Expedition X and the House Next Door -- Separating Fact from Fiction

First and foremost I want to apologize to my readers, it has been a minute since I have posted on here. Let me bring you up to speed on what's been going on. Well, the past year has been pretty tough for me with some serious changes in my personal life as well as some serious health scares. After several surgeries and trips to the hospital, I believe that I am starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel. With that being said, I have some good news for everyone. I am currently working on a new book, which will actually be my detailed research (with the help of a couple friends) to share the true history of the Richardson-Arnold House a.k.a Arnold Farmhouse or Old Arnold Estate -- but you may know it as, The Conjuring House. 

I am slowly getting this done, all the while still trying to keep up with my history blogs and social media. I also have positive news coming up soon that is very exciting for me to share -- but I cannot share just yet! It has to do with the Burrillville Historical & Preservation Society. So, when it's time to make the announcement, I promise I will share it with all of you!

Getting back to the subject of this blog post today, I wanted to go over the episode that Josh Gates filmed for his television show, "Expedition X" that aired on September 3rd, of this year. The episode, (Season 10; Episode 3) titled, "The Curse of the Conjuring," really disappointed me in more ways than one. In this blog, I will share with you in detail why I was so disappointed, how the information provided within the program doesn't match the facts, and then I am going to share with you the real history of this particular house.

The Episode

To start, the episode opened up with Josh and his crew, Phil Torres and Heather Amaro sitting in his "office," discussing "The Conjuring," film. Of course the same ol' story is retold about the Perron family's alleged experiences in the home. Josh then talks about how Carolyn Perron was "targeted by a malevolent entity" in the home back in 1971, claiming she would "wake up with inexplicable bruises," and that "in one terrifying incident, a hay knife flies off the wall of their barn, slicing her neck and nearly decapitating her."   

Then he goes on to say that by 1973, "the overwhelmed Perrons call in the pioneers of paranormal investigation, Ed & Lorraine Warren for help."

Let me first explain that I have been a big fan of Josh Gates for many years. In fact, my sons and I used to watch Destination Truth together when it first came out and we were hooked right away. We loved to see his travels to different places all over the world, investigating mysteries and legends. It was always a fascinating program. Unfortunately, I am not impressed with his recent television programs or their lack of factual research of locations.

Today, we will delve into some of the stories that are told on this episode regarding the Perron family and the Warren's experiences at the home, but first let's talk about the most recent claims about the "house next door."

In this episode, Phil and Heather interview the residents of the house at 1725 Round Top Road, owner, Sherry Patrie, her boyfriend Patrick Boylan, and her two sons, Hunter and Tyler Fague. 

The premise of this episode is that the residents claim that their house is now having paranormal activity that has "spilled over" from the property next door, and that Josh Gates' team is there to seek answers. The number one disappointment to me was the fact no one on the show did any rudimentary research on the history of that house, and if they had, it wasn't aired in the episode. Instead, they focused on vague experiences from residents, and interviewed Andrea Perron and Tony Spera as their "research." 

When listening to the list of incidents the residents of the home had been allegedly experiencing, those sounded familiar, like recycled stories from Andrea Perron's books or her recorded family interviews over the years.

Examples: the Boylan/Patrie family claims of hearing footsteps in the attic; a kitchen table that they say they can hear moving around from the other room; alleged scratches on their bodies (no photos to show us); the step father claims he has been attacked by a female spirit in the middle of the night (which can easily be explained by sleep paralysis); and says he keeps getting pushed down the stairs, etc.

Remember, Roger Perron had claimed that a female spirit was bothering him, too. He even claimed the female spirit bothered him in the basement as well, just like Patrick's claim. Carolyn claimed a woman taunted her as she lay in bed. These stories are not new, but appear to be recycled. In fact, throughout my research on this story the similarities kept going on and on.

In the episode, Heather Amaro interviews Andrea Perron sitting on a pew in what looks like a church, while Andrea brings up various incidents, including the one Josh briefly mentioned at the introduction of the show, when Carolyn allegedly was attacked by a flying hand scythe. Then Andrea, pulls an antique hand scythe out from a backpack on the floor and overdramatically tells Heather not to be afraid. 

First and foremost, why would Andrea be holding onto an old scythe that supposedly tried to kill her mother? Why would you keep an object like that? She herself said that the object had dark energy attached to it. That just doesn't make sense for someone who claims to be so interested in positive energies and love and light. 

Andrea goes on to retell the story of what allegedly happened to her mother, Carolyn, while she was alone in the barn back in 1971. 

"This is the object that almost claimed my mother's life.....it was hovering in the barn, spinning, and then crashed down across her neck, knocked her to the ground and then it was this way (point the scythe's blade outwards, shaking it violently)...and it trembled, and trembled, and trembled, and then fell on the floor and went silent." --- Andrea Perron's interview, Expedition X, Season 10; Episode 3.

Okay, so let's address a few things really quick. 

Pages 99 through 101 of the book, "House of Darkness, House of Light," by Andrea Perron says:

"she had no recollection of seeing that hand scythe hanging overhead, dangling precariously from its highest beam more than thirty feet from the ground......a few weeks after moving in, while the children were in school, Carolyn slipped out of their house for a few minutes to admire their beautiful barn......she distinctly heard a strangely disquieting sound above her head, magnified by still, silent air....the rapidly repetitious noise startled her; "whoosh whoosh whoosh" slicing through acrid, stagnant air........This object appeared to be hovering overhead, literally defying the law of gravity. Suddenly it plunged toward her; the woman was in grave danger....it struck her slender form, its blade slicing hard across both her neck and shoulder, the violent force of a blow she expected was stunning nonetheless. There it lay beside her boots, on frozen planks of wood."

Andrea's story in her book never said that Carolyn was knocked to the ground, as she stated in the television interview.  The story in Andrea's book goes on to explain that because Carolyn was wearing multiple layers of clothing, the leather protected her from the alleged incident, and that the scythe was unable to penetrate through the clothes she had on. So, from the book's explanation Carolyn didn't even get hurt, it was her clothing that was allegedly cut. 

