It seems Halloween has come early this year – and my Haunted Hollywood postings along with it – courtesy of the Rhode Island residence that inspired the 2013 supernatural horror film “The Conjuring,” which just hit the market last week. Branded as “one of the most well-known haunted houses in the United States,” the 14-room dwelling has been the site of countless unexplained phenomena over the years, much of which was famously investigated and chronicled by demonologists Ed and Lorraine Warren in the 1970s. Located on a sprawling 8.5-acre parcel at 1677 Round Top Rd. in Harrisville, the property is being offered by The Blackstone Team of Mott & Chase Sotheby’s International Realty for a cool – or should I say “chilling?” – $1.2 million. (Please remember this is a private home. Do not trespass or bother the residents or the property in any way.)
In 1971, the Arnold Farm, as it was then known, became the home of Carolyn and Roger Perron and their five daughters, all of whom began to notice strange happenings immediately upon settling in – and I do mean immediately. Andrea, the eldest Perron child, encountered her first specter on moving day! The eerie occurrences were benign at first – objects moving around on their own, odd sounds emanating from empty rooms, the refrigerator door opening and closing inexplicably, lights appearing in the fireplace – but they grew darker and more violent as time went on, especially towards Carolyn, and in 1973 the Warrens were brought in to investigate.
Per the demonologists’ findings, the pad was being haunted by a woman named Bathsheba Sherman. Rhode Island’s The Independent reports, “Bathsheba lived in the home in the early 1800s and was charged with manslaughter of a baby. The charges were dropped, but rumors spread that she killed the child for a satanic sacrifice. The Warrens were convinced she haunted and cursed anyone who lived in the house for control of the household.” Andrea disputes this, though, asserting Bathsheba never resided at the property, instead fingering a different former resident, Mrs. John Arnold, as her mom’s tormenter. Regardless of which claim is correct, there were plenty of otherworldly inhabitants to go around on the premises. The Independent notes, “According to [Andrea] Perron, the family researched the history of the home and found at least a dozen people who killed themselves or had a tragic death in the house or on the property.” Each, it seems, made their presence known to the family.
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