The episode revisits the story behind the Rhode Island farmhouse that inspired The Conjuring, beginning with the Perron family, who moved into the 1736 property on Round Top Road in 1971. The family described unexplained disturbances, frightening encounters, and increasingly violent supernatural experiences, particularly involving mother Carolyn. Paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren visited the house, and a 1973 séance allegedly ended with Carolyn being thrown across a room. The Warrens attributed the haunting to Bathsheba Sherman, a real 19th-century woman they claimed had practiced witchcraft and sacrificed a baby. However, historical records reviewed by the Boston Globe revealed no evidence supporting those accusations, that Bathsheba lived elsewhere, died at 72, *AND* had no documented connection to the alleged crimes. The episode distinguishes the family's accounts from verified historical facts and questions how much of the legend was embellished.

The farmhouse became a real estate nightmare after The Conjuring premiered in 2013. Previous owner Norma Sutcliffe said the movie's depiction was inaccurate, but nonetheless visitors began trespassing, appearing in her yard at all hours of the night, and harassing her family. She sued Warner Bros., describing the experience as a siege. In 2019, paranormal enthusiasts Corey and Jennifer Heinzen purchased the property for approximately $439,000 and turned it into a destination for ghost tours and overnight stays. Their successor, Jacqueline Nunez, purchased it through an LLC for $1.525 million, financed with a roughly $1.2 million mortgage. The business eventually collapsed after reported incidents, a barn fire, a worker's wage dispute, a stop-work order, and Nunez's entertainment license being denied. After she stopped paying the mortgage, foreclosure proceedings began, setting off an extraordinary dispute involving YouTuber Elton Castee and comedian Matt Rife, Ghost Hunters star Jason Hawes, with competing purchase agreements, questionable legal documents, and a loan that had been sold separately from the property.

The final section unravels the ongoing ownership battle. Castee secretly purchased the mortgage debt through an LLC attributed to him, while documents appeared that give authority to sell the farmhouse to Hawes for $1.3 million. A bank subsequently recorded a mortgage discharge despite having already sold the loan, and Nunez's sister challenged the sale, raising questions about her ability to enter contracts. A judge invalidated the initial deed and power of attorney after concerns about notarization, although a second notarized deed later complicated the dispute. Further court proceedings addressed receivership, competing claims, property access, and whether Hawes could complete the purchase without knowing whom to pay. By June, town records listed Hawes as the owner, but Castee's side continued challenging the transaction, including arguing that Nunez's LLC had been dissolved before the deed was signed. The episode closes with the Conjuring House still caught in a legal and financial maze, demonstrating how a famous property's paranormal reputation can generate extraordinary commercial value, and even more extraordinary real estate litigation.

00:00 — The Perron Family and the Haunted Farmhouse

06:41 — The Warrens and the Alleged Haunting

12:00 — Bathsheba Sherman: The Real History

15:47 — The Conjuring Movie and the Owner's Nightmare

19:30 — Turning the House Into a Business

24:30 — The Rise and Fall of the Conjuring House Tours

33:23 — The Foreclosure and the Bidding War

40:00 — Who Bought the Mortgage?

48:45 — Competing Deeds and Courtroom Chaos

55:36 — Who Actually Owns the Conjuring House?

TCiRE

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The episode examines the true story behind the infamous “Watcher” case involving Derek and Maria Broaddus, who purchased 657 Boulevard in Westfield, New Jersey, in 2014 for $1,355,657. The family planned to renovate the grand Dutch Colonial before moving in, but just days after closing, Derek discovered a disturbing letter addressed to “the new owner.” The anonymous writer claimed that the house had been watched by their family for generations, and then revealed details about the couple’s children that could only be known to someone who could see and hear what went on in the house and the yard. A second letter arrived weeks later, containing even more specific information about the children, the house’s layout and the “pain” caused by the renovations and changes, and asked what bedrooms everyone would sleep in.