So what is all this talk on the television episode about nearly being decapitated?!

For the record, just so people understand, a small hand scythe, just like any other farm tool such as a shovel, saw, or even a pitchfork that was commonly kept in a barn, and would often be found hanging  against the walls for easy access. I highly doubt it was 30 ft off the ground hanging on a beam as that would have been impratical for a small hand scythe, as someone would have to climb up on a ladder to retrieve it, unless there were many antiquated objects hanging up high for decoration. I know my dad had a large scythe in our yard as decoration, growing up out in the country. The one we had was so big, it was the type you imagine the "grim reaper" holding. 

Now, a hay claw, as they are often called, which are part of a pulley system to lift up large amounts of hay are often suspended from a rope/pulley on a barn ceiling. Could something like that have came loose from the ropes in which it were attached to and fell to the ground, nearly hitting Carolyn? That is a more plausible theory, and one that can be easily explained. It would also be more likely hanging from the top beams of a barn. The barn was very old, even in 1971, and any number of things could have happened while she was wandering around the barn, touching or leaning on things, that could have caused something that was already loose to fall. Do I believe that the scythe Andrea pulled out of the backpack on television is what allegedly hit Carolyn 54 years earlier? No. I do not believe so.  

Remember still, there is no evidence whatsoever that any of this ever actually happened, as there were no witnesses present, and this story, according to Andrea, came from the mouth of her mother, Carolyn Perron whom I have already caught speaking "untruths" (to put it nicely) many times regarding her "research" on Bathsheba Sherman's history. It goes without saying that due to the fact that I have found serious holes in Carolyn's recollections, that her memories were not credible by any means, and thus can never be taken seriously. 

I am not even going to get into the whole seance story in this blog, because there is just too much for me to say about that and the multitudes of descrepancies in that story that has been told over and over for years and years, and seems to continue to get larger and more elaborate with every telling. No. I am leaving that one for a chapter in my upcoming book, that you will not want to miss. 

Going back to the episode, we get to the interview with Tony Spera. (For the record, I am not a fan.) Tony appears to be uninterested in the truth -- because if he was, he would not allow the slander of Bathsheba Sherman to continue to this day. I have written to him and asked him to remove that page about Bathsheba from the NESPR website, but it is still there. The photos on that site are not of Bathsheba as no photos of her exist. I also shared that information with Tony and asked him to remove them, but if you click on the link, you will see has has done no such thing.

In the episode he claims that Lorraine "felt scared in the house" and that Ed called it the "bewitched farmhouse." Interesting that he says that, because Lorraine had absolutely no problem traveling by herself to visit Norma Sutcliffe, the then owner of the house, and spent time visiting with Norma at the home many years ago. 

In fact, Lorraine toured the home and spoke to Norma about how lovely it was, how wonderful Norma was decorating it, and that it was the perfect home for children (as Norma ran a daycare at the home for many, many years). When Norma asked Lorraine why the Perron's allegedly had experiences in the home, and how she and Gerry had not, Lorraine told her that she believed it was the family that was causing their own "problems" back then, due to the dysfunctional nature of the family and not the house itself. She told Norma that the house itself was fine. If Lorraine was so scared of the house, why did she travel to the home by herself, and then proceed to tell Norma that? 

Back to the subject at hand, during the episode Tony also takes the opportunity to show Phil items in the Warren's museum and asks Phil not to touch anything. One of these days I will have to share with everyone the funny story Norma Sutcliffe shared with me about her visit to Ed and Lorraine's house many years ago, and her experience in the "museum," and no, it isn't a paranormal story, but it is funny.

Anyhow, Tony goes over to the glass and wooden case where the Raggedy Anne doll infamously known as Annabelle is locked away, and he gives the spiel about it being so dangerous. The television show begins to narrate how "supposedly" the doll, "sliced someone open in the 1970's, then caused a priest to nearly die in a car crash." 

If you want to know the truth about the Annabelle doll, please watch/listen to Stevi Etes podcast where she literally dug deep all the way back to the beginning of this very sensationalized and fabricated story that has snowballed into paranormal legend and lore. No, Annabelle is not possessed, even Ed Warren said so! Yes, you read that right. 

Please, once you have finished this blog, I encourage you to visit Stevi's podcast channel on Youtube for the facts surrounding Annabelle.

Annabelle (Part 1): https://youtu.be/4WiVWaMJQsk?si=MPrggAgqrCdP-OfQ

Annabelle (Part 2): https://youtu.be/EGchgX_HrWE?si=u5owS5faGpNCmX22

Annabelle (Part 3): https://youtu.be/d_N0E0zzr58?si=5BbWo9-K9NmWewym

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Back to this subject...

Going back to the episode, the gentleman that is interviewed claims that the "old stone foundation" is older than the house. 

Actually, no, it's not. 

The house at 1725 Round Top Way was built in 1941, and there was absolutely nothing on that part of the property before that point, it was just land. No old stone foundation was there predating anything. That is just a bunch of malarkey. 

A funny coincidence though, when Sherry's parents purchased the home in 1971, the bank that loaned them the money to purchase the property was called "Old Stone Savings Bank." 

At one point Phil stands by a wall in the basement claiming "this must be the old foundation." If you are paying attention you can see that is clearly a wall covered in plaster or some sort of stucco finish. Plus, when they decide to go outside, they go around the same wall they were just bringing focus to, and they they turn and go up the stairs from the basement leading outside. If you look closely, the interior walls on the stairway are also covered in the same finish.

Do you see the two houses marked with the red arrow above each one in the photo below? The one on the right is the Richardson-Arnold Farmhouse and the one on the left is the Patrie House. Now, I want you to take a look at the aerial photo from 1939, which is just below that one, and take a look at the same exact spots. You will see there was absolutely nothing on that spot of land prior to the building of that house in 1941, except for trees and dirt. There was no old stone foundation predating the house and there is nothing physically "connecting" the two houses to each other.

2025 Aerial View 

1939 AERIAL VIEW 

Going back to the "haunted" aspect of the house.....

