Carolyn was deeply into new age spiritualism, reporting that she sensed “presences” even before moving to the new digs. The struggle to get her attention reads as very real, and escalation between the five Perron sisters appears impassioned. The preschool-age kid couldn’t just have an imaginary friend: She had to be receiving telepathic messages from a supernatural force. Describing the fierce competition for her parents’ affection in troubling ways, Andrea wrote that her four-year-old sibling watched “as her sisters begged for the same type of attention she received all day, every day.”

And then, just before Halloween, the Warrens showed up. What started as a ghost story became a demonic one, fueled by fringe Catholicism and a downward spiraling pattern of oneupmanship. Maybe.

Later property owners have had mixed experiences. Norma Sutcliffe, who lived there until 2019, ran a daycare out of the home for 20 years without any demonic incidents: she told the press that the only “living hell” she experienced wasn’t from ghosts, but the wave of trespassers who vandalized her home after The Conjuring released. The new owners, Cory and Jennifer Heinzen, have reported several remarkable occurrences. They’re also self-described paranormal investigators, who offer tours of the property for a nominal fee, according to News Center Maine. That’s all probably unrelated.