Most of us have either heard the story of the Perron family or have learned about them via James Wan’s The Conjuring franchise. But did we really get the whole story? What really happened at that farmhouse, and how much of the story was true?
Bathsheba: Search for Evil
T+E and Blue Ant Media is presenting a two-part documentary, called Bathsheba: Search for Evil on October 11 at 9 pm ET/PT as part of their annual Creep Week Event. Here, we get to hear from some of the Perron family about what really happened before and after Ed and Lorraine Warren were called in to help with the hauntings. I was fortunate to watch the two-part documentary and, let me tell you that The Conjuring did not tell the whole story.
The true story is much more frightening.
The two-part documentaries are broken into six small episodes. With the help of paranormal investigator, Erin Goodpipe, we learn what really took place. In Bathsheba: Search for Evil, the Perron family moves to a house that sits on 200 acres of land with a pond. It’s the perfect place for Caroline and Roger Perron to raise their five daughters: Andrea (12), Nancy (10), Christine (9), Cindy (8), and April (5). The girls love the house; that is, until the hauntings begins. Roger travels a lot for his job, so at first he’s unaware of the stuff that is happening to his children. Cindy is the first to deal with the spirits, when she keeps hearing voices telling her that there are seven dead soldiers buried in the wall.
PLEASE NOTE: YOU ARE NOW ENTERING MASSIVE SPOILER TERRITORY
The house, located in Harrisville Rhode Island, is old, having been built in 1736 and lived in continuously by members of the Richardson and Arnold families. If there were spirits within, they would include Native Americans and soldiers from the Revolutionary War, along with former Arnold family members. Whatever is in the house began to terrorize Caroline. She’s physically attacked on many occasions. The little girls take up sleeping together because they were afraid of the spirits. Caroline begins to withdraw into herself…losing weight…losing sleep. Finally, Caroline decides to call in a group called P.I.R.O., a group a college kids who are interested in the paranormal.
Once Keith Johnson and Donna Eisenstadt Neufeld arrive at the house, the girls take them upstairs. Keith is concerned that Nancy’s room doesn’t have a cross over the door. He uses a marker to paint a cross on the window. This makes the spirits angry and they immediately attack one of the girls. (Now as a professional spirit investigator, let me tell you that the one thing that you never do is provoke the spirits). But when the college kids provoke the spirits, they are immediately in way over their heads. Donna contacts Ed and Lorraine Warren to step in. Ed and Lorraine were recognized and certified by the Vatican to handle cases of hauntings. Both of the Warrens were trained demonologists.
The Séance
After Lorraine and Ed do a walk through the house, Lorraine tells the family that the spirit haunting them was Bathsheba Sherman. Rumour had it that Bathsheba was a witch and that she sacrificed her baby to Satan. The Warrens decide to do a séance, which turns disastrous for Caroline, and makes the hauntings even worse.
My personal opinion of seances is this: Don’t do one! Ever! You are opening a door to something much worse than your everyday hauntings. Roger tells the Warrens to leave the house after the failed seance. He feels that the basement was the gateway in which the spirits entered the home. The family wind up stuck in the house because they can’t afford to move out until1980. Was Bathsheba really the spirit behind the horrific hauntings in the Perron house?
Erin Goodpipe
What made Bathsheba: Search for Evil so good was the detailed investigation done by Erin on the real history behind Bathsheba Sherman. What Erin learns from prominent historians is that Bathsheba was a victim of bad press. There were several Arnold family members who might be haunting the Perron house, but as for Bathsheba, there is no record of her being a witch. She is buried on consecrated land, and you don’t get buried on consecrated land if you are a witch or involved in satanic sacrifices.
Conclusion
Take it from someone who has many spirits living in her house…Bathsheba: Search for Evil is one of the best documentaries that I’ve seen in a long time. Erin Goodpipe even visits the present-day owners of the home in this documentary. Hearing from the grown daughters and Roger Perron adds more insight into what the girls encountered.
Following my viewing, I was fortunate enough to send two questions to Andrea Perron. Here is her reply:
Marie Gilbert: First, have you experienced any other spirit connections after moving from the house? The reason I ask this question is because spirits automatically know when someone has strong psychic abilities, and that is who the spirits seek out. I am a psychic/medium and believe me…spirits always seek me out
Andrea Perron: Yes, absolutely! Once the door to the netherworld opens and one is touched by spirit, the door never closes again. We can pretend it doesn’t exist but eventually someone will reach through it and tap us on the shoulder to make their presence known. Sometimes it is a gentle reminder and sometimes it is a more overt wake up call. One thing is certain, this kind of contact can’t be shut off like the valve on a faucet. It is permanent and perpetual and will persist lifelong. We can ignore it or embrace it. Personally, I choose the latter. For me, it is a mystical, magical connection I wholeheartedly welcome. I have no fear of it, only fascination.
Marie Gilbert: What do you recommend to people who are dealing with spirit activity in their homes?
Andrea Perron: If the activity is benevolent or benign, it is often a spirit attempting to communicate. They seek acknowledgement. If it is a dark presence, I suggest that people claim their own earthbound power as mortal souls and politely explain to the presence (without provoking) that they must move on and are an unwelcome visitor. Of course it is different in every case because these are different spirits and we cannot always ascertain their intention. However, all too often people freak out with fear and don’t understand their own ability to confront or control a situation. Provoking a spirit will frequently backfire, feeding it with energy it requires to persist in the environment. I’ve relied on some wise advice I once received from a loved one. When in doubt, do nothing. The situation will usually resolve on its own.
Bathsheba: Search for Evil airs on Monday, October 11th at 9 pm ET/PT.
