Pull up a chair, turn the TV off and get comfortable as the history that is embedded within this land will make you truly feel that you are in a Stephen King novel.

And if you haven’t realized yet, we are talking about “The Conjuring House” which inspired the movie!

To understand the real history, we have to go back in time… a lot….1680 in fact.

The land was deeded in 1680 and was actually surveyed by John Smith, one of the original Virginia colonists.

It was a part of property dispersed among followers of Roger Williams, who founded the colony of Rhode Island.

It was not the Arnold Estate, but was instead deeded to the Richardson family who followed Roger Williams after he was expelled from the Massachusetts Bay Colony as a dissident because he dared to suggest that there should be both freedom of religious worship and a separation between church and state, the two primary principles he espoused in the founding of this new colony to the south, located on the Narragansett Bay.

The best way to preserve the land he claimed was to deed large parcels to those who chose to follow him and his teachings.

He did so to protect it from a rather overt encroachment from Connecticut and Massachusetts, as there were relatively numerous border skirmishes ongoing at that time.

The original estate was quite extensive, encompassing more than a thousand acres, subsequently sold off in parcels to families in the area, some who are still there hundreds of years later.

Because women had no rights to property at this time in history, their estate transferred through marriage from the first colonists, the Richardson family, to the Arnold family.

As Quakers, they were likewise the abolitionists who used the property as a gateway to freedom for slaves along their path to Canada.

The house as it now stands was completed in 1736, forty years before the signing of The Declaration of Independence, and endured the ravages of relentless storms which included the Hurricane of 1938 which destroyed so many homes (and barns) in southern New England.

The barn on the property survived because it was built by a shipwright and was constructed with bowed beams that literally sway with the wind.

This magnificent homestead has survived The Revolutionary War, The Civil War, and the unbridled growth of the Industrial Age in America.

It is a national treasure. The house is a testament to the need to preserve history.

Eight generations of one extended family had lived and died in it and apparently some of them never left, or visit it with some frequency.

Because the historical chronicles of the time were dispersed or what was recorded was not salvaged, it is impossible to know the fullest extent of its past, but one thing is known.

The house speaks to those who know how to listen. History has a story to tell. We will never know all of it, some of which has been lost to the annuls of time, but one thing is certain.

There are few places like it which remain intact on the planet, and it should be protected and defended at all cost. Thankfully, the farm is in good hands, owned by responsible and individuals who understand its intrinsic value, people willing to share it with the world.

Purchase the Book:  House of Darkness: House of Light- The True Story, Vol. 1

Perron Family Interview By: Kristen Tomaiolo – The Independent Newspaper

In 1971, the Perron family moved into a charming, old house in Harrisville. Little did they know, they were not alone.

The happenings in this seemingly unextraordinary home would forever change the Perrons’ lives.

Over the next nine years, the family learned there is no veil between the physical and supernatural world as doors slammed, beds shook and apparitions wandered by. From time to time, they were even physically harmed by spirits who wanted to make themselves known.

The Perrons’ story, along with the findings of well-known paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren who investigated the home in the 1970s, got the attention of Hollywood. Forty-two years after the Perrons stepped into the Harrisville home, “The Conjuring” hit theaters and was credited by many critics as one of the scariest movies of 2013. The film, directed by James Wan, follows the Warrens, who assist the Perrons as they experience disturbing events in their home.

“The Conjuring” is not based on Perron’s two books, but rather from the stories both Perron and Lorraine Warren shared with New Line Cinema. Her books, however, are full chronicles of the events that occurred. Perron said the film doesn’t use any singular scene that she revealed, but rather combines bits and pieces of information.

Some aspects of the film, she said, were “patently untrue.”

“There was no exorcism [like in the film]. It was a séance that went very wrong. What they portrayed in the film was not what happened,” Perron said. “It [the séance] was scarier. It was the most terrifying night of my life.”

On that night, the Warrens arrived at the house with a medium. Perron and her younger sister, Cindy, hid nearby and watched as the medium “conjured” up a spirit, who attacked their mother, Carolyn. Carolyn was picked up and thrown into another room – her body slammed to the ground. The Warrens believe Carolyn was possessed.

Perron suspects the medium opened a door she couldn’t close. Her mother, she said, most likely had a concussion from the incident, and took a long time to “come out of the condition she was in. She was utterly drained and in pain.”

The dark presence, who attacked and haunted Carolyn often, was thought to be Bathsheba Sherman, according to the Warrens. 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.

According to 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.

After the séance, there were no more major supernatural experiences in the home, and the Perrons “lived pretty happily most of the time” in the house until they moved out in 1980, Perron said.

But Bathsheba wasn’t the only spirit to reside in the house – several benevolent spirits materialized as well. Some spirits would “act up” and make loud noises for attention when guests were around. A father, son and dog would appear at the top of the staircase and stare at a wall (like it was a window), never making eye contact with the Perrons. April Perron, the youngest daughter, made a friend with the spirit in her closet named Oliver Richardson. He was her secret friend, and she did not tell the Warrens about him in fear that he may disappear.

“For the most part, we did get used to it,” Perron said of the spirit presence.

Perron said she even caught sight of a spirit who was a spitting image of herself as an old woman dressed in 17th-century attire.

“It means we can seriously consider reincarnation or living in multiple dimensions,” she said.

Another time, Carolyn spotted two men seated in the dining room. One man recognized her presence, got the other man’s attention and pointed toward Carolyn.

“To them, she was the ghost,” Perron said. “I always considered the house a portal, but not only a portal to the past but to the future.”

It took 30 years for Perron to sit down and share her family’s story. The book-writing process and movie release have been an “emotional upheaval” for her family, as they found it hard to relive each moment.

The family was concerned skeptics would “eat up” their story, but Perron has learned to tune out those who call the family liars. On the other hand, she has positively connected with many of her readers, who write letters revealing their personal experiences with the supernatural.

“The most important reason for me to tell this story is that it exposes other dimensions of our relativity,” Perron said. “The more I talk about it, the more clarity it brings.”

The one thing that shocks most people, Perron said, is the fact that most of the family would willingly move back into the home. The five daughters lived in the home during the formative years of their lives, she said. Perron left the home at age 21. Since 1980, Perron has visited the property on several occasions and “always feels like I’m home when I’m there.”

“It’s just such a huge part of our lives and memories,” Perron said. “My mother once said, ‘We left the farm, but it will never leave us.’”

Since she was a young girl, Perron believed her family was meant to move into that house and that one day she would share their story and ordeal with the world.

“It’s not really about whether or not they exist. It’s how we perceive them,” Perron said of the spirits. “It [the experience] taught me about life, death and the afterlife.”