In 1982 a film called The Entity was unleashed on American cinema-goers and this terrifying experience followed a young woman as she was sexually assaulted and tormented by an unseen force. In this case, reality is more frightening than fiction because the true story behind The Entity is a much more harrowing ordeal than could ever be contained on celluloid. The story of Doris Bither, the woman whose life inspired the classic horror film, is one of addiction, abuse, and spectral rape. It’s not for the weak of heart.

The haunting of Doris Bither was a true nightmare scenario. She was being raped, and her children assaulted, on an almost nightly basis – and there was nothing that could be done about it. The Entity is one of the few movies based on true events that manages to capture the feeling of desperation that the real life counterparts surely felt, but it still can't come anywhere close to the real horror that Bither was forced to endure until the day she died.

This Ghost Story Goes Beyond Mere Haunting

Photo: The Entity/20th Century Fox

In 1974, Doris Bither, a mother of four, was living with her sons in a small house in Culver City, California when she began to suffer a series of physical attacks that she claims were perpetrated by a group of ghosts. Rather than what most would consider a “normal” haunting, weird things happening around the house and such, Bither claimed that she was being raped by the phantoms.

This may seem far-fetched but the concept of “spectral rape” goes back to the time of ancient Greek literature and modern scientists have tied this phenomenon to sleep paralysis. Sleep paralysis effects 20% of the population and sometimes occurs when a person wakes up before finishing their REM cycle. But was Bither experiencing sleep paralysis or something much more terrifying?

The "Entity" Wasn't One But Three Evil Beings

Photo: The Entity/20th Century Fox

While she was alive, Bither claimed that she wasn’t just attacked by one ghost, but three different entities who would attack her on a regular basis. Two of them, she claimed, were small creatures who would hold her down, while the largest of the entities would be the one who raped her. Her sons got so used to seeing the ghosts that they referred to the ghost that they saw the most as “Mr. Whose-It.”

One of her sons claimed to have seen Bither thrown around the room by an invisible phenomenon. He claims that when he tried to stop the attack he was also tossed away like loose garbage. Bither’s eldest son, Brian Harris described the entities as like “a fog” or “like a human…but not quite.”.

Doris Bither's Sons Corroborated The Supernatural Abuse Their Mother Endured

Photo: The Entity/20th Century Fox

The attacks against Bither were particularly brutal and they went on for years. Bither was tossed around the room, slapped, and raped almost nightly. Her sons recall seeing major scarring on her legs and thighs as if someone had grabbed her. Dither’s oldest son, Brian Harris, claims to have witnessed many of the attacks. In an interview from 2009, he says that because his bedroom was next door to his mother’s room he would have to listen to the assaults as they happened and in a few cases he actually saw her being beaten by an invisible force.

“It was like if a man was standing in front of my mother and would start to beat her. Imagine a woman being beaten. You could see her being picked up and thrown around. Sounds, slaps…but there was no one there to actually do it.” He continued, “we all felt it too. Pulling, biting and scratching…we were all attacked.”

Her Children Were Also Victims Of The Entity

Photo: The Entity/20th Century Fox

According to Bither’s sons, she wasn’t the only one in the house who was being attacked by these ghostly creatures. The members of her family who would speak about the incident claim that at different times throughout the years they experienced things in the house as well. They say one of them was slapped by a creature, one of them bumped into an invisible man in a hallway, and the eldest son found a way to make the ghosts particularly excited.

Bither’s eldest alleges that whenever he listened to Black Sabbath or Uriah Heap that there would be an increase in paranormal activity around the home. He claims that music would set off a chain reaction of orbs appearing around the house and the house lights would turn on and off.

Bither's Bleak Personal History May Have Contributed To Her Haunting

Photo: The Entity/20th Century Fox

It’s impossible to say what actually causes any haunting. Some researchers believe that a haunting is caused by negative energy in a home stemming from a curse or past violence on the land. Other paranormal investigators believe that those who are haunted bring it on themselves. Unfortunately Bither passed away in 1999 and towards the end of her life she seemed to go out of her way to avoid discussing the case that had brought her so much pain throughout her life.

