The supposedly haunted Rhode Island farmhouse that inspired the 2013 horror film The Conjuring is now at the center of a very real legal fight. Ghost Hunters star Jason Hawes was set to close on the property before a Superior Court judge issued a temporary restraining order on Tuesday, halting the sale at least until a hearing on Monday, reports the Providence Journal. The legal challenge comes from Elizabeth Greenhalgh, the older sister of current owner Jacqueline Nuñez. In court filings, Greenhalgh asks the court to void a document Nuñez signed, transferring power of attorney, arguing she was not legally competent owing to mental health struggles.
Greenhalgh says Nuñez previously vowed never to sell the property, "especially not to Hawes," with whom she had "bad blood," per the Journal. Greenhalgh further alleges that Julia DeMay, who now has power of attorney, conspired with Hawes to trick Nuñez for their own personal and financial gain. She notes the agreed price for the home, $1.3 million, is "well below" fair market value. Nuñez bought the home in May 2022 for $1.525 million. It was listed to be sold at auction in October after Nuñez was found to have broken the terms of her mortgage.
Hawes then raised $300,000 for the purchase on GoFundMe. However, the auction was canceled when a company associated with comedian Matt Rife and YouTuber Elton Castee—the same pair that purchased the doll associated with the alleged haunting—acquired the mortgage. Nuñez signed over power of attorney that same month. She is "presently experiencing and/or operating under various delusions, including, but not limited to, that she owns the property outright and that she is 'The Savior of Humanity,'" Greenhalgh's filing states.
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