The Real-Life Story That Inspired ‘The Conjuring 2’

The Big Picture

• The Conjuring
  movies are based on real cases investigated by the Warrens, and
  The Conjuring 2
  focuses on the notorious Enfield Poltergeist haunting in England.
• The Hodgson family experienced paranormal activity in their home, including moving furniture, fires, and even voices. Janet Hodgson reportedly spoke in the voice of the poltergeist.
• The family’s haunting has been the subject of controversy and accusations of hoax, but they maintain that the majority of events were real. The movie adaptation includes many actual reports, with some fictional additions for dramatic effect.

If you’re a fan of the long-running horror franchise The Conjuring, then you are probably very familiar with the phrase “based on the true story” plastered on the three main entries in the series. Yes, the spin-offs do go off into more fantastical directions, but the titular The Conjuring movies are always based on real cases that the Warrens have in their backlog. The first tackled the story of the Perron family, and The Conjuring 2 adapted the story of the Hodgson family in England. This haunting is one of the more notorious in England, known as “The Enfield Poltergeist,” and is frequently compared to the Amityville haunting in America. But what exactly did the Hodgson family experience during this haunting of their home compared to the film?

What Is the Mystery of the Enfield Poltergeist?

Like the Perrons before them, the Hodgson family had no idea what was happening when the paranormal activity started in their home in 1977. Peggy Hodgson, the single mother of four young children, was disturbed from her sleep by loud noises from her daughters’ room. Thinking they were fighting, she expected to just go and tell them to stop and go to sleep. Except when she opened the door, she found Janet and Margaret backed into a corner, terrified, as they told their mother that the chest of drawers had been moving on its own to the door. She didn’t believe them at first, of course, but then Peggy witnessed it moving herself! And she found she couldn’t even move it herself. Understandably, the entire family fled their home that night to their neighbors, Vic and Peggy Nottingham.

After Vic Nottingham investigated the home himself, hearing strange noises in the house, Peggy decided to call the police for help. The police deemed that they could not help with this matter, even after an officer claimed to have witnessed a chair move across the room on its own. The Hodgsons seemed to be all on their own, and this was only the beginning of the torment that reportedly lasted 18 months.

The Hodgsons Asked for Help From Newspapers and Paranormal Investigators

The activity continued in the home, tormenting the entire family to the point they didn’t want to be left alone at home. Peggy eventually called for help, the first time through the well-known publication The Daily Mirror, to investigate their home. Of course, when the reporter arrived, the activity stopped. Curiously, it started up again, when the photographer was hit by a Lego brick in the face hard enough to leave a mark for a few days. The Daily Mirror was not the only one investigating this haunting though. Contacted by The Daily Mirror, the Society for Psychical Research sent Maurice Grosse to investigate the case. While the reporters of The Daily Mirror didn’t witness much, Grosse witnessed much more activity while staying in the Hodgson home.

More furniture moving on its own, fires, and even voices were reported during his time there. Janet, who was seemingly the most targeted, remembers the most terrifying moment when “a curtain wrapped itself around [her] neck next to [her] bed.” Grosse was eventually joined by other paranormal researchers, including the famous researchers Ed and Lorraine Warren whom we know from The Conjuring films. Though their involvement in the Hodgson case was inflated for the film, they were adamant that it was a real haunting the family had experienced.

Janet Was Possessed by the Ghost of the House

Janet Hodgson, only 11 at the time of these events, then reportedly began to speak in the voice of the poltergeist that was tormenting them. Janet would go into a trance, then begin speaking in a deep and scratchy voice, a voice that claimed to be the previous owner of the house: Bill Wilkins. The ghost talked through her, often having full conversations, of which some were recorded by the investigators like Grosse. It would be confirmed that a Bill Wilkins did reside at that address previously to the Hodgson’s, and died in their living room from a hemorrhage. The recordings are still readily available to listen to with a quick search, and a few are even present in the end credits of The Conjuring 2.

But perhaps the most recognizable thing to happen to Janet was her reported levitation, documented in infamous photographs of her in a red nightgown, floating midair in the bedroom that she shared with her sister. The photo itself has been the center of a lot of debate, yet it remains one of the most famous levitation pictures ever.

Was the Enfield Poltergeist a Hoax?

With a paranormal experience of this size, there are going to be people who do not believe what the family had gone through during those 18-months. Still, the family is adamant that the haunting they underwent was very much real. Janet, along with her other siblings, even admitted to faking some events to see if the investigators were really up to the task, though they were always found out: “Oh yeah, once or twice [we faked phenomena] just to see if Mr. Grosse and Mr. Playfair would catch us. They always did.” One of these instances was the bending of spoons, which the children were caught doing themselves. Many believe the entire haunting was a big hoax, from the physical activity to Janet’s possible possession, from the minds of the children. Even through years of these accusations, the Hodgsons stick to their story that the vast majority of events were, in fact, real.

How Does ‘The Conjuring 2’ Stack Up to the Real Story?

Any horror film that is based on a true story is going to inflate actual happenings to be grander and, oftentimes, more intense for a more thrilling watch for the audience. But surprisingly, a lot of the family’s actual reports made it in. There’s even the mention of the Lego brick that was sent flying. The chest of drawers, the family fleeing the house. Maurice Grosse investigating, along with others. All that was made up for the movie was the more in-depth role for Ed and Lorraine Warren, including the conclusion of the haunting, and, of course, everyone’s favorite demonic nun: Valak. Valak was a very late addition to the film itself, originally just a demon but changed to Valak’s now very recognizable form in post. It, of course, also manifests as the Crooked Man, who was also another addition to the film. If you want to learn more about this famous haunting, Apple Tv+ has a docuseries titled The Enfield Poltergeist that dives deeper into the experience the Hodgson’s had and will include the recordings made by Maurice Grosse.

The Conjuring 2 is currently available to stream on Max in the U.S.

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