Matt Rife Bought Ed and Lorraine Warren’s Former House in Connecticut, Not the ‘Conjuring’ House

In October of 2021, I had the opportunity to investigate the original Conjuring House in Rhode Island. Present in the home were fellow paranormal enthusiasts, along with the owners of the building at the time, and members of the Perron family, whose accounts of their time in the home helped kick off the Conjuring series of films.

As a longtime paranormal researcher, I had heard that comedian and podcaster Matt Rife purchased the home, which ruffled the feathers of many in the community. But did he actually buy it?

Comedian Matt Rife's popularity soared after clips of his crowd work at comedy clubs went viral on various social media platforms. This viral success translated to widespread notoriety, both good and bad. Some comedy fans have decried Rife's acts as being too reliant on crowd work.

There are others who have stated that Rife's success is attributed to the fact that he has a large female fanbase, who value his aesthetic appearance over his ability to craft a good joke. And then there were those who tried to watch his Netflix special, Natural Selection, and weren't exactly blown away by the comic's act.

Proponents of Rife would say the hate he receives from many centers around the fact that he puts care into his appearance, like maintaining an active fitness routine. And that's he's managed to have a successful career in comedy, which would naturally bring haters from those who haven't attained the level of success that he has.

Rife's interests don't lie solely in telling jokes for a living, and the comic has gone on record stating that he's "obsessed with the paranormal and all things haunted," according to UPI. The outlet reported on Rife's decision to purchase the Connecticut home and occult museum that belonged to Ed and Lorraine Warren.

The controversial figures are portrayed by Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga in the Conjuring films, and their work has had a stranglehold on how supernatural research is portrayed in paranormal unscripted programs like Ghost Adventures.

So Rife didn't purchase the actual home the Perrons lived in during the purported hauntings they experienced. But rather, the abode of the Warrens, who famously publicized the assistance they provided to the Perron family while dealing with the frightening activity they said ravaged their family.

While depictions of the Warrens in the Conjuring films display the couple as forthright and sincere, many have castigated the duo as sensationalist frauds. Then there are accusations by Judith Penny, who claims that she had sexual relations with Ed Warren when she was just 15 years old, and lived with the Warrens while Lorraine knew about Ed's trysts with the then-minor.

The Ed and Lorraine Warren effect on paranormal research is undeniable. Fear-mongering with demonic and evil entities is a staple of pseudo-reality paranormal entertainment for cheap thrills. This oft-repeated and almost always forced narrative can be directly linked to Ed and Lorraine's work: Many of the pair's writings attributed a slew of reported paranormal claims to demonic involvement.

Arguably the most notorious fixture of paranormal television, Zak Bagans, has ties to the work and demonic obsessiveness that the Warrens displayed, so it's unsurprising that this would have a ripple effect. These sordid tales have bridged different entertainment niches. Case in point, a comic who leveraged social media followings into fame is now purchasing a home previously belonging to the Warrens due to his interest in the paranormal and his zeal for the Conjuring series of films.

On Aug. 1, 2025, Rife posted that he purchased Ed and Lorraine Warren's former home on Instagram along with his pal Elton Castee. This purchase included the infamous Annabelle doll that the couple said contained an evil energy.

At the end of his post, Rife stated that he intends to open the home for tours and overnight stays.

On a personal note, I can't blame Rife for being a fan of the Warrens or capitalizing on the mythos around the duo. But on a professional level, as someone who has traveled to different parts of America to shed light on legitimately bizarre activity in little-known locations with tragic histories that were integral to shaping America, it's difficult for me to get all that excited about the purchase.

There are some truly remarkable places with more thoroughly vetted historical documentation and legitimately spooky paranormal evidence caught on camera that I believe are probably more worth people's time, money, and attention.

Like the Dr. JJ Polk House Museum and Paranormal Research Center, the Olde Park Hotel, the Glenn Tavern Inn, the Lloyd Tilghman House & Civil War Museum, or the entire unincorporated village of Rugby, Tenn., to name a few.