I have a question.

If Sherry Patrie and Patrick Boylan have lived there for decades, as claimed, and the house is so haunted, as they also claim -- then why is it just now that we are hearing about their paranormal experiences they have been having at this house? 

I did a little research and found that Sherry's parents purchased the home in August of 1971, eight years before Sherry was born (October 1979). It is obvious that this was Sherry's childhood home, at least prior to her moving out as an adult and having her own family in Mapleville for a number of years.

What I am trying to say here is that during the televised interview you do not see Sherry mention any childhood memories of the house being haunted at all.  Only stories of recent incidents in the home are mentioned, and even those are vague at best or retold by Patrick, Sherry's partner. Why is that? If she grew up in the house, and the house is haunted, certainly she would have shared some memories she had growing up there; At least one would think so. 

Unfortunately, Sherry's mother, Claire Patrie just recently passed away in June of 2025, so no one is able to ask her about her home and if she herself had ever experienced anything supernatural or paranormal during the 54 years that she lived there.

Again, I just find it strange that the couple waited until one of the older owners of the house had passed on, before sharing the stories about the house being allegedly haunted and making all these claims. You see, the same thing happened with the Perron family, too.  The Perrons waited until September of 1973, just one month after the death of Earl Kenyon, Sr., the gentleman they purchased the house from, before they started their "ghost stories" about the house. 

Are you aware that there was absolutely no talk about the Richardson-Arnold home (Conjuring House) being haunted prior to the fall of 1973? 

Why is that? Could it be because once Mr. Kenyon was gone, there would be no one to counter the Perron's stories with actual facts? (Or so they thought). Again, there are just too many similarities to ignore here.

Yes, this piece of land was once part of the original Arnold farm, but there are no documents that show any structure on that particular spot where 1725 Round Top Road was constructed had been there prior. When the house was built in 1941, the land belonged to Sarah Butterworth Kenyon and her husband, Earl Kenyon, Sr.  Later, deed records show that the plat of land was conveyed by the Kenyons to Melicite Berube Vacher and her daughter Lula Vacher Bishop in June of 1945, meaning that the property was paid off as of June 1945. 

Records indicate that the Vacher family moved into the home sometime after 1942, as I found records of them living in Pascoag prior to that date.  George Vacher and his wife, Melicite lived there with their two daughters, Lula and Dorothy for many years. Why the house was not in George's name at first, I do not know; Perhaps the Kenyon's wanted to make sure that Melicite and Lula would be taken care of in the event something happened to George, so they put the property in their names. It is really impossible to know now. 

The 1950 Census shows the Vacher's living in the house, and being next door neighbors to the Kenyons (Earl and Sarah). The Census indicates that the house on "the Douglas Road" which is what Round Top Road was also called had no acreage, but the Kenyon's property did. Melicite was listed as  a "spooler" for the Stillwater Worsted Mill in Burrillville, while Mr. Vacher was a plumber at the Mill as well. Before that, he had been a machine operator, and later on in his life he became a master mechanic.

Who were the Vacher's?

George Vacher was born on April 13, 1898; His wife, Melicite Berube was born on March 14, 1899. The two wed on April 21, 1917. Both were natives of Rhode Island, but born to parents who were of French-Canadian extraction. 

In the 1920's the two lived in Woonsocket and both worked at the Stillwater Worsted Mill.  By the 1930's they were still in Woonsocket, at another address, though. By 1935, they were living on Steere Street in Burrillville and by the early 1940s they moved to the house at 1725 Round Top Road. 

Later on, the Vacher's moved elsewhere and the house changed hands to the next owners, Norbert and Julia DeSourdy.

Who were the DeSourdy's?

Norbert N. DeSourdy was born on June 1, 1908 and his wife, Julia Warchol, was born on February 2, 1907. The two married young, and lived in Pascoag. Both also worked at the Stillwater Worsted Mill, just like George and Melicite Vacher. Did they happen to know one another? It seems more than likely.

The DeSourdy's had three sons, but by the time they purchased the house on Round Top Road their boys were already grown. The couple stayed there until 1971, when they sold the house to Maurice and Claire Patrie, on August 31, 1971. 

Stillwater Worsted Mill, R.I.

Who were the Patrie's?

Maurice Patrie was born on June 25, 1945; His wife, Claire Aucoin was born on February 8, 1945. As stated above, the two purchased the house in 1971 and lived there the rest of their lives. According to their obituaries, Maurice was a retired Marine and Vietnam Veteran. He was also a member of the Blackstone Valley Beagle Club and the Woonsocket Sportsmen Club. He worked for many years at Avery-Dennison Co., as a colorist and foreman. Claire worked as a monitor for the Dattco Bus Company and later as a Coordinator for "Meals on Wheels." 

One thing that I found that I think is quite lovely is that two of the three couples and former owners of this little home are buried at the St. Patrick's Cemetery in Burrillville. 

George Vacher passed away on January 23, 1980 

Melicite Vacher passed away on April 8, 1967

both are buried at the Oak Hill Cemetery in Woonsocket, Rhode Island

Norbert DeSourdy passed away in October of 1986

Julia DeSourdy passed away in August of 1986

both are buried in Plot B, at Saint Patricks Cemetery in Burrillville, Rhode Island

Maurice Patrie passed away on May 21, 2003

Claire Patrie passed away on June 14, 2025

both are buried at Saint Patricks Cemetery in Burrillville, Rhode Island

In ending this piece, I felt that it was necessary to shine a light on the history of that specific piece of land. No, nothing dark and evil is tied to this house, just like nothing dark and evil was ever tied to the Richardson-Arnold house either. That was all made up. The fact that Josh Gates and his investigators chose to sink this low to continue to perpetuate this story speaks volumes for how deep people are willing to lower their standards for the sake of ratings.

It is a sad thing that greedy people wanting to make names for themselves by exploiting the dead and fabricating stories, in turn continue to perpetuate said tales over and over which in turn misleads the masses even more so. 

When will people wake up to see that all of this started in the early 1970's? 

