01x02 - The Conjuring House

[bunniefuu]

- My mother found the farm
for sale in June of 1970.

We lived in
a Cape Cod-style house

in Cumberland, Rhode Island.

But there was something missing.

There was something
more that Mom wanted.

She wanted to get us
out of the suburbs

and bring us into nature.

But we had no idea
what awaited us.

- "The Conjuring"
is being called

the scariest movie
of the summer.

- In the 1970s,
Andrea Perron and her family

lived in
the Rhode Island farmhouse

depicted in the film.

This is one of those
movies supposedly

based on a true story.

But is it really?

- Now, the Conjuring House,
Rhode Island.

I believe the best way to get
to the bottom of something

is to actually investigate.

Of course,
once the movie came out,

people were going
as far as, online,

there were chats
about maybe the house

should be set on fire,
because it was an evil place.

So I wanted to go
in and find out

whether anything in the house
seemed unusual to me.

- When we moved there,
we were hopeful

about the future and so excited.

But what happened
in that farmhouse

would haunt our family
for the rest of our lives.

Talk about being
catapulted back 50 years.

50 years.

Seven dead soldiers.

- Had I not grown up
in this house,

I wouldn't believe
what happened here.

From the moment we
moved to the farmhouse,

I knew that there was
something very different

about this place.

- The day we moved
in was quite a day.

We got Mr. Kenyon loaded up.

He was the owner of the farm.

And as I walked
back in the house,

he put his hand on my arm.

And he says, Roger,
this is for the sake

of your kids and your wife.

Leave the lights on
in this house at night.

I didn't know what
he was talking about,

so I just agreed.

I says, sure, no problem.

No problem.

- Our first few
months in the house

were rather bleak and austere.

My dad had to be
away from home a lot.

It took everything that
they had financially

to get into this property.

And so, he had
to go earn a living.

- I was in the jewelry business.

I was traveling about
two days a week...

Upstate New York,
New Jersey, Massachusetts.

But I had to work all day,
and a lot of times,

till late at night.

- This house was
never really quiet.

There was always
a sense that there was

something else going on here.

We are in my bedroom.

This was my room for 10 years.

And this was
the gathering place,

and usually,
there was at least one

frightened sister in bed
with me every night.

In the middle of the night,
Cindy showed up

at the side of my bed.

She was obviously upset.

And I asked her what
was wrong, and she said,

"I can't believe
you didn't hear it."

She just looked into
my eyes, and she said,

"They're all around my bed.

"They're all saying the same
thing at the same time.

"There are seven dead
soldiers buried in the wall.

"There are seven dead
soldiers buried in the wall.

There are seven dead
soldiers buried in the wall."

Over and over and over again.

There
are seven dead soldiers

buried in the wall.

- My sisters were compelled
to come to me

instead of my mother

because it always seemed
like something

was weighing heavily on her.

She seemed deeply
troubled by something,

but she was not
divulging that to us.

- I had always been
interested in the field

of the supernatural, always,
since I was a young child.

Back in 1973,
I was 18 years old.

I was a member
of an organization

at Rhode Island College
called PIRO...

- We were kids, you know.

We were high school,
college-age kids,

and we were just
following our passion.

PIRO was actually something
I wanted to do for a long time.

Ever since I was a little kid,

I believed that there
were things that people

just weren't aware of,
such as spirits, UFOs,

things like that.

- The main aim of PIRO
was to find and document

actual evidence
of paranormal activity,

something supernatural.

When we first started out,
it was very hard

to find actual cases.

And I wanted to find a way
where people would actually

take an interest and contact us,

perhaps people that never
heard of us.

So I thought, why not put
an ad in the local paper?

I worded it, "Things that are
not explained,

"maybe mysterious
happenings in your house,

please contact PIRO."

I figured the worst
that could happen,

it would just be ignored.

- When we got a response
as quickly as we did,

we were all astounded.

Carolyn Perron came
to our meeting

and she started telling
us her stories

about what was going on
at the farm.

And we just felt,

either she's really crazy,
or this is real,

and we have to investigate it.

- This was my parents' room,
originally.

I remember it as being
so much larger than it is now.

I woke up one morning,
very early,

and I was having
this horrendous dream

of seeing this
apparition leaning over,

getting closer and closer
and closer to my mother.

And I closed my eyes, thinking,

this is the most horrible
dream I've ever had.

Please let this be over.

About a half an hour later,
I came downstairs.

