The Conjuring 2: Real Story, Scariness & Comparisons

Few horror films have sparked as much debate as The Conjuring 2 — not just for its chills, but for what it borrows from a real 1977 case that still divides investigators today. The movie dramatizes events at a north London council house where two sisters, ages 11 and 13, reported furniture moving, voices speaking through their walls, and objects flying across rooms. Whether you’re here because the film scared you senseless or because you want to know what actually happened, this guide sorts the facts from the theatrical fabrications.

Director: James Wan ·
Release Date: June 10, 2016 ·
Based On: Enfield Poltergeist ·
Main Cast: Patrick Wilson, Vera Farmiga ·
Setting: 1977 Enfield, England

Key details about the film and its real-world inspiration provide essential context for understanding how Hollywood adapted this controversial case.

Is Conjuring 2 based on a real story?

Yes — loosely. The Conjuring 2 draws inspiration from the Enfield Poltergeist case, one of the most extensively documented hauntings in paranormal history. But the movie takes significant liberties with who was involved, what actually happened, and even invents characters and events that never occurred.

Enfield Poltergeist Background

The Enfield Poltergeist occurred at 284 Green Street, a council house in Brimsdown, Enfield, London, England (Wikipedia). The haunting centered on sisters Janet Hodgson (aged 11) and Margaret Hodgson (aged 13), whose single mother Peggy Hodgson reported the initial disturbances on August 30, 1977 (History vs Hollywood). Events included moving furniture, knocking sounds, fires, voices, and objects flying across rooms — phenomena documented by over 180 hours of tape recordings made by investigators (Psi Encyclopedia (SPR)).

What made this case unusual was the number of witnesses. According to BBC reporting from 1977, 17 people including police officers documented the events, making it one of the best-attested poltergeist cases on record (Cultural Gutter). A police constable reportedly witnessed a chair sliding across the floor on its own (American Ghost Walks). Janet Hodgson spoke in a deep, scratchy voice claiming to be Bill Wilkins, a former resident who died in the house — his existence and death from a hemorrhage in the living room were independently confirmed (Collider).

Hodgson Family Involvement

The family fled to neighbors Vic and Peggy Nottingham on the first night of disturbances (Collider). Peggy Hodgson, a single mother, bore the burden of reporting to authorities while caring for four children in a council house that had become the center of a national media circus. Main investigators were Maurice Grosse and Guy Lyon Playfair from the Society for Psychical Research (SPR), who spent months documenting the case — not a single day (Paranormal Wiki).

The movie portrays Ed and Lorraine Warren as the primary investigators who led an exorcism. In reality, they made only one uninvited visit, which was criticized for hindering the ongoing investigation. Guy Lyon Playfair, who co-wrote the definitive book “This House is Haunted: The True Story of the Enfield Poltergeist,” accused the Warrens of trying to hijack the case (American Ghost Walks).

Why is The Conjuring 2 so scary?

James Wan’s direction and the 1977 London setting combine to create one of the most effective theatrical horror experiences of the 2010s. The film earned its reputation through deliberate pacing, atmospheric dread, and a handful of genuinely unsettling set pieces rather than rely solely on jump scares.

Jump Scares and Tension

The movie includes real elements from the Enfield case — the chest of drawers moving, Lego bricks allegedly flying across a room — and these grounded moments carry more weight than the film’s invented terrors (Collider). The Nun character, Valak, has no basis in the real case but became an iconic villain, spawning its own spin-off film. The tension builds through sustained scenes of anticipation — a rocking chair in an empty room, a child’s bedroom door slowly opening — before releasing into carefully timed shocks.

Atmospheric Horror Elements

Setting the film in the decaying post-war council housing of 1977 Enfield grounds the supernatural in mundane decay. The council house aesthetic — wood-paneled walls, gas heaters, vintage TVs — creates an environment audiences recognize as “real” in a way that Gothic castles cannot. Director James Wan studied classic horror before shooting, specifically citing influences from the 1970s Amityville films and period British horror (American Ghost Walks).

The catch: a film can be effective as entertainment without being accurate to its source material. The Conjuring 2 succeeds as horror partly because it invents clarity — a demon to defeat, an exorcism to perform — that the real, ambiguous case never offered.

Is The Conjuring 2 as good as the first one?

This remains one of horror’s most debated sequel comparisons. Both films share James Wan’s direction, the Warren protagonists, and a commitment to supernatural dramatization. Where they diverge is in emotional stakes and originality.

