Where Does the Conjuring Take Place
The Conjuring universe is primarily set in Harrisville, Rhode Island, a small rural town in Providence County. The first film, released in 2013, adapts the real-life 1971 haunting of the Perron family, who moved into a farmhouse at 1677 Round Top Road. The story follows their experiences over several years in that single location, which became the central setting for the franchise's most iconic scenes. The movie's opening sequence establishes the property as a remote, isolated home surrounded by dense woods, reinforcing the New England gothic atmosphere that defines the series. The Forbes article details the real farmhouse location and production choices.
While the first film anchors the story in Harrisville, the broader Conjuring universe expands to other real-world locations. The Conjuring 2 shifts the narrative to Enfield, London, where the Hodgson family reported poltergeist activity in their council house on Amhurst Road during 1977. The franchise also references the Warrens' original case files from across the northeastern United States, drawing on documented locations from the Warrens' archives. This geographic spread allows the series to maintain a connection to real reported hauntings while moving the camera to new environments for each installment.
Real Locations and Filming Sites
The actual farmhouse used for exterior shots in the first film is located in the town of Burrillville, Rhode Island, just outside Harrisville. Production designer Craig Lathrop and director James Wan chose the property for its period-accurate architecture and rural seclusion. The interior scenes were built on a soundstage at the former Camp Caesar facility in West Virginia, where the crew constructed a detailed replica of the farmhouse's interior rooms, including the basement where many of the film's most intense sequences take place. The Hollywood Reporter confirms the Burrillville exterior and West Virginia soundstage details.
The Enfield setting in The Conjuring 2 was recreated using a combination of on-location shooting in London and studio work. The production team filmed exterior shots of the actual Amhurst Road council house before constructing a full interior set at Pinewood Studios in the United Kingdom. The decision to film in the real Enfield neighborhood was a deliberate choice to ground the supernatural events in the specific geography of the 1977 case, which was investigated by the Warrens and documented in their files. The LA Times covers the Enfield house and studio recreation choices.
Why the Location Matters to the Story
The rural Rhode Island setting is central to the franchise's horror identity. The isolation of the farmhouse, its distance from neighbors, and the dense surrounding woods create a claustrophobic environment where the Perron family has nowhere to turn. The location's historical architecture, including the original 18th-century construction elements, provides a tangible connection to the past that fuels the film's possession narrative. The Warrens' case files describe the property as a site of recurring paranormal phenomena, and the first film translates that documentation into a visual language rooted in the specific physical space of the Round Top Road property.
The Enfield location in the second film shifts the horror from rural isolation to a more urban, working-class council estate, changing the dynamic of the haunting.