Yet, it seems that no one wants to accept that. There was no history of  the farmhouse being haunted prior to that time, and yet, the world just continues to drink the paranormal "kool-aid" as if it were. Look, now the tall tales have "spilled over" to the property next door. When will it end?!

I hope that by reading this blog today, you will see the facts for what they are and use common sense to come to your own rational conclusions on your own. I also hope that people will eventually look at the original culprits who have been perpetuating this nonsense for decades, misleading their audience for so many years, and finally see them for who they truly are one day, deceivers. 

(Copyright 2025- J'aime Rubio) 

My message to Jason Hawes regarding the upcoming "Auction" of the Richardson-Arnold House

It has come to my attention that Jason Hawes, famous for his show "Ghost Hunters," has decided to start a GoFundMe to raise enough money to purchase the Richardson-Arnold House on the upcoming auction on October 31, 2025.  I sent Mr. Hawes a message on social media this morning with a sincere request that I am hoping he might consider, for the sake of historical preservation.  

Good Morning, 10/5/2025

I wanted to reach out to you because I have heard of your recent endeavor to raise funds to save the Richardson-Arnold house from the grasps of other potential owners who may further exploit and damage the history of the home. I am reaching out to you today to toss a suggestion into the ring, although I am sure you already have someone or some group in mind to manage the property if you are able to procure enough funds to purchase the home at auction on the 31st.

My request to you is to strongly consider donating the home to the Burrillville Historical and Preservation Society for proper care and management of the home. Betty Mencucci and her husband Carlo are the best suited to take on this task and those at the historical society are the ones who want to make sure the true history of the home is preserved with love and respect. It was Betty and Carlo who helped me with my fundraiser to replace Bathsheba Sherman's headstone and it is they who continue to repair and replace headstones throughout Burrillville's historic cemeteries, as well as preserving the factual history of those who have been wronged in death. I am requesting this with sincerity and hope that you would strongly consider making sure the historical society can keep this home safe and preserved for another century or more.

Pam Kenyon Cardin, my dear friend, and whose father grew up in the home, whose grandmother was born and raised in the home, and her great grandmother who lived there along with her father before that and so on and so forth, they didn't want this home to be a paranormal circus side show as it had become under the care of Jacqueline Nunez. I know that just before Pam died she was very upset with how things were going and how her family history was being told erroneously. That is why I created my blog "Deconstructing the Conjuring" and spent hundreds of hours researching the history of the home, the families who lived there and debunking false stories that have sprang up since the early 1970s. I do not want to see Pam's ancestral home continue to be treated like a amusement park -- it was a family home, where people lived and loved, and yes, some passed, but nothing nefarious ever took place on that property.

The truth of the home should be preserved and taught. Please consider my request if you are able to acquire the home. Please think of the original owners, the Richardsons, Arnolds, Butterworths and the Kenyons -- whom I know would not want their home to be treated the way it has been the last 6 years.

Thank you for your time,

J'aime Rubio, Author and Historian

Remembering Pamela Sweet Kenyon Cardin - Descendant of the Richardson-Arnold families

Pamela Sweet Kenyon
Class of '69

I have been meaning to write a post about my friend Pam for some time now. Honestly, it's been very difficult for me to find the words to share with the world just what a wonderful and true friend she was to me. I hope that by reading this post about my dear friend, that you will get to see just what a kind and caring person she was, and how much her family history meant to her.

First off, I didn't meet Pam until after I had done my research into the Conjuring House, debunking the false lore surrounding Bathsheba Sherman. In fact, I recall when I first met Norma Sutcliffe over 10 years ago, after she had provided me with information regarding the house, a few of the notes from Norma was email correspondence between herself and Pam.

Of course at that time I didn't want to just write her out of the blue and ask her questions, when I was literally a stranger. So, one day when I happened to be commenting on a Facebook post about the false history surrounding the Conjuring House, I noticed Pam had commented, too. I immediately took the opportunity to introduce myself and share with her my interest in sharing the truth about the house, which happened to be her ancestral home. We immediately hit it off, and became good friends shortly thereafter.

It was amazing to keep in touch with her for the few years that I knew her, getting to hear first hand about her memories at her grandparent's home, her research of her family genealogy and other stories surrounding the property and Burrillville itself, not to mention her family's opinion of the Perron family. With Pam's blessing, I started this blog "Deconstructing The Conjuring," to share the history to the best of my ability surrounding the genealogy of the families that lived on the farm, the history of the house itself, the stories of different owners who have lived there over the years, and everything else associated with the property, such as the false story behind Bathsheba Sherman.  My hope with this blog, which is a work-in-progress, was to share factual research surrounding this subject with the help of Pam, of course.

Over the time that we communicated, it was obvious she suffered from multiple health problems as she shared that she had developed Type 1 Diabetes in her early 50s, survived a diabetic coma, and was also breast cancer survivor, too. It was clear that Pam was a survivor, not a quitter; So, never in my wildest dreams did I imagine she would be taken from this earth so quickly. I have been very broken up about the loss of my friend for some time now, and that is one reason why I hadn't posted about her until today. 

Pamela Sweet Kenyon was born on July 8, 1951 in Harrisville, Rhode Island, to parents Earl Kenyon, Jr., and Marjorie Sweet Kenyon. Her grandparents, Sarah Butterworth and Earl Kenyon, Sr., owned and lived in the house on Round Top Road, where Pam's father also grew up. As a child Pam used to stay over at her grandparent's home and she loved visiting the farmhouse, and learning about her family history from her grandmother. 

Interestingly, Pam's ancestry on both sides were pioneer families local to the area. Not only did she descend from the Butterworth/Arnold/Richardson families who owned the farm the longest, but her mother's side of the family, the Sweet's, were also very well known throughout Burrillville/Harrisville area historically. Pamela attended school in town and was a graduate of Burrilville High School, class of '69. 

