Larissa Dawn

Jul 26, 202011 min read

The Perron Family

Updated: Aug 7, 2020

Lets look into the family that inspired the film "The Conjuring"

The Conjuring

The story of the Perron family has become extremely well known thanks to the hit movie, "The Conjuring."

The follow is an exert from a letter Andrea Perron sent to “Horror-Movies.ca” in June 2013;

"The Conjuring' IS based on a 'true story'…our story. However, the film is not based on my trilogy 'House of Darkness House of Light'. It is, instead, based upon the case files of Ed & Lorraine Warren. ... There are liberties taken and a few discrepancies but overall, it is what it claims to be — based on a true story, believe it or not.”

It has been noted that Lorraine Warren acted as a consultant to director James Wan. She even visited the set during the filming process. Most of the film was based on the Warren's case files and recordings that took place during their investigation of the Perron family home.

The entire Perron family is said to have given their full support to the film. It was not a surprise as they have already fully supported the release of a book trilogy written by Andrea (House of Darkness House of Light) in 2011.

Andrea has been the most open about discussing what happened. Her sister Christine has been more reluctant to discuss her personal experiences in the house.

When the entire family was invited to the set, at the last-minute Carolyn refused to go. While on set, Andrea stated that a “Rogue spirit” moved through the set knocking down cameras, lights and even people! At the same time, Carolyn experienced a strong wind and fell and broke her hip. Carolyn stated from her hospital bed that the spirit of Bathsheba didn't want to be exposed.

Bathsheba Sherman

In the film, the character of Bathsheba is said to have been a witch who committed suicide on the property after cursing anyone who took her land and professing her love to Satan. After research, it is noted that Bathsheba did not commit suicide and the rumors of her being involved in witchcraft has not be fully proven. Below is what I was able to dig up about Bathsheba.

Born Bathsheba Thayer in Rhode Island in 1812, she married Judson Sherman. They were married in Thompson Connecticut on March 10th, 1844. they then moved to Rhode Island where Judson worked as a farmer and Bathsheba was the dutiful house wife.

They appeared to be fairly well off and she eventually gave birth to a son in March of 1849 (Herbert L Sherman). She was roughly 37 years old at the time.

Many say it “Was possible” that they had 3 more children but none of which lived past 7 years of age. Although there are no documents to actually prove these children ever existed, there is a “Internet family tree” website (Ancestry.com) that states their names were Julia (born in 1845), Edward (born in 1847) and George (born in 1853).

The family also took in a boarder to help with the heavy work load on the farm. It has been stated in Andrea's book that it was known that Bathsheba treated the staff on the farm terribly and was known to starve and beat them.

The image below was taken in 1885 and is believed to be the only known photo to have Bathsheba in it. However, no proof of this has even been found.

After the death of her infant child, she was accused of causing its death. Suspicions grew when upon examination it was determined that the injury that killed the child was caused by a large sewing needle inserted into the base of the child's skull.

Word of the death spread throughout the town and many accused her of sacrificing her child to the devil. Due to a lack of evidence, she was found innocent. This did not stop people from believing she was the cause of the child's death or the dark implications of witchcraft that surrounded her.

Bathsheba died on May 25th, 1885, just four years after the death of her husband. She even re-married. She lived long enough to see her son Herbert grow up to marry his fiancé Anna in 1881.

It was rumored that she died from a strange case of paralysis. The doctors did not completely understand what happened at the time. The medical report states that her body had turned as if to “stone. ”This information was never proven and seems to favor the theory that Bathsheba was indeed a witch and made a deal with the devil.

Today, many believe that her death was the result of a stroke.

She is buried in a historic cemetery in downtown Harrisville, Rhode Island. Many still visit her grave due to the popularity of “The Conjuring.” Many have gone as far as to conduct EVP (electronic voice phenomenon) sessions. This is when you use an audio device to try and capture the voices of spirits.

Guilty or innocent, the accusations of witchcraft and Satanism will forever surround Bathsheba Sherman.

The House

Located at 1677 Round Top Road in Harrisville, Rhode Island. The house has been known by many names over the years. First, The Dexter Richardson House (named after the family that built it). Then, The Old Arnold Estate and most recently, Old Brook Farm.

According to The Black Book of Burville (the town's former public records book), the house has had two suicides (one by poison and one by hanging). The rape and murder of Prudence Arnold (11 years old) by a farmhand. Two drownings (both children) and four men who froze to death.

Andrea Perron states that "Eight generations of one extended family lived and died in that house prior to our arrival. Some of them never left."

She claims that all these deaths, excluding Prudence Arnold were all members of the same family tree. The Arnold Family.

Upon purchasing the house, it was revealed that the real estate agent did not disclose the farms history to the Perron family and in Rhode Island it is not illegal to not mention any paranormal history of occurrences on the property.

