If you keep up with the drama in the paranormal world, you may have heard about all of the bickering and squabbling and general nuttiness going on with and about the owner of The Conjuring House, Jacqueline Nuñez. For those of you who haven’t been keeping up with the weirdness, consider this your shameless journey into the Ghost Hunter’s sandbox. What’s in this article?
- Some History of The Conjuring House
- The Ghosts of The Conjuring House
- How the famous duo Ed and Lorraine Warren are connected to The Conjuring House
- The Scandal surrounding the Warrens
- The Drama at The Conjuring House
- Who is Jacqueline Nuñez?
- Is The Conjuring House Really THAT Haunted?
Image from Trip Advisor
About The Conjuring House
Once known as the Old Arnold Estate in Harrisville (a village in Burrillville), Rhode Island, The Conjuring House was built in the 1730s on an expansive piece of property in a rural and isolated area. The two-story colonial farmhouse has a rustic exterior. If you watched the movie The Conjuring, that wasn’t the actual house. The film was shot in a three-story home in North Carolina. Multiple families have called the homestead at 1677 Round Top Road home over the centuries. Reports of suicides, drownings, and tragic accidents date back to the house’s beginnings and are said to have influenced the past 50 years of supposed hauntings. The unverified story of an 18th-century witch named Bathsheba Sherman tends to be the star of most of The Conjuring’s Ghost Stories.
The Story of Bathsheba Sherman
Bathsheba Thayer Sherman was a real woman who lived in the 19th century in Burrillville, Rhode Island, near The Conjuring House. She married a farmer named Judson Sherman, and they had at least one child who died young. The movie portrays her as having sacrificed her infant son and then hanging herself from a tree. That’s only true in Hollywood.
Local lore portrays Bathsheba as a sinister figure suspected of witchcraft, largely due to rumors that she caused a young child’s death through a needle injury, supposedly part of a ritual. (Which would have worked just fine for the film.) She was reportedly exonerated, but the accusation remained part of her legacy.
After Bathsheba’s death in 1885, her name became entangled in ghost stories, with some residents claiming she cursed the land. Though no concrete evidence links her to witchcraft, her myth grew and became the source of the house’s hauntings when the Perron family moved into the home in 1971.
The Perron Family
The Perron family of seven moved into The Conjuring House in 1971, seeking a quiet life for their five daughters in rural Rhode Island. However, their experience soon turned dark and eerie as they began to experience paranormal events, ranging from small disturbances to full-scale hauntings. Carolyn Perron, the mother, felt an especially menacing presence, which she linked to the spirit of rumored witch Bathsheba Sherman.
The family claims to have endured nearly a decade of supernatural experiences before they moved out in 1980, with each member impacted differently by the hauntings. Famous paranormal powerhouse duo Ed and Lorraine Warren investigated their experiences, deepening the house’s reputation as a haunted site.
The eldest daughter, Andrea Perron, documented the family’s haunting in a three-volume series titled House of Darkness, House of Light. These books provide an in-depth account of the paranormal experiences the Perron family reportedly endured during their decade in The Conjuring House. Andrea shares vivid details of their encounters with spirits, both benign and malevolent, and explores how these experiences affected the family’s dynamics and their sense of reality.
Decades later, the Perrons’ story inspired The Conjuring, bringing the tale to the big screen.
Roger and Carolyn Perron purchased the home of their dreams and eventual nightmares in December of 1970. The Arnold Estate, located just beyond the village of Harrisville, Rhode Island seemed the idyllic setting in which to raise a family. The couple unwittingly moved their five young daughters into the ancient and mysterious farmhouse. Secrets were kept and then revealed within a space shared by mortal and immortal alike. Time suddenly became irrelevant; fractured by spirits making their presence known then dispersing into the ether. The house is a portal to the past and a passage to the future. This is a sacred story of spiritual enlightenment, told some thirty years hence. The family is now somewhat less reticent to divulge a closely-guarded experience. Their odyssey is chronicled by the eldest sibling and is an unabridged account of a supernatural excursion. Ed and Lorraine Warren investigated this haunting in a futile attempt to intervene on their behalf. They consider the Perron family saga to be one of the most compelling and significant of a famously ghost-storied career as paranormal researchers. During a seance gone horribly wrong, they unleashed an unholy hostess; the spirit called Bathsheba … a God-forsaken soul. Perceiving herself to be mistress of the house, she did not appreciate the competition. Carolyn had long been under siege; overt threats issued in the form of fire … a mother’s greatest fear. It transformed the woman in unimaginable ways. After nearly a decade the family left a once beloved home behind though it will never leave them, as each remains haunted by a memory. This tale is an inspiring testament to the resilience of the human spirit on a pathway of discovery: an eternal journey for the living and the dead. ~ Publisher’s description
About Ed and Lorraine Warren
The Warrens can be considered a turning point in the acceptance of paranormal studies and investigations. They took the woo-woo, tilted mysticism, and pseudo-scientific portrayal of hauntings and possessions in horror films and parlayed it into something that the average person could feel less shame about being interested in. Most still considered their practices a bit over the top, but they looked like your aunt and uncle from Milwaukee, who always showed up at Christmas with a bottle and a story, which made them more palatable than your basement-dwelling neighbor wearing a tinfoil hat. 