The letters completely changed the family’s lives. They NEVER moved into the house, and to try and discover the identity of “The Watcher”, Derek and Maria spent months installing cameras, investigating neighbors, and paying private investigators, former FBI personnel, security specialists, and even a forensic linguist. They ultimately spent at least $100,000 trying to unmask the anonymous letter mailer, but every investigative avenue was fruitless in determining who was responsible. The family eventually listed the house for sale, but insisted that disclosure of the letters be done to not put any future owners through the same ordeal, but not surprisingly, this mostly scared away potential buyers. They sued the previous owners, claiming the Woodses knew about the Watcher and failed to disclose the threat, but the lawsuit was dismissed in 2017. Their attempt to tear down the house and divide the property was also rejected after intense opposition from neighbors.

A fourth and final known letter arrived in 2017, threatening Derek and Maria with accidents, illness, death, and harm to loved ones while revealing that the Watcher was aware of the family’s efforts to find them. Derek later admitted that he anonymously sent retaliatory letters to some hostile neighbors, but there is no evidence that he was responsible for the Watcher letters. In 2019, the house finally sold for $959,360 (nearly $400,000 below the original purchase price), and the family estimated losses closer to $700,000 when renovations, investigations, taxes, financing, legal expenses, and other costs were considered. The new owners have reportedly never received a Watcher letter, but nobody has ever been charged; the Union County Prosecutor’s Office considers the case open and inactive, leaving the identity of the Watcher unresolved.

00:00 — The Real Watcher Story

03:30 — Buying 657 Boulevard

07:00 — The First Letter

12:00 — The Watcher Knows Their Children

18:00 — The Second Letter

24:00 — Threats Without Direct Threats

28:00 — Living in Fear

32:00 — The Investigation

37:00 — The Lawsuit

42:00 — The Fight to Tear Down the House

47:00 — The Final Watcher Letter

51:00 — The House Finally Sells

54:00 — Who Was the Watcher?

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The episode examines the 2007 murder of Linda Stein, a former co-manager of the Ramones who became a successful Manhattan real estate agent known for selling multimillion-dollar apartments to celebrities. Stein was found beaten to death in her Fifth Avenue penthouse after her personal assistant, Natavia Lowery, told family and friends that Linda was out running or walking in the park. Investigators discovered through building surveillance that Stein had never left the building and that Lowery was the only person seen going to the apartment that day. Surveillance also contradicted Lowery's account of how she traveled, and after questioning she gave several different explanations before eventually confessing to killing Stein.

Prosecutors argued that Lowery had been stealing from Stein and had taken more than $30,000 through unauthorized credit cards and ATM withdrawals. They said Stein had discovered the theft and was preparing to confront or report her assistant when she was killed. Lowery later recanted her confession, while her defense acknowledged that she was a thief but argued that did not make her a murderer. The jury convicted her of second-degree murder and grand larceny after about five hours of deliberation, and she was sentenced to 27 years to life. Lowery has maintained her innocence.

The episode uses Stein's death to examine the risks real estate professionals take when giving assistants extensive access to their personal and professional lives. Stein's daughters later sued Douglas Elliman, the brokerage where their mother was a contractor, and the temp agency that placed Lowery with Linda, but the claims were ultimately dismissed; the appellate court found that Stein, as an independent contractor, controlled her assistant's work. Sandi Lyn emphasizes that agents should use separate logins and limit assistants' access to critical systems, financial accounts, MLS credentials, electronic signatures, email, and lockboxes. She also recommends cutting off access and involving a bank, broker, or law enforcement before confronting someone suspected of stealing or other illegal or unethical behavior, while brokerages should have policies for complaints involving assistants and understand applicable rules governing background checks and reference checks.

00:00 — The Murder of Linda Stein

04:54 — From the Ramones to Real Estate

08:49 — The Realtor to the Stars

14:40 — Surveillance Reveals the Truth

19:20 — Four Different Stories

25:18 — The Theft Behind the Murder

32:28 — The Defense of Natavia Lowery

34:53 — The Murder Trial

36:40 — The Wrongful Death Lawsuit

40:00 — How Much Access Is Too Much?

42:00 — Protecting Yourself From an Insider

44:00 — What Brokers Should Be Doing

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