March 18, 2024

S1 | E6 | The Conjuring House

The Case | In Brief

Severed explores the history of Rhode Island Colony and the town of Burrillville, home of The Conjuring House (formerly The Old Arnold Estate). They investigate the claims surrounding the land and property of the house situated on Round Trop Road and dispel the allegations about Bathsheba Sherman haunting the house and the Perron family. Their discussion connects Ed and Lorraine Warren to the case.

Digital Resources

Website: The Conjuring House

U.S. Land Records | Town of Burrillville, RI (from State of Rhode Island Land Records)

Digital Archive: Library of Congress | Roger Williams, Rhode Island Founder

Digital Archive (Book): Burrillville; As It Was, and It Is (pub'd archive.org)

Digital Book (Series): House of Darkness: House of Light (Vols. 1-3).

Website: Rhode Island Department of State (sos.ri.gov)

Website: Narragansett Indian Nation (narragansetindiannation.org)

Website: History of The State of Rhode Island with Illustrations (and History of Burrillville (theusgenweb.org)

Website: Rhode Island Historical Cemeteries

Website: Kenny’s Mystery Museum; Black Book of Burrillville

Report: Burrillville Reconnaissance Report: Blackstone Valley Heritage Landscape Inventory (blackstoneheritagecorridor.org)

Article: “The ‘True’ Story Behind ‘The Conjuring’” by Bryan Alexander

Article: “The Real House From ‘The Conjuring’ Is In Rhode Island” by Paul Edward Parker

Article: “Correcting the Conjuring House History” by Kenny Biddle (A Closer Look on December 4, 2019)

Article: “Restoring the Reputation of Bathsheba Sherman After ‘The Conjuring’ Made Her Into A Witch” by Amanda Milkovits

Severing The Case | NJ Urban Legends Episode

In this second episode of Severed: Paranormal, Drew Hudson pens the 7-minute story that dispels the myth(s) that Bathsheba Sherman is the demonic witch haunting The Conjuring House (formerly The Old Arnold Estate) and the Perron family. Harry composes original background music for the story.

Harry and Drew explore the history of Rhode Island Colony and the town of Burillville to contextualize information for the listeners, and confront the erroneous information about the house's past involving native spirits and a "demon witch." Drew reads excerpts from Andrea Perron's three-volume series, House of Darkness: House of Light: her third-person memoir that chronicles her family's battle with ghostly activity. The episode rounds out with a discussion of Ed and Lorraine Warren and their connection to the case.

What Inspired Severed to Cover This Case?

Drew: All episodes are thematically linked by location and/or subject matter. This episode is the first in a series of episodes that include Ed and Lorraine Warren. By selectively organizing episodes 6-8, based on the Warrens and their investigations of The Conjuring House, The Amityville Horror House, and the Arne Johnson case, patterns might emerge for discussion and analysis.

Show Notes

Website: The Conjuring House

Article: “‘The Conjuring’ House in Rhode Island Sells For $1.525 Million” by Brenda Richardson (Forbes.com)

Article: “Ghosts Didn’t Cause Fire At The Conjuring House; Here’s What Happened” by Heather Morrison (masslive.com)

Article: “Camp at ‘The Conjuring House’ and ‘Be Prepared For Shadow Figures’” by Heather Morrison (masslive.com)

Article: “The Conjuring House–Too ‘Powerful’ To Live In–Will Resume Haunted Tours” by Irene Rotondo (masslive.com)

Article: “The ‘True’ Story Behind ‘The Conjuring’” by Bryan Alexander (usatoday.com)

Article: “The Real House From ‘The Conjuring’ Is In Rhode Island–But Here’s The True Story” by Paul Edward Parker (providencejournal.com)

Article: “The Haunting of the Perron Family: The ‘True’ Story Behind The Conjuring Movie” by Erik Rowton (paranormalscholar.com)

Article: “Which Native American Tribes Live, Or Once Lived, in Present-Day Rhode Island?” by Zane Wolfgang (newportri.com)

Article: “Narragansett” published on history.com

Article: “Woman Who Owns ‘The Conjuring House Discovrs ‘Creepy Basement’” by Beth Braden (travelchannel.com)

Article: “Dispelling Demons: Detective Work at The Conjuring House” by Joe Nickell (published on skepticalinquierer.org; Vol. 40, No. 6; November/December 2016)

Article: “Correcting the Conjuring House History” by Kenny Biddle (published on skepticalinquierer.org; A Closer Look on December 4, 2019)

Article: “Andrea Perron Returns to RI to Tell the True Story Behind ‘The Conjuring’” by Kristen Tomaiolo (independentri.com)

Article: “Are Ghosts Real? A Social Psychologist Examines the Evidence” by Barry Markovsky (U of South Carolina; sc.edu); from the article “The Conversation” Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Sociology Barry Markovsky looks at people’s belief in ghosts.

Article: “Restoring the Reputation of Bathsheba Sherman After ‘The Conjuring’ Made Her Into A Witch” by Amanda Milkovits (bostonglobe.com)

Article: “One Square Mile: Ghostly Tales from Burrillville” by Ambar Espinoza (thepublicsradioi.org)

Article: “From Amityville to Annabelle, The Warrens on Film Are A Lie” by Aja Romano (vox.com)

U.S. Land Records | Town of Burrillville, RI (from State of Rhode Island Land Records)

Website: Sotheby’s International Real Estate | 1677 Round Top Road Listing / Virtual Tour

Digital Archive: Library of Congress | Roger Williams, Rhode Island Founder (loc.gov)

Digital Archive (Book): Burrillville; As It Was, and It Is (published on Internet archive; archive.org)

Digital Book (Series): House of Darkness: House of Light (Vols. 1-3).

Website: Rhode Island Department of State (sos.ri.gov)

Website: Narragansett Indian Nation (narragansetindiannation.org)

Website: History of The State of Rhode Island with Illustrations (and History of Burrillville) (theusgenweb.org)

Website: Rhode Island Historical Cemeteries