October is officially here, so it’s time to put on a horror movie or two. If The Conjuring or one of its many sequels and spinoffs is on your list this year, then a home in Rhode Island may interest (or terrify) you: The farmhouse where the events that inspired The Conjuring reportedly occurred has just listed for $1.2 million.
This is not where the movie was filmed. Its story comes from the Perron family, who lived in the home in the 1970s, an experience documented by one of the five daughters, Andrea, in her book House of Darkness House of Light. Perron recounts a range of paranormal activities in her text, including coat hangers and hand scythes floating and attacking family members, house flies appearing in the dead of winter, a constant chill in the house and putrid odors.
The living room Photo: Courtesy of Blueflash Photography for Mott & Chace/Sotheby’s International Realty
Ultimately the family contacted investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren, whose case files were the basis for The Conjuring. The film depicts a harrowing haunting in which the mother, Carolyn Perron, becomes possessed by the spirit of a witch, Bathsheba Sherman. Ultimately the Warrens exorcise Sherman and save the day: Andrea Perron refers to her as the “evil mistress of the house” in her text.
The library Photo: Courtesy of Blueflash Photography for Mott & Chace/Sotheby’s International Realty
Does any of that hold water? The current owners of the house seem to think that something is afoot, if not exactly what the blockbuster film portrayed. Cory and Jennifer Heinzen have owned the place since 2019, and say they’ve witnessed spooky happenings in the home. “We had a black mist in one of the rooms,” Heinzen told local station NBC 10 WJAR shortly after the couple moved in. “It looks like smoke. It’ll gather in one area and then it’ll move.”
The dining room Photo: Courtesy of Blueflash Photography for Mott & Chace/Sotheby’s International Realty
The two are paranormal investigators, so they didn’t just purchase the house for its square footage (it’s about 3,000 square feet if you’re interested): It’s also a business for them. The couple have rented the house out to ghost hunters; one-night stays at the home are currently booked through 2022. A condition of sale may be that the new owner honor all of these reservations.
The (definitely not creepy) basement Photo: Courtesy of Blueflash Photography for Mott & Chace/Sotheby’s International Realty
The home was built circa 1736, so it’s fair to say—haunted or not—there’s a lot of history here. It’s an eight-acre property altogether. If you do plan on buying, consider taking the advice that the former owner gave to the Perrons when they moved in: “Leave the lights on at night.”
Check out more photos below:
The entryway Photo: Courtesy of Blueflash Photography for Mott & Chace/Sotheby’s International Realty
The kitchen Photo: Courtesy of Blueflash Photography for Mott & Chace/Sotheby’s International Realty
One of the three bedrooms Photo: Courtesy of Blueflash Photography for Mott & Chace/Sotheby’s International Realty
One of the bathrooms Photo: Courtesy of Blueflash Photography for Mott & Chace/Sotheby’s International Realty
