‘Bathsheba: Search for Evil’ tells true story of the Perron family, ‘The Conjuring’ inspiration

Global News sat down for an exclusive interview with Andrea Perron, who lived in the haunted, world-famous house that inspired horror series 'The Conjuring.'

Millions of people have seen the films in The Conjuring franchise, but only a few know the backstory for the chilling tales.

The Perron family of Rhode Island claims to have been terrorized by an evil paranormal presence while living at Arnold Estate, the house that inspired The Conjuring. Originally built in 1693, the home has a long, storied history of hauntings and terror, even up to the present day. Perron and her family — five daughters in total, along with their mother and father — lived there from January 1971 until 1980.

Centuries before the Perrons lived there, a woman named Bathsheba Sherman did. Rumoured to be a witch in the local legends, she allegedly haunted generations of families that had taken residence within her remote grounds. Ed and Lorraine Warren, the late paranormal investigator couple that anchors The Conjuring series, visited the home and looked into the hauntings in the 1970s.

Documentary special Bathsheba: Search for Evil attempts to set the record straight on the Perron family’s story. Anchored by first-hand accounts from the living Perron family members, the special sets out to separate fact from fiction, discovering the truth that lies beneath the blockbuster film.

Global News spoke with Andrea Perron, the eldest daughter, about Bathsheba, the Warrens and the spiritual world.

Global News: Would you say Bathsheba: Search For Evil is the most in-depth interview your family has ever done for a documentary?Andrea Perron: Bathsheba: Search For Evil is literally the only documentary that’s ever been made about this subject. It not only gets right to the heart of the matter with this particular person, Bathsheba Sherman, but it tells our story with integrity, honesty and authenticity because it’s in our own words, our own voices. We were so integrated in the process of making this documentary, it became a true representation and characterization of our family memoir. I’m eternally grateful for the opportunity to tell the truth without interference, finagling or hyperbole. The truth of it is phenomenal enough, in my opinion, and certainly stranger than fiction.

The producers really did their homework and the research was exceptional. They read my books (House of Darkness House of Light) and they knew every element and aspect of our story. They were honest and that’s what matters most to me. This was all about bringing the truth to light because even though The Conjuring is an excellent film for what it is, it’s about 95 per cent fiction and about five per cent hard truth.

This isn’t that. Bathsheba: Search for Evil is a true, well-made, well-conceived documentary about a single entity named Bathsheba Sherman who got a really bad rap in life, afterlife and in the film because of Mrs. Lorraine Warren. Her case files were based on her own interpretation of events which transpired in the farmhouse. Essentially, Bathsheba copped the blame for everything evil, and it simply wasn’t the case.