In December of 1970, Rodger and Carolyn Perron bought The Old Arnold Estate, a ten-bedroom farmhouse in Harrisville, Rhode Island. Built in 1736, the house sat on a vast, picturesque 200 acres of land, with plenty of space for the large family, consisting of Rodger, Carolyn, and their five daughters. It was beautiful and quiet, tucked away in the forest, with more than enough room for a comfortable new life in the countryside.
While unpacking their things and moving in, Rodger and Carolyn met with the property’s previous renter to discuss maintenance. They had only one piece of advice for the family as they settled into their new home: “For the sake of your family, leave the lights on at night.” Not the sort of thing you want to hear when moving into a new house, but rural living can be strange. Perhaps this advice was less sinister than it sounded, intended to keep wild animals away from the house or protect against burglars. But the threats that the Perron family would face were much less ordinary than that. Over the next nine years, Rodger, Carolyn, and their daughters Andrea, Nancy, Christine, Cindy, and April would see, hear, and experience things beyond the realm of anything they could have ever imagined.
Only the Perron family can truly know what happened to them in that house, but, whether you believe it or not, this is their story.
The girls loved the farm, finding it heaven on earth for a group of active kids who wanted nothing more than to clamber over the stone walls around the property and climb every tree in sight. There were plenty to choose from. Moving into a house that would later become so infamous, one would expect the family to feel a sense of dread. Instead, they were excited. Carolyn and Rodger were ready to leave the suburb life behind for something more peaceful, and the girls were ready to live on the biggest playground they had ever known. On move-in day, as they were all carrying boxes inside, the girls saw a man they did not recognize. Another family had been helping them move in, so they brushed it off, assuming he had just gone previously unnoticed. But, as members of the other family left and the day wore on, they realized that he was still there. He was not threatening to them, or creepy in any way. There were no clanking chains or hollow eyes or blood-stained clothes. He was just an ordinary man, and they likely would have forgotten about him entirely, if it hadn’t been for what Nancy saw. While she was alone, Nancy looked up to see the man vanish into thin air. He just vaporized, and then he was gone. This was the first clue, innocent though it was, that they were carrying their belongings into a haunted house. As soon as they all settled in and the boxes were unpacked, every last dish put in the cabinet, and the toys in each child’s room, spirits began to make themselves known.
It didn’t start as something scary. In fact, the haunting began with a series of petty annoyances. Cindy went downstairs for a little while, and, upon returning to her bedroom, found that her beloved Little People toy set had been moved from where she left it. Instead of spreading out for her to play with, all of the pieces had been shoved underneath her bed. Naturally, she suspected her sisters and approached each one to ask them why they had moved her toy set. Each one insisted that she had not done anything to the playset. But that was impossible, there was no one else in the house who could have done it. So, one of Cindy’s sisters had to be lying to her.
As the other girls had toys go missing too, the finger-pointing started. The five sisters had always been a tight-knit group, but now their relationship was tinged with suspicion. Why would they do such a thing, and then lie about it? Toys continued to go missing from their bedrooms, appearing outside, in other rooms, or out in the barn. Finally, unable to take it anymore, Carolyn sat all of the girls down and told them to stop fighting with each other. “Your father and I moved mountains to buy this property so that you could have a wonderful place to live.” She said. “You’ve got more than most children on this planet. This stops now.” This lecture snapped them out of it, and they realized that there was another possibility: There was someone, or something, in the house that was moving their things around. It was then that they realized they were sharing their house with ghosts…
In this week’s episode of Insidious Inspirations, we’ll dive into the true story that inspired The Conjuring. Fortunately for the Perron family, they wouldn’t have to deal with the ghosts alone; they’d have the help of Ed & Lorraine Warren, two well-known paranormal investigators.
Tune into our newest episode below, and explore where fact meets fiction. If you like the show, consider subscribing on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite podcasts.
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