If you've seen James Wan’s 2016 blockbuster, you probably remember the terrifying nun, the crooked man, and the way Ed Warren sang Elvis songs to a traumatized family. It's cinematic gold. But the movie is basically a funhouse mirror version of what actually happened. The Conjuring 2 the real story is rooted in the Enfield Poltergeist, a case that remains the most documented—and most debated—supernatural event in British history.
Between 1977 and 1979, a small council house in Enfield, North London, became the center of a media circus. Peggy Hodgson, a single mother, claimed her four children were being terrorized by an unseen force. Most of the chaos focused on 11-year-old Janet and 13-year-old Margaret. People saw things. They heard things. They caught things on tape.
Honestly, the real events are somehow creepier than the movie because there’s no CGI to hide behind. It’s just grainy photos of a young girl seemingly levitating and audio of a raspy, gravelly voice coming out of a child’s throat.
The Night it All Started
It wasn't a demon nun. It started with a dresser. On August 31, 1977, Peggy Hodgson called the police because her children were terrified. They said their beds were shaking. When the police arrived, Constable Carolyn Heeps actually signed a sworn affidavit stating she saw a chair slide four feet across the floor. She checked for wires. She checked for trickery. She found nothing.
Think about that for a second. A skeptical London police officer saw furniture move on its own and couldn't explain it.
The haunting escalated fast. Legos and marbles were thrown by invisible hands. They were hot to the touch when picked up. The family reached out to the Daily Mirror, and photographer Graham Morris witnessed the chaos firsthand. He was even hit by a flying LEGO piece that left a mark. This wasn't just a "feeling" in a dark room; it was physical. It was loud. It was constant.
Who Were the Real Investigators?
In the movie, Ed and Lorraine Warren are the heroes who save the day. In reality? They were barely there. They showed up for about a day or two, looked around, and left. Most British researchers at the time, like Guy Lyon Playfair and Maurice Grosse from the Society for Psychical Research (SPR), felt the Warrens were just there for the publicity.
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Maurice Grosse was the one who did the heavy lifting. He spent months in that house. He grew close to the family. Grosse was a man grieving his own daughter, also named Janet, who had died in a car accident just a year prior. Skeptics often point to this as a reason he was so willing to believe, but Grosse recorded over 2,000 hours of audio and witnessed thousands of incidents.
He didn't just see toys fly. He saw Janet being dragged out of bed. He heard the "voice."
The Voice of Bill Wilkins
The most famous part of the Conjuring 2 the real story is the voice. Janet began speaking in a deep, guttural tone that sounded like an old man. It claimed to be "Bill," who died in the house.
"Just before I died, I went blind, and then I had a hemorrhage and I fell asleep and I died in the chair in the corner downstairs," the voice said.
That’s a specific detail for an 11-year-old to make up. Later, Bill’s son, Terry Wilkins, confirmed that his father had indeed died in that exact manner, in that exact chair. Investigators tried to debunk this by saying Janet was using "false vocal cords" or ventriloquism. However, some speech therapists argued that a child couldn't speak in that register for hours at a time without destroying their throat. Janet did it for long stretches.
The voice was rude. It was foul-mouthed. It was terrifyingly consistent.
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Was it All a Hoax?
This is where things get messy. Even Janet Hodgson admitted, years later, that about "two percent" of the phenomena was faked. She said she and her sister felt pressured by the constant presence of cameras and investigators. Sometimes, they just wanted the adults to be happy or to leave them alone, so they’d hide a tape recorder or bend a spoon themselves.
But what about the other 98 percent?
Anita Gregory, a skeptic and researcher, caught the girls on video hiding a camera and then bending spoons. This led many to dismiss the entire case. But if you talk to Graham Morris or Guy Lyon Playfair, they'll tell you that the things they saw—like heavy furniture moving while the girls were being watched—couldn't have been faked by two kids.
It’s a classic poltergeist trope: children who are the center of real activity start "helping it along" when the real stuff slows down. It doesn't necessarily mean the whole thing was a lie, but it certainly muddies the water.
The Physical Toll on the Hodgsons
Life at 284 Green Street wasn't a movie set. It was a nightmare. The family was mocked. The kids were bullied at school. Janet was eventually sent to a psychiatric hospital for a short time to see if the activity would follow her (it didn't, but it continued at the house while she was gone).
The atmosphere in the house was described as heavy and oppressive. It wasn't just about ghosts; it was about a family under siege. Peggy Hodgson lived in that house until her death in 2003. She never tried to sell her story for millions. She lived a quiet, somewhat reclusive life. That doesn't look like the behavior of someone running a long-term con.
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Key Differences Between Hollywood and Reality
The movie needs a villain. It needs Valak. In the real story, there was no demon nun. There was no "Crooked Man" walking down the hallway.
- The Warrens' Involvement: As mentioned, they were minor players. The SPR did the actual investigation.
- The Exorcism: There was no dramatic climax involving a basement and a lightning strike. The activity eventually just... faded away.
- The Danger: While the movie shows the family in mortal peril, the real haunting was more of a persistent, frightening nuisance. It was psychological warfare, not a physical battle with a demon.
The Legacy of the Enfield Poltergeist
We are still talking about this because it’s so polarizing. On one hand, you have high-ranking police officers and seasoned journalists who swear they saw the impossible. On the other, you have skeptics who say it was just two bored girls playing a prank that got out of hand.
Janet Hodgson has spoken out in recent years, maintaining that the haunting was very real. She describes it as a trauma she’s still processing. Whether you believe in ghosts or not, the impact on that family was undeniable.
Actionable Takeaways for Paranormal Enthusiasts
If you want to look deeper into the reality of this case, don't just stop at the movie.
- Listen to the original tapes: You can find the recordings of "Bill" online. Pay attention to the cadence and the physical strain Janet seems to be under.
- Read Guy Lyon Playfair’s "This House is Haunted": It is the definitive account of the case. He doesn't sugarcoat the girls' occasional trickery, which actually makes his belief in the real events more credible.
- Examine the "levitation" photos critically: Look at the way Janet’s body is positioned. Skeptics say she's just jumping off the bed; believers say the height and angle are unnatural.
- Research the SPR’s findings: They didn't all agree. The internal debate within the Society for Psychical Research shows how complex this case was even for experts.
The truth of the Enfield case isn't as clean as a Hollywood script. It's weird, it's contradictory, and it's deeply human. That’s probably why it remains the most fascinating haunting of the 20th century.