Pam is sitting on the 2nd row, 2nd seat (middle of photo) 

She also attended college and became an English teacher, and later on an Special Education teacher and she also along with her cousin, Joyce Remington McKenna studied to be a certified genealogist. She married Rick Cardin, and had daughter, Rhiannon (b. 1982) and son, Brian (b. 1984).  Pam loved her children so very much, and she often told me how difficult life was for her after losing her son, who passed away suddenly after an illness.

Besides the love she had for her family, Pam absolutely loved animals. If you knew her on social media, you would see she would often post about dogs and cats and her love for them, especially horses! She was big on horse riding when she was younger, and even rode in horse shows. She shared a photo of herself when she was child stating: 

"My two steadfast best buddies for most of my childhood -- Dusty, the pony with the iron mouth  and Rover, my father's collie who was my protector throughout most of my childhood. One vet thought Dusty was about 40 when he died. He was blind in one eye but that didn't stop him at all."--

It was clear by Pam's interest, she had a kind soul, but she also had an undying passion for history of her hometown.  As one of the founding members of the Burrillville Historical Society, Pam named their newsletter "The Historian," when she was the editor between 1982-1998. She also acted as secretary to the historical society for a time as well. 

Per Betty at the Historical Society, and their March 2024, "The Historian" newsletter, "Pam was always generous; she donated part of the former Sweet's Hill property to the Society to sell in order to raise (much-needed) funds. It was sold for about $9,000 to DEM and is now part of Black Hut Management Area. Early in 2008, Pam sold her house on Sweet's Hill and moved to Florida. Before she left, she let the Society scan her entire collection of Sweet's Hill photos and donated artifacts from the farm and several large framed photos. She also donated a whole room full of books which started out tradition of having book sales."--

In one of our email exchanges to one another Pam mentioned to me that although she was living in the south, the south was just not for her. She missed her home, and the only place she really considered home was Rhode Island. She often commented on her memories of living up there and wished she was back there, back to that time period, back to that place. It was obvious that the best memories of her life were in Burrillville, and her heart ached because of it. 

I never found out what exactly happened, as I knew she had taken a bad fall in November of 2023, and after that she stopped posting on social media and I never heard from her, and she never responded to any of my emails or letters. Eventually, I got the news no one ever wants to hear, that she had passed away in December of 2023.  

I wanted to honor her on this blog, since she was the inspiration for me to create it in the first place. I had already debunked the nonsense surrounding Bathsheba Sherman's false history that the Warrens and Perron family have perpetuated in the film, "The Conjuring," and the books "House of Darkness, House of Light," but with Pam, we were going to delve even deeper into the history of the home, the history of the families who lived there and expose the truth for the world to see -- that this house is just an old farm house that several families considered "Home Sweet Home," just the way Pam saw it.

Rest In Peace My Friend. --

Courtesy: Burrillville Historical Society

(Copyright 2025- J'aime Rubio www.jaimerubiowriter.com) 

Animosity Continues to Brew Between Former Owners of the Conjuring House

 

So, a little over a month ago, I was watching my friend the "Side Eye Guy's" video on "The Boys at the Conjuring House." I just so happened to make a comment on the video when lo and behold, former Conjuring House owner, Corey Heinzen jumps on to argue with me. It seems that every time I am mentioned on Youtube regarding the history of the Richardson-Arnold house (aka the Conjuring House) or even when I just comment on a video relating to the subject, Corey shows up out of nowhere with something to say. Because I have been dealing with some health issues this year, I haven't been online as much as I have been in the past, especially within the last month, so I didn't really have a chance to reply in detail. So, it’s a little late today, but better late than never.

Today, I will be addressing his original comments as well as touching on the animosity that continues to brew between former owner Norma Sutcliffe and Corey Heinzen, which is all based on alleged dishonesty and unethical behavior on the part of Heinzen at the time of purchasing the property from Sutcliffe.

Although a lot of people out there think the Heinzen's are nice people, my personal experiences with them from the very beginning have been anything but nice. In fact, after finding out about them purchasing the property back in 2019, I reached out to them via snail mail with a letter sincerely asking them to preserve the factual history of the home and not to jump on the bandwagon with all of the paranormal groups perpetuating the false lore that has been spread for many years. I also provided them with a copy of some of my thorough research debunking Bathsheba Sherman's false attachment to the home's history, as well as debunking several false claims about deaths at the home claimed in Andrea Perron's books, so they couldn't say they weren't aware of the facts.  I was immediately met with a threatening message from their friend, Bill Brock on Facebook on July 27, 2019, which showed that someone had taken a sharpie and wrote the expletive “Fuck Off!” on my letter that I had sent to the Heinzen's.

I actually spoke to someone who was there at the house when this event took place and this person told me that he saw when Bill Brock took my letter and sent this and that Corey Heinzen was okay with it, despite Corey's email to me on August 1, 2019  claiming he had no idea that Bill had done that. 

But going back to the video on SEG's channel last month, this blog will be to set some information straight so that the public will actually have a chance to know Norma's side of the story, not just a one-sided story by the Heinzen's.

In Corey’s comment to me he states: “So why was Norma on Ghost Hunters, Season 2, Episode 2? Or better yet, why does she talk about it with Andrea Perron on countless videos?”  Then he goes on to ask: “Strange, it didn’t stop her from having other teams in to investigate? Or having her “tea time with the spirits”? Or talking to her former staff at the daycare about the ghosts? Would you like for me to continue? I honestly don’t think you were given the complete story by her.”

