The Conjuring House is a real place. You may have seen the movie(s) and wondered if it was possible to visit the Rhode Island house where the Perron family was attacked by ghosts or demons in the 1970s (the house itself dates to circa 1736). It is! The ghosts here include full apparitions that acknowledge living humans, and the attacks include things like Mrs. Perron being levitated in a chair and then thrown 20 feet, her head hitting the floor. If exploring this kind of haunted history is your jam, you’ll want to visit the Conjuring House, where you can take a guided tour. And while you can privately book an overnight stay in the house itself, the hosts are offering a new opportunity this year: GHamping. It’s GHosts + camping. You can stay in one of eight tents on the grounds...close enough for your own investigations, and far enough to feel safe... maybe.
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It’s billed as the “ultimate paranormal outdoor adventure,” and each tent holds three to four people. Bring your own ghost-hunting equipment (and flashlights to see it, although your hosts will provide a lantern). Only a stretch of lawn and a rustic wooden fence and stone wall (reportedly holding the bodies of seven soldiers) stand between the closest tent and the house.
Charmingly, each of the sites has been rated 1-10 on a “fright factor” scale. The highest, at 10 out of 10, is the “Beyond the Bridge” area, where two tents can be booked. The Floating Regrets tent is set back in the woods over a bridge, where there is lore of Native American children swept up in a flash flood, and a boy has been seen floating face down in the river. The other tent is the Perron’s Purgatory tent, which has reports of Bigfoot sightings and strange orbs. Each of these tents can be booked for $400, which includes a guided tour of the 8.5 acreage, but not the house, which you can book separately. The lowest fright factor rating is 6, for The Playhouse, a 1968 vintage silver Avion trailer rather than a tent. From this spot, you’ll hear pond peepers (frogs) and maybe “local children, long dead, at play,” says the website. Your thermal imaging device may pick up a ghost looking at you from behind a tree, and maybe you can join in their infamous game of hide and clap. This trailer, too, is $400/night and sleeps three to four with two beds and a sofa.
There are a slew of guidelines to read beforehand here, and one important note is that, “We cannot guarantee that you will experience paranormal phenomena” and equally reassuring, “We are not responsible for any wildlife you may encounter. Don't provoke them.”
These Ghamping sites may offer a more paranormal experience than the house itself. Previous owners Jenn and Cory Heinzen told this writer for the Wall Street Journal that they never felt malevolence in the house and that it’s the land, not the house, that’s “stigmatized.” They believe the ghosts derive from King Philip’s War, fought between Native American tribes and English immigrants 1675-76.
Tara Finn, the Conjuring House’s general manager and “Ghamping gal,” says, “What most people don’t know is that the land is just as active as The House! Ghamping guests experience residual sounds from Native American spirits, such as drumming or fluting. They may also hear voices or footsteps of soldiers from King Philip’s War. The lack of light pollution makes stargazing stunning. And, of course, there’s the huge fire pit where we share our ghostly experiences while snacking on s’mores. Guests come as strangers and leave as friends, bonded by the spirits on the land.”
Because of anticipated snowfall and winter temperatures, the GHamping sites are only available seasonally, June through October, so book soon if you hope to visit in 2024.
Still not scared? Take a ghost tour in New Orleans or spend the night in the Lizzie Borden House in Massachusetts.