And there's my mother,
sitting frantically,

writing and drawing.

There were two black holes
for her eye sockets.

And she had very thin lips,

with jagged yellow teeth.

When I saw what my mother
was drawing,

I said to her, I saw this.

It wasn't a dream.

And she said to me,

"Best not to tell
your sisters about this.

It would only scare them."

- I actually am
a real investigator

who has a career as a detective.

Our magazine would look into
these things rather
seriously.

In other words,
we don't just dismiss them,

or laugh at them,
hoot them down, debunk them.

No, no, we carefully
investigate them,

with a view towards
solving something

or getting to the bottom
of something.

I was in the house,
from cellar to attic.

And I'm looking to try to
explain anything that I can.

For example,
Carolyn woke up and saw

an apparition of an old woman.

And this is a well-known
illusion of the mind

called a waking dream.

And our minds play tricks
on us all the time.

But they were
feeding each other.

As best I can tell,

Roger was practically
never there.

You see, there was
no skeptical figure

in the entire household.

We would have
to pretty much acknowledge...

that there would be
a kind of contagion effect

that one person
would influence the others.

- My mother felt very,
very isolated.

She did not want to expose us
to any of the incidents

that were happening to her.

She wanted to protect us.

My father was non-responsive

when it came to stories

of what was happening
in the house.

He's a very pragmatic man.

Everything needs
to make sense to my father,

and this didn't.

And my father became
very sullen and withdrawn.

We could tell that this
was preoccupying his mind.

- Over the months, Carolyn
became more into herself.

Was starting to smoke more,
drinking coffee,

losing weight.

She claimed that she'd been
threatened,

that there were spirits
that were doing it.

She claimed that
she was interfering

in the lives of the spirits.

It was not the same Carolyn, no.

And I would take her away
from the house at times,

and we would walk through
the woods back here.

And I'd get her to see things
a little bit differently.

But when we got back
to the house,

it all repeated itself again.

So walking through the woods
did not help.

I wanted to believe her...

but I couldn't.

Just didn't make any
damn sense at all.

- My mother wanted to prove
to my father

that this was real.

She felt a distinctly
female presence in the house

that did not want her there.

And so she was trying
to determine who it might be.

She would get in the car,
and she would go into town,

and she would research
all day long.

And what my mother found out was

that eight generations
of one extended family lived,

and some died, in this house.

She also discovered many
of the bizarre deaths

that had happened in the town.

We know we have suicide
by poison,

suicide by hanging,

suicide by cutting
their own throats,

the murders,
the accidental drownings,

accidental killings.

Being burned to death,

found dead, dropped dead,

miscellaneous deaths...

Just on and on,
century after century.

Found hanging in the barn
by a farmhand.

Throat cut with razor.

Frozen to death on December 17.

My mother was searching
archives and records

trying to determine
anyone that had

any attachment to that farm.

Bathsheba Sherman was not part

of the Arnold
or Richardson families.

And we knew nothing about her
until the town historian

at the time told my mother
about the legend

of Bathsheba Sherman.

And the historian told
my mother that Bathsheba

was an evil woman.

And he's also the one
that told her

that she suffered
great loss in her life,

but that she had grown old
and bitter and mean.

Apparently, an infant died
in her care.

And when townsfolk accused
her of murdering the baby,

the rumor that cropped up
almost immediately around it

was that she was
practicing witchcraft,

and had sold her soul

and traded the life of this baby

to the devil
for eternal youth and beauty.

She remained one
of the suspects,

when she probably should have
been absolved.

She lived a long and sad life,

and buried three
of her four children

before the age of four.

And they're right here
beside her.

- Carolyn wanted to get
us to go to the house.

So she wanted
to convince us that it was

worth our time and our trouble
to go to the house.

I felt a little
nervous about going,

because I didn't
know what to expect,

and it was an area
of Rhode Island

that I had never
been in before...

In the middle of nowhere,
as far as I was concerned.

So finding it was
the first thing.

Carolyn was very happy
that she wasn't

alone in this anymore.

She told me that it hurt her

that Roger was not
believing her,

and that's part
of the reason I feel that

she reached out to us...
Because she wanted to prove it,

that this was actually happening

and she was not crazy.

- We were introduced
to all of the family members.

And then, before it was dark,
we were taken to a cemetery...

Harrisville Cemetery.

And there was the grave
of Bathsheba Sherman.

She was the suspected witch.

They thought maybe...
It was Carolyn,

through her research...
Thought maybe

this is the woman that's
haunting the house.

