invite the ghost in,” which allegedly caused the door to open and reveal a face. The sight stunned Chris so severely that he became temporarily paralyzed. However, when Ungar tried to take a photo of the ghost, nothing was there.

Chris told The Lamron that Ungar’s attempt to take a photo “must have infuriated the ghost because afterward, he came right at me [Chris], and went right through me…making me fall to the ground.” He then told Ungar to photograph the “dead thing hovering above my bed.” They captured an image of a skeletal apparition on the side of Chris’s bed that Ungar was able to “label all of the bones.”

They gradually began collecting more evidence, documenting their encounters in journal entries. However, Chris’s most terrifying experience occurred on March 13, 1985, when the ghost — whom they referred to as “Tommy” — allegedly attacked him in the shower, leaving claw marks on his back. Chris said he called out to the being, saying, “Who are you? God? The Devil? Show yourself!” and the apparition slashed him. Chris told The Lamron that Ungar later found him on the floor and helped him.

According to Chris, the sightings began to lessen and ultimately stopped in mid-April 1985, after a priest came to the dorm to bless it and exorcise the spirit. Chris still believes that “Tommy” lingers within Erie Hall.

Where Is Chris Di Cesare Now?

In conjunction with the release of Netflix’s True Haunting, Di Cesare published his memoir, The Ghost Boy of Erie Hall, in September 2025.

According to the book’s description on Amazon, The Ghost Boy of Erie Hall “is a truly unique and fascinating look inside the events and the related trauma of an extreme haunting, directly from the participants themselves. A true paranormal page turner, that includes an unprecedented amount of contemporary journal entries, photographs, and eyewitness accounts.”

After his chilling experience in college, Di Cesare spent nearly a quarter century out of the spotlight until 2009, when he appeared in the film Please, Talk with Me…, which recreated the 1985 events surrounding the photograph of the C2D1 ghost. He went on a college speaking tour in 2011 and was later featured on SyFy’s School Spirits in the episode “Dorm Room Nightmare.”

True Haunting is streaming on Netflix. Watch the official trailer below.