Madison Heinzen is now the caretaker of the Rhode Island farmhouse that inspired The Conjuring movie – and it’s every bit as creepy as you might expect.
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From seeing “slenderman”, to hearing strange growls, Madison, 23, is no stranger to things that go bump in the night.
Her family used to own the property – and she was just 13-years-old when she first watched The Conjuring in the cinema.
Madison, who now hosts ghost tours at the farmhouse, shared some of her most terrifying encounters – and revealed how she never goes to the basement alone.
Madison told The Sun: “The most scared I have ever been was in the earlier days.
“I remember the first day I walked into the house I was excited, everyone was excited and so we all split off into different groups.
“It was me, my mum, my husband now and my brother.
“We were checking out different parts of the house and I heard this, what sounded like a growl to me, it was above my head and I was looking through stuff the owner left behind.
“It freaked me out because I was like, maybe I’m not meant to be touching that stuff, maybe they don’t like that.
“So that was one of the most scary experiences just because I heard it and no one else did.”
Madison said another “profound” encounter happened when she was doing an interview – but this time she wasn’t the only witness.
She was sitting doing an interview at the kitchen table when it was interrupted by a disturbing sharp sound.
“All of a sudden, clear as day, you hear these two claps,” she said.
“We all looked at each other cause we were all standing still and I was like ‘oh my God’ because that was something that happened in the movies that they would play hide and clap.”
To this day, she still has “no idea” where the sound came from as the whole house is monitored by surveillance cams.
Hide and clap is a key part of the first chilling Conjuring movie as it sees characters wear a blind fold and try to find the other players by listening for a clap.
The movie takes a dark turn when characters begin to hear the claps in unusual places – such as in the basement.
This is a real feature of the house and Madison “hates to be down there alone” because “it’s pretty creepy” she’s afraid of seeing something.
We were checking out different parts of the house and I heard this, what sounded like a growl to me, it was above my headMadison Heinzen
She told of one time when she was doing a live-stream from the chilling cellar and a ball “completely rolled off on its own”.
Madison has also seen “shadow figures” inside the house too that she reported was “like a black mask, like slender man is the best way to describe it – no face, no features, no light”.
“But you could see it casted on the walls and other places, and when you are all alone seeing it you are like ‘Oh my God’.”
Despite appearing unfazed by the ghostly encounters, the brave lass admitted she does get “spooked” but tries to focus more on how “unbelievable” these experiences are.
Guests of the terrifying house tours are rarely disappointed by the display, and Madison will use a range of specialist equipment to help detect paranormal activity.
She mainly uses dowsing rods – copper rods that supposedly move with supernatural energy- and spirit boxes – which are meant to use channels to create static white noise.
Spirits can supposedly use this noise to communicate and can make letters and sounds.
“I have heard spirits say my name, I have had them ask and answer questions and we have heard child’s laughter,” Madison said.
Another creepy encounter happened when all the guests were gathered together but “little footsteps” could be heard pitter- pattering around upstairs.
She explained that most haunted houses have a historical murder that can be linked back to the spooky activity.
But with the Conjuring house, the cause of the haunting is unclear.
“We have been told it could be native American grounds because a lot of wars were fought, like king Philip’s war, which was in the 1700s, but it’s really hard to say,” Madison said.
“We think there are a lot of factors that are playing into why it is the way it is today.”
Spooky episodes have continued throughout different ownership of the house.
One of the past residents even warned that the lights should be kept on at night – as he sensed there was something untoward happening at the property.
The house is fitted with frankincense plants that hang in the kitchen to ward off evil spirits – although they occasionally spin of their own accord.
Madison’s first frightening experience happened when she was just a kid.
She had an unusual upbringing – with paranormal investigators for parents.
While most of her friends would spend family time going to the cinema or on a trip to the beach, Madison’s folks would take her ghost hunting.
People should tread very careful when trying to contact the dead, especially relatives who have died, according to Madison.
I heard a voice say my name out loud and it freaked me outMadison Heinzen
She warned spirits can “play tricks” and without professional guidance contacting the them can become “dangerous”.
The Maine resident gave an example of this and shared how she once heard what she thought was her mum “nagging” her.
But when she went to check she was shocked to find her mum was nowhere near.
“I heard a voice say my name out loud and it freaked me out,” she said.
“I thought it was my mum, it sounded distant like your mum nagging you, it was repeatedly ‘Madison, Madison’, so I’m thinking what does my mum need?
“So I went out to talk to her and she was like ‘I wasn’t on that side of the house I was on the complete opposite side’ so there was no way I would have heard it.
“It was really creepy because it sounded just like her yelling at me because we were the only two inside the house.”
Despite her strange hobby this hasn’t stood in the way of love for Madison – as she recently tied the knot with her partner Jacob.
“My husband already knew my dad was a ghost hunter so we started bringing him along and he was like, ‘Woah this is so cool’,” she said.
“So he’s always been really supportive, but I don’t think he would necessarily go out on his own, I think he would take me or another person with him.”
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