7 Shocking Facts That Prove The Conjuring Is 95% Fiction And 5% Terrifying True Story

The Conjuring franchise has cemented its place as one of the most successful horror series of the 21st century, largely due to its chilling claim: "Based on a True Story." This powerful statement refers to the 1970s haunting of the Perron family in their Harrisville, Rhode Island farmhouse, an event investigated by famous—and controversial—paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren. As of late 2024 and heading into 2025, with new films like The Conjuring: Last Rites on the horizon and the real-life "Conjuring House" changing hands, the question of the story's authenticity has never been more relevant.

The truth, however, is far more complex and dramatically different from what Hollywood depicted. While the Perron family did experience a decade of unsettling phenomena, the eldest daughter, Andrea Perron, has stated that the movie is "about 95 percent fiction and about five percent hard truth." This article dives deep into the real-life events, the key players, the shocking fictionalizations, and the controversies that continue to surround the case files of Ed and Lorraine Warren.

The Real-Life Players: Ed & Lorraine Warren and The Perron Family Profile

The story of the Conjuring is inseparable from the people who lived it and the investigators who documented it. Understanding their true biographies is the first step in separating fact from Hollywood fiction.

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Ed and Lorraine Warren: Self-Styled Demonologists

• Edward "Ed" Warren Miney: (September 7, 1926 – August 23, 2006). A self-professed demonologist and author. Ed served in the U.S. Navy during World War II and was the only non-ordained demonologist recognized by the Catholic Church.
• Lorraine Rita Warren (née Moran): (January 31, 1927 – April 18, 2019). A professional clairvoyant and light trance medium who claimed to have the ability to communicate with spirits. She co-founded the New England Society for Psychic Research (NESPR) with Ed in 1952.
• Key Role: The Warrens investigated thousands of cases, including the Amityville Horror and the Annabelle doll, before the Perron haunting. They maintained that nearly every detail of The Conjuring was accurate, though critics and skeptics often challenged their methods and claims.

The Perron Family: The True Occupants of The Conjuring House

• Roger Perron (Father): Passed away in 2006.
• Carolyn Perron (Mother): Passed away in 2013. She was the one who allegedly suffered the worst of the spiritual attacks, just as depicted in the film.
• The Five Daughters: Andrea Perron (the eldest, who authored the book House of Darkness, House of Light), Nancy, Cindy, April, and Christine Perron.
• The House: The real farmhouse, known as the Arnold Estate, is located in Harrisville, Rhode Island. The family lived there from 1970 to 1980, a full decade of documented paranormal activity.

Fact vs. Fiction: What The Movie Got Wrong (And Right)

The 2013 film, directed by James Wan, is a masterclass in cinematic horror, but it took massive creative liberties with the Perron family’s true story. The core truth is that the family did experience disembodied voices, strange smells, levitating objects, and physical contact with spirits. However, the film amplified these events into a terrifying, compressed timeline.

1. The Exorcism Never Happened

In one of the film's most dramatic and terrifying climaxes, Ed Warren is forced to perform an exorcism on Carolyn Perron to save her life. This is a complete fabrication. Ed Warren was not a priest and was not authorized by the Catholic Church to perform an exorcism. The actual event that fractured the Perron family was a séance performed by Lorraine Warren, which Andrea Perron describes as a disastrous attempt to communicate with the spirits.

2. The Haunting Lasted a Decade, Not a Few Weeks

The film suggests the haunting was a sudden, violent event that the Warrens resolved in a short period. In reality, the Perron family lived in the Harrisville farmhouse for ten years, from 1970 to 1980. The paranormal activity was a slow, gradual accumulation of strange occurrences, from benign (a ghostly woman kissing a daughter) to malevolent (the spirit of Bathsheba). They only left when they could finally afford to move to Georgia.

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3. The True Identity of Bathsheba Sherman

The film portrays the primary demon as the spirit of Bathsheba Sherman, a Satanic witch who sacrificed her own child and cursed the land. While a real Bathsheba Sherman did live on the property in the 1800s, there is no historical evidence that she was a witch, murdered her children, or was a Satanic cultist. Her fictionalized depiction as a baby-murdering entity was a Hollywood invention to create a villain for the narrative.

4. The Warrens’ Involvement Was Brief

The movie makes Ed and Lorraine the central figures, constantly at the house. In reality, the Warrens visited the Arnold Estate only a few times over the ten-year period. Their investigation was a small part of the Perron family's long-term ordeal, which was largely documented by Roger and Carolyn Perron themselves. The film dramatically overstates their continuous presence and involvement.

The Lingering Controversy and The Conjuring House Today (2025 Update)

The legacy of The Conjuring is perpetually intertwined with the controversies surrounding the Warrens, and the real-life house continues to make headlines, even in 2025.

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The Warrens: Heroes or Hoaxers?

The Warrens' reputation as paranormal investigators remains highly polarized. While they are hailed as heroes in the film franchise, many critics and skeptics have long accused them of being sensationalists and frauds. They were involved in numerous other high-profile cases, such as the Amityville Horror, which was later revealed to be a likely hoax. These criticisms suggest that the Warrens often embellished or entirely fabricated details to promote their work, making the "true story" claim highly suspect to many.

The Conjuring House Sale and Legal Battles

The real-life farmhouse in Harrisville, Rhode Island, has become a tourist attraction, with the current owners offering overnight stays and tours. This has led to recent, newsworthy legal issues. In a late 2024 update, the house was scheduled for auction, but the sale was canceled following a lawsuit. This ongoing legal drama highlights how the "true story" continues to generate real-world events and profit, long after the Perron family moved out.

The Future of The Franchise: Beyond the Perrons

The franchise continues to draw from the Warrens' case files. The upcoming film, The Conjuring: Last Rites, scheduled for 2025, is based on the Smurl haunting, a case involving the Smurl family in Pennsylvania in the 1980s. This shows that while the Perron family's story launched the series, the cinematic universe is now exploring other controversial and fictionalized cases from the Warrens' extensive, and often debated, archive.

Final Verdict: The True Story is a Story of Survival

Ultimately, the core truth of The Conjuring is not in the jump scares or the dramatic exorcism, but in the traumatic experience of the Perron family. They truly believed they were terrorized by unseen forces for a decade. Andrea Perron’s own writings detail a more subtle, long-term psychological haunting than the explosive horror film. The movie is a work of fiction that uses the real-life suffering of a family and the controversial case files of the Warrens as its foundation. The "true story" is less about a witch named Bathsheba and more about the enduring mystery of the Arnold Estate and the family who survived a decade of the unknown.