Mystery Buyer Cancels Halloween Auction of Real-Life Conjuring House

Unknown entity purchases mortgage loan days before planned foreclosure sale, leaving paranormal community scrambling.

The most famous haunted house in America just vanished from the auction block in a way nobody saw coming. The property that terrified the Perron family for a decade and inspired a billion-dollar horror franchise won’t be going under the hammer on Halloween after all. Someone has other plans for the infamous farmhouse.

The Cancelled Sale

Wednesday, October 8, 2025, started like any other autumn day in Rhode Island, but by noon, the paranormal world was reeling. Needham Bank had quietly sold the underlying mortgage loan on the 300-year-old structure on Round Top Road in Burrillville, Rhode Island. JJ Manning Auctioneers found themselves announcing the cancellation with a terse statement on their website, leaving thousands of interested parties stunned. The online listing now states that the mortgagee “concluded a sale of the underlying mortgage loan” earlier this month and “no longer has interest in ‘The Conjuring’ house property.”

Justin Manning, president of JJManning Auctioneers, had been fielding calls from potential buyers across the globe since the announcement that current owner Jacqueline Nuñez had defaulted on the mortgage. The auction had been scheduled for 11 AM on October 31st.

Needham Bank declined to identify who purchased the mortgage loan. They stated the information would become public through the town’s land evidence records once it gets assigned to the new owner. The mystery buyer’s identity has sparked intense speculation throughout the paranormal community.

Hawes Steps Forward

The cancellation hit Jason Hawes particularly hard. The star of SyFy’s “Ghost Hunters” had launched a GoFundMe campaign just days earlier, despite years of publicly stating he never wanted to buy the Conjuring House. His position changed after receiving messages from past owners, employees, and residents begging him to prevent the property from being exploited.

By Tuesday evening, before the cancellation news broke, Hawes had raised just over $67,000 from supporters worldwide. His video response captured the disappointment: “It’s sad, honestly it is. We stepped up as a community to make this happen.”

The campaign initially paused after the announcement, but Hawes realized the situation wasn’t finished. In a follow-up video, he explained: “Needham Bank sold off the mortgage. They didn’t sell off the house; they took the mortgage. Whoever bought the mortgage is going to have to go through the whole foreclosure process again.” The GoFundMe reactivated the following day, with Hawes declaring, “We can do this. This can be a historic movement like no other.”

Hawes confirmed he wasn’t the mystery buyer. Neither was YouTuber Elton Castee, who along with comedian Matt Rife had been vocal about wanting the property. The duo recently acquired Ed and Lorraine Warren’s Connecticut home, complete with the Annabelle doll and hundreds of allegedly haunted artifacts.

Andrea Perron’s Request

The auction announcement had prompted Andrea Perron, eldest daughter of the family whose experiences inspired the film, to make an emotional video plea. Perron, battling stage-4 metastatic breast cancer, asked Hawes to prevent the home from being “exploited and priced out of reach.”

Despite her medical condition, she called for support: “We need to salvage the barn, you need to restore the trusted staff and with it will come its reputation again. It doesn’t need to be turned into a circus or a money-making proposition. It’s not that.”

Her message carried urgency: “I know in my heart that you are a part of that destiny Jason. Please for me, please consider saving the farm. I love you with all my heart.” The hashtag #SaveTheFarm spread across social media platforms.

After news of the sale broke, Perron said only that she hopes “this isn’t a disaster.”

Nuñez’s Chaotic Ownership

The property had operated as a paranormal tourist attraction under Jacqueline Nuñez, who purchased it in 2022 for $1.5 million. Her ownership quickly descended into chaos.

Problems emerged when Nuñez fired an employee for allegedly stealing money. The employee told Target 12 that Nuñez claimed the spirit of John Arnold, who owned the home with his wife Abigail in the 1800s, had warned her of the theft.

