Showing posts with label Lies. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Lies. Show all posts

Thursday, January 9, 2025

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.

---- 

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

Sunday, October 20, 2024

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

----

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) 



Sunday, May 21, 2023

The Curse of The Harrisville Farmhouse - Ghost Adventures Lies Again!

 

Photo: Travel Channel


Originally published on November 4, 2019

For those of you who know me and read my work, you know I am not a fan of Ghost Adventures' methods in which they promote historic locations. Don't get me wrong, they go to some amazing places, but I just do not agree with their work itself. Let's be honest, Zak Bagans and his team have made a fortune by visiting historic locations said to be "haunted" and they either over embellish the history there or completely make up stories to fit their agenda perpetuating the place to be in fact haunted. Not every historic location has some evil events that transpired there. Not every place has some horrific tragedy tied to it either.

I am a firm believer that when you do something, you do it right. Therefore, when I took on the task of sharing the true history of the Richardson-Arnold House aka the Old Brook Farm or Old Arnold Estate in Burrillville (Harrisville), Rhode Island, I did extensive research to make sure I was telling the facts, not fiction. Like many of you, I had watched "The Conjuring," and was taken aback when I saw that the filmmakers were trying to claim the story was based on true events. I knew better. Hollywood is notorious for stretching the truth to make a movie more entertaining, but in this case, they didn't just stretch the truth, they threw the truth out the window and "conjured" up their own fantasy instead.

After the movie came out, everyone jumped on the bandwagon writing articles about the history of the property, 99% of which were all erroneously reported. Only a few decent writers, such as Kent Spottswood, Shannon Bradley Byers and myself came out with our own thoroughly researched investigation on the property's history as well as Bathsheba Sherman's true story, which deflated all the claims that the Perron and the Warren family have tried to claim for the past 40 odd years in regards to the history of the home.

The 2019 Halloween Special that aired on Halloween night on the Travel Channel would prove to be just like all the other other Ghost Adventures episodes, full of incorrect information and flat out lies, not to mention really bad acting. The sad part of it all is that Ghost Adventures had every capability and opportunity to research and share the true facts about the estate to stand apart from other programs and paranormal investigators, to prove once and for all on a national platform that the folklore doesn't fit the facts. But then it wouldn't be as interesting to the world now would it? So they didn't share the truth, but instead they went along with all the others pushing the same false history.

Ghost Adventures wasn't the only television program pushing the B.S. story line about the house that night either. The program that aired just before that episode was "Most Terrifying Places" where of course, the #1 spot on their list was the Harrisville Farmhouse in Rhode Island. In that program two people were interviewed,  Dan Rivera and of course, Tony Spera (Ed and Lorraine Warren's son-in-law) who should really know better!

What I find almost comical is that in both television programs, "Ghost Adventures Halloween Special: The Curse of the Harrisville Farmhouse" and "Most Terrifying Places," they all use the same regurgitated story, over and over. If they had done a quick search on Google it isn't difficult to find my blog which I published over 5 years ago, stating factual documentation that completely debunks all these stories. Not to mention, my book where I have gone even more in-depth on Bathsheba's story as well as debunking the other deaths that have been erroneously tied to the property.  Personally, I am getting tired of these paranormal shows continuing to jump on this "Conjuring" bandwagon and perpetuating false stories that have no basis in fact.

With the Ghost Adventures episode they open up their show with a list of people who allegedly died on the property. Let me make this very clear, there is a record that Sally Eddy died with her two children from Typhus at the home, and I am sure other relatives in the Arnold family had natural deaths that did occur at the home.

But there were no murders, suicides, drownings, none! That makes a huge difference.

For the record, Susan Arnold did not kill herself on the property at all. This is a lie.

Susan Arnold lived in another house in town, she did not live at the Arnold Estate on Round Top Road. Did she kill herself? Yes, but again, not at the property.

Did John Arnold kill himself there?

No. He died at his house near Tarkiln which is a good 15 minute drive from the farmhouse. Did he kill himself? Yes, but again, it was not on this property.

Was Prudence Arnold murdered by William Knowlton at the property as told by Lorraine Warren?

No. Prudence was killed at a house in Uxbridge, Massachusetts, again, not the Arnold Estate.

What about Jarvis Smith?

He did die on the property but on the outskirts of the Arnold's land, after being exposed to the elements while extremely drunk. His death was considered to be from natural causes, not foul play or suicide.

And lastly, poor Bathsheba Sherman, who just cannot get a break!

Did Bathsheba Sherman work on the Arnold property?

No.

Did Bathsheba live on the property?

 No.

Was she ever accused of or rumored to have killed an child or infant during her lifetime?

No.

Was she ever accused of or rumored to have been a witch, or descended of witches?

No.

Did she kill herself?

No.

Did someone make up a completely false narrative surrounding Bathsheba Sherman to create some sort of scary ghost story to attach to the old Arnold Estate?