Andrea mentions that on the day the Realtor sold them the house he did tell them to “Leave the lights on.”

The Perron Family

Roger Perron and his wife Carolyn purchased the 14 room farmhouse, in the winter of 1970. Carolyn refused to move in right away as it was Christmas so they waited until the first week of January.

The house was on 200 acres of land which was ideal for their large family. They had five daughters; Andrea, Nancy, Christine, Cynthia and April.

Andrea explains that the hauntings started the day they moved in. She states that she was moving a box into the kitchen for her mother, when she noticed an “Unusually dressed man” standing in the dining room. She said “Good morning,” and continued into the kitchen. She then asked her mom who the man was in the dining room. At this time, her sisters came into the dining area, saw the man and watched him vanish before their eyes.

Carolyn would notice her broom would be moved to a different places then where she had left it, she heard objects moving around in the kitchen (kettle) and even found small piles of dirt on the floors right after she had just cleaned them.

One night she was woken up by a woman in a grey dress standing at the end of the bed. After several weeks, Carolyn believed that she was the central target of this angry spirit. She thought the spirit wanted her out of the picture and maybe even wanted her husband.

Their youngest daughter Cindy was also made a primary target. She was repeatedly attacked during the night.

After some intense research, Carolyn believed that Bathsheba Sherman was the angry entity that was attacking her.

As time went on, things got more physical for Carolyn. Pinching, slapping and even going as far as being shown visions of fire. She was even stabbed with a knitting needle (this was very similar to Bathsheba's child dying at the hands of a sewing needle).

One evening, Carolyn was laying on the couch and she felt a sharp poke on her leg. Upon inspection, she noticed blood coming from a perfectly circular hole in her leg. Once again, another injury similarity to the murder of Bathsheba's child.

Roger believed something a bit different. He believed the entity being seen was the spirit of a woman who had hung herself in the barn. He claims the women appeared with an obviously broken neck and her face seemed to change form. It looked like it had cracks, gouges and deep grooves. He also mentioned she had a vacant stare.

The following is described by Cynthia to Trespass Magazine;

"I was playing upstairs with the Little People (siblings), and the door opens to the closet. I thought it was one of my sisters coming through the door, but it wasn’t. It was an older woman with her head tilted to the side and her arms out (she was wearing grey dress with little yellow flowers all over it, and a grey apron or pinafore.) She had a handkerchief held out. I looked at the face, just for a second, and then I looked down and saw the handkerchief. I didn’t see any feet.

So I jumped up and bolted. I ran through the next bedroom and down those stairs, but I was running so fast that I missed the landing in the middle of the stairs. So, I ended up kind of going down them on my butt.

Well, my mom just happened to be coming in from the kitchen, which meets at the bottom of the stairs, and she basically caught me. I was hysterical and at that time, holding my back and trying to explain to her what just happened. And she’s more concerned about what’s going on with my back. And I’m like, ‘I don’t care about that, mom. She just came to me and said, “Come to me, little girl. Come to me, little girl."

Cindy also claimed that not long after they moved, she told Andrea that she heard disembodied voices in the wall. Telling her that seven bodies were buried inside.

During one of their favorite games, Hide and Seek (This was the basis for Hide and Clap in the movie), Cindy states she went to hide in the wood shed. She found a smaller wooden box with no more than a wood panel covering it and climbed in.

Once she realized that her sisters weren't coming to find her, she tried to get out of the box, only to discover it wouldn't open!

There were no air holes. She struggled to get out of the box for more than 20 minutes until her sister Nancy came and found her laying on the bottom, covered in sweat and tears and barely able to breath. Cindy was hysterical.

Andrea claimed the house frequently smelled like rotting meat. She even claims her bed would rise of the floor.

She also stated a male spirit told her it tortured 5 little girls in the house.

The house was always cold and Roger was always heading into the basement to try and fix it.

According to Andrea, the family stayed in the house as they were not in the financial position to move.

They finally moved out in June 1980, 10 years after they moved in. Roger and Carolyn moved to Georgia and never looked back.

The family says even though they have left the farmhouse, they continue to be haunted by many of the spirits they encountered on the farm.

Many believe the reason why the family continues to experience activity is due to the fact that the spirits have attached themselves to the family not just the farmhouse.

The Involvement of Ed and Lorraine Warren

Ed Warren is a former police officer and world war 2 veteran. Of his own accord, he studied on his own and became a self-proclaimed demonologist.

His wife Lorraine is a Clairvoyant medium (someone who is capable of communicating and seeing the dead).

In 1952 they founded "The New England Society for Psychic Research" and quickly gained respect and notoriety for their paranormal investigations. Particularly after their involvement in the Amityville case.

It was a family friend who contacted the Warren's, not the Perron family.