This incident triggered additional problems. The firing led to a legal fight over backpay, with other former workers coming forward about their issues with Nuñez. The town revoked Nuñez’s entertainment license, citing property issues, application problems, and concerning police interactions.

Jason Hawes accused Nuñez of harassing him and his family. Nuñez responded on social media claiming Hawes had tried to assassinate her.

After losing her license, Nuñez refused to cancel already-scheduled trips, leaving visitors scrambling for refunds. The Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training issued a stop-work order in October 2024 after discovering the business had operated without workers’ compensation insurance since May 2024.

The Original Hauntings

The farmhouse sits on 8.5 acres in Harrisville, built in 1736 when America was still a British colony. The Richardson and Arnold families, who gave the house its formal name, passed down accounts of doors opening by themselves, objects moving without explanation, and the feeling of being watched in certain rooms.

The Perron family lived there from 1971 to 1980. Roger and Carolyn Perron thought they’d found the perfect place for their five daughters—200 acres of land and a historic home. They discovered otherwise within days.

Phenomena started small. Brooms disappeared from where they’d been left. The smell of rotting flesh would fill a room, then vanish. Doors slammed with enough force to shake the entire house.

The activity escalated. The girls saw a woman in a gray dress wandering the halls. Carolyn woke at 3:07 AM nightly with unexplained bruises and scratches on her body.

Research revealed multiple deaths on the property over the centuries: several suicides, a rape and murder, and two drownings in the nearby creek.

The Warren Investigation

Carl Johnson investigated first, then brought in Ed and Lorraine Warren in 1973 when he became concerned about what he’d documented.

The Warrens identified the primary entity as Bathsheba Sherman, a woman who lived on the property in the 1800s. Local legend claimed Sherman practiced witchcraft and sacrificed an infant to Satan, though historical records only confirm her existence in the area.

During a séance, Carolyn Perron allegedly levitated in her chair and spoke in an unknown language. Andrea later recalled: “Her chair levitated and she was thrown across the room.” Roger Perron immediately ordered the Warrens to leave.

The family remained seven more years after this incident. Andrea explained: “My mother told my father she would not survive another winter in the house. She had been under attack in that house for 10 years.”

Unknown Future

The mortgage loan purchase leaves the property’s fate uncertain. The new holder must still complete the foreclosure process, and could then sell the property, negotiate with Nuñez, or pursue other options.

Local neighbors support Hawes’ efforts. “All of the neighbors reached out to me, standing behind me 100% on trying to make this happen, because they’ve dealt with so much chaos in the past. They just want to have their lives back,” Hawes explained.

The GoFundMe continues, stating surplus funds beyond the purchase price would go toward restoration, repairs, and maintenance. The $1.5 million goal reflects Nuñez’s 2022 purchase price.

Manning had noted the auction generated more interest in one week than all their previous famous property sales combined, including Susan B. Anthony’s birthplace and Myles Standish’s childhood home.

Speculation about the buyer ranges from Hollywood production companies to wealthy paranormal enthusiasts to descendants of families who once lived there.

“This is heartbreaking for all those from around the globe that came together in hopes of saving and preserving the Conjuring House,” Hawes told supporters. “At least we all can hold our heads high and say, we tried!”

Andrea Perron watches from Georgia as her childhood home’s fate remains undecided. The farmhouse where she learned about “life and death and the afterlife,” as her mother once said, continues generating mysteries.

The new mortgage holder’s identity will emerge through public records eventually. Until then, thousands worldwide wait for answers about who intervened to stop the Halloween auction of America’s most famous haunted house. The 300-year-old structure on Round Top Road keeps its secrets behind centuries-old walls, while someone holds the mortgage to a piece of American paranormal history that refuses to be easily categorized, commodified, or controlled.

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NOTE: Some of this content may have been created with assistance from AI tools, but it has been reviewed, edited, narrated, produced, and approved by Darren Marlar, creator and host of Weird Darkness — who, despite popular conspiracy theories, is NOT an AI voice.