"Based on a true story" These were the five almost assuring words used for the marketing campaign of "The Conjuring", which made it earn more in the box office compared to rivals being shown at the same time including action flicks R.I.P.D. and the animation "Turbo." Let us find out how real the antagonist was Bathsheba Sherman in the film and in real life.

The film follows paranormal investigators who were called to help Perron family led by Roger and Carolyn and their five daughters, who moved out to an isolated farmhouse Harrisville, Rhode Island in 1971. The family was forced to confront different paranormal activities in their new home and one of them was the ghost of Bathsheba Sherman. As depicted in the film based on the original case files of paranormal investigators, Ed and Lorraine Warren, Bathsheba was quite cruel to Carolyn Perron.

Who was Bathsheba Sherman?

The farmhouse occupied by the Perrons belonged to Bathsheba's family since 1844. Bathsheba married to Judson Sherman had lived a secluded life and though well-off, they had to tend to their own farm and even hired some help. According to historyvshollywood.com, Bathsheba was linked to the death of a child. Although all charges were dropped, the incident made her more distant from the community. Judson and Bathsheba were also said to have children, but none survived and did not pass the age of 7.

During the period Bathsheba and her family lived in the farmhouse at Harrisville, illnesses such as tubercolosis and diptheria still had no cures. Bathsheba was not spare of accusations of witchcraft, which she might had endured until her death. Official coroner reports indicated that Bathsheba passed away on May 25, 1885, the coroner wrote that her body was so emaciated and ashen black like a rock.

Based on the case files of Ed and Lorraine Warren and as depicted in the film, Bathsheba abhorred Carolyn and was a victim of several attacks. The ghost of Bathsheba, however, seemed to have taken a liking on Roger.

An August 1977 article in the local Providence Journal described Bathsheba: "Mrs. Perron said she woke up before dawn one morning hours to find an apparition by her bed: the head of an old lady clinging off to one part over an old greyish outfit. There was a speech reverberating, 'Get out. Get out. I'll drive you out with death and gloom."

It has been a big mystery as to why the Perrons endured living in the haunted house for 10 years.

Watch Perron's interview here: