While several of the “popped” bottles were taken to the Nassau County police lab for a chemical analysis, and while nothing suspicious was detected, lab inspector Frank Pribyl observed that the tests were far from exhaustive. For instance, he said, “[I]f the bottles had been ‘popped’ by some chemical which dissolves in a gaseous form, it would not have been detectable by the reagents used.”83 (“Reagent” is a chemistry term that refers to a substance that is used to produce a chemical reaction in order to detect the presence of another substance.)
Popper did not appear to feel comfortable around scientists. Dr. Pratt said that his first visit at the Herrmann household lasted four and a half days. Curiously, there were two disturbances within thirty minutes of his arrival, while the next four days “had no unexplained occurrences.” Suspiciously, the day after Pratt left, the poltergeist went into a frenzy, with no less than seven disturbances! A glass bowl mysteriously upended, a lamp fell over, a world globe was found to have moved, a picture had fallen to the floor, loud noises were heard, and a night table fell down.84 Pratt returned to the house on March 7, accompanied by Dr. Roll, and the two spent over a week investigating. During this time there were just three incidents—two thumps appeared to come from Jimmy’s room (March 9), and the last incident involved a bottle of bleach that had tipped over in the basement with its cap off. Once again, the poltergeist had proven to be very shy around scientists who were staying in the house.85 If Pratt and Roll had examined their own evidence objectively, they would have concluded, as had Dr. Osis and Milbourne Christopher, that Jimmy was responsible. Here is an excerpt from their own report: “Nothing ever happened while all the family were out of the house, when they were fast asleep, or while the children were both at school. In all but one case, James was known to be in the house during the disturbances, and he may have been home during that one as well (Event 55). Other members of the family were frequently absent. Also, the disturbances took place nearer to James, on the average, than to any other members of the family.”86
As for “Event 55,” on Sunday, March 2, James Jr. was actually present. According to the report, at 7:30 p.m., Jimmy went to the store with Mr. Herrmann and his brother. Mrs. Herrmann remembered tidying up the house just prior to their leaving. Upon returning, Jimmy and his father found that the boy’s globe had been moved from his bookcase to the center of his bed. The only people in the house at the time had been Mrs. Herrmann and her daughter. Had Jimmy snuck into his room upon their return and moved the globe? It is certainly more plausible than the alternative hypothesis—supernatural powers from a twelve-year-old boy.
In examining the case of Popper and how shoddily it was investigated by a professional detective and two doctorate holders, we would be wise to recall the words of magician Alex Stone: “Magic makes us more aware of how prone and vulnerable the mind is to deception. The human mind is wonderfully efficient and capable of noticing patterns and executing complex tasks, as well as focusing on narrow tasks for a long time. But with this virtue comes the flip side: We tend to miss peripheral distractions.”87 This is why texting and talking on mobile phones while driving is so dangerous. The same process renders us vulnerable to believing in poltergeists. Having passed a detective training course or attained a PhD in psychology does not render one immune from deception.
The Seaford “poltergeist” is a case study in lost objectivity and missed opportunity. The failure of Mr. Herrmann to allow a respected magician into the house should have raised a giant red flag in the camp of Roll and Pratt. Instead of insisting that Milbourne Christopher be allowed to visit the house, they too downplayed Christopher’s claims. It is also a study in selective media coverage, as journalists latched onto the dramatic comments by Roll and Pratt about the baffling nature of the case, while downplaying Dr. Osis’s conclusion that the case was a hoax. The media afforded little coverage to Christopher, who was able to duplicate each of the poltergeist’s antics. This is because the media is a business that gravitates toward the sensational, which is usually better for business when compared to reporting on the mundane. Which is more exciting: that a little boy, with possible accomplices, fooled experts from around the country, including psychologists and a police detective, or that the same boy appears to have the ability to move objects with his mind? The story of the Seaford poltergeist is remarkable not because there were mysterious paranormal phenomena going on, but instead because a twelve-year-old boy was able to outwit a seasoned detective and two psychologists with PhDs, all because they grew too close to their subjects and ignored basic principles of investigation.
