BURRILLVILLE – A nearly 300-year-old home was just another country farmhouse until 2013, when the movie “The Conjuring” told the story of the Perrons, a Rhode Island family who lived there in the 1970s, and their battle with malevolent spirits inhabiting the house.
It has since been called one of the most haunted places in America.
"The Conjuring," and the subsequent "Conjuring Universe" of films, has drawn thousands of tourists to a quiet corner of Rhode Island, tucked along the Massachusetts line, bringing the occasional small-town controversy along with visitors' dollars.
A subsequent owner yielded to popular practice and officially changed the name of the place to The Conjuring House.
Here's what you need to know about the house that helped inspire The Conjuring Universe.
Is 'The Conjuring' based on a true story?
That depends on whether you believe in ghosts.
But the movie is based on the Perron family, who moved into the house in 1971, and said they began experiencing paranormal phenomena. Andrea Perron, the oldest daughter, who was a teenager during the events at the house, reported the family's story in a series of three books, "House of Darkness: House of Light," published beginning in 2011.
Parts of the movie take substantial liberties with the Perrons' story.
How is The Conjuring different than the real story?
The demonic witch Bathsheba Sherman at the center of the movie is only loosely based on a real person
Bathsheba Sherman, the reputed 19th century witch whose malevolent spirit torments the movie family until a climactic battle during an exorcism, is more prominent in the movie, which portrays her as having sacrificed her infant son and then hanging herself from a tree, much to her husband's horror. It is the spirit of Bathsheba Sherman that causes all the mayhem in the movie.
The real-life Bathsheba Sherman did not die by suicide after sacrificing her son. She died in Burrillville in 1885 at age 73, with her son, Herbert Leander Sherman, living another 18 years, into his 50s.
The exorcism did not happen, but something similar did
The climactic basem*nt exorcism scene did not happen, though Perron describes a similar scene in her books. A séance, not an exorcism, was held in a first-floor room next to Roger and Carolyn Perron's bedroom. According to the book, Perron was levitated during the séance, and thrown into an adjoining room.
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Ed and Lorraine Warren were minor characters in real life
When "The Conjuring" premiered, Andrea saw Lorraine Warren, who, with her husband, Ed, are the main characters of the movie and its two sequels. Now deceased, they were among the best known paranormal investigators in the late 20th century, Ed a self-described demonologist and Lorraine a clairvoyant and medium.
Ed and Lorraine Warren, the real-life married couple from Monroe, Connecticut, who are the protagonists of "The Conjuring" and its sequels, were not the central figures shown in the movie.
Among the best known paranormal investigators of the late 20th century, Ed, a self-described demonologist, and Lorraine, a clairvoyant and medium, were thrown out by Roger Perron.
The house shown in the movie is not the real-life house
The Burrillville farmhouse house was built in the 1730s, with parts of it having a second floor. It has a rustic exterior.
The house shown in the movie is actually located in North Carolina and has three floors, lots of windows and a two-story columned porch.
Where is The Conjuring House?
The house is at 1677 Round Top Road, also known as state Route 96. It is a quarter-mile from the Massachusetts state line at Uxbridge. It is a 26.2-mile drive from downtown Providence and 60 miles from Boston.
Who owns The Conjuring House?
Boston real estate developer Jacqueline Nuñez has owned the house since May 2022. She bought it from Jenn and Cory Heinzen, who bought it three years earlier as their home, but also opened it to paranormal investigators, who paid to stay overnight in the house.
From the time the Perrons sold the house in 1980 until the Heinzens bought it, it was a private home – a home daycare even operated there with no reported malevolent paranormal activity.
After the movie came out in 2013 the place became haunted by trespassers who sought out the newly famous house.
Can you go to The Conjuring House?
If you make reservations ahead of time, you are welcome to visit the The Conjuring House. There are brief tours, overnight stays, camping in the summer and special events.
But, those just showing up will find more than just the spirits to dissuade them. The house has a sophisticated security system, including 32 cameras in and around the house with facial-recognition and license-plate-recording software. And, the building is staffed around-the-clock seven days a week.
But booking a $25 tour opens the grounds and house to visitors, who can take plenty of pictures.
"It's not that expensive to get access," owner Jacqueline Nuñez said.
"Experiences," as Nuñez markets them, range from a 13-hour, overnight self-led investigation, which costs $1,280 for up to eight people on weekends, to one-hour house tours, which cost $25 for those 13 and older and $20 for those 7 to 12, with no one younger allowed.
Other experiences include overnight camping outside the house, three-hour gatherings with a medium and "GHO" events, which are similar to investigations, but they are led by an experienced paranormal investigator who will provide necessary equipment.
Details and booking of experiences are done through the website of The Conjuring House, theconjuringhouse.com.
Where to watch 'The Conjuring'
In 2022 and 2023, The Conjuring House offered movie watch parties with Andrea Perron in the house around Halloween.
For those not lucky enough to attend one of these sold-out screenings, the movie is available, either as a separate rental or as part of a subscription, on several popular screening services, including Max, Hulu, VUDU, iTunes, Amazon and Google Play.
Do 'The Conjuring' and 'The Gilded Age' have a connection?
No, "The Gilded Age" is not part of The Conjuring Universe.
But both famous Hollywood franchises have ties to Rhode Island – "The Conjuring" is based on the Burrillville house, "The Gilded Age" is partly set and filmed in Newport by Julian Fellowes and HBO. But, the connection between the two is deeper.
Actor Vera Farmiga, 50, stars in three "Conjuring" films as Lorraine Warren.
Farmiga's sister, Taissa Farmiga, 29, plays socialite Gladys Russell, daughter of main characters George and Bertha Russell.
Taissa Farmiga also stars in two "The Nun" movies, which are considered part of The Conjuring Universe, further binding the "Conjuring" and "Gilded Age" franchises.
Have ghost hunters Sam and Colby visited The Conjuring House?
YouTubers Sam and Colby, who explore haunted locations on their channel and who spent a brief time at The Conjuring House in 2021, returned this year to spend a week at the house.
They posted their first videofrom this year's experience on Sunday. It had more than 4 million views by Monday morning and sold out theater viewings in 168 locations of Cinemark, a chain with more than 300 movie theaters in the United States, though none in or near Rhode Island.
A second video was promised for Wednesday.
Most of the first video, roughly an hour long, focuses on celebrity ghost hunters Cody DesBiens and Satori Hawes, who bill themselves as “The Paranormal Couple,” members of The Atlantic Paranormal Society, headquartered in Warwick.
The couple convey messages from the spirits of Abigail Arnold, a historical occupant of the house, and relatives of Sam and Colby. The couple communicates via a method made popular in the middle 1800s by Catherine and Margaret Fox, who would ask the spirits yes or no questions, to which the spirits would making knocking noises, once for yes and two for no. They also communicated by spelling out words, with DesBiens or Hawes going through the alphabet out loud and the spirits knocking on the correct letter.