Some reports say she suffered from childhood abuse and her son Brian said that she was disowned by her family after a major altercation in her teens. Some paranormal researchers allege that Doris spent her teens taking part in séances and toying with dark magic. Without speaking directly to Bither there’s no way to know for sure exactly what happened in her childhood that would attract spirits toward her, but the one thing that is certain is that she led an incredibly tumultuous and tortured life.

Paranormal Investigators Studied The Bither Family Extensively, But Their Presence Only Made Matters Worse

Photo: The Entity/20th Century Fox

After the spectral rape started to become a normal thing in the Bither household, a group of paranormal investigators were called to see if they could figure out what was going on. The group of around 30 investigators set up cameras to catch anything happening while they were in the home. After everything was in place they had Bither conjure the entities.

According to a later report, Bither went into a frenzy and began to swear and taunt the spirits while the investigators watched. Allegedly light orbs began to manifest in the room, followed by a green mist that snaked out from a corner of the room. Investigators claim a mist formed in the shape of a human torso and a series of muscles. After having their film developed, the investigators were dismayed to find that none of this had been captured on camera, save for a “free arc” that was seen to be floating above Bither.

An interesting note to the paranormal investigator story comes from Bither’s son, Brian, who was just out of elementary school at the time of the attacks. He claims that the presence of the paranormal investigators exacerbated the haunting, making his home life a complete hell. He told an interviewer in 2009, “…When the team would show up, I hated it; because I knew as soon as they left, they would become so angry that the house would come alive!”

Theories For The Haunting Range From Scientific To Sexist

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Trying to pin down a reason behind such a violent and horrific assault is impossible. One must assume that whatever type of energy creates a spirit is capable of holding the same disgusting, vile sentiments that rapists have. Putting any logic into this kind of visceral, demeaning assault is tantamount to banging your head against a wall. Plenty of researchers have formed theories as to why Bither was attacked, unfortunately they all place the blame squarely on her shoulders. It’s an awful logical leap in a scenario with no logic.

One paranormal researcher’s theory is that Bither was psychic, or had psychic tendencies, and that her negative energy either made her an easy target for the passing spirits. Another theory is that because powerful men had abused Doris, she may have subconsciously materialized her attackers. There are also theories that because she dabbled in the occult as a teen that she had made herself a portal for these evil creatures. The most sound theory is that she was suffering from sleep paralysis, but that doesn’t account for how she would have received bruises on her inner thighs, or how her children were also assaulted by invisible creatures.

The Haunting May Not Have Been A Ghost But A Poltergeist

Photo: The Entity/20th Century Fox

There are some supernatural theories outside the underlying theory that Bither was raped by ghosts. The one that makes the most sense is that she may have been the victim of a poltergeist scenario, which is different than a normal haunting. Poltergeists are different from ghosts in that they’re noncorporeal, incredibly noisy energy beings that manifest in times of overbearing negative energy.

By all accounts Bither was an alcoholic who wasn’t receiving any treatment for her addiction. With four kids in the house it’s entirely likely that there were a lot of negative emotions floating around – this is the perfect breeding ground for a poltergeist. Bither and her children may have been at their wits ends and managed to create a harmful energy that ran amuck throughout the household.

Residents Of The House After Bither Seem To Confirm It Was She Who Was Haunted

Photo: The Entity/20th Century Fox

The Bither house is still in Culver City, California, but according to reports from people who lived there after Bither there haven’t been any further signs of a haunting. The remaining members of the Bither family claim that after they moved out of the house the horrible events continued. It would appear this is a case of a person being haunted rather than a place.

This information gives credence to the idea that Bither and her sons either experienced intense poltergeist activity, or that she had managed to open a portal within herself to another dimension. Whatever the case, Culver City doesn't appear to be a place anyone needs to avoid.

The Film Is Horrifying, But Ultimately A Loose Interpretation Of The More Horrifying Real Events

Photo: The Entity/20th Century Fox

Following Bither’s cry for help among the paranormal investigative community, a book was written about her experience in 1978 titled The Entity by Frank De Felitta. In 1982 he adapted his book for the screen and Sidney J. Furie, a director most well known for the films Lady Sings The Blues and Ladybugs, directed the piece. According to an interview with Rue Morgue from 2012, Furie went out of his way to keep from learning anything about the actual case and the film is a very loose adaptation of the actual events.

In any case, Martin Scorsese apparently loved the film, and put it on his list of the 11 scariest movies he’s ever seen.