Ed and Lorraine Warren were paranormal pioneers known for investigating some of the most famous hauntings in American history, including cases like the Amityville Horror, the Enfield poltergeist, and, of course, The Conjuring House. Ed Warren was a self-taught demonologist, while Lorraine claimed to be a clairvoyant with the ability to communicate with spirits. They founded the New England Society for Psychic Research (NESPR) in 1952, one of the first paranormal research organizations in the U.S., and authored several books detailing their supernatural experiences.
Their involvement with The Conjuring House began in 1973, when they were called by the Perron family after the family had been living in the house for about two years. During their investigation, the Warrens claimed to encounter a powerful dark force in the house, and Lorraine identified a hostile spirit that she believed to be the witch Bathsheba Sherman.
According to the Warrens, Bathsheba cursed the property, explaining much of the malevolent phenomena that the family was experiencing. The Warrens attempted to conduct a séance in the house, reportedly hoping to communicate with the spirits and understand their motives. However, this séance allegedly intensified the haunting and traumatized members of the Perron family, leading to disputes over the impact and consequences of the Warrens’ intervention.
While their cases drew fame and fascination, the Warrens have faced scrutiny and skepticism, with critics questioning the legitimacy of their methods and motives. Many skeptics argue that the Warrens focused more on media attention and financial gain than scientific rigor. Some claim that their findings were exaggerated or fabricated to build a narrative that would sell.
The Conjuring House case is one of several examples where witnesses and researchers have debated the authenticity of their experiences. Some residents or family members offer conflicting accounts about the severity of hauntings or events. The scandals surrounding the Warrens have fueled skepticism, prompting questions about the validity of the hauntings.
The Warrens’ Scandal
After Ed and Lorraine did their due diligence at The Conjuring House, they moved on to another famous resident, the Amityville House. The Warrens’ involvement in the Amityville Horror case is one of their most disputed investigations.
In 1976, they were called to the house where the Lutz family claimed terrifying paranormal activity had forced them to flee. The Warrens’ findings—photos, recordings, and testimony—helped fuel the legend of a violent haunting.
However, many, including skeptics and some involved parties, later questioned the authenticity of these events. The Lutz family lawyer claimed it was a fabrication. All just one big whopper of a story concocted for profit. Historically, they wouldn’t be the first to try to make money off the dead.
The Warrens maintained their account, yet discrepancies between stories and a lack of solid evidence have led many to believe that aspects of the haunting may have been exaggerated or invented. Despite the debate, the Amityville case remains a controversial touchstone in paranormal lore, with no definitive answer about the Warrens’ true role.
Perhaps Ed’s questionable personal choices foreshadowed his professional ethics. In the 1990s, allegations came out that Ed had an extramarital relationship with a young woman named Judith Penny. In the 1960s, when Ed was in his 30s, he worked as a city bus driver in Monroe, Connecticut. Judith Penny was 15 years old, and Ed was her bus driver.
Ms. Penney was a student at Central High School when Ed initiated a romantic relationship with her. By 1963, she had moved into the Warrens’ home. She also claims that Lorraine was fully aware of her husband sleeping with a 15-year-old girl in the bedroom across the hall from theirs. Eventually, the Warrens built Ms. Penney a room above the garage where she lived for forty years as Ed’s mistress.
Ms. Penny’s claims emerged years after Ed’s death in 2006 (Lorraine died in 2019), but still cast a shadow over the Warrens’ legacy, stirring controversy around their personal lives and adding to speculation about their ethics and motivations.
Despite these controversies, the Warrens’ stories have continued to captivate audiences. They’re the subject of the highly successful Conjuring film franchise, which has fueled interest in their cases and kept their legacy alive. While some view them as trailblazers in paranormal investigation, others regard their work with skepticism and criticism. However, the intrigue of The Conjuring House is largely due to their involvement.
The Conjuring House Today
Throughout the years, The Conjuring House has changed owners several times, with some choosing to preserve its paranormal legacy. In recent years, it’s become a popular destination for paranormal enthusiasts, offering tours, overnight investigations, and events for those seeking to experience its eerie atmosphere firsthand. Many visitors and investigators report unexplained occurrences, including disembodied voices, shadowy figures, sudden temperature drops, and mysterious knocks. It remains one of the most famous haunted houses in the United States.
Jacqueline Nuñez, a Boston real estate developer, bought the house in May 2022. She purchased the property from Jenn and Cory Heinzen, who had purchased the house in 2019 with plans to make it their home and open it up for overnight paranormal investigations. 
Prior to the Heinzens moving in and after the Perrons sold the house, it had been a private residence and an in-home daycare. Over that span of almost four decades, no paranormal activity was reported—until the release of The Conjuring movie in 2013, when the house was suddenly haunted again. And since Nuñez came onto the paranormal money-making scene, the hijinx can no longer be blamed on the ghost of a supposed witch.
