The Conjuring house leaves documentarians 'really messed up' after visit

The Conjuring House in The Sleepless Unrest
(Image credit: Robot Ninja Media)

The Conjuring movies are inspired not just by real life paranormal investigators, but a real house as well. And that house apparently terrorized a group of documentarians, who went in with a whole batch of cameras during a two-week shoot for a documentary film called The Sleepless Unrest.

The trailer below will give you some idea of what to expect, but Cody Beck over at our sister-site CinemaBlend got to talk to the director Kendall Whelpton and Vera Whelpton at the premiere. One (Beck doesn't specify which) told him "Being in the house for two weeks really messed up the whole team's psyche."

And it didn't take long for the team to be affected, as they said "Day three we start getting worn down, day four you can't sleep because things are happening, there's a lot of activity in the house." This may just be hype for the documentary, or it may be the real deal. It's hard to say, but I'm guessing fans of The Conjuring will judge for themselves: The Sleepless Unrest is coming out July 16. 

They even claimed it left a longer-term effect, and this is where it gets a bit unbelievable. One director claimed "when you go home, you're still thinking you're in the house, you're attached to the house. You have an overwhelming sense to go back to the house," which definitely sounds like something a character in a movie says, and not a real person. 

Check out the trailer for yourself:

That said, the directors' comments about how audiences will likely have to mentally handle the question of what's real and what's fake come off as more legitimate. One said "It has scares, little horror elements, a few jump scares. You have the documentary aspect which is 100% real, and I think that's way more scary than anything scripted. So, when you see stuff happening in the film, you gotta just ask yourself 'Wait, this is real? This isn't a Hollywood script?' and I think that's the scariest thing of all." 

The question of what's true and what's not, is familiar to fans of both reality TV and pro wrestling, and will likely be the crucial aspect for many as they watch along. Can The Sleepless Unrest convince folks that The Conjuring's house is legitimately traumatizing?

Henry T. Casey
Managing Editor (Entertainment, Streaming)

Henry is a managing editor at Tom’s Guide covering streaming media, laptops and all things Apple, reviewing devices and services for the past seven years. Prior to joining Tom's Guide, he reviewed software and hardware for TechRadar Pro, and interviewed artists for Patek Philippe International Magazine. He's also covered the wild world of professional wrestling for Cageside Seats, interviewing athletes and other industry veterans.