Critical Reception Comparison

The Conjuring 2 received largely positive reviews, with praise for Wan’s direction and performances. Rotten Tomatoes aggregates show comparable scores to the first film, with critics noting the sequel’s longer runtime (134 minutes versus 112) as both a strength for atmosphere and a weakness for pacing. The North London setting offered fresh territory for the franchise while maintaining the period American gothic sensibility.

Audience Scores

Audience reaction through fan polls and user ratings on major platforms places both films in the horror elite — consistently rated among the top horror films of their respective decades. The Conjuring 2 often ranks slightly lower on “scariest” lists but higher on “best craft” assessments, with particular credit for the Valak character design and the film’s use of practical effects over CGI.

What this means: the first film’s demon (Azazel) felt like fresh territory in 2013; the sequel’s Nun villain, while visually striking, read as derivative to some viewers familiar with Catholic horror tropes. Both films, however, share a weakness the real Enfield case corrects: they need a villain. The real Hodgson family never got that clarity.

Was the girl faking it in Conjuring 2?

This is the question at the heart of the Enfield case’s enduring controversy. Janet Hodgson — now Janet Hodgson-Murray — has maintained for decades that the phenomena were real. Critics argue otherwise.

Janet Hodgson Portrayal

The movie portrays Janet (played by Madison Wolfe) as a vessel for supernatural possession, levitating above her bed, speaking in the deep voice of Bill Wilkins, and demonstrating physical phenomena that the adults around her could not explain away. In reality, Janet allegedly levitated and spoke as Bill Wilkins in 1978, with the male voice first appearing around December 10, 1977 (Higgypop). These claims come from investigator documentation, but skeptics have questioned the methodology.

Real Case Controversies

Skeptics argue much activity was hoaxed by the children — a position supported by the family’s own admissions. Janet Hodgson told investigators years later: “Oh yeah, once or twice [we faked phenomena] just to see if Mr. Grosse was genuine or not” (Collider). This admission complicates the binary of “real” versus “fake” — the family admitted to testing investigators, not necessarily to fabricating all phenomena.

BBC reporter James Hogg, who covered the case in 1977, offered this perspective: “Either 17 people have all been having hallucinations — including the police — or this is the best-documented ghost story of all time” (Cultural Gutter). The truth likely falls between those poles — some phenomena documented under controlled conditions, some admission of testing investigators, and genuine uncertainty that persists 46 years later.

Is Janet Hodgson still alive?

Yes. Janet Hodgson (now Hodgson-Murray) remains alive and has spoken publicly about her experiences, though she has distanced herself from some of the more dramatic claims made about the case over the years.

Post-Enfield Life

Janet grew up after the poltergeist period ended in early 1979, married, and raised a family outside the public eye. She has participated in documentaries and interviews, generally maintaining that the phenomena were real while acknowledging the difficulties of proving such claims decades later. Her sister Margaret, who was 13 at the start of the case, also lived a private life away from paranormal investigations.

Current Status

The house at 284 Green Street was demolished in 2016 — the same year The Conjuring 2 was released — removing the physical location from the historical record (The History Reader). Janet Hodgson-Murray continues to engage with the paranormal community when asked, though she has expressed frustration with how Hollywood dramatized her childhood experiences.

The bottom line: the real horror of Enfield wasn’t a demon; it was a family in distress, a media circus, and a debate about what was real that continues today. For readers curious about the case, separating the documented facts from the theatrical embellishments is the first step toward understanding why this case still matters.

The Conjuring 2 vs. The First Movie: A Comparison

Three key areas, three different verdicts on how the sequel measures up to its predecessor.

The pattern: both films succeed as entertainment while taking liberties with documented history. The Conjuring 2 takes larger liberties — inflating the Warrens’ role, inventing an exorcism, creating a demonic villain from whole cloth — but this creative freedom also produces a more conventionally satisfying horror film.

Confirmed Facts vs. Rumors

Either 17 people have all been having hallucinations — including the police — or this is the best-documented ghost story of all time. — James Hogg, BBC Reporter (1977)

“Oh yeah, once or twice [we faked phenomena] just to see if Mr. Grosse was genuine or not.” — Janet Hodgson, speaking to investigators years later

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The Warrens’ gripping Enfield investigation in The Conjuring 2 forms part of their storied career, culminating on screen in The Conjuring: Last Rites.

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