While Steven Spielberg’s film Poltergeist has been credited with inspiring the movie, to their credit, those promoting it never claimed that it depicted real events.88 There are initial parallels with the Herrmanns—a young suburban family harassed by a poltergeist that centers on an adolescent, a house built on an apparent burial ground—but that is where the similarities end. Matters soon turn dire, as the young girl is kidnapped and taken to another dimension through a portal in her closet. With the aid of several parapsychologists and a medium, the little girl is retrieved. It is revealed that the spirits were angry because the house was built over a cemetery. At the end, the family manages to escape as the house collapses and is sucked into another dimension. Apparently, popping bottle tops and flying statues were not exciting enough.
CHAPTER 4
The Conjuring: What Possessed the Perron Family?
Talk of the devil and he is bound to appear.
—English proverb1
In July 2013, the supernatural thriller The Conjuring premiered in movie theaters across the United States; by December it had grossed over $318 million worldwide.2 The film’s success and high test screenings before it was even released have spawned talk of a franchise of similar projects—all based on the investigations of Connecticut medium Lorraine Warren and her late husband, Ed.3 The film has been marketed as based on true events—the story of Roger and Carolyn Perron (pronounced pear-in) and their five daughters, who moved into a “haunted” Rhode Island farmhouse in 1971, in the tiny, rural village of Harrisville (pop. 1,605 in 2010). Much of what we know about the case comes from the eldest Perron daughter, Andrea, whose books are based on interviews with family members.4 But how close to real life are her claims, and how accurate is the film? Many researchers have viewed the case of the Perron family as genuinely unexplainable. The screenwriters for The Conjuring, Chad and Carey Hayes, claim that 80 percent of the film is true to life.5 A closer examination reveals it to be loosely based on events that were claimed by the Perrons, claims that appear to have been accurately reported as the family perceived them. However, this does not necessarily mean that their experiences were grounded in reality.
Prelude to a Haunting
The summer of 1971 was both brutal and deflating for Roger and Carolyn Perron, who were living with their five daughters in the quiet, sleepy community of Cumberland, a suburb of Providence, Rhode Island. A series of traumatic events would soon leave them emotionally distraught and moving to more remote, greener pastures. One day their pet dog Bathsheba was struck and killed by a car as several of the girls watched in horror. Adding to the anguish, the tragedy was entirely preventable and had been triggered by a speeding teenager barreling down a nearby street. Local gangs became active in the neighborhood; bullying grew common. Then one day, returning from a short vacation, they found that their house had been ransacked, and three of their prized cats lay dead. When their daughter Andrea thought she knew the name of the boy behind the break-in, she stalked him, waited for the right moment, and beat him senseless, resulting in her being hauled into court. The charges were dropped eventually, but misfortune kept dogging the Perrons that summer. Then one day, from out of the blue, a neighbor had a heart attack at the wheel of his truck and crashed on their lawn. Andrea later would write that the neighbor’s wife “blatantly accused Carolyn of being a witch” and causing the man’s death.6
By January 1971,
the traumatized family moved into their new home, a majestic eighteenth-century colonial farmhouse situated in the tranquil, rustic Rhode Island countryside. The first sign that something was amiss was a cryptic remark made by the previous owner, a Mr. Kenyon, who told Roger, “For the sake of your family, leave the lights on at night!”7 Soon, strange noises were heard in the house, followed by a series of mysterious happenings. Gradually the family came to realize that the house was haunted—except Roger, the skeptic of the family, who was often absent because of work.