Originally my first response to Corey on the Youtube thread was this: 

"First and foremost G.H. Season 2 was filmed between 2005 and 2006. When Norma bought the house she was told a previous family claimed that the house was haunted. She found it interesting even though she was more skeptical than a believer. The Perron's, upon meeting Norma made vague claims about the house in the beginning. It wasn't until years later that Andrea started showing up at the house wanting to share stories with Norma. (Some of which were recorded). At that point Norma didn't know a lot about the history of the house and so Andrea made claims and Norma politely listened. One of Norma's friends talked her into doing the G.H. episode hoping to debunk the rumors. She regretted it later. After Norma started researching the facts about the house she saw that all the so-called " history" Andrea had tried to spread wasn't based on documented facts and Norma even tried to confront Andrea at a local Paracon. That was when Andrea got upset, screamed at her and ran off stage because someone had called her out on her over embellishments. So there you go....."--- --- 

Going back to all the questions coming from Corey on the Youtube video's comment thread, I decided to go straight to the source and reach out to Norma myself for her answers to provide to the public. But first, my question to Corey is how do you live with yourself knowing you tricked an elderly lady, a widow nonetheless, into selling her property to you under the guise you were going to use the property for people and/or children with disabilities and animal therapy? When Norma was told that the house would be in no way used for anything paranormal, and yet the ink hadn’t even dried on the property sales documents, and you were already planning paranormal business on the property.

NORMA’S ANSWERS: 

"Hi. To answer the questions, the only reason I did the Ghost Hunters show was out of sheer curiosity to see what they would claim, long before the movie or the return of Andrea to the farm.  Also, the only other group I had allowed in the home to investigate was Keith Johnson because they called me.  Seeing that he was the original investigator, both groups came because I was very interested in what they would claim, none of which used critical thinking, as Kent Spottswood and I did. 

Why would I speak about facts if I wanted to believe or to make claims about having ghosts? They just used Perron's claims, and Johnson made the same claims in his book without an investigation into the facts.  I never said I believed in the paranormal. Even during the filming of the show.  At the end I said it was “interesting” and would have this to show in the future.  If I wanted that attention I would have done my own ghost tours.  People will believe what they want….. no matter what evidence is given.  The hard evidence against Perron’s claims is at the library and town hall and all the lies about who died at the farm.   I confronted her (Andrea Perron) at the paranormal event in Harrisville in front of her followers and I was booed and told to leave."--

Regarding Operating a Daycare and “Tea Parties”:

"I operated the first group home day care in the state.  I was part of the development of home day care rules and began the home day care association in Rhode Island.  I never told the staff of my daycare that I believed in ghosts. I told them about the Perron claims.  We joked at times about ghosts but only jokingly.  Also, I never spoke of the claims at my tea parties.  I was given a lot of publicity for my “teas.”  In national magazines, local magazines, the news and on local radio and I never mentioned any ghost claims.   Also, my daycare was in Rhode Island Monthly and on the TV news as a great example of childcare in Rhode Island. 

I spoke of visits from the Perron family and Warren’s visit.  May I remind everyone that the Warrens said the Perron family were the most dysfunctional family they had ever met.  The Warren’s told the children their mother was possessed and never to play with Ouija board.  Never had any issues. I was well respected. Licensed in 1975.  Retired. 2012, at age 62. My daycare was unusual because I had sheep, horses, a dog and cats.  Long walks in woods on trails, swimming in the brook, sledding on the hill, etc.   I also did cooking workshops and was featured in many magazines for that.   I was well known in town, and I never received a complaint by any parent."---

Regarding the alleged drawings of the "Crooked-Neck Lady" that was revealed after the Heinzen's purchased the home: 

"There were never drawings in the house like that.  No children ever went to the basement. I saw a photo of  the drawing; they claimed it looked like it was inside door of white cabinet in cellar." --  According to Norma, this drawing was placed after the home was sold, and did not exist prior to her selling the house.     

Regarding the sale of the house and the many items Norma left in the house (antiques):

"Corey lied about his intentions and the neighbors and town were infuriated about it.  They knew me and my husband, how we fully restored the house and farm buildings.  Another lie claimed by Cory that he had to restore the house.

Corey and Roxanne claimed their intention was to open a farm for special needs children with animals. Roxanne was to raise funds having afternoon tea.  Right after closing, Corey forced Roxanne out.  I confronted Corey of their intentions of purchasing the house if it were due to the movie, he just said nothing but moved his head "No."  

Well, Corey lied to me about his intentions. I confronted him about exploiting the farm, he never admitted to his plan.  If he had, I would not have sold it to him.

Roxanne was the main person I spoke to throughout the days before closing.  She was the partner who told me the intentions they had planned.  She did the walk through.  I only saw Corey twice, at the initial meeting and one more time without Jennifer.   We never discussed why I was leaving.  Only asked Roxanne what she would like if I left items.  She was the one who showed the most interest in the books the other items.  During the walkthrough I had to schedule another clean out but Roxanne said don’t bother.  She would do it.  So, I told her what items I was going to leave.  

I had a dealer come who I had hoped would take all antiques I left but did not want large items.  So, I told Roxanne that I would leave big pieces since they belonged in the house. And she had shown great interest in books and large tables; I never discussed anything with Corey.  Except I said to him directly that I assume you do not have plans to exploit this home because of movie. He said nothing.  I went on to say because not only would I be angry, but the neighbors would retaliate.     

Never talked to either Jennifer or Corey about items in the house. That is why I signed a document describing items I left for Roxanne.   She was at the closing sitting right next to Cory.  Next day Corey told her she was out.   She had a key I gave her.  She went back to the house and took whatever she could handle and got a lawyer.   She has emails I believe discussing with Corey the terms of plan once the purchase went through.

This all began with Cory Heinzen’s lies.  Had I known, I would never have sold it to them.  Who would buy the farm now?   I had wished someone would have loved it for its own beauty and peacefulness."---     

What Norma has to say to those continuing to spread false information about the history of the home:

“You are all destroying truth and have no real evidence. So, if you claim the house is so obviously haunted, then get the real scientists and skeptics in to do the research.   But you don’t dare!"--   

In ending, as you can see from Norma's side of things, she has reasonable explanations for her side of the story. There are always two sides to a story, and Norma really hasn't been at the forefront lately stating her side of the story to the public, so unfortunately it's the attention whores who want to remain relevant in the paranormal field that keep spouting out their nonsense without actually stating the truth. Please use critical thinking and common sense to sift between the bullshit and the truth, and come to your own educated and informed opinion.

