That Footage Of A “Ghost” In ‘American Murder: The Family Next Door’ Has Been Debunked
I believe in ghosts and I’m extremely gullible so when I saw the footage circulating online of a little girl running through the Watts’ house in American Murder: The Family Next Door, I was convinced that I had witnessed some kind of paranormal phenomena.
For the unfamiliar, the Netflix documentary retraces the Watts family murders, which culminated in Chris Watts being convicted of murdering his wife Shanann and two daughters, Bella and Celeste. Along with being a seriously enthralling true crime watch, American Murder has left viewers spiralling after many eagle-eyed fans spotted two different occasions where a small child could be seen in the house following the murders.
in this documentary about chris watts & him killing his wife shannan & their two daughters bella & celeste. you can CLEARLY see a ghost of a little girl in her room on an officers body cam. i’m shook.
— emmanuel (@MannyBronner) October 6, 2020
Could it be the ghost of Bella or Celeste? Let’s have a look at the evidence.
First up, we have this clip which shows a shadow emerging from behind the door inside the Watts’ house, from someone that appears to be of small stature aka a child.
It was but how? They’re only 4 in there ? #AmericanMurder #AmericanMurderTheFamilyNextDoor pic.twitter.com/pBS3reWFIZ
— Mimi ⚘ (@miguelblnt) October 4, 2020
Not convinced?
This next clip might change your mind…
Fvck! I guess I am going to watch the American murder again #AmericanMurder #AmericanMurderTheFamilyNextDoor pic.twitter.com/P6uTWE1PP0
— ??? ☪︎ (@Redcros_) October 6, 2020
Okay, my eyes are not deceiving me. That IS definitely a little girl running past the door. I am officially spooked!! It’s a ghost! A little girl ghost!
However, it didn’t take much scrolling the interwebs to find out that there’s more to the story.
It isn’t a ghost. In fact, it’s the daughter of Nicole Atkinson, who was Shanann’s friend that contacted the police to come and investigate. While in the footage cut for American Murder, we didn’t see Nicole’s daughter Madison in the house, in the unedited extended bodycam footage (around the 23-minute mark) it is confirmed that Madison is in fact behind the door and inside the playroom.
Still skeptical? Nicole herself has posted to social media to substantiate the fact that there was no ghost; it was her daughter.
For the love God people. It’s not a ghost. It is my daughter Madison. She was with me that day!
Posted by Nickole Atkinson on Tuesday, October 6, 2020
Case closed.