The girls wanted to show me

the upstairs section
of the house,

the bedrooms where they slept.

They take me into
the main bedroom.

They're telling me how
frightened they are.

Right next to me is a window
that could not be closed.

I tell them, well, why not
call upon the name of Jesus

when you're feeling frightened?

It was that split second,
that window, it slammed shut.

Then, one of the sisters, Nancy,

feels she is slapped
on the side of the head,

the left side of the head.

Her head actually goes back,
her hair flies up,

and she screams, holds onto
her head, begins crying.

I keep my concentration

and I tell them,
don't be afraid.

It's more afraid of Jesus
than you are afraid.

After this, we did not
stay a lot longer.

But at that house,
I was convinced

there was an evil spirit
out to do some harm

and damage to this family.

[tense music

- Within a week,
Carolyn started to say

things were happening
at the house,

that she'd noticed an uptick
in activity.

It came to a head when
she called me one afternoon,

and she was frantic.

And she started to explain
what had happened

the night before.

She had been woken up,
and as her eyes became

accustomed to the dark,
there was a figure

at the foot of her bed.

And it started chanting,

I'll drive you mad
with fiery brooms,

I'll drive you mad
with death and gloom,

but it will be too late for you,

because you'll be dead.

And I said, Carolyn,
when I hang up with you,

I'm calling
Ed and Lorraine Warren.

I had told her who they were,
and that I would

call them if it was necessary.

I hung up.
I called Lorraine Warren.

She answered the phone
immediately,

and she said, "Donna,
we'll be there in two days."

Ed and Lorraine Warren,
in the 1970s,

were the foremost people
in the world stage

of ghost hunting
and the paranormal.

- I don't care if
you want to call it

a devil or a ghost or a demon.

There's something in this home,
which has the intelligence

to inflict physical
and psychological harm

upon this family.

- We were very excited that
we were going to have our
friends

and experts along with us.

So Carolyn and her family
will be in good hands.

- It was just before
Halloween in 1973

when Mr. And Mrs. Warren
came to our kitchen door.

And they introduced themselves
as paranormal investigators

and researchers.

They told her that
PIRO had sent them.

My mother felt comfortable
with Mrs. Warren,

but my father didn't
want the Warrens

involved with our family.

He was suspicious of them,

and there was no trust there.

- I had nothing against
Lorraine Warren,

but I did not trust him.

He sounded like he was talking
from both sides of his mouth.

And it just didn't
make much sense to me.

Ed Warren was
trying to convince me

that the house was haunted.

They looked like
they were selling

some kind of protection.

I felt like they were going
to hurt us more than

they were going to help us.

As far as I was concerned,

I didn't need them in my house.

And they did not warm up to me.

They warmed up to my wife.

- Mrs. Warren felt
absolutely that there was

a spirit in the house
that was trying

to take my mother over.

And she walked over to our
old black stove in the
kitchen,

and she said,

"I sense a malignant presence
in this house.

Her name is Bathsheba."

That statement
stunned my mother.

- Chances are, you have
never seen anything

quite like
the Monroe, Connecticut, home

of Ed and Lorraine Warren.

On the other hand,
you probably have

never run into people who claim

they are
real-life ghost hunters.

- Ed and Lorraine Warren
were a notorious couple.

They loved to get attention
and to make money,

and they were full of tricks.

- Ed, what can you do for me?
How can you help me?

- Well, it's our job to go in,

investigate the phenomena
taking place,

document it,
photograph it, record it,

and then bring it
to the proper authorities,

which in most cases
happens to be

the religious faith
of the family

whose home we're in.

- So they show up
at the Perrons'

and they tell Carolyn that
they know

Bathsheba had been there,
was a presence.

And that...

That persuaded Carolyn
that they must really be

sort of magical demonologists
after all.

How could she know that,
just showing up?

Well, of course, she had already

picked that information up
somewhere else.

I just despaired every time

they hit a new family.

You'd just wonder,
what's all this about?

Is this about God and love?

And what would
Jesus say, you know?

No, it's got nothing
to do with Jesus.

It's about medieval kind of
demonology of a type

that belongs in the Middle Ages.

Eventually,
the Warrens convinced...

Carolyn probably didn't
need much convincing...

That they should do a seance.

- When the Warrens arrived,

they had a priest, a medium,

cinematographers,
an audio specialist,

five or six people.

Lorraine suggested that I take
my sisters and go upstairs.