Yes. But the question remains, whose wild imagination concocted this terrible and slanderous story?

Although I believe Lorraine Warren used her "celebrity" status back in the 1970's and 1980's to bring attention to this story, I am still unsure if she actually made this story up on her own, or with the help of others.  No matter who started this horrific story, I have to place some blame on Andrea Perron for continuing to allow Bathsheba's name to be continuously slandered over and over. She could have stepped up to the plate and corrected people, but she didn't. The odd thing though is when I mentioned on my original blog "The Real Bathsheba Sherman: True History Vs. Conjured Fiction" back in 2014, of all the terrible things Andrea had written about Bathsheba in her book, "House of Darkness, House of Light, " she emailed me and backpedaled, blaming Lorraine Warren for causing all the slander against Bathsheba.

An excerpt of her email she sent me via my website on Tuesday, July 5, 2016:

From: Andrea Perron
"The Conjuring" and the Warren files did a huge disservice to Bathsheba's memory and I had no control over how she was represented and vilified in the film but I will always defend her because I do not believe she was guilty of what she has been accused of by Lorraine Warren...and I never did. "House of Darkness House of Light" is a chronicle of the events which occurred during the decade my family spent in the house and it includes the tales we were told by the locals at the time, including the town historian. I would be happy to address the discrepancies in the story with you personally at any time, as I respect the effort you have made to clarity the actual history -- fact vs. fiction -- but what happened in that house to our family is a fact which cannot be denied...."-- (email web form submission to www.jaimerubiowriter.com)


Comparing the email in 2016 to her stance today, you would never know that Andrea would want to defend Bathsheba by the looks of her interview on Ghost Adventures, because she continued to push the same old stories once again, and I saw it with my own eyes. Andrea wasn't the only one on my radar that night. Bill Brock, another self-proclaimed paranormal investigator, was interviewed by Zak and he along with the new owners gave their "experiences" since having stayed at the house.

Let's make this clear. As soon as this house hit the market there were people chomping at the bit to get at it. Former owner, Norma Sutcliffe felt that she had found the right potential buyers based on the fact they told her they were going to open the home for writers workshops and that they were going to keep horses on the property to help people with special needs. They also told her they would live on site, but then the news came out about the truth behind why they purchased the property, to cash in on the Conjuring story, and the former owner felt used and betrayed.

I attempted to reach out to the new owners back when they first "moved" into the home last summer, and I told them straight out that I had hoped they were really interested in preserving the true history of the home, not exploiting it. I also very generously gave them a copy of my chapter in my book, "Stories of the Forgotten: Infamous, Famous & Unremembered,"  which went in-depth into the history of the home as well as my debunking of the Bathsheba Sherman folklore, so that if they hadn't been privy to the facts before, they couldn't say that they didn't know about it now. I was hoping they would accept the truth about the home and want to correct the false stories, so that the true history of the home could be preserved and shared.

I had truly hoped for my correspondence to be well received. I did mention that I would continue to do my part to expose the truth even if others continued to push the false history of the home. As a historical journalist that is what I do. I have something that most people seem to be lacking; integrity.


Well, Mr. Bill Brock, the one I mentioned earlier, got a hold of the letter I sent the owners and he wrote the expletive ("FUCK OFF!") on my letter, took a photo of it and sent it to me on Facebook, immediately blocking me afterwards so I couldn't respond to him.  It was quite surprising to say the least since I don't know the guy to begin with, and it just seemed odd to me that he'd go out of his way to find me on social media to send me that. The only thing I figure is that maybe he felt I was throwing a wrench in his little effort to make some money off of the property's false history, and since I am shining a spotlight on the truth, I stood in his way? What else could it be? Why get mad at someone for sending you the truth about the property?

So, I guess once the owners found out what Mr. Brock did, in order to perform some sort of damage control, the owner wrote to me and apologized for his friends' actions. Not sure how sincere that was, but I was happy to accept his apology. Again, I won't hold it against the owner for what Mr. Brock did, but I am disappointed that the Heinzen's actions moving forward proved what I suspected that they'd do from the very beginning; exploit the home's history by jumping on the "Conjuring" bandwagon with Andrea Perron and the other paranormal investigators who were chomping at the bit to film there. Actions speak louder than words.

Going back to the show, they interviewed a police officer from Harrisville/Burrillville, who insinuated that the former owners (Norma Sutcliffe) had made many 911 calls for "mysterious illnesses" which was utterly ridiculous, not to mention a violation of his ethics as a officer of the law who is supposed to serve and protect, which also means protect their citizens personal information. For one, the former owners did not make many 911 calls, and the few that were made were for serious health matters which had nothing to do with ghosts or curses. The police officer should be ashamed of himself for perpetuating such nonsense. I have since contacted the Burrillville Police Department about the matter and I suggested that the officer owes Norma Sutcliffe a public apology, and that he needs to stick to his day job, not moonlighting on paranormal shows.