In telling the story of the haunting on behalf of her parents and siblings, Andrea’s writing gives no indication that any of the events they experienced were the result of the family perpetrating a collective hoax; they appear to have been genuinely frightened. However, at least one of the girls—Cindy—may have been responsible for several poltergeist claims that may have scared her mother and siblings even more. In the book, Andrea boasts that her recounting of the events “contains no embellishment” and that her “intention is not to entertain but rather to inform.”8 While well-intentioned, this is certainly not true. In fact, it soon becomes evident that Andrea and her family have a penchant for exaggeration and for transforming relatively benign, mundane events and circumstances into threatening, supernatural ones. These events were magnified by Roger being away at work for days at a time, leaving Mrs. Perron to fend for herself as the lone adult overseeing five girls in their remote farmhouse. It was an ideal recipe for a haunting. An example of Andrea’s proclivity for drama and for making mountains out of molehills was evident even before they realized the house was haunted, when an antique clock stopped. She described the event by turning it into a great mystery, noting that “its pendulum [was] stilled by some unknown force.”9 In fact, clocks stop ticking every day. Such events do not necessarily indicate that supernatural forces are at work. The haunting began with relatively minor incidents, such as the stopped clock, distant voices, hearing a possible intruder, and young April reporting that someone had shaken her while she was asleep. Events soon graduated to the family interacting with “spirits.” As the incidents accumulated, Mrs. Perron felt that she was being watched—a feeling that “severely rattled” her.10 She was soon convinced that there was a supernatural presence in the house. Eventually, the flames of hysteria were fanned by two self-proclaimed ghost hunters, who set into motion a series of events that culminated in a bizarre séance.
The Cast of Characters
Roger Perron was married in 1957. His work as a traveling salesman (not a long-haul truck driver, as claimed in the movie) strained his marriage. The couple eventually divorced, keeping him largely a stranger to his children.11 He was skeptical of most of the occult phenomena reported by the others. His daughter Andrea characterizes Roger’s skepticism as being a continual challenge to her mother’s integrity and making her feel “as though her opinion was entirely irrelevant, her recounting of events fraudulent.”12 The girls were squarely in their mother’s camp. At times, Roger expressed openness to the possibility that there really were spirits in the house, possibly to promote domestic harmony.
Carolyn Perron was impulsive. When she saw an ad for a colonial farmhouse in Harrisville, Rhode Island, in 1971, she viewed the property and, without consulting Roger, made a down payment, even though they were strapped for cash. A lapsed Catholic, she “felt” and “sensed” various “presences,”13 practiced dowsing for water,14 saw apparitions, and on one occasion appeared to be “possessed.”15 Carolyn was deeply spiritual and had a tendency to redefine mundane events and reinterpret them within a supernatural context. She seemed prone to psychosomatic ailments and experienced fainting spells, typically in front of the fireplace and in Roger’s presence. Occasionally, he would have to rush in dramatically to save her from the fire.16 Carolyn firmly believed that the various paranormal manifestations reported in the house were the spirits of dead people who had once lived there. Andrea wrote about her mother, “It was not happenstance. They were not some random spirits passing through; floating in on a lark. Of this, she was certain. They were a sudden chill in the air, recognizable figures; familiar characters by the time any attempt was made to identify them. Her children had given them names, as if they’d been pets: Manny. Oliver.”17 Mrs. Perron’s beliefs and “encounters” were significant in that they created a “haunted house” mindset in her daughters—which was made all the more chilling with their father away so much of the time. The absence of Roger, who tended to downplay the incidents when he was around, further enhanced the eerie ambience and tension within the house. What could be spookier than a mother and her daughters living in an isolated farmhouse that is supposedly haunted, without the presence of a father figure?
Like Mother, Like Daughters
“Each of the girls developed a real emotional attachment to the spirits in the house,” Andrea says casually, “while bonding between dimensions.”18 The scribe of the family, she later wrote down their experiences. Andrea (sometimes called Annie) was the Perrons’ first child, born in 1958. No wallflower, she was assertive and confident, as evidenced by her confrontation with the boy who allegedly vandalized their house, when she pummeled him. About three years later, she was dismissed from a confirmation class when she had an “altercation” with the priest, challenging him about such subjects as homosexuality.19 Andrea sometimes saw “shadows” and heard voices.20
Nancy, the second daughter, was a spunky, spirited, “nine-year-old spitfire,” explains Andrea.21 When “spirits” began to appear to the new residents, Andrea says of her sister, “Competitive in every way, Nancy had to claim credit for the first official sighting.”22 A girlfriend once accused her of faking poltergeist occurrences in her presence, but friendship prevailed, and the girl reconsidered.23 Odd things happened to Nancy. For example, when she took an unfamiliar trail and became lost on the way home, she reported encountering an apparitional family.24 She and a girlfriend played with a Ouija board, and she claimed, “The spirits talk to us through it.”25
The middle-born daughters of the family were Christine and Cynthia. Christine (aka Chrissy) had supposedly “developed supernatural skills acquired only through the use of a sixth sense.”26 Andrea writes that on one occasion, an evil force or being “had rudely awakened Christine in the middle of the night.” For months at a time, however, Chrissy would sleep undisturbed by “the presence.”27 The fourth child, Cynthia (or Cindy), “attracted supernatural activity unlike any of her siblings” and had “passive/aggressive tendencies.”28 She reported multiple encounters with apparitions29 and claimed to receive “telepathic messages.”30 On one occasion she described how an invisible entity came to her aid.31 Another time she reported entering “another dimension.”32 Her bed, she said, vibrated at times and, when she was thirteen, “levitated,” or at least rocked wildly once, while she screamed incessantly—although the rest of the family, downstairs, heard none of this.33 Cindy exhibited many classic symptoms of a fantasy-prone personality.