But we didn't stay.

Cindy and I snuck back
down the stairway.

The candles were lit
on the table.

There was a big old-fashioned
reel-to-reel tape.

This door was open
only about that much,

and the lights were off,
except for candles.

So they couldn't
see that we were

standing here and watching
everything that was
happening.

- I walked up the front porch,

walked in the front door.

I walked into the dining room,

and there was a whole bunch
of people.

I saw Lorraine and her husband,

and I said,
what's going on here?

And my wife said,
we're going to have a seance.

And I says, not in this house,
my dear.

Ed was at the table.
Lorraine was standing up.

My wife was sitting down.

And I did not go into that room.

I stood right at the doorway,

and I says, no, no,
I don't like this at all.

My wife says, "Please, you
don't have to partake in
this.

You can stay
in the living room there."

So I allowed them to go
ahead and start this thing.

- Within a matter
of seconds, moments...

my mother's head dropped
to her chest

and began to scream in pain.

- And that's when she started
to speak in a language

that I didn't understand.

I didn't know what to think.

I didn't know what to think.

And then, within seconds,

her body, the whole...
Her whole body was...

Her... her knees were up
in her chin.

She was half-sitting
on the chair,

and her arms were like
something like this.

It was like as if something
was pulling her arms together.

And then, all of a sudden,
the chair left the floor

and started moving towards me.

And I looked at that.

I couldn't believe my eyes.

And all of a sudden, the chair
came in here and flew at me

and landed right in front
of me, right at my feet,

and her head hit the floor.

Then, I looked over,
and I saw two of my daughters

seeing this whole thing,
and it really bothered me.

I didn't want the kids to
look at their mother like
this.

- When her head hit the floor,
it was as though...

We all thought we had
just seen her die.

- And I held her hands,

I held her head,
I held everything.

And... oh, my God,

Mr. Warren decided
he was going to come in here.

He grabbed me
by the back of my shirt,

and he's pulling on my shirt.

He said, "Roger, get up,
get up, get up.

I'll take care of this."

And I said, no, no, no, no.

I'm gonna help her.

And he kept pulling
and pulling and pulling,

and I says, that's it! Stop!

Or else, I'm gonna...

And I got up, and I hit
him right in the mouth.

And I'm so sorry I did that.

- My father started
screaming at all of them,

telling them never,
ever to step foot

on this property again.

- She was out cold.

- We all gathered around her.

And when she opened her
eyes and looked at us...

I think it was the most relief
I've ever felt in my life.

- Thank you very much.

- Enjoy.
- Thank you.

I think about the events
in the Harrisville farmhouse

pretty much every day.

It did make quite an impact
in my life.

We thought it was
a fascinating case,

and we were also
genuinely concerned

about Carolyn Perron
and her family.

I think a lot of things could
have been handled better.

I wish a seance had
not been conducted.

We had talked to Lorraine and Ed

about what Carolyn believed...

That there was a witch
named Bathsheba in the house.

And when Lorraine told
Carolyn about Bathsheba,

that very much gained the trust

and confidence of herself.

It was just one of those nights

where things all came together,

came to a head,

and Carolyn was very much
a victim in that.

- So because my name is Nickell,

I have used the famous
American wooden nickel

as my business card.

And my father was
a talented amateur magician,

and he delighted
in the fact that I became

a professional magician.

So it works something like this.

It looks solid,

but it's actually
made of rubber.

If I take it like this
and just squeeze it...

No, it's gone.
It's over here.

I think that magicians
are especially inclined

to see the world
in terms of illusions.

That's their business, you see.

And I've found that
my work in the paranormal

is the same kind of challenge.

That is, that whatever
we're looking for,

a ghost or a flying saucer,

if we can understand
that that may just be

a little trick of the mind
or a little coincidence

of some kind,

the magician
may be able to say, a-ha,

that explains what you saw.

Something like that.

- After the seance,

we didn't do much in the house.

We didn't go out.

She went into
a slight depression.

- She went into
a deep depression.

She disappeared.

This house fractured
my parents' relationship.

Nothing was the same.

Everything had changed.

- After that night,
I spent more time

at home with my family.

We have many, many, many
experiences with the...

With the spirits.

Not long after the seance,
I became

entirely integrated
with the spirits,

just like my family.

- We lived in a house
among the dead.

And we all got used
to living together.

- And we all existed in the
house with the spirits.

- My mom said when we left here,

"We can leave this farm,
but it will never leave us."