Ep 210: The True Story Behind "The Conjuring" Part 1
“Arms but no hands; dress went to the floor but no feet; intimidating; wants to kiss me; wants to kill me; wants me dead.”
– Carolyn Perron, from page 189 of House of Darkness House of Light: The True Story, Volume 1, by her daughter, Andrea Perron
Description:
Whether you're a fan of horror films or not, you've probably heard of the 2013 motion picture, "The Conjuring." This film, starring Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson, struck such a chord with viewers that it spawned a franchise of related films like The Conjuring sequels, The Nun, Annabelle, and The Curse of La Llorona. But the initial movie was inspired by real-life events, the roughly decade-long hauntings of the Perron family that started the moment they moved into the Arnold Estate in 1970, now called "The Farm on Round Top Road" in Harrisville, Rhode Island. The colonial farmhouse, built circa 1736, would be home to 9 generations of families, including the Perrons. It seems some of the residents would never be able to leave, and some new and terrifying entities would make an unwelcome appearance during the Perron occupancy. While a few of the spirits were viciously malevolent, some were benevolent, and Andrea Perron, the eldest daughter, comprehensively chronicled the entire experience in a three-volume set of books titled House of Darkness House of Light: The True Story. While Andrea loved the cinematic adaptation of her family's story in the film, she also realizes that a movie has its own set of rules for narrative compression. Its purpose is to entertain efficiently, and therefore was only "one percent of one percent of what actually happened at the farm." Also, the famous paranormal investigative couple, Ed and Lorraine Warren were only a lesser element to the overall story. So what were some of the more frightening yet fascinating occurrences that happened to the Perrons at clearly one of the most active haunted houses still in existence that most of us have never heard? Join us tonight for part one of our examination of the true story behind "The Conjuring."
Location:
The Arnold Estate, located in Harrisville, Rhode Island, now called “The Farm on Round Top Road". This colonial-style home, circa 1736, was the former residence for the Perron family, and their decade-long experience of spirit interactions became the inspiration for the motion picture franchise, The Conjuring.
Reference Links:
Andrea Perron’s website for House of Darkness House of Light
Frank C. Grace, the photographer for the Arnold Estate photos in our gallery
“The Conjuring: How the terrifying universe is connected” from BBC News
“The Farm on Round Top Road” (the Arnold Estate) official website, theconjuringhouse.com
“The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It” motion picture website
Madison Heinzen, current resident with her family of the Arnold Estate on TikTok
“10 Facts About Famed Paranormal Investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren” on MentalFloss.com
“The True Story Of The Conjuring: The Perron Family And Enfield Haunting” on AllThatsInteresting.com
“Ed and Lorraine Warren Biography: Cases, Kids, and Family Life” on AnswersAfrica.com
“A Closer Look: Correcting the Conjuring House History” by Kenny Biddle on Skeptical Inquirer
“THE WARREN OMISSION” with Blake Smith on Monster Talk presented by Skeptic Magazine
“A Night with The Conjuring’s Ed & Lorraine Warren” on The Daily Beast
“Conjuring the Real Ed and Lorraine Warren” by Troy Brownfield for The Saturday Evening Post
“True Horror: Are Ed and Lorraine Warren Actually Frauds?” on WickedHorror.com
“Every Time Ed & Lorraine Warren Were Exposed As Total Frauds” on ranker.com
“Flatland, a Romance of Many Dimensions, by a Square” by Edwin Abbott
Related Books:
Suggested Viewing:
“The Conjuring Universe | A Life in Demonology | Warner Bros. Entertainment”
Suggested Listening:
Strange and Unexplained podcast with Daisy Eagan
Do you believe in ghosts? How about bigfoot? Do you think it’s strange and fascinating that a 4 year old in Oklahoma could look at a black and white picture of a man from the 1930s and say, “that was me. Before.” And then provide actual, verifiable details of the man’s life? If so, “Strange and Unexplained With Daisy Eagan” is about to be your new Favorite podcast!
Daisy is a Tony Award-winning actor, writer, and true crime fanatic. But she’s also a skeptic. Each week She looks at real stories of hauntings, disappearances, UFO encounters, the Bermuda Triangle, near-death experiences, and anything else that feels just beyond what we can easily make sense of. She is your guide into the inexplicable details of these stories. But she’s also like, “show me the receipts.”
So if you want to dive into the unexplained, check out “Strange & Unexplained with Daisy Eagan.”
Find “Strange & Unexplained with Daisy Eagan” wherever you get your podcasts.
CLICK HERE for the show’s website at www.strangeandunexplainedpod.comClick on this link to check out Jim Harold’s Paranormal Plus Club!
Click here to check out our good buddies Adam and Matt’s episode on the Warrens from their podcast, Graveyard Tales
The song, “Antiquing” by the band, PANTS! from their album, “Twice the Snake You Need”
Please help out our good friend Stan Gordon, by purchasing his books on Amazon and Barnes & Noble – you’re gonna love ‘em!
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Credits:
Episode 210: The True Story Behind “The Conjuring” Part 1. Produced by Scott Philbrook & Forrest Burgess; Audio Editing by Sarah Vorhees Wendel. Sound Design by Ryan McCullough; Tess Pfeifle, Producer, and Lead Researcher; Research Support from the astonishing League of Astonishing Researchers, a.k.a. The Astonishing Research Corps, or "A.R.C." for short. Copyright 2021 Astonishing Legends Productions, LLC. All Rights Reserved.