Real-Life ‘Conjuring’ Home That Inspired Sinister Movie Series To Be Sold in Foreclosure Auction—on Halloween

The Rhode Island home that inspired "The Conjuring" movie franchise is set to go under the hammer in a foreclosure auction that is slated to take place—when else?—on Halloween.

The 8.5-acre property with the three-bedroom farmhouse in Harrisville will go up on the block in a mortgagee's foreclosure auction at 11 a.m. on Oct. 31, a suitably spooky day that celebrates the dwelling's allegedly haunted history.

Indeed, far from trying to shy away from the property's paranormal past, auctioneer Justin Manning, with JJ Manning Auctioneers, is happily leaning into the dwelling's eeriest qualities, telling Realtor.com® that he even considered showing up to the auction in costume in honor of the milestone moment.

"I was joking with the attorney that, instead of wearing a suit, maybe I would dress up as Count Dracula,” he said. “But I want to keep it professional, [so] I’ll probably just stick with the suit.”

Over the years, the property has become a hot spot for tourists seeking out the truth about the so-called haunting that inspired the wildly popular "Conjuring" franchise, which has spawned nine different movies since 2013—including the recently released "The Conjuring: Last Rites."

While accounts of the events that led to the first movie vary, the home's sinister reputation has all but been written in stone, so much so that Manning admits he is reluctant to set foot inside the front door.

“I don’t even know if I want to go in the home,” he confessed. However, "at the end of the day, this is business before it’s a show. This is a forced sale and a distress sale."

But that won't stop him from seizing upon the home's infamous history if it helps to secure a sale, noting that the Halloween auction date was something that simply fell into his lap because of legal requirements—and seemed too good an opportunity to pass up.

“From our side, we saw no reason not to conduct it then because it heightens the crowd, the excitement, and hopefully the competition and price,” he said.

Inside the 'Conjuring' home's haunted past

In 1971, the Perron family moved into the 19th-century home, where they were said to have experienced a number of terrifying encounters with spirits. They were chronicled by one of the daughters, Andrea Perron, in the 2011 book "House of Darkness: House of Light." 

"We all experienced encounters with spirits," Andrea told Global News in 2021. "Some were unpleasant, some were lovely, cordial and communicative. From benign to benevolent to oblivious to mean-spirited, the spirits were just like us, a wide variety of personalities."

During this time, paranormal researchers Ed and Lorraine Warren were called in to investigate—and are understood to have staged a seance with the family in a bid to help them rid the property of the spirits.

"My mother began to speak a language not of this world in a voice not her own," Andrea recalled of the seance in a 2013 interview. "Her chair levitated and she was thrown across the room."

Eventually, the Perron family decided to move out of the property in 1980. (The movie that was inspired by their experiences portrayed the events as taking place over a much shorter period of time.)

According to Andrea in 2021, the move was made after her mother reached her breaking point: "My mother told my father she would not survive another winter in the house, she had been under attack in that house for 10 years."

While the events that took place in the home were wildly dramatized for the purposes of ensuring a Hollywood hit, the first "Conjuring" movie, released in 2013, launched the Perrons' former home into the paranormal limelight. It quickly became known as "The Conjuring House."

Cory and Jennifer Heinzen capitalized on that notoriety when they purchased the house in 2019 for $439,000. The couple would host events at the site and rent rooms out to people who wanted to experience the spooky property. 

The business continued after the property changed hands in 2022, when Jaqueline Nuñez purchased it for a whopping $1.5 million. However, controversy soon ensued.  

In 2023, it was widely reported that a worker at the house, Brian Dansereau, was fired by Nuñez, who claimed that the spirit of the 1800s owner told her he had been stealing from the business. Talking to WRPI, Dansereau denied any wrongdoing. 

The incident started a series of accusations from staff about mistreatment by Nuñez, and criticism from paranormal fans. In 2024, the Burrillville Town Council opted not to renew Nuñez’s entertainment license, citing her strained relationships with neighbors, former employees, and the police department. 

By summer this year, Nuñez defaulted on her mortgage payments on the property, leading to the foreclosure auction that has already garnered a lot of interest from "Conjuring" fans and celebrities alike. 

Manning said it’s hard to predict who will walk away with it, but conceded he has already had inquiries coming from multiple angles. 

“By the time we get to the auction, we’ll probably have hundreds, if not a thousand, inquiries directly to the office,” Manning said. “They’ll fall into three buckets: builders, investors, and fans of the property’s supernatural history.”

Turning the page

Comedian Matt Rife and YouTuber Elton Castee, both fans and entertainers in the paranormal space, expressed interest in buying The Conjuring House earlier this year—and now actually have the chance.

This year, the duo purchased the Connecticut home and attached Warren museum, previously owned by Ed and Lorraine, who helped inspire the movies. The purchase also made Rife the guardian of the Annabelle doll, the toy that has garnered as much ghostly interest as The Conjuring House itself.

At the time of the purchase, Rife said he secured the “most important and prominent piece of paranormal history in the world,” and stated he was planning to open the property for overnight stays and museum tours.

If the duo have the same intentions with The Conjuring House, they could keep it alive as a fan destination. In August of this year, they penned a letter to Nuñez making a bid for the property, telling WRPI it would be an honor to preserve its beauty.

Whether the haunted farmhouse ends up with paranormal celebrities or an everyday bidder, the gavel will fall on Halloween—sealing the fate of one of America’s most infamous homes.