Couple buys Rhode Island home that inspired horror film ‘The Conjuring’ 

Cory and Jennifer Heinzen stand in front of their new home, the 1736 Rhode Island farmhouse that inspired the horror film, “The Conjuring.”Cory Heinzen

Cory Heinzen’s new home features a few unique amenities: mysterious voices, knocks, and noises, among other bumps in the night, he claims.

But for the paranormal investigator and his wife, Jennifer, these quirks are what sold them.

The couple bought the allegedly haunted Rhode Island farmhouse that inspired the 2013 horror film “The Conjuring.” The Heinzens, of Mexico, Maine, hope to restore the 18th-century home, preserve its history, and open it to both visitors and investigators later this year.

“I’ve had a hard time staying there by myself. I don’t have the feeling of anything evil, [but] it’s very busy. You can tell there’s a lot of things going on in the house,” Heinzen told the Sun Journal’s Kathryn Skelton .

Heinzen, who has been a paranormal investigator for 10 years, said he first saw the Harrisville, R.I., house last summer with friend and fellow investigator Bill Brock. A year later Heinzen said he found it for sale in an online forum. The couple closed the sale on June 21.

“We immediately fell in love with it,” Heinzen said. “Eight-and-a-half acres, a river in the back and a pond, it’s so serene down there, never mind the story behind the house, it’s a beautiful home.”

“The Conjuring” tells the story of the Perron family. Soon after settling in the home in 1971, Carolyn, Roger and their five daughters allegedly began to notice strange occurrences — missing items and random noises. The movie starred Patrick Wilson, Vera Farmiga, and Lili Taylor. A sequel, “The Conjuring 2,” was released in 2016, and “The Conjuring 3” is due out in 2020.

Heinzen said that the family claimed whatever lived in the house “was playful at first, but then it started to become more sinister, more dark,” he said. “Physical attacks, mystery illnesses.” The Perrons’ experiences led to an investigation by paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren.

Since the movie’s release in 2013, the 1736 home has become an unofficial tourist destination. Norma Sutcliff, from whom the Heinzens bought the house, sued Warner Bros. in 2015 for the public’s regular trespassing onto her property.

“This whole journey has been both scary — for many reasons other than paranormal — and exciting all at once,” Jennifer Heinzen told the Sun Journal. “I love that we have the opportunity to share the home with others.”