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(copyright 2025 -- J'aime Rubio -- www.jaimerubiowriter.com) 

Bathsheba Sherman Gets A New Headstone

 

On August 30, 2024, we finally reached our goal to replace Bathsheba Sherman's headstone by seeing it all the way through, and having it finally replaced. I have to thank Betty and Carlo Mencucci for making this possible with their efforts throughout the last 4 years as well as Ocean State Monuments for doing a phenomenal job of replicating Bathsheba's headstone to the best of their ability given the type of stone and size. 

I posted the following post below on both Facebook and Instagram the day it was revealed, which quickly went viral. In fact, when Jason Hawes shared it, that led to over 200,000 views on that one post alone, so that was pretty amazing!

Photo: Elise Giammarco Carlson

"Yesterday, on August 30th, 2024, the Burrillville Historical and Preservation Society, c/o Betty and Carlo Mencucci, gave Bathsheba Sherman back the dignity she's so much deserved. A new headstone was finally placed a few feet behind the original base of her original headstone.

The innocent woman who was posthumously slandered by many people, some living still and some who have already passed on, has now been truly vindicated by having her headstone restored. This has been a long time coming. It's taken a lot of work and I'm so grateful to everyone who helped in this effort.

Thank you to everyone who donated, shared the links to the fundraiser, and who raised awareness of the truth about Bathsheba. That she was an innocent victim in all of this, and that "The Conjuring" film, and the book "House of Darkness, House of Light," made her out to be someone she was not.

For many years, her headstone lay there in the cemetery, broken, because of ignorant people who believed the fabricated lies about her that were literally conjured up in the 1970's.

There have been many people ( para celebrities) who claimed that they wanted to help, but yet during the time that we were raising the funds they were MIA. I will not be forgetting that. However, there were some people who stepped up to the plate and helped and I won't be forgetting them either.

In the end, it was the average person like you and I that made the difference. And now Bathsheba will have the final resting place and peace she so much deserves. (Photo Credit: Elise Carlson)"

@followers
#justiceforBathsheba #BathshebaShermansVindication #BurrillvilleHistory #TheConjuringWasALie #storiesoftheforgotten #jaimerubiowriter #newheadstoneforBathsheba

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Fundraising Efforts Met

Several years ago, I had reached out to Betty at the Burrillville Historical & Preservation Society and asked if there was anything I could do to help Bathsheba get her headstone repaired. It was determined that the stone was damaged beyond repair and the original remaining pieces of the stone had to be put in permanent storage for its own preservation. I had reached out to some of the people  who I had spoken to over the years who happened to be related in one way or another to Bathsheba or her husband, Judson, and I had hoped to get her family involved to replace her headstone. 

Unfortunately, that met a dead end and even though I had reached out to various relatives, the historical society never heard from them to initiate a replacement. So then I started thinking about raising the funds myself, but I wanted to make sure it was done the right way. I wanted to make sure that everyone knew it was on the level and so I started a GoFundMe with the Burrillville Historical and Preservation Society listed as the beneficiaries, so that the public would see that I would not be the one collecting any money, it would all go directly to the historical society for Bathsheba.

Once Betty was on board, I got it started, and eventually Kerry Hopkins joined the team and the three of us managed the GoFundMe fundraiser online. 

I went and made a list of people within the paranormal field and reached out to them one by one individually. I contacted so many people asking for any help they could give be it a monetary contribution or even just sharing the link on their social media platforms since I know they all have a lot of followers, and we could get the word out much easier that we were doing something positive within the historical and paranormal community. 

What was the outcome? 

Out of all of the para-celebrities that I contacted, only a handful made a donation: Richard Estep, Penny Griffiths Morgan and Troy Taylor. Kenny Biddle, who is also part of the paranormal field but also on the skeptical side of things, also contributed to the fundraiser by sharing our link multiple times and reaching out to his followers. Biddle's added research and articles on the Skeptical Inquirer, as well as youtube live streams involving information regarding Bathsheba and the Conjuring House has also proved invaluable over the years.

Thankfully there were quite a bit of people within the paranormal community and historical community who kindly shared the link, regardless of whether or not they donated. For that, I am very appreciative. I also just learned yesterday evening that paranormal content creator, Amanda Millette, who goes by the pseudonym @spooky.new.england had also contributed to the fundraiser. 

There were others who donated such as Marcee Brightenstine, an author and historical investigative writer, Peter Meyerhoff, an experienced historian, and of course Tina Spottswood, the widow of the late, great Kent Spottswood. Without his invaluable research we would not know as much as we do about Bathsheba, as he was the first to debunk the "fakelore" as my friend Shannon Bradley Byers would put it. The world owes Kent a debt of gratitude for scouring through the archives years before the average person had a real clue of just who Bathsheba Sherman was. 

When it came to the "paranormal celebrities" I had contacted, very few replied to my message, most of them ignored me all together, and one had an excuse why he couldn't share the post -- not even bringing up the donation side of things. I was thankful for any reply but obviously disappointed that he couldn't even take the time to share the post. 

Sadly, there were several who had actually made money off of filming at the farmhouse, by doing television programs or having events there for one reason or another, who never reached out to us, and never donated or shared the link -- yet on film or in social media posts they claim that they cared so much about Bathsheba and wanted her to get a new headstone. Really? Then why didn't you help us? 

Again, money or not, the post could have been shared if they truly wanted to help our cause, but they ignored it. One perfect example was when I had reached out to a producer of a hit television paranormal series (that is now cancelled), and he had told me he would share my link to his two stars of his show, and I also reached out to both of them individually as well. Neither one replied, neither one shared the link, and neither one donated in any way. 

Again, I learned a lot during this time --- who actually cares about the dead, and who pretend to care on camera or social media so they can stay relevant and keep making money. That is a lesson a lot of you might want to pay attention to. Just because these paranormal people go on television and profess to care so much about helping share the truth about the dead, when it comes down to it, some of them are not really willing to go that extra mile to actually right those wrongs when given an opportunity to do so. 

I also wanted to touch on another habit that I noticed with a lot of fundraisers once they have reached their goal. A lot of times people will come out of the woodwork claiming they raised money for the cause, to make themselves look like they were involved when they weren't. 