What Is Going On With Jacqueline Nuñez
Now for the juicy bits post Ed Warren’s creepy desires. Jacqueline acquired The Conjuring House for $1.5 million and told The Boston Globe that the home came with a stipulation from the previous owners: ” Whoever owns it cannot live in it year-round because the energy is so powerful.” She immediately began marketing it as more of an attraction rather than a historical location with a story to tell. Her experiences include(d) GHamping (ghost camping), Investigations, and House Tours.
She assembled a team of who’s who in the Ghost-Hunting world to help her build her business, including Sartori Hawes, daughter of Jason Hawes, co-founder of TAPS (The Atlantic Paranormal Society), and star of the long-running reality show Ghost Hunters. Sartori and her fiancé, Cody DesBiens, invested time and money in the property to create a paranormal museum inside the barn. When a fire struck the barn, destroying much of what the couple had built and contributed to the museum, it was a significant loss.
Jacqueline said she would reimburse the couple for their losses with the insurance money. Instead, Jacqueline accused the couple of being the cause of the fire and publicly declared that Sartori and Cody hadn’t “contributed a dime.” And here’s where it gets bananas.
In July 2024, Jacqueline began texting Jason Hawes and posting surveillance footage on social media of a man at the house in the middle of the night who “looked like Jason Hawes.” She filed a police report, and Jason told the police it was not him; in fact, it was a man in the video who was a guest of The Conjuring House who “left in a red Toyota Tacoma.”
Jacqueline continued to send nasty text messages to Jason, accusing him of planning to assassinate her.
Nuñez told Hawes she knew of an “assassination attempt on me” and said, “I will never be defeated or destroyed by any f***ing paranormal person, now or at any time in the future.”
As Jacqueline’s behaviour grew more bizarre, her mental health came into question. On August 18th, Jacqueline posted on Facebook:
“I know that many of you do not understand why I am making various posts, I am part of an International Team that is doing a special mission that triggered events, when I bought [’The Conjuring’ house]. It will be a great thing, once completed.”
Obviously, the camps were divided, and some chimed in that perhaps the haunted house was contributing to her erratic behaviour, while others saw it as a cry for attention.
Former employees began speaking up about their experiences working for Jacqueline at The Conjuring House. One gentleman, who was one of her first employees, was fired in July 2024. Jacqueline told him that the spirit of a former ‘The Conjuring House’ owner in the 1880s said he stole ‘about’ $3,000.” The irony here is that Jacqueline owed him over $9,000 in unpaid wages. But what is even more unsettling is that The Conjuring House homepage now says, “TCH is transitioning to: THE REALM OF ARNOLD.”
Police Body Cam on Jacqueline Nuñez
The most recent drama hit social media on Halloween 2024 (of course). Body cam footage showed Jacqueline being pulled over by police officers for driving under the influence… of something (I’m not sure if she has screamed, “The ghost made me do it!” yet). The video is all over social media, with folks weighing in on how it relates to all of the other troubles and weirdness surrounding Jacqueline and The Conjuring House.
Is The Conjuring House Haunted?
For most of us, that’s the question we want a definitive answer to. And for a few others, the question of whether or not Jacqueline Nuñez’s personality and behaviour are being influenced by whatever may be haunting The Conjuring House. Surely, not all of the stories shared have been fabricated. Maybe it is possible for a negative energy to wreak havoc on a person. Or maybe it’s the perfect ruse to escape personal accountability and bad decisions.
Jason Hawes Instagram
In 2005, Ghost Hunters visited The Conjuring House for one of their episodes after the former owner, Norma Sutcliffe, said their “furniture vibrated.” After their investigation, Jason Hawes commented, “Well, this is an interesting house. It’s a really old home, well over 250 years old. It just gives off a creepy feeling when you’re in there.” Saying nothing about evidence of a haunting or any paranormal experiences. So, why did his daughter decide to work there, hosting ghost hunts and paranormal events?
The Conjuring House claims to be one of the “most haunted locations in the world.” The power of suggestion can be strong, and we are a civilization that has believed in things we are unable to prove since the beginning. We want to understand what we can’t explain. Asking “Why?” is the precursor to growth and expansion. But one thing is for sure: one man’s ghostly flickering lights are oftentimes another man’s electrical issues.
Regardless of the paranormal status of The Conjuring House, it’s obvious that there is something troubling Jacqueline Nuñez. We hope she gets whatever help she needs to prevent more lives from being disrupted.
We’re also making wagers on when The Conjuring House will be back on the market.
*As of November 20, 2024, Burrillville will NOT be renewing The Conjuring House business license once it expires on November 30th
Update!
The wicked piece of real estate will be up for auction appropriately on October 31st. Ms. Nuñez paid $1.5 million for the property, and it is now in foreclosure.
If you’re interested in making a bid, you can find more information here.
*The Conjuring: Last Rites” is the fourth installment in the film franchise and will be out in 2025.