Soon after, nine people were arrested and a dozen computers believed to contain child pornography were seized, along with dozens of videotapes found within the shattered church compound. State authorities had their first brush with the scandal when a woman named Nicole Bernard called the sheriff’s office to inform that she had to flee town to save her child from sexual abuse at the hands of the church. Things took a murkier turn when it was revealed that the church was involved in the sexual abuse of around 24 children, along with the mutilation of animals for ritualistic purposes. Hosanna Church was one of the fastest-growing congregations in the cypress flats of Tangipahoa Parish, and its pastor at the time, Louis Lamonica, was hailed as a beloved figure in the community.

True Detective: Hosanna Church Scandal Inspiration Explained RELATED: True Detective Season 3 Ending Explained: Why The Finale Was PerfectĪmong the clues found in True Detective season 1 is a videotape in which costumed individuals connected to a church are seen ritualistically assaulting and murdering Marie Fontenot, which is deeply disturbing, to say the least. However, what makes this especially jarring is the fact that these ritualistic killings in True Blood were based on the real-life Hosanna Church scandal, which is deemed one of the darkest and most heinous child sexual abuse cases in Lousiana, as recent as in the early 2000s. As the series progresses, with plot points branching into the nefarious underbellies of crime, the duo comes across evidence of a cult responsible for the disappearance of women and children. In True Detective season 1, episode 1, state homicide detectives Marty (Woody Harrelson) and Rust (Matthew McConaughey) investigate the murder of 28-year-old Dora Lange, while also being embroiled in a missing-persons case of a child named Marie Fontenot.

While much of the show takes inspiration from Lovecraftian lore that evokes a unique brand of eldritch terror, the incorporation of this horrific real-life incident makes the core of the show much darker than it seems. However, much of the crime depicted within True Detective was inspired by a horrific real-life child abuse scandal in Ponchatoula, Lousiana. Writer-director Nic Pizzolatto based his story on a plethora of arenas, including weird and horror fiction of the likes of Robert W.

True Detective season 1 cemented itself in pop culture with its philosophical pessimism and taut murder mysteries, emerging as a game-changer in the detective-mystery genre, one that took inspiration from real-life crime.

True detective season 1 synopsis