The Conjuring True Story: Bathsheba Sherman's History Explained
Emily Bell James Wan's original movie in The Conjuring franchise explored the real life story of the Perron farmhouse haunting by a witch, Bathsheba Sherman.
The Conjuring single-handedly resurrected the paranormal and supernatural sub-categories of horror in the past decade, and part of that was due to James Wan's ability to find and adapt true stories for screen.
As the franchise is based primarily around real-life paranormal investigators and demonologists Ed and Lorraine Warren, The Conjuring universe typically draws from their case files, using different stories to inspire each entry. The first movie in the franchise debuted in 2013 and starred Patrick Wilson as Ed Warren and Vera Farmiga as Lorraine. The original story that inspired this debut installment was the case of the Perron farmhouse haunting in Rhode Island and the witch who supposedly haunted it, Bathsheba Sherman.
As the universe has expanded, there are other stories that will be brought to the screen in due time, as it seems interest in the franchise on the whole hasn't dwindled. Already, there have been seven installments in the franchise, and the next one, The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It, is slated for a 2020 release. Even so, many still regard the franchise's first entry to be its strongest, and part of that is due to the story that inspired it.
The Conjuring True Story: Bathsheba Sherman
While the Perron family is the central focus of The Conjuring, the story behind the haunting they endured is what fueled the movie. Located in Harrisville, Rhode Island, the Perron family occupied the haunted farmhouse for a decade. Roger Perron and his wife, Carolyn, purchased the 200-acre property in 1970. The family had five daughters, so the size was a definite plus for their large family, but they moved out in June of 1980. Currently, the farmhouse has a new owner, who purchased it in June of 2019. The Conjuring was supported by the Perron family, just as they came together to support Andrea Perron's book about the hauntings the family endured called House of Darkness: House of Light - The True Story. Lorraine Warren also served as a consultant to the film's producers during the making of this film.
Bathsheba Sherman, who was determined to be the primary force behind the Perron farmhouse's paranormal activity, was born in Rhode Island as Bathsheba Thayer in 1812. Thayer married Judson Sherman in 1844. Bathsheba was a housewife while her husband farmed the land. Bathsheba gave birth to a son, Herbert, when she was approximately 37 years old. Some say the Shermans had other children, but none survived past the age of seven, though Census records haven't confirmed this information. Local legends claimed Bathsheba Sherman was a witch, though there's no hard evidence to support this theory. Suspicion about her being a witch grew after an infant mysteriously died in her care; the cause of death was found to be a large sewing needle that impaled the base of the infant's skull. After this, the townspeople began to speculate that she had murdered the child as an offering to the Devil, though she was never convicted of any wrongdoing.
In Andrea Perron's book, she mentions her mother speaking to a local historian who told Andrea's mother, Carolyn, that Bathsheba had a reputation for starving and beating the hired farmhands. Sherman died in 1885, approximately four years after her husband. Reports of Sherman's death include information regarding how her body turned to stone when she perished, and claim that she suffered a rare type of paralysis, but this is mostly online speculation. Though mystery surrounds who Bathsheba really was, the Warrens determined that it was her spirit after their initial investigation of the farmhouse and reports from the family of strange pains that reflected that of a large sewing needle's puncture. Other owners of the farmhouse have cited various paranormal experiences both inside the house and on the property. Bathsheba's grave can be found inside the Harrisville Cemetery, and the farmhouse could be open for tours in the not-too-distant future for fans of The Conjuring universe.
