The true story behind The Conjuring is more disturbing than Hollywood's version.
In January 1971, the Perron family moved into a centuries-old farmhouse in Harrisville, Rhode Island, hoping to begin a peaceful new chapter. Instead, they would spend nearly a decade living with mysterious apparitions, disembodied voices, frightening physical encounters, and a haunting that would eventually inspire the 2013 horror film The Conjuring.
But according to Andrea Perron, the eldest of the family's five daughters, what really happened inside the farmhouse was considerably different from what audiences saw on screen.
A Haunting That Began on Moving Day
Roger and Carolyn Perron purchased the historic Arnold Estate in December 1970 and moved into the farmhouse with their daughters, Andrea, Nancy, Christine, Cindy, and April, the following January.
Almost immediately, strange things began happening.
While carrying boxes into the house, Andrea noticed an unfamiliar man standing near a doorway. She assumed he was helping the previous owner, Mr. Kenyon, finish moving out. But when she greeted him, he didn't respond.
Soon, three of her sisters reported seeing the same stranger. One claimed she had watched him disappear.
Before leaving, Mr. Kenyon pulled Roger aside and offered a peculiar warning:
"For the sake of your family, leave the lights on at night."
Roger assumed he was referring to the farmhouse's old staircase. Years later, that warning would take on an entirely different meaning.
Seven Dead Soldiers Buried in the Wall
One of the most disturbing early encounters involved eight-year-old Cindy Perron.
Shortly after moving in, Cindy began hearing voices surrounding her bed at night. According to Andrea, the voices grew louder until even the bed and floorboards seemed to vibrate.
They repeatedly chanted the same chilling sentence:
"There are seven dead soldiers buried in the wall."
Decades later, Andrea claimed that ground-penetrating radar revealed seven anomalies near an old stone wall on the property. Although they were never confirmed to be graves, the discovery raised unsettling questions about what Cindy had heard.
The family also reported encountering numerous apparitions throughout the farmhouse. Some seemed harmless, including a young boy named Oliver Richardson, whom the youngest Perron daughter, April, considered a friend.
Others were considerably less welcoming.
A Sinister Presence in the Farmhouse
As the years passed, the Perrons reported increasingly disturbing paranormal activity.
Roger described feeling a woman's hand touching his back or neck while working alone in the dark basement, often accompanied by an unpleasant odor. Cindy claimed something grabbed her by the hair and violently pulled her to the cellar floor.
But Carolyn appeared to experience the worst of the alleged haunting.
According to Andrea, her mother encountered a frightening female apparition with a broken neck who seemed to believe the farmhouse belonged to her. Carolyn also reported unexplained physical pain and became increasingly exhausted and withdrawn.
One particularly disturbing experience involved Andrea herself.
After dreaming of a terrifying woman with strange, carved wooden hands attacking her mother, Andrea went downstairs and discovered Carolyn sketching the very same figure in her notebook.
Andrea was so startled that she dropped her coffee cup.
Ed and Lorraine Warren Investigate the Conjuring House
In 1973, paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren became involved in the Perron family's haunting.
Lorraine reportedly identified a dangerous female presence she believed was responsible for tormenting Carolyn. She associated the spirit with Bathsheba Sherman, a 19th-century woman who had lived in the area.
Bathsheba would eventually become the terrifying antagonist in The Conjuring, portrayed as a witch who sacrificed a child and cursed the property.
However, historical evidence does not substantiate those accusations. Bathsheba lived on a neighboring property, and there is no reliable evidence that she practiced witchcraft or murdered anyone.
Andrea Perron has also questioned whether Bathsheba was actually the spirit her family encountered.
Whatever was haunting the farmhouse, the Warrens believed an attempt at spirit communication might provide answers.
Instead, the investigation took a horrifying turn.
The 1974 Séance That Went Terribly Wrong
During a séance conducted at the farmhouse in 1974, Carolyn reportedly began screaming and twisting into unnatural positions.
According to Andrea, who secretly watched the gathering, her mother's chair rose from the floor before Carolyn was violently thrown across the room. Roger later claimed she spoke in a language he had never heard before.
When the ordeal ended, Carolyn was unconscious.
Furious, Roger ordered the Warrens and their associates to leave the property.
Andrea would later describe the séance as one of the most traumatic experiences of her childhood and believed the investigation had made the haunting considerably worse.
Unlike the Hollywood film, there was no successful exorcism or triumphant ending.
The Perron family simply continued living in the farmhouse.
What Really Happened to the Perron Family?
Despite the terrifying encounters, Roger, Carolyn, and their daughters remained at the Arnold Estate until June 1980.
Andrea later described those years as a mixture of wonderful family memories and deeply disturbing paranormal experiences. She eventually documented the family's story in her three-volume series, House of Darkness House of Light: The True Story.
Carolyn, however, reportedly never wanted to return to the farmhouse after the family moved away.
The family's experiences became internationally famous following the release of The Conjuring in 2013, but their story remains far more complicated than Hollywood's depiction.
And perhaps one of the most chilling mysteries is still the simplest.
What did Mr. Kenyon know about the farmhouse, and why did he warn the Perrons to leave the lights on at night?
Listen to the Full Perron Family Haunting Episode
There's much more to this haunting than what appeared in The Conjuring. In this episode of You Two Scare Me Podcast, Feliz and Andi explore the Perron family's experiences, the terrifying apparitions, the Warrens' investigation, and the séance that changed everything.
We also share a recent Key West ghost story in our Somebody Told Me segment, involving a mysterious man appearing inside a woman's home.
Listen to the full episode of You Two Scare Me to discover the chilling details behind one of America's most famous haunted houses.
Further Reading
House of Darkness House of Light: The True Story by Andrea Perron, Volumes One, Two, and Three.
Explore Andrea Perron's book series on Goodreads
Want to hear more about Haunted Houses?
Check out our episode on Demon House.
