You've seen the movie. You've heard the clapping. You've probably checked under your bed after watching James Wan’s 2013 horror masterpiece. But the true story of The Conjuring is honestly a lot weirder—and in some ways, much slower and more exhausting—than the Hollywood version suggests.
The Perron family lived in that house for a decade. Ten years. That’s not a jump-scare; that’s a marathon of psychological stress.
Roger and Carolyn Perron bought the Old Arnold Estate in Harrisville, Rhode Island, in 1970. It was a beautiful, sprawling colonial farmhouse with 200 acres of land. They moved in with their five daughters: Andrea, Nancy, Christine, Cindy, and April. They thought they were buying a dream. Instead, they bought a legacy of trauma that still follows them today.
The Real Bathsheba Sherman
In the film, Bathsheba is a screeching, demonic entity hanging from trees and vomiting into people's mouths. The reality is a bit more grounded in historical records, though no less tragic. Bathsheba Sherman was a real person. She lived in the mid-1800s on a neighboring farm.
Was she a witch? Local legend says she was. There was a court case where she was accused of killing an infant with a sewing needle, but she was acquitted for lack of evidence. Historically, she was a woman who lived a hard, isolated life and died of old age in 1885. The "Satanist" label largely comes from the folklore that grew around her after her death. When Ed and Lorraine Warren arrived, they leaned heavily into this narrative. They believed her spirit was the one "ruling" the house because she wanted to be the only mistress of the manor.
But the Perrons didn't just deal with one ghost. They dealt with dozens.
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Life Inside the Harrisville Haunting
Andrea Perron, the eldest daughter, has written extensively about their time there. She doesn't describe it as a 90-minute movie. She describes it as a life of coexistence. Most of the spirits were actually harmless. There was a ghost who used to sweep the kitchen. They’d hear the broom hitting the floorboards, and the dust would be piled neatly in the morning. There was another spirit they called "Manny," who would stand in the doorframe and watch the kids play. He was a protector.
Then there was the smell.
The true story of The Conjuring involves a recurring scent of rotting flesh. It would fill a room in seconds. Then the beds would lift off the floor. Not a few inches, but enough to terrify a child trying to sleep. This wasn't a one-time event. It happened for years.
Enter Ed and Lorraine Warren
The Warrens didn't just stumble onto the property. A local paranormal group contacted them after the Perrons became desperate. When Ed and Lorraine arrived, the vibe changed. Some people think they made it worse.
Honestly, there is a lot of controversy here. Skeptics like Joe Nickell have pointed out that the Warrens often "found" exactly what they were looking for. However, the Perron daughters maintain to this day that the Warrens were their only hope at the time.
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The most famous scene in the movie—the exorcism—never actually happened. Not like that.
Roger Perron actually kicked the Warrens out of the house. During a séance in the cellar, Carolyn Perron allegedly became possessed. Andrea describes her mother speaking in a language that didn't exist and being thrown across the room by an invisible force. Roger, terrified for his wife’s life and angry at the chaos the Warrens had invited in, demanded they leave immediately.
The Warrens left. The Perrons stayed.
Why Didn't They Just Leave?
This is the question everyone asks. If your house is haunted by a needle-wielding ghost-witch, why stay?
Money. It’s always money.
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The Perrons were not wealthy. They had poured everything into that farm. In the 1970s, you couldn't just "Zillow" a new house. They were stuck. It took until 1980 for them to finally be in a financial position to move to Georgia. Interestingly, the hauntings didn't follow them, but they also didn't really end for the house.
The Modern-Day Farmhouse
The house still exists. It’s a private residence that has changed hands several times. The current owners, and the owners before them (the Helfrichs), have had varying experiences. The Helfrichs claimed they lived there for years without seeing a single ghost. They actually sued Warner Bros. because of the trespassing fans who started swarming the property after the movie came out.
However, more recent owners have opened the house to investigators. They’ve captured EVPs (Electronic Voice Phenomena) and strange thermal readings. Is it Bathsheba? Or is it just the house "remembering" the energy of the seven generations of people who lived and died there?
Separating Fact from Hollywood Fiction
If you want the real truth, you have to look at the discrepancies.
- The Exorcism: As mentioned, it was a séance, not a Catholic exorcism. The Warrens weren't even authorized to perform one.
- The Dog: In the movie, the family dog dies early on. In reality, the dog lived, though it reportedly refused to enter certain rooms.
- The Tree: That iconic, creepy tree from the movie poster? It’s not actually on the property.
- The Basement: The real basement is much smaller and less "dungeon-like" than the film depicts, though Andrea Perron still refuses to enter it.
Actionable Steps for Paranormal Enthusiasts
If you’re fascinated by the true story of The Conjuring, don't just take the movie at face value. There are ways to dig deeper into the actual history and the mechanics of what happened in Harrisville.
- Read "House of Darkness House of Light": This is Andrea Perron’s three-volume trilogy. It is dense. It is long. But it is the primary source for everything that happened from the family's perspective. It’s far more nuanced than the film.
- Research the Black Monk of Pontefract: If you like the "vibe" of the Harrisville haunting, look into this UK case. It shares many similarities regarding persistent, aggressive spirits and family units trying to survive them.
- Check Historical Land Records: For the skeptics, use sites like Ancestry or local Rhode Island archives to look up the death records of the Arnold family. You’ll find that many of the "tragedies" attributed to the house actually happened elsewhere or were natural deaths.
- Visit the House (Virtually): The current owners often run livestreams. It’s a better way to support them than trespassing, which is a serious issue in the local community.
The Perron case remains one of the most documented hauntings in American history. Whether you believe in spirits or just believe in the power of shared family trauma, the story of those ten years in Rhode Island is a haunting reminder that sometimes, the places we live in hold onto more than just memories.
Identify the layers of the story. There is the Hollywood layer, the Warren layer, and the Perron layer. To get to the truth, you have to peel them all back. Focus on the testimony of the five sisters; their consistency over fifty years is the most compelling evidence that something happened in that farmhouse.