In an interview recently with Dave Schrader, Andrea Perron mentioned the replacement of the stone and although she doesn't outright claim to have been involved, it's the way she mentioned it, even mentioning the costs to complete the job, that would leave the average person believing or assuming she was involved in some way. 

She wasn't. 

Besides the GoFundMe fundraiser I started, the Burrillville Historical and Preservation Society had one cemetery history tour event back in 2022, where they had asked for donations towards replacing Bathsheba's headstone, but that was the only time to my knowledge that donations towards her headstone were accepted outside of the Gofundme fundraiser online.

Did they? Or Didn't They?

After a filming of an episode of "Kindred Spirits" at the farmhouse for The Travel Channel; (Season 4; Episode 2; "Hell House"; Air Date: January 10, 2020), which I had previously provided producer James Gagliano my historical research on not only Bathsheba Sherman but also the history of the home prior to their filming,  I had learned there had been a screening of that episode there at the farmhouse with the owners, the stars of the show Amy Bruni and Adam Berry, and some members of the Historical Society. 

In a post going way back to 2020, after learning that I was planning a fundraiser to replace Bathsheba's headstone, Adam Berry had mentioned he was happy that "more than one group of people  are raising funds for the historical society!!" 

Then one of the former owners, Jennifer Heinzen, made a comment on social media this year, just after Bathsheba's headstone was finally replaced, claiming they had raised $550.00 for Bathsheba's headstone in 2020, which I believe was the same time of the screening the Kindred Spirits episode, given the photograph below. 

However, according to Betty Mencucci at the Burrillville Historical and Preservation Society when we spoke back on February 2, 2022, there were no funds raised for Bathsheba Sherman's headstone at that time. That was why I had started a fundraiser to begin with, because no one else had. I had been thinking about it for years.

In fact, Betty stated to me by correspondance: "When Kindred Spirits did their filming they said they would be happy to come back and do a fundraiser. Then Covid happened and everything stopped."

If any money was raised that evening in 2020, it became a donation towards the historical society itself, not any one specific cause. That must be clarified to the public.

For the record, the listed people below are the ONLY people to donate to replace Bathsheba Sherman's headstone via the GoFundMe fundraiser. These people below are the ones who made it happen, and they all deserve to be thanked publicly. 

THANK YOU FOR HELPING US, HELP BATHSHEBA SHERMAN! 

LIST OF DONORS: 

1. Tina Spottswood (widow of Kent Spottswood, the original historian to debunk Bathsheba Sherman's false history) $25.00
2. Penny Griffiths Morgan $5.00 
3. Andy Dimitras $5.00
4. Peter Meyerhof $50.00  
5. Troy Taylor $40.00  
6. Donna Wolk $20.00
7. James David $20.00
8. Richard Estep $40.00 
9. Jennifer Sprague $10.00
10. Karen Carothers $10.00
11. Angela Haklar $ 10.00
12. Patricia Austin $10.00
13. Shari Cain $10.00
14. Jennifer Campbell $20.00
15. Lisa Krick $ 20.00
16. Leanna Tallet Leanna $20.00
17. Anonymous * 20.00
18. Christina Quentin $25.00
19. Ileata Kenley $25.00
20. J'aime Rubio $100.00 
21. Dora Huber $ 25.00
22. Kandy Sumpter $25.00
23. Chelsea Hartupee $25.00
24. Judy Lucas $40.00
25. Anonymous *$10.00
26. Rikki Suen $10.00
27. Dayle Dooley $ 20.00
28. Anonymous *$5.00
29. Daniel Echt $25.00
30. Susan Doughty $10.00
31. Amanda Millette $20.00 
32. Jessi K $5.00
33. Johnelle Bergeron $ 20.00
34. Anonymous * 20.00
35. Marcee Brightenstine $25.00  
36. Anonymous * $10.00
37. Jillian Auffinger $10.00
38. Mikayla McKivergan $ 50.00
39. Gregory Duhamel $20.00 
40. Anonymous* $15.00
41. Rebecca Bonin $20.00
42. Crystal Pesaturo $50.00
43. Jacqueline Nunez $1,200.00 
44. Summer Paradis $50.00
45. Tanya Gilroy $10.00
46. Brooke Coen $5.00
47. Bonnie Pulver $ 25.00
48. Donald LaCroix $50.00
49. William Bryan $ 10.00
50. Ashley Dupont $ 5.00
51. Anonymous * $10.00
52. Elizabeth Thornton $ 20.00
53. Ken Krippeler $ 35.00

TOTAL FUNDS RAISED: $ 2,365.00

Last but not least, for the record, no one involved with the Warren's or N.E.S.P.R., nor any members of the Perron family have donated a single penny towards this fundraiser to replace Bathsheba's headstone. That should speak volumes to the world. The two families who benefited the most financially, besides James Wan and Warner Bros., didn't have anything to do with helping right one of  the most egregious wrongs done to Bathsheba posthumously. Not to mention the fact both of these families, the Warren's and the Perron's are actually the ones to blame for the start of all of this madness to begin with.  I don't think I need to even say another word about that. 

Current owner of the Richardson-Arnold farmhouse, Jacqueline Nunez's contribution shortly after purchasing the property was a large amount that put our fundraiser past its original goal.  Although it's unfortunate with the recent turn of events taking place at the farmhouse, and all the unnecessary drama going on which takes away from the historical integrity of the property, (which I do not approve of in any way), we did appreciate her generosity donating when she did.

Although there were dozens upon dozens of people who have used and exploited the "Conjuring" story and Bathsheba Sherman for their own financial gain and to promote their celebrity status, there are still good people out there who want to tell the truth, regardless of money or fame. Those are the people who keep sharing her true story, those are the people who donated to this fundraiser. Those are the people who made the difference. THANK YOU! 

Rest in Peace, Bathsheba -- from the people who really, truly care about you and getting your story correct, and respecting your final resting place. You will never be forgotten. 

(Copyright- 2024 -- www.jaimerubiowriter.com) 

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