The Creepy Truth Of The House In The Conjuring

Upon its release in the Summer of 2013, "The Conjuring" became a legit box office smash and crushed all expectations to the tune of nearly $320 million in ticket sales, according to Box Office Mojo. It also earned instant status as a classic of modern horror, with director James Wan delivering a chilling horror treat as stylishly rendered as relentlessly unnerving. "The Conjuring" has not only spawned a pair of equally renowned sequels but an entire cinematic universe filled with frights and sights that continue to thrill the horror-loving masses.

If you're unfamiliar with the film, it's based on the true of the Perron family, who in 1971 moved into a Rhode Island farmhouse. They find it already inhabited by the restless spirits of several past residents, some of whom are less than thrilled to have the Perrons around. Matters only get further complicated for the family when famed paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren (Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga) come to town to try and help. What follows is a tale of haunted house terror that'll shake you to your very core. But even as frightening as the events depicted in "The Conjuring" are, it turns out the true story behind the house where those events occurred is even more shocking.

The house itself is located in Harrisville, Rhode Island, and if you're at all familiar with "The Conjuring," you know its history is briefly detailed in the film. Per Ed and Lorraine's investigation, suspicious deaths, murders, and suicides on the property were all discovered. The Warrens even uncovered a story about a past resident who'd been accused of practicing witchcraft and sacrificed her one-week-old baby to the devil. She also before cursed the land the house stands on for anyone who lives there. Her name was Bathsheba Sherman, and the Warrens quickly identified her as the malevolent spirit tormenting the Perrons and eventually possessing the family matriarch Carolyn (Lili Taylor).

While "The Conjuring" undoubtedly took a few liberties in depicting the horrifying events Bathsheba put the Perrons through during their residency, it seems the house's gruesome history is far from fiction. According to History vs. Hollywood, that past is genuinely unsettling. As the story goes, before the Perrons' arrival, the house had been owned by the same family for more than eight generations, and several members of that family had indeed died horrifically. This included the tragic murder of an 11-year-old girl. Additionally, four men froze to death, one person was poisoned, and two people committed suicide.

That's obviously not the sort of history one would want regarding their own home. And even as things ultimately worked out for the Perrons, one has to wonder if they would've moved into the infamous house at all if they'd known about its profoundly troubling past.