Hollywood loves a good jump scare. But if you talk to Andrea Perron, the eldest daughter of the family that inspired the 2013 horror blockbuster, she’ll tell you the movie was basically a "Disney version" of their lives. That’s a heavy statement. Imagine living through something so visceral that a multi-million dollar horror flick feels like a sanitized bedtime story.
The real family of The Conjuring—Roger and Carolyn Perron and their five daughters—didn't move into the Old Arnold Estate in Harrisville, Rhode Island, looking for a fight with the supernatural. They were just looking for a farm. A fresh start. What they got instead was a decade-long descent into a nightmare that researchers, skeptics, and paranormal enthusiasts are still arguing about fifty years later.
The House that Roger Bought
In December 1970, the Perrons moved into a fourteen-room farmhouse. It was beautiful in that rugged, New England sort of way. Built in 1736, the house sat on 200 acres of land. It felt like the American dream.
The previous owners left them with a weird piece of advice, though. They told Roger to leave the lights on at night. Honestly, if a seller tells you that, you should probably just turn around and get your deposit back. The Perrons didn't. They stayed. And almost immediately, the "energy" of the house began to shift.
It started small. Brooms would move. Piles of dirt would appear on freshly swept floors. It’s the kind of stuff you can write off as "old house quirks" until it isn't. Andrea, Nancy, Christine, Cindy, and April—the five sisters—started experiencing things that weren't just quirks. They were threats.
Who Was Bathsheba Sherman?
In the movie, she’s a screeching, hanging ghoul. In real life? Bathsheba Sherman was a real person who lived in the mid-1800s. She lived on a neighboring farm. Local legends—the kind that stick to small towns like tar—claimed she was a Satanist who sacrificed a baby with a knitting needle.
There is zero historical evidence for the baby-killing. None.
Public records show Bathsheba was a member in good standing of the local church. She’s buried in a hallowed cemetery. If she were a convicted murderer or a known occultist, that wouldn't have happened. But the Perrons, and later the Warrens, believed her spirit was the dominant, malicious force in the house. Why? Because the activity seemed to center on Carolyn, the mother. It felt like a jealous, territorial female spirit wanted Carolyn out so she could have Roger and the girls for herself.
The real family of The Conjuring didn't just deal with one ghost. They claimed the house was a "portal." There were "benign" spirits, like the one that smelled of flowers or the one who would tuck the girls in at night. Then there was the stuff from the basement. The stuff that smelled like rotting meat.
Ed and Lorraine Warren Enter the Fray
Let’s be real: Ed and Lorraine Warren are polarizing. To some, they were the vanguard of spiritual protection. To others, they were master self-promoters who brought a circus to families in crisis. When they arrived at the Perron farm in 1973, things got complicated.
The Warrens didn't charge for their services. They made their money on books and lectures, which is a key distinction skeptics like Joe Nickell often point out. When they stepped into the Harrisville house, Lorraine—a self-proclaimed clairvoyant—claimed she felt a presence so dark it was "beyond" anything she’d seen.
The movie shows a dramatic exorcism in the basement. That didn't happen.
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In reality, the Warrens conducted a séance. It went south fast. Andrea Perron has described watching her mother, Carolyn, become possessed. She says her mother’s chair levitated, and then Carolyn was thrown across the room. It wasn't a "holy man saves the day" moment. It was a "everyone is terrified and nobody knows what to do" moment. Roger was so furious—and so scared for his wife’s sanity—that he reportedly punched Ed Warren and told them to get the hell out.
Why Didn't They Just Leave?
This is the question everyone asks. "If my house were haunted, I'd be gone in five minutes."
It’s never that simple. The real family of The Conjuring was broke. They had sunk every penny into that farm. It was the early 70s; the economy wasn't exactly booming. With five kids, you can’t just go to a Motel 6 and wait for the ghosts to chill out. They were trapped by their mortgage.
They stayed for ten years.
Think about that. Ten years of living in a house where you don't feel safe in your own bed. The girls grew up in this environment. It became their "normal." They learned which rooms to avoid and which times of day were the "loudest." Andrea eventually wrote a three-volume memoir titled House of Darkness House of Light. It’s a dense, emotional look at a childhood spent in the shadow of the unexplained. She doesn't talk about it like a horror movie fan; she talks about it like a trauma survivor.
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The Skeptic’s Perspective
We have to look at the other side. Skeptics argue that the Perron case is a textbook example of "mass hysteria" or "folie à plusieurs." You have five young girls in an old, creaky house. One starts seeing things. The others, influenced by a mother who is clearly stressed and a father who is overwhelmed, start "seeing" things too.
Then the Warrens show up. They provide a narrative. They give the "ghosts" names. They validate the fear. Suddenly, every cold draft is a demon and every floorboard creak is Bathsheba Sherman coming for your soul.
There’s also the "carbon monoxide" theory. Old farmhouses with poor ventilation and old heating systems can leak CO. High levels of carbon monoxide cause hallucinations, a sense of dread, and physical illness. It’s a boring explanation, but in the world of science, it’s often the most likely one.
However, the Perron sisters remain adamant. They are now grown women with their own lives. They don't agree on every detail—memories fade and shift—but they all agree on one thing: something was in that house. And it wasn't human.
The Legacy of Harrisville
The house still stands. It’s located at 1677 Round Top Road. For years, the owners who came after the Perrons reported very little activity. Then the movie came out.
Suddenly, the house was a landmark. People were trespassing. The owners at the time, Norma Sutcliffe, ended up suing Warner Bros. because fans were ruining her life. She claimed she didn't experience any of the "Conjuring" madness.
In 2019, the house was sold to paranormal investigators Jenn and Cory Heinzen. They claimed they did experience activity—black figures, footsteps, the whole nine yards. They even opened it up for tours and livestreams. It’s currently owned by Jacqueline Nuñez, who bought it for $1.5 million in 2022. It’s now a business. You can pay to stay there. You can go on "ghost hunts."
Does the commercialization of the house hurt the Perrons' credibility? Maybe. But for the real family of The Conjuring, the "business" of the house is irrelevant. They lived the reality of it when there were no cameras, no movie deals, and no fans at the gate.
Actionable Takeaways for Paranormal Enthusiasts
If you're fascinated by the Perron case or believe you're dealing with something similar, don't just jump to "demons."
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- Check the hardware first. If your house feels "heavy" or you're seeing shadows, call an HVAC specialist and a licensed electrician. High electromagnetic fields (EMF) from old wiring can cause the "feeling" of being watched. Carbon monoxide is a literal killer that causes hallucinations.
- Document without bias. The Perrons didn't have smartphones. If you do, record audio and video, but don't "hunt" for things. Let the environment be.
- Research the land, not just the house. The "Bathsheba" legend was largely debunked by local historians. If you think your house is haunted by a "murderer," go to the local library and look at the census records and town annals. Most "haunted" legends are just campfire stories that got out of hand.
- Understand the "Warren Effect." The Warrens were known for escalating situations. If you are experiencing fear in your home, look for investigators who use a "skeptic-first" approach rather than those who show up with holy water and a film crew.
The real family of The Conjuring didn't get a happy ending where the house was "cleansed" and they lived happily ever after. They lived there until 1980, finally sold the place, and moved to Georgia. They left the ghosts behind, but the ghosts—or at least the memory of them—clearly never left the family. Whether it was spirits or a shared psychological crisis, the Perron story remains the most significant haunting case in American history because it reminds us that the most terrifying things are the ones we can't explain away.