The program was a train-wreck in my opinion, with talk of demons moving hangers in the closet, to jumping to conclusions about alternate dimensions and other nonsense. Look, I believe in a spirit realm and I have even experienced real paranormal events in my lifetime, but people who actually experience things on a regular basis just don't get scared that easy. I know from experience. The show seemed like some sort of comedy gone wrong.  I felt like I was watching children playing with flashlights in the dark scaring each other because of noises and shadows that the other was hearing or seeing. It was really difficult to keep watching.

In the end, thousands of gullible people who worship Zak Bagans and his team were satisfied with his television performance, while all the rest of us shook our heads at the whole thing. What upset me the most was the fact that no one at any point in time wanted to take the moment in front of a national audience and say "wait a minute, the stories about the Arnold's, the story about Bathsheba, all of that was wrong. It's false. Let's get that straightened out for the record." But that was not done.

Whether the Perron family had any sort of paranormal experiences when they lived in the home is not for me to argue either way. This has always been about my defending the real history of the home and debunking the folklore surrounding it.  One thing is clear, there was never any sort of rumors about Bathsheba Sherman or any sort of dark stories about the Arnold's until the the 1970's. If you don't believe me, do some research for yourself.

So in ending, all the "history" that Zak tried to claim about the home is all untrue. The Arnold family was not cursed. The farmhouse is not cursed. Bathsheba Sherman didn't have any ties to that house either, no matter what Andrea Perron tries to claim. I wish people would wise up and see the truth about this story. There is an innocent old woman laying in her grave, a grave that has been vandalized over and over by ignorant people who believe all the false ghost stories, people who blindly believed she was an evil witch who murdered babies. This poor woman has been slandered in death so viciously and she has had no one to speak for her for all these years, until now. And for as long as there is air in my lungs I promise you that I will be defending Bathsheba Sherman and her real life, and I will do all I can to expose those who continue to push the false narrative that has been spread like a disease.

You see, I believe we owe the dead nothing but the truth, so making big bucks to be a sell-out like Ghost Adventures does, just doesn't interest me. Instead, I would rather set the record straight even if I don't make a dime from my research, because I actually care about sharing the truth with the world.

For more information on the story of old Arnold Estate and Bathsheba Sherman please check out my blog where you can read the chapter from my book "Stories of the Forgotten: Infamous, Famous & Unremembered,"  for FREE here:  BATHSHEBA SHERMAN'S VINDICATION 

(Copyright - 2019 - J'aime Rubio,  www.jaimerubiowriter.com)

Saturday, May 20, 2023

Deconstructing The Conjuring

Photo: Courtesy of Scott Shumas

In the 1970’s a story so outrageous and so terrifying sprang up out of thin air in a small town known as Burrillville, Rhode Island. The story was that a demonic entity was terrorizing a family living in a small farmhouse on the outskirts of town, near the Rhode Island/ Massachusetts border. The entity was quickly labeled as a woman by the name of Bathsheba Sherman and from there on out, this story, continuously added to, snowballed out of control into the monstrosity that is the demonic villain in the film known as “The Conjuring.”

Bathsheba Sherman was not a witch, nor was she descended from Mary Towne Easty as Lorraine Warren’s character claims in the film. Bathsheba was simply a decent Christian woman, who lived her life in that small town for 73 years, never having one bad accusation made against her in her lifetime. She was never accused of causing any sort of death or injury to anyone. There were no infants delivered up to Lucifer. There were no murders, and she did not hang herself either. She died of a stroke of paralysis, as an old woman, warm in her bed.

Bathsheba also never lived at the home on Round Top Road, which has been dubbed in recent years as “The Conjuring House.” In reality this farmhouse already had a name, The Richardson-Arnold House or simply the Old Arnold Estate. In later years, it also went by the name the Old Brooke Farm, or simply the Farm. At no point in time has it ever been known as the Dexter-Richardson house as one very popular podcast has claimed.

For the record, Bathsheba lived elsewhere in town and was not affiliated with the Arnold’s home in any way. She never lived nor worked at that property at any time in her life. The lies spread about Bathsheba seem to have started in the 1970’s shortly after the death of Mr. Kenyon (the last owner prior to the Perron family).

This was around the same time period that the Perron family purchased the home. Prior to that, no one in town had ever heard or read anything that insinuated any sort of accusations or rumors about Bathsheba in any manner. For the record, there are NO recorded documents of any sort of accusations made against Bathsheba anywhere during her lifetime in any historical records.