Andrea says;

“We never actually contacted the Warrens. Our friend Barbara went to see them in Putnam because they did things all around the area. They were informed about us.”

After that phone call, the Warrens decided that they would get involved and investigate.

Carolyn was apparently ecstatic that someone actually believed her and children. Roger wasn't as supportive. He seemed more hesitant to have people come into the house. He appeared to not fully accept what was going on. During the 10 years the Perron family lived in the home; the Warren's made multiple visits.

Lorraine even went as far as to conduct a seance. This event took place in the basement. During the Seance, Carolyn supposedly became possessed and started speaking in tongues and even levitated in a chair.

(The basement of the Perron Family Farm)

Andrea claims to have secretly witnessed this seance. She states;

“I thought I was going to pass out,” Andrea said. “My mother began to speak a language not of this world in a voice not her own. Her chair levitated and she was thrown across the room.”

Lorraine has never openly discussed anything about what happened in the basement but she did state that she was very disturbed by the things she witnessed.

In the film, an exorcism was performed, not a seance. Both Ed and Lorraine state they will never perform an exorcism as it has to be done by a Catholic Priest.

After the Seance, Roger kicked the Warrens out of the home as he was worried about Carolyn's mental stability and well-being.

Sadly, the family states the Warren's presence actually made things in the house worse.

Life After the Perron Family

The property, once over 200 acres, is now is only 8.5 acres. The Perron family fell on hard times and sold off a lot of the land.

Andrea Perron stated during an interview that everyone who has lived in the house has experienced some kind of paranormal activity.

The man who was restoring the home (the adjacent neighbors now owned the property) moved into the house after the Perrons left. He fled the house screaming. He left his car, tools and clothing. He never returned to the home.

The owners never actually moved into the home and it sat empty for several years after this occurrence.

Previous Owners Norma Sutcliff (69) and her Husband Gerry (73) purchased the property in 1987 and their Realtor did disclose to them that the home may be haunted.

They were furious and even tried to sue Warner Brothers after “The Conjuring” film came out.

They claim their house was besieged by horror movie fanatics and thrill seekers. Norma states how even after posting “No Trespassing” signs, their fences were routinely ripped down and they had people trying to break in.

She feared for their safety.

Norma states she always tries to look at any activity from a scientific point of view. She has even gone as far as making a video to disprove the activity to discourage the constant stream of trespassers who enter her property.

She states they have had no experiences with the paranormal and believed that due to the constant “Amityville-like” atmosphere of the home, that they wouldn't be able to sell it.

For a very in-dept and highly emotional interview with Norma Sutcliff, Please check out the link below:

http://psican.org/index.php/pop-culture/1002-interview-of-norma-sutcliffe-the-conjuring

Apparently, selling the home was not going to be an issue...

THE NEW FAMILY

The current owners of the home are Cory and Jennifer Heinzen. They have 2 teenage/young adult children Madison and Kyler.

The couple purchased the home for $439,000 and moved in June 21st 2019. Cory and Jennifer admit to being paranormal investigators themselves and purchased the house quite eagerly due to its reputation and history.

Activity started right away. Sounds, objects moving, doors closing and even apparitions. They claimed they kept seeing flashes of light in multiple upstairs bedrooms.

They regularly heard footsteps and have even communicated with some of the spirits via a spirit box (an item that scans through dozens of radio signals per second and can pick up spirit voices in real time). They claim to have received clear and audible responses.

The couple state that their experiences in the home progressed at a very fast pace. Their exact words were, “Too active, too fast,” and their children who were excited to move in, are now asking to move out of the house.

Madison (who doesn't spend as much time in the home due to University) claims to have heard a growl while Kyler saw a black mist rise up right in front of him.

They have heard doors slam, people talking (disembodied voices), the sound of footsteps followed by a door opening. They have even seen shadow figures.

They even have video evidence of a book flying off a book shelf.

Jennifer and Cory now actively rent out the house ($750) a night for investigators both professional and amateur alike.

If you are interested in staying in the home you can get more information here:

https://theconjuringhouse.com/

In Conclusion

Based on all the stories, memories and physical evidence, it appears that the Old Arnold Estate is as real as it gets in terms of hauntings. Whether Bathsheba was indeed a witch is now irrelevant. It seems there are more than enough restless spirits taking refuge in the ancient farmhouse to keep the mystique of the home alive. Either way, I know even with all the evidence of evil that have taken place here, I would still visit it a heartbeat! Add this location to my bucket-list...

If you are interested in watching some documented investigations of the Old Arnold Estate, below are a few links to some of the more interesting investigations.

Ghost Adventures (The Curse of the Harrisville Farm Season 22 Episode https://watch.travelchannel.com/tv-shows/ghost-adventures/full-episodes/curse-of-the-harrisville-farm-house