Everything The Conjuring Doesn't Tell You About The True Story

"The Conjuring" changes the history of the house a bit. In the film, Lorraine (Vera Farmiga) states that the home was built in 1863 by Judson Sherman, but that isn't the real story. "This was a house that was completed as it stands now in 1736," Andrea Perron, author and eldest daughter of the Perron family, told Paranormal Living TV in 2020 (at the 34:38-35:12 mark). "It was built by the Richardsons." Some real estate listings have the build date as 1836. 

Thanks to movie magic, the production used a house far away (and significantly different looking) from the original home. The real house (on the left in the comparison above) is a two-story home located in Burrillville, Rhode Island, often referred to as the Old Arnold Estate. The house's owner since 1987 had been named Norma Sutcliffe, but when "The Conjuring" came out in 2013 she was reportedly inundated with fans — so much so that she and co-owner Gerald R. Helrich sued Warner Bros. in 2015, claiming the movie had caused "extreme physical, mental and emotional harm and significant damage to their property interest."

It was purchased in June 2019 for $431,000 by the Heinzen family, paranormal investigators who took a very different approach towards horror fans looking to make a pilgrimage. Their daughter was known to film spooky TikTok videos in the house, and they opened it up for overnight stays and private events. The Heinzens listed the house for sale in September 2021.

In May of 2022, the house made headlines again, selling for around $1.525 million (about 27 percent higher than its asking price) to Jacqueline Nunez. The sale was carefully curated by the Heinzen family, who avoided prospective buyers that preferred to remain anonymous or had plans to demolish the home. Appropriately enough for such a high-profile property, the sale was announced on Facebook Live, from the "seance room" where Ed and Lorraine Warren reportedly faced down evil in October 1973.

"I'm a deeply spiritual person. It's a very important part of me," Nuñez, who has pledged to continue the paranormal investigations, tours and livestreaming efforts started by the Heinzens, told the Boston Globe. "I believe we are conscious beings having a human experience, and that our consciousness continues on, we are here to learn things in lifetime and help our species evolve morally and culturally. ... This house is an opportunity to connect with people who've moved on and died, that's the interactivity here and the engagement with the people who have passed."

The Heinzens had it stipulated as a condition of the sale that the new owner not live in the house year-round. "Because the energy is so powerful," Nuñez said. "They put it in there as protection for the buyer."

Meanwhile, the "fake" home you see in "The Conjuring" (located on the right) is located in North Carolina. After reading Andrea Perron's books, James Wan chose not to film in the house's home state. The Keith House, just a half-hour drive from Wilmington, was used instead for exterior scenes.