As time went by, the stories about the home and its alleged evil entity spiraled into a life of its own. It didn’t help matters that a book was written further slandering Bathsheba, and later the film, "The Conjuring," was made, and said to be based on the case files of Ed and Lorraine Warren. With the release of the film, the story sullying Bathsheba spread even more, like wildfire, moving about out of control, and now millions upon millions of people have become familiar with the fictional villain from the movie, believing that the story was true, when in fact, it was all a lie from the very beginning.

On the precipice of the 10th year anniversary of the release of this film, to date there has been only a handful of people trying to set the facts straight to clear Bathsheba’s name, myself being one of those people. I published my very first blog shedding light on the truth and debunking the false history in 2014, and later in my chapter “Bathsheba Sherman’s Vindication” in one of my books "Stories of the Forgotten: Infamous, Famous & Unremembered," published in 2016. Now with the GoFundMe fundraiser that I created to help the Burrillville Historical and Preservation Society raise funds to replace Bathsheba’s headstone in 2021, finally we are starting to see a light at the end of the tunnel. It has been a long road, and at times a very lonely one.

Let me be very clear, besides my own research, as well as my good friend and former owner, Norma Sutcliffe, the late historian Kent Spottswood, and author Shannon Bradley-Byers, no other people had published anything on paper or online in the way of clearing Bathsheba's name whatsoever. Later on, my friend and researcher Kenny Biddle joined us in the "good fight" to separate fact from fiction regarding both Bathsheba Sherman and the house on Round Top Road in his piece in the Skeptical Inquirer. Another researcher and historian, Elise Giammarco Carlson who worked with Carl Johnson, also researched and wrote her findings on the property's history as well as Bathsheba's history, and lastly my friend Betty Mencucci from the Burrillville Historical & Preservation Society has been sharing the truth and striving at protecting Bathsheba's grave for years.

Again, over time it appears more and more people are starting to see the truth, but you have to understand, those of us who spent tireless hours, days, months, years researching this, did so with one purpose in mind, clearing Bathsheba's name, not to gain fame or fortune.

In the recent weeks, I have learned of several different people jumping on the bandwagon, claiming to have done extensive research about Bathsheba, planning projects to tell her true story once and for all, when in fact, the true story was already shared nearly a decade ago.

The facts are that the earlier researchers who did the ground work, the ones who laid the foundation sharing Bathsheba's true history, debunking the false claims not only about Bathsheba but of the house on Round Top Road, their work is being copied now, and newbies coming along are trying to use that information to make names for themselves because of the infamy the entire "Conjuring" story is known for.

So for those out there who are planning to write about this story, do me a favor and really dig into the research and do not piggy back off of other people's work. It not only reflects badly on you for being lazy, it also is disrespectful to those you chose to steal from, by not giving them credit where credit is due. If you plan to use any of our research, cite us as sources plain and simple. It only takes a second, and in the long run your work will be more respected for doing so.

Going back to the subject at hand, it appears that although time and the elements contributed to some damage to Bathsheba’s original headstone, it was vandalism that eventually did it in, causing the stone to be irreparable and forcing the historical society to place it in permanent storage.

As of February of this year, we finally reached our goal to replace Bathsheba’s stone and hopefully also implement additional measures for added security to protect this new stone from further damage in the future. Although this part of our journey has reached the finish line, there is still so much more to be done.

Like water slowly wearing down a boulder, I am beginning to reach a larger audience to inform them of the facts regarding Bathsheba’s true history, and I am beginning to correct this egregious wrong, slowly but surely. Unfortunately though, this fight to share the facts will never truly be finished. So I will continue to push on, sharing her true story so that the entire world may eventually know the truth.

What was said about Bathsheba in the book, “House of Darkness, House of Light,” and the film, “The Conjuring,” not to mention multiple paranormal television programs, blogs, podcasts, news articles and social media posts is complete and utter slander.

I have decided now that it is time for me to compile my research, my posts from all my other blogs and my book, and also keep adding to this story with further research and added information by colleagues as well, so that we can take apart this story, piece by piece to uncover the truth behind the Conjuring once and for all.

From sharing the truth about Bathsheba, to the real history of the farmhouse, I will bring you the truth, all the while I plan on exposing the charlatans pushing the "haunted history."

By reading this blog, and sharing my posts, you will also in turn help Bathsheba by sharing the facts, and once and for all helping vindicate her name, clearing it of all the horrific lies that she has been accused of. What if it were your grandmother or great grandmother that the world was slandering? Wouldn’t you want to right this wrong?

Well, Bathsheba was someone’s grandmother, and she and her family are no longer here to defend their family name. That is why I am here, to give a voice to the voiceless, and defend the defenseless, so that her name will be cleared once and for all. 

I also want to protect the memories of those who were actually attached to the history of the farmhouse: the Richardson, Arnold, Butterworth and Kenyon families. 

Please join me as we deconstruct The Conjuring.

 

J’aime Rubio, Author & Historian

(Copyright 5/20/2023) -- www.jaimerubiowriter.com

 



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