April, the youngest child, was only five and a preschooler when the Perrons moved into the old farmhouse. April had an imaginary friend, “Oliver,” who became her frequent playmate. Their communication was “telepathic.”34 The “baby” of the family, April watched “as her sisters begged for the same type of attention she received all day, every day.”35 When she did go to school, her behavior landed her in detention from time to time. While Mrs. Perron believed that “Oliver” was from the spirit world, a more mundane explanation can account for the little girl’s actions. Imaginary companions in childhood are common. One survey of eighteen hundred children between ages five and twelve found that 46 percent of them had an imaginary friend at some point. The reported incidence declines dramatically in adulthood.36 Far from being an indicator of mental disturbance, invisible friends are widely viewed by psychologists as normal and healthy. Research shows that they can provide friendship and entertainment to children in times of loneliness and boredom.37
Finally, there were Ed and Lo
rraine Warren, the demon-hunting duo who visited the home several times. They were not sought out by the Perrons, as portrayed in The Conjuring; instead, they just showed up on a night soon before Halloween.38 Their modus operandi was to arrive at a “haunted” house, which they soon transformed into a “demonic” one, in keeping with their own medieval-style Catholic beliefs.
Carolyn Perron: The Power of One
Mrs. Perron, with her status as the only adult in the house for much of the time, was a powerful influence on her daughters. Her interpretations of various incidents as ghostly encounters shaped the girls to perceive numerous events within the house in a supernatural light. Apparitions and pranks reportedly assailed the Perrons from the outset, sparing only Roger. It is perhaps no coincidence that he was the most skeptical. Many of the accounts described by Carolyn are so incredible that they could be readily dismissed as the figment of a fertile imagination, signs of a mental disturbance, or a hoax, yet a fourth possibility is far more likely. A survey of the many seemingly supernatural experiences encountered by the family, as recounted by Andrea Perron in her voluminous books, is revealing. It is evident that several family members experienced an array of psychological conditions that were being redefined as supernatural in origin. For instance, during one early experience when Carolyn was lying in bed, she described seeing her dresser erupt in flames! Trying to react, she could not move.
On the night in question, before retiring for the night, Carolyn, who had a fear of fires, checked the fireplace and noticed a few dying embers. She then got under the quilt and tried to fall asleep. Suddenly there was a “swoosh” as if from an igniting fire. She got out of bed and checked the nearby fireplace, but the fire had gone out completely. Then she heard crackling from behind; it was from inside her bedroom, where her dresser was ablaze. It was a frightening and vivid scene; she could see “sparks jumping from a fireball, the core of which burned so brightly she could barely gaze into it. Off-shoots sprung from its center, appearing like wild sparklers out-of-control, pinging then popping in every direction.”39 Carolyn said that her body would not react, as all she could think of was the fire and her sleeping girls. Then suddenly, “in a mere fraction of a second, it was gone.” After falling to the floor, she eventually collected herself and checked the room for evidence of the fire, but there was no smoke, no singe marks, no smell—nothing. She was terrified and baffled.40
American Hauntings: The True Stories behind Hollywood's Scariest Movies—from The Exorcist to The Conjuring: The True Stories behind Hollywood’s Scariest Movies—from The Exorcist